Venezuela’s Maduro asks Supreme Court to audit the presidential election, but observers cry foulVideo
CARACAS — President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court to conduct an audit of the presidential election after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory, drawing criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review. Maduro told reporters...
Donald Trump falsely questions Kamala Harris’ race as he appears at gathering of Black journalistsVideo
CHICAGO — Donald Trump falsely suggested Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race as the former president appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago Wednesday in an interview that quickly turned hostile. The Republican former president wrongly claimed that Harris, the first Black woman and Asian...
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman recovering from covid-19 in Braddock
HARRISBURG, Pa. — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he is recovering from covid-19 at home. Fetterman said in a statement Tuesday that he was at his home in Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, recovering and missed the day’s votes in the Senate. That included the Senate’s 91-3 passage of...
Drag queen in Olympic opening ceremony has no regrets, calls it ‘a photograph of France in 2024’
PARIS — As a gay youth growing up in central France, Hugo Bardin never felt he lived in a world that represented who he was — a world in which he had a place. And that is why Bardin, who performs as the drag queen Paloma, felt it was meaningful...
Federal judge says New Jersey’s ban on AR-15 rifles is unconstitutional
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s ban on the AR-15 rifle is unconstitutional, but the state’s cap on magazines over 10 rounds passes constitutional muster, a federal judge said Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan’s 69-page opinion says he was compelled to rule as he did because of the Supreme Court’s...
Colorado clerk who became hero to election conspiracists set to go on trial for voting system breach
DENVER — A trial is set to begin Wednesday for former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters, a hero to election conspiracy theorists who is accused of orchestrating a breach of election security equipment. The case against Peters centers around accusations that in May 2021 she allowed a man using someone...
Federal protections of transgender students are launching where courts haven’t blocked them
New federal protections for transgender students at U.S. schools and colleges will take effect Thursday with muted impact because judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in 21 states and hundreds of individual colleges and schools across the country. The regulation also adds protections for pregnant students and students who are parents,...
Podcast: What Project 2025 could mean for Pittsburgh
As Vice President Kamala Harris takes to the campaign trail, she’s zeroing in on a major conservative initiative known as “Project 2025.” This ambitious 922-page blueprint aims to reshape America with sweeping changes including restrictions on abortion access, overhauls in border and immigration policies, and significant federal spending cuts. Found...
Former President Donald Trump campaigns in Harrisburg
Just over two weeks ago, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, survived an assassination attempt while campaigning in Pennsylvania. Trump will be back in the state today, his first campaign visit here since the shooting. People were camped out at the rainy Farm Show Complex overnight ahead...
Venezuela’s military holds keys to Maduro’s future in power
The morning after Venezuela’s streets erupted against Nicolás Maduro’s self-declared victory, his defense minister appeared on the airwaves to make clear how the armed forces viewed protests over an allegedly stolen vote. “It’s something truly absurd, it’s something completely improbable,” scoffed Vladimir Padrino López, who has commanded the nation’s military...
Black women, white dudes, crazy cat ladies: Identity groups fuel a groundswell for Harris
Disabled voters for Harris. White dudes for Harris. Crazy cat ladies for Harris. Since Vice President Kamala Harris vaulted into becoming the likely Democratic nominee for president a week ago, a groundswell of identity-based grassroots groups have sprung up online to rally behind her. The nightly calls are raising millions...
Trump, not Harris, speaking to most prominent American group for Black journalists
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s invitation to address the National Association of Black Journalists has sparked an intense debate within the organization and a flurry of arguments online. Journalism organizations for people of color traditionally invite presidential candidates to address their summer gatherings during election years. But Trump’s acceptance of NABJ’s...
Washington, D.C., sues StubHub, saying the resale platform inflates ticket prices with deceptive fees
WASHINGTON — The attorney general for Washington, D.C., sued StubHub on Wednesday, accusing the ticket resale platform of advertising deceptively low prices and then ramping up prices with extra fees. The practice known as “drip pricing” violates consumer protection laws in the nation’s capital, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “StubHub...
Harris to campaign with running mate in Philadelphia next Tuesday to kick off swing state tour
PHILADELPHIA — Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Philadelphia next Tuesday for the first campaign stop with her yet-to-be-announced running mate. The Harris campaign confirmed to The Philadelphia Inquirer that the visit will kick off Harris’ tour through swing states with her vice presidential pick. The timing of the...
Paychecks grew more slowly this spring, a sign inflation may keep cooling
WASHINGTON — Pay and benefits for America’s workers grew more slowly in the April-June quarter than in the first three months of the year, a trend that could keep price pressures in check and encourage the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve. Compensation as measured by the government’s Employment Cost Index...
BBC’s former lead news presenter pleads guilty to 3 counts of making indecent images of children
LONDON — Huw Edwards, the BBC’s former top news presenter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of making indecent images of children as he admitted accessing photographs sent to him by a man via the WhatsApp messaging service. During a 26-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London, the...
After an extraordinary run of political news, interest in the presidential election is perking up
After a desultory start to the campaign season, news outlets are starting to see interest in political news perk up because of an extraordinary run of stories over the past few weeks. The most obvious beneficiary is Fox News Channel, which is ending July with its highest viewership than any...
About 8 in 10 Democrats are satisfied with Harris in stark shift after Biden drops out: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have energized Democrats in the early days of her candidacy, with the surge in warm feelings extending across multiple groups, including some key Democratic constituencies that had been especially tepid about President Joe Biden, a new poll shows. About 8 in 10...
Harris is calibrating her policy pitch for going to battle with Trump
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is facing the delicate task of calibrating her policy pitch to American voters, a standard task for any White House hopeful but one that comes with additional challenges this year. First, Harris is running for president while serving under President Joe Biden, meaning she’s...
UN report says Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since Oct. 7 faced torture, mistreatment
GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of torture and mistreatment. The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security...
Hamas says its leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran by an Israeli airstrike
BEIRUT — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early Wednesday, and Hamas blamed Israel for the attack. Israel has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some...
Investigation finds at least 973 Native American children died in U.S. government boarding schools
BILLINGS, Mont. — At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s abusive boarding school system, according to the results of an investigation released Tuesday by Interior Department officials who called on the government to apologize for the schools. The investigation commissioned by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland found...
Boar’s Head expands recall to include 7 million more pounds of deli meats tied to listeria outbreak
The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday. The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10...
Police clash with a violent crowd gathered near the site of U.K. stabbing attack that killed 3 girlsVideo
LONDON — Far-right protesters fueled by anger and false online rumors hurled bottles and stones at officers and set a police van ablaze Tuesday outside a northwest England mosque near where three girls were fatally stabbed a day earlier. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “thuggery” and said the crowd...
New York City’s latest crackdown on illegal weed shops is finally shutting them down
NEW YORK — Thousands of marijuana shops boldly opened without a license in New York City after the state legalized recreational use of the drug, but after more than a year of lax enforcement, new state rules are finally allowing officials to padlock their doors. New York City’s sheriff’s office...
