Fires in the West are becoming ever bigger, consuming. Why and what can be done?
Decades of snuffing out fires at the first sign of smoke combined with climate change have laid the groundwork for a massive wildfire in northern California and scores of smaller ones across the western U.S. and Canada, experts say. These fires are moving faster and are harder to fight than...
Harris raised $200 million in 1st week of White House campaign and signed up 170,000 volunteers
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee last week, an eyepopping haul in her race against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising total on Sunday, said the bulk of...
Strike on Israeli Golan Heights kills 11, threatens to spark wider war
TEL AVIV, Israel — A rocket strike Saturday at a soccer field killed at least 11 children and teens, Israeli authorities said, in the deadliest strike on an Israeli target along the country’s northern border since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began. It raised fears...
An Israeli airstrike hits a school sheltering people in Gaza, killing at least 30 including children
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes hit a school used by displaced Palestinians in central Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 30 people including several children, as the country’s negotiators prepared to meet international mediators about a proposed cease-fire. Seven children and seven women were among the dead taken...
Harris holds her first fundraiser as the likely Democratic nominee as donors open their wallets
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Vice President Kamala Harris used her first fundraiser since becoming the Democrats’ likely White House nominee to excoriate Republican nominee Donald Trump as determined to roll back Americans’ freedoms. Harris traveled to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday where she was expected to raise more than $1.4 million, her...
Bill adds free-speech protection against frivolous ‘SLAPP’ lawsuits
A new state law provides some additional free-speech protection to Pennsylvania citizens and groups who find themselves in court after criticizing powerful interests, such as real estate developers or political figures. House Bill 1466 was signed into law July 17 by Gov. Josh Shapiro, protecting free speech on public-sector issues...
Justice Department says TikTok collected U.S. user views on issues like abortion and gun control
WASHINGTON — In a fresh broadside against one of the world’s most popular technology companies, the Justice Department is accusing TikTok of harnessing the capability to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion. Government lawyers wrote in documents filed...
Court tells governor’s office to reveal more details about why it hired private law firms
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel has directed the governor’s office to reveal key details about why it spent tens of thousands in public...
Harris freshens up her message on the economy as Trump and Republicans go after her on inflation
WASHINGTON — All of the sudden it’s Kamala Harris ’ economy — a major opportunity as well as a possible risk for the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Shortly after President Joe Biden left the race a week ago, Harris began to craft her own narrative around the economy by putting...
Trump is returning to Minnesota with Midwesterner Vance to try to swing Democrat-leaning state
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Donald Trump is taking his campaign back to Minnesota, a state that has favored Democrats but that the former president thinks could be in his reach this year. Trump is set to hold a rally Saturday night in St. Cloud, Minnesota, this time bringing along his...
Wreckage of schooner that sank in 1893 found in Lake Michigan
ALGOMA, Wis. — Marine archaeologists have discovered the wreckage of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in the late 1800s. The Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association announced this month that its searchers found the Margaret A. Muir in 50 feet (15.2 meters) of water off Algoma, Wisconsin, on May 12....
California’s largest wildfire explodes in size as fires rage across U.S. West
California’s largest active fire exploded in size on Friday evening, growing rapidly amid bone-dry fuel and threatening thousands of homes as firefighters scrambled to meet the danger. The Park Fire’s intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of...
Life and death in the heat. What it feels like when Earth’s temperatures soar to record highs
BENI MELLAL, Morocco — In the unrelenting heat of Morocco’s Middle Atlas, people were sleeping on rooftops. Hanna Ouhbour needed refuge too, but she was outside a hospital waiting for her diabetic cousin who was in a room without air conditioning. On Wednesday, there were 21 heat-related deaths at Beni...
‘Gen Z feels the Kamalove’: Youth-led progressive groups hope Harris will energize young voters
CHICAGO — ” Brats for Harris.” ” We need a Kamalanomenon. ” ” Gen Z feels the Kamalove.” In the days since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Gen Z voters jumped to social media to share coconut tree and “brat summer” memes...
Franklin Regional grad takes over Independence concussion management programVideo
When Alex Fleming was helping the Franklin Regional Panthers football team win the PIAA’s 2005 AAA championship, he wasn’t thinking much about concussion protocol. But as the 2007 Franklin Regional graduate moved on to Davidson College — where he played football while pursuing a biology degree before earning his medical...
Inside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s support for private school vouchers
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is being eyed as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee, but with that attention has come intense scrutiny of...
The best and worst uniforms spotted at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremonyVideo
The pomp and circumstance of the 2024 Paris Olympics was on display Friday during the opening ceremony. The Parade of Nations promenade provided an opportunity for 205 nations to present their flags — and specially-made national uniforms to match. The opening ceremony kicked off this year’s games on the Seine...
6,300 University of Pittsburgh staffers gain chance to join Steelworkers union
For University of Pittsburgh staff who watched as 3,400 faculty colleagues gained collective bargaining rights a few years back, what’s coming in the mail soon represents their own moment of choice. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board will oversee another union election at Pitt. This time, it’s for 6,300 staff. Ballots...
Trump welcomes Netanyahu to Mar-a-Lago, mending relationship with key political ally
WASHINGTON — A beaming Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to their first face-to-face meeting in nearly four years Friday, patching up a political alliance important to both men that had broken down when the Israeli leader offended Trump by being one of the first to congratulate Joe...
Judge takes final step to overturn Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A judge issued a final order Friday to overturn a Florida law pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that attempted to limit diversity and race-based discussions in private workplaces. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker previously ruled the law is unconstitutional. That decision was upheld by an appeals...
People flee Idaho town through tunnel of fire and smoke as Western wildfires spread
Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities, including one in which a man drove past a building and trees engulfed in flames as a tunnel of smoke rose over the roadway. Videos posted to social media include a man who said he heard...
Autopsy findings confirm Sonya Massey, Black woman shot by deputy, died from gunshot wound to head
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings...
Social media users call for Netflix boycott after co-founder’s donation to Kamala Harris’ campaign
Netflix is facing online backlash following the $7 million donation its co-founder Reed Hastings made toward Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential election campaign, Variety reported. Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and served as CEO for 25 years before stepping down, according to Variety, and this is the largest single campaign...
Agreement with Russia is ‘deal with the devil,’ adviser to Ukrainian president says
KYIV, Ukraine — Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as pressure mounts on the country to seek an end to more than two years of fighting. A...
Sunken treasure: Is the champagne nestled in a 19th-century shipwreck still fit for a toast?
WARSAW, Poland — Is the 19th century Champagne on the bottom of the Baltic Sea still fit for a toast? A team of Polish divers has discovered the wreckage of an old sailing ship loaded “to the brim” with luxury goods including porcelain items and about 100 bottles of Champagne...
