Paris Olympics off to rough start, with sabotaged trains and weather dampening mood before opening
PARIS — The Paris Olympics were getting off to a rough start Friday, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network and cloudy skies and forecast rains over the French capital ahead of its sprawling, ambitious opening ceremony. On a day of utmost importance for France and...
Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris, giving her expected but crucial support
ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morning in a video showing Harris accepting a...
Trump announces 1st Pennsylvania rally since assassination attempt
Former President Donald Trump has announced his first rally in Pennsylvania since the July 13 assassination attempt at a rally in Butler Township. Trump will return to the state for a July 31 rally at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg. Trump sustained an injury to his ear after shooter...
Casey: State Dept., Biden silence on Marc Fogel’s Russian imprisonment is intolerable
WASHINGTON — The State Department isn’t doing enough to bring Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel home, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, told TribLive. “I believe the administration’s outreach to and communication with the family has been unacceptable. They simply haven’t done enough of it,” Casey said. Fogel, 62, was sentenced to...
Trump won’t commit to debate until Harris formally nominated
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s campaign refused to commit to a debate with Kamala Harris after the Democratic candidate challenged the Republican nominee to show up to a previously scheduled face-off. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said Thursday night that debate plans “cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee.”...
‘El Mayo’ Zambada, historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and son of ‘El Chapo’ arrested in U.S.
WASHINGTON — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said. A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaquín “El...
Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania as campaign for running mate takes shape
PHILADELPHIA — Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district, took to the campaign trail Thursday for Vice President Kamala Harris, as Harris’ nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to be Harris’ running mate takes...
House Republicans vote to rebuke Kamala Harris over administration’s handling of border policy
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are moving quickly to emphasize Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, passing a resolution Thursday that condemns her performance in the job. The resolution, which is purely symbolic, echoes an attack line that Republican Donald Trump...
‘I always need the first day of Steelers training camp off’: Fans flock to Saint Vincent as practices begin
It doesn’t take a trained eye to see that Jaime Lucchetti is a diehard Steelers football fan. Her arms, legs and collarbone are decorated with 30 tattoos of Pittsburgh players’ faces, team logos and iconic phrases such as former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s 2018 huddle call, “dilly dilly.” It took her...
Listeria outbreak linked to deli meat includes Pennsylvania
A listeria outbreak linked to deli meat has affected 12 states — including Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two people have died, and there have been at least 28 people infected, the CDC said. No recalls have been issued. “Investigators are collecting information to determine...
Spicy dispute over the origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos winds up in court
A court case could soon settle a spicy dispute: Who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? A former PepsiCo executive is suing the company, saying it destroyed his career after questioning his claim that he invented the popular flavor of Cheetos snacks. PepsiCo said Thursday it has no comment on the lawsuit,...
The Olympics are coming to the capital of fashion. Expect uniforms befitting a Paris runway
PARIS — Sure, they call it the City of Light. But Paris is also the City of Fashion, one of most influential fashion capitals of the world for decades, no, centuries (remember Louis XIV?) So it’s no surprise that fashion designers across the globe are busy getting their national team...
U.S. viewers’ Olympics interest is down, poll finds, except for Simone Biles
PARIS—Following low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a new Gallup poll released Thursday found. Simone Biles and women’s gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport. But...
Workers go on strike at 5-star Paris hotel where IOC members are staying for Olympics
Workers went on strike Thursday at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying, walking out just a day before the opening ceremony of the Games. According to the major French union CGT, the IOC paid the hotel where staffers were striking, Hôtel du...
Harris tells Netanyahu ‘it is time’ to end the war in Gaza and bring the hostages home
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said she urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal soon with Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza since Oct. 7 can return home. Harris said she had a “frank and constructive” conversation...
FCC pursues new rules for AI in political ads, but changes may not take effect before the election
NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads, though it is unclear whether new regulations may be in place before the November presidential election. The proposed rules announced Thursday...
Data shows hurricanes and earthquakes grab headlines but inland counties top disaster list
Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue. In July 2022, at least 40 people died and 300 homes were damaged in flooding across eastern Kentucky. It was the 13th time in 12 years that Floyd County was declared a federal disaster. These are disasters...
Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies Thursday to start removing homeless encampments on state land in his boldest action yet following a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. This executive order directs state agencies “to move urgently to address...
A woman is killed and a man is injured when their upstate New York house explodes
LINCOLN, N.Y. — A woman was killed and a man was injured when their upstate New York house exploded, authorities said. The house exploded just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the town of Lincoln in Madison County. Crews from several police and fire departments arrived at the scene and...
NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to EarthVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — What should have been a quick trip to the International Space Station may turn into an eight-month stay for two NASA astronauts if they have to switch from Boeing to SpaceX for a ride home. There’s lingering uncertainty over the safety of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule,...
Uvalde, Texas, school officer pleads not guilty to charges of failing to protect kids during 2022attack
UVALDE, Texas — A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Thursday. Adrian Gonzales was one of the nearly 400 law enforcement personnel who responded to...
Analysis: Why J.D. Vance might not carry Trump’s MAGA torch into the future
WASHINGTON — It’s too soon to brand Sen. J.D. Vance as the surefire heir to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” throne. At least that was the consensus of some Republican delegates and lawmakers interviewed as they milled about the Fiserv Forum or the vast space outside last week in...
Melania Trump to tell her story in memoir, ‘Melania,’ scheduled for this fall
NEW YORK — Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, “Melania,” billed by her office as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.” It’s the first memoir by Trump, who has been...
A year has passed since Niger’s dramatic coup. Life has become more dangerous and desperate
ABUJA, Nigeria — When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to announce a dramatic coup, they said they deposed the West African nation’s elected government for two key reasons: its security and economic crises. But those challenges have persisted, even worsened. The...
NORAD says it tracked Chinese and Russian long-range bombers off AlaskaVideo
BEIJING — In the first such flights, two Chinese strategic bombers and two Russian long-range bombers were spotted flying together in a patrol near Alaska, prompting a joint U.S. and Canadian command to track and intercept the warplanes. The Chinese H-6 bombers and the Russian Tupolev Tu-95s were flying over...
