Pennsylvania casinos ask court to force state to tax skill games found in stores equally to slots
HARRISBURG — The owners of 12 Pennsylvania casinos have asked the state’s highest court to declare that a tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because the state doesn’t impose it broadly on cash-paying electronic game terminals known as skill games that can be found in many bars and stores....
Project 2025 director leaves Heritage Foundation after Democratic attacks, Trump criticism
NEW YORK — The director of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 vision for a complete overhaul of the federal government stepped down Tuesday after facing pressure from Donald Trump’s campaign, which has tried to disavow a program created by many of the former president’s allies and former aides. Paul Dans’...
Social media account ban lifted for ‘White Dudes for Harris’
A ban on the X account of a political group known as “White Dudes for Harris” was lifted Tuesday after the suspension sparked outcry and an organizer accused Elon Musk of being scared. On Monday, “White Dudes for Harris” held an online fundraising rally in support of Vice President Kamala...
Co-chair of Black journalists convention steps down after Trump appearance announced
The co-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists 2024 convention in Chicago has stepped down, following former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention. Karen Attiah’s announcement came via the social media platform X — after Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention and participate...
Harris campaign said she would not ban fracking, reversing past pledge
Vice President Kamala Harris will not seek a ban on natural gas drilling, or fracking, if elected, according to a statement from her campaign. “She would not ban fracking,” the Harris campaign said in a statement to TribLive. The statement comes as a reversal of Harris’ past comments on fracking....
William Calley, who led the My Lai massacre that shamed U.S. military in Vietnam, has died
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — William Laws Calley Jr., who as an Army lieutenant led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, has died. He was 80. Calley died on April 28, according to his...
Donald Trump says Kamala Harris, who is married to a Jewish man, ‘doesn’t like Jewish people’
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump in an interview on Tuesday claimed Vice President Kamala Harris, who is married to a Jewish man, “doesn’t like Jewish people” and seemed to agree with a radio host who called second gentleman Doug Emhoff “a crappy Jew.” Trump, in an interview on...
Israel carries out rare strike on Beirut that it says killed Hezbollah commander
BEIRUT — Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. At least three other people were killed. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the...
3 girls killed in stabbing at Taylor Swift-themed UK dance class. 7 people still critically wounded
LONDON — Three young girls killed in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in northwestern England were identified Tuesday as police questioned the 17-year-old suspect arrested in the attack that wounded 10 others. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, died early Tuesday from her injuries, and Elsie...
Democratic contest to be Harris’ running mate will likely be decided in the next week
AMBLER, Pa. — Democrat Josh Shapiro had a dual message for enthusiastic voters in suburban Philadelphia this week, telling them Kamala Harris belongs in the White House — and then reminding them of all he’s done as governor of battleground Pennsylvania. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, likewise, told voters in Georgia...
Criticism mounts against Venezuela’s Maduro and the electoral council that declared him a victor
CARACAS, Venezuela — International criticism of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro mounted Tuesday, a day after electoral authorities declared him the winner in a presidential election that the opposition claims to have won by a landslide. The Organization of American States chastised Maduro for his government’s sustained repression of the opposition....
Acting Secret Service director says he’s ‘ashamed’ after the Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service’s acting director on Tuesday told lawmakers he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was unsecured and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not communicated to his agency that a...
U.S. job openings fall slightly to 8.2 million, sign that high rates continue to cool labor market
WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings fell slightly last month, a sign that the American labor market continues to cool in the face of high interest rates. There were 8.18 million job vacancies in June, down from 8.23 million in May, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The U.S. economy and job...
Shapiro was set to endorse Harris for president in 2019. Will she want him on her ticket now?
When Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president last week, it wasn’t the first time. A little-known political fact of Harris’s first run for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 campaign cycle is that then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro offered his endorsement of Harris’s first presidential bid...
Democrats had feared Georgia was a lost cause with Biden running. Harris will campaign there Tuesday
ATLANTA — Little more than a week ago, Georgia appeared to be slipping out of the Democrats’ reach: President Joe Biden’s campaign pledged to concentrate more on holding the Midwestern “blue wall” states and indicated they might be willing to forsake “Sun Belt” battlegrounds. But now that Biden has bowed...
Trump says he ‘probably’ will debate Harris but can ‘make a case for not.’ Her team says he’s scared
NEW YORK — Donald Trump seems to be backing away from his earlier commitment to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, questioning the value of a meetup and saying he “probably” will debate but he “can also make a case for not doing it” — prompting her campaign to say he’s...
Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election
CARACAS, Venezuela — As thousands of people demonstrated across Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González announced Monday that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the country’s disputed election in which electoral authorities named President Nicolás Maduro the victor. González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told...
Kari Lake aims to win GOP primary for closely watched Arizona Senate race
PHOENIX — Kari Lake is looking to easily win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Arizona on Tuesday, setting up a fierce battle against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego for a seat that could be crucial to deciding Senate control. In Maricopa County, which includes metro Phoenix and 60%...
Harris and Democrats keep calling Trump and Vance ‘weird.’ Here’s why
Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are emphasizing a new line of criticism against Republicans — branding Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.” Democrats are applying the label with gusto in interviews and online, notably to Vance’s comments on abortion and his...
Despite escalating tension between Israel and Hezbollah, it’s business as usual at Beirut airport
BEIRUT — Fears of an escalation in the simmering conflict between Hezbollah and Israel have prompted some airlines to cancel flights to Lebanon, but business appeared to be proceeding as usual Tuesday at the Beirut airport, where many travelers greeted the warnings with a shrug. Hadi Sharqawi, 24, a Lebanese...
Senate passes bill to protect kids online, make tech companies accountable for harmful content
WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that is designed to protect children from dangerous online content, pushing forward with what would be the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm that they cause. The bill, which passed 91-3, has...
Income gap between Black and white U.S. residents shrank between Gen Xers and millennials, study says
The income gap between white and Black young adults was narrower for millenials than for Generation X, according to a new study that also found the chasm between white people born to wealthy and poor parents widened between the generations. By age 27, Black Americans born in 1978 to poor...
N.C. Gov. Cooper opts out of Harris VP vetting, in part over worry about GOP lieutenant
WASHINGTON — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper opted not to be a candidate in Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate search, two people familiar with the matter said Monday, in part because of concerns that his Republican lieutenant governor would assume control when he travels out of state if he...
Judge hands former NRA head Wayne LaPierre a 10-year ban but declines to appoint monitor
NEW YORK — A New York judge on Monday banned Wayne LaPierre, the former head of the National Rifle Association, from holding a paid position with the organization for a decade, but declined to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the gun rights group. The split decision from Judge Joel...
California firefighters make progress as wildfires push devastation and spread smoke across the WestVideo
FOREST RANCH, Calif. — Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames. The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California...