JD Vance says school shootings are a ‘fact of life,’ calls for better security
PHOENIX — School shootings are a “fact of life,” so the United States needs to harden security to prevent more carnage like the shooting this week that left four dead in Georgia, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Thursday. “If these psychos are going to go after our kids...
North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr.’s request to remove his name from state ballots
RALEIGH — A North Carolina judge refused to take Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name off presidential ballots in the battleground state on Thursday, a day before the first batches of November absentee ballots are slated to be sent to registered voters who requested them. Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca...
Pennsylvania voters can cast a provisional ballot if their mail ballot is rejected, court says
HARRISBURG — A court decided Thursday that voters in the presidential battleground of Pennsylvania can cast provisional ballots in place of mail-in ballots that are rejected for a garden-variety mistake they made when they returned it. Democrats typically outvote Republicans by mail by about 3-to-1 in Pennsylvania, and the decision...
Sao Paulo beefs up security for Brazil’s 1st ever NFL game as players raise crime concerns
SAO PAULO — Sao Paulo state’s government said it will deploy hundreds of police officers and provide escorts for team buses for Friday’s NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers after some players expressed concern about playing in Brazil. Security operations for the game in Sao...
Police deny Venezuela gang has taken over rundown apartment complex in Denver suburb
AURORA, Colo. — Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora say a Venezuela street gang with a small presence in the city has not taken over a rundown apartment complex — yet the allegation continues to gain steam among conservatives and was amplified by former President Donald Trump in a...
Carnegie Mellon launches computer science podcast
Carnegie Mellon University has launched a new podcast to explore innovations in computer science. The first season of “Does Compute,” hosted by Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, contains 10 episodes featuring experts, alumni and students. Some of the topics addressed tackle smartphones, medical breakthroughs and the challenges of artificial...
A French woman whose husband is accused of inviting men to rape her testifies in court
AVIGNON, France — A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she was unconscious testified Thursday that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse. Speaking in a calm and clear voice, Gisèle Pélicot detailed...
Harvey Weinstein won’t face charges in Britain, but he could be hit with new accusations in New York
LONDON — Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein won’t face charges of indecent assault in Britain, prosecutors announced on Thursday. The Crown Prosecution Service, which in 2022 authorized two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein, said it decided to discontinue proceedings because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.”...
China’s halt of foreign adoptions leaves questions about pending cases
BEIJING — The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the U.S. is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications. In a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any...
Amish woman dies 18 years after being severely injured in deadly schoolhouse shooting
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A woman who was severely injured when a gunman killed five girls and wounded her and four other girls during an attack on their one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania has died 18 years later, a funeral director said Thursday. Rosanna S. King, 23, died at her home...
A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zoo
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — A 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python was confiscated from an upstate New York man who was keeping the still-growing snake in a small tank, authorities said. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said it got a complaint about an illegally owned snake in New Hartford on Aug....
A list of mass killings in the United States this year
The latest mass killing in the U.S. happened Wednesday in Winder, Georgia, where four people were fatally shot at Apalachee High School. Students ran for safety in the football stadium. While officers swarmed the campus near Atlanta, parents raced to find out if their children were safe. It was the...
Hunter Biden enters surprise guilty plea to avoid tax trial months after his gun conviction
LOS ANGELES — Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges Thursday in a surprise move that spares President Joe Biden and his family another likely embarrassing and painful criminal trial of the president’s son. Hunter Biden’s stunning decision to guilty plea to misdemeanor and felony charges without the benefits...
How to watch the presidential debate between Trump and Harris
WASHINGTON — The second general election debate of the 2024 campaign season is here, but it’s the first matchup for the current nominees. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are taking part in Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia. After a disastrous performance in the first general election...
Can Harris prosecute the political case against Trump? Key questions ahead of their debate
NEW YORK — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will debate for the first — and perhaps, last — time on Tuesday night as the presidential candidates fight to sway voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics. The meeting comes just 75 days after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance...
Footage of motorcade racing JFK to the hospital after he was shot is set to go to auction
DALLAS — Newly emerged film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway toward a hospital after he was fatally wounded will go up for auction later this month. Experts say the find isn’t necessarily surprising even over 60 years after the assassination. “These images, these...
Small, harmless asteroid burns up in Earth’s atmosphere over the Philippines
NEW YORK — A small asteroid discovered on Wednesday harmlessly burned up in Earth’s atmosphere the same day, NASA said. The asteroid — about 3 feet (1 meter) across — was spotted by astronomers in Arizona and broke apart over the coast of the Philippines hours after the discovery. This...
Father of Georgia school shooting suspect arrested on charges including second-degree murder
WINDER, Ga. — The father of the teenager accused of opening fire at a Georgia high school, killing four people and wounding nine, has been arrested on various charges including second-degree murder, authorities said Thursday. Colin Gray, 54, the father of Colt Gray, was charged with four counts of involuntary...
Kamala Harris visits New Hampshire to tout her small business tax plan
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris used a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Wednesday to propose an expansion of tax incentives for small businesses, a pro-entrepreneur plan that may soften her previous calls for wealthy Americans and large corporations to pay higher taxes. Describing small businesses as “an essential...
Do you speak Gen-Alpha? Test your ‘skibidi’ knowledge with this vocab quiz
As American kids head back to school, they’re likely to return home with an alien language their own parents may find befuddling. From TikTok to the kitchen table, words such as “rizzler” and “skibidi” are finding a foothold in the lexicon of today’s tweens. Are you fluent enough to survive...
Harris accepts rules for Sept. 10 debate with Trump on ABC, including microphone muting
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted the rules set forth for next week’s debate with former President Donald Trump, although the Democratic nominee says the decision not to keep both candidates’ microphones live throughout the matchup will be to her disadvantage. The development, which came Wednesday by way...
Republican Liz Cheney endorses Kamala HarrisVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Wednesday said she would support Kamala Harris for president, ending weeks of speculation about how fully the member of a GOP dynasty-turned-Trump critic would embrace the Democratic ticket. Cheney, who co-chaired the House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, became a...
From the Newsroom: A tale of 2 rallies
Starting last week and over the holiday weekend, the presidential election nominees from both parties have made headlines in Pennsylvania. Former President Donald Trump addressed a crowd in Johnstown on Friday, touching on topics like the Arlington cemetery incident and the Harris-Walz interview. Then, on Labor Day, Vice President Kamala...
With charges and sanctions, U.S. takes aim at Russian disinformation ahead of November electionVideo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its most sweeping effort yet to push back against what it says are Russian attempts to spread disinformation ahead of the November presidential election. The measures, which in addition to indictments also included sanctions...
Pa. GOP narrows gap in registered voters with election 2 months out
HARRISBURG — The 2024 presidential election is two months away and, in Pennsylvania, Republicans continue to shrink the margin by which Democrats lead in registered voters. Democrats had 350,341 more registered voters compared to Republicans as of Monday, according to this week’s data update from the Department of State. That...
