The Latest: Trump calls for unity, still plans to speak at Republican National Convention
Donald Trump said Sunday morning that he still plans to attend and speak at the Republican National Convention that kicks off Monday in Milwaukee, despite an apparent assassination attempt. “I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from...
Before shots rang out, Trump promised help for Russian-held Marc Fogel
Malphine Fogel had former President Donald Trump’s full attention, and then everything exploded into chaos. The 95-year-old Butler woman met Saturday with Trump, the GOP presidential candidate, to discuss her son’s imprisonment in Russia. It was the most recent appeal to a powerful political figure to intercede on Marc Fogel’s...
Penn-Trafford track athlete’s fundraiser generates more than $8K for elementary school playground
Matthew Sarnowski left his final track and field season at Penn-Trafford High School with a new school discus record, a WPIAL championship title and a third place standing in the state. But the Penn State-bound thrower also left the district with more than $8,000 to fund a new playground for...
Richard Simmons, a fitness guru who mixed laughs and sweat, dies at 76
NEW YORK — Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better, died Saturday. He turned 76 on Friday. Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist...
Sen. Bob Casey walks fine line amid Biden turmoil
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey has a fine line to walk. He and other Democrats fighting to hang on to hotly contested Senate seats have seemed jittery about the turmoil surrounding President Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance. In many cases, they’re trying to minimize any damage to...
School collapse in northern Nigeria leaves 22 students dead, officials say
ABUJA, Nigeria — A two-story school collapsed during morning classes Friday in north-central Nigeria, killing 22 students and sending rescuers on a frantic search for more than 100 people trapped in the rubble, authorities said. The Saints Academy college in Plateau state’s Busa Buji community collapsed shortly after students, many...
Peaceful pre-Olympic protest in Paris honors fallen Ukrainian athletes
PARIS — In a powerful tribute to the hundreds of Ukrainian athletes who have perished since the Russian invasion of their homeland, the Union of Ukrainians of France led a peaceful march of several hundred people in Paris on Saturday. The demonstration, held in the run-up to this month’s Olympic...
The son of Asia’s richest man gets married in the year’s most extravagant wedding
MUMBAI, India — The youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, married his longtime girlfriend early Saturday in what many dubbed the wedding of the year, attended by global celebrities, business tycoons and politicians, highlighting the billionaire’s staggering wealth and rising clout. The wedding rituals, including exchanging garlands by...
Shelling kills 4 in Ukraine as a drone attack sparks fire at an oil depot in Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian shelling of Ukraine killed four people on Saturday, officials said, as the two countries exchanged drone attacks, one of which set ablaze a Russian oil depot. Two people died in Ukraine’s partly occupied Kherson region and two were wounded in the attack close to the regional...
Man who blocked Harrisburg restaurant during GOP fundraiser ordered to pay fine
A Dauphin County jury on Wednesday convicted a Butler County man for unlawfully blocking the entrance to a restaurant hosting a state senator’s fundraiser last year. Michael Bagdes-Canning, 70, who was convicted of obstruction of highways and disorderly conduct, will pay a $200 fine and serve 90 days of unsupervised...
Man arrested in U.K. over human remains found in dumped suitcases
LONDON — British police said Saturday they have arrested a man in connection with the deaths of two men whose remains were found in two suitcases in southwest England. The Metropolitan Police said armed officers detained a 34-year-old suspect at a train station in the city of Bristol early Saturday....
Israeli attack targeting Hamas military commander kills at least 71 in southern Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel said it targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander in a massive strike Saturday in the crowded southern Gaza Strip that killed at least 71 people, according to local health officials. Hamas immediately rejected the claim that Mohammed Deif was in the area. Israeli officials confirmed...
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, America’s diminutive and pioneering sex therapist, dies at 96
NEW YORK — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, has died. She was 96. Westheimer died on Friday at her home in New York City, surrounded by her family, according to...
Democrats could force Biden out under the 25th Amendment — but probably won’t
WASHINGTON— President Joe Biden has said that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him not to seek reelection, but a constitutional amendment that Democrats called for invoking against President Donald Trump three years ago provides a path for Biden to leave office or be removed in an extraordinary, if highly...
After embrace at NATO summit, Zelenskyy takes his case for U.S. military aid to governors
SALT LAKE CITY — Away from Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to broaden support for U.S. military aid by telling state governors Friday that the world’s leaders should see for themselves the carnage wrought since Russia invaded his country more than two years ago. Zelenskyy’s plea at the National...
The Democratic Party crisis after Biden’s debate spirals with no clear ending
NEW YORK — For more than two weeks now, the Democratic Party has been mired in crisis. And yet there is no sign that the threat to Joe Biden’s reelection is nearing a conclusion, as the president digs in and a growing chorus of Democratic officials, donors and strategists calls...
5 people escape hot, acidic pond after SUV drove into inactive geyser in Yellowstone National Park
MAMMOTH, Wyo. — Five people were able to escape a hot, acidic pond in Yellowstone National Park after the sport utility vehicle they were riding in went off the road and into an inactive geyser, park officials said Friday. The passengers were able to get out of the 105 degree...
Budget sends $500M more to Pa.’s poorest schools, falling short of what some say is needed
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 — After weeks of tense, secretive negotiations on Pennsylvania’s budget, the legislature has approved a $47.6 billion spending deal that falls short of the...
Actor Ashley Judd, a Democratic activist, adds her voice to those calling on Biden to leave the race
Actor Ashley Judd is adding her voice to calls for President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race following his performance in last month’s debate, arguing that she worries he could lose to Republican Donald Trump in November. In an opinion piece for USA Today published on Friday,...
2 weeks that imperiled Biden’s presidency left him on probation in the court of Democratic opinion
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s tribulations were previewed in Hollywood days before he got on the debate stage. At a fundraiser organized by George Clooney and packed with luminaries including former President Barack Obama, Biden was a listless figure, perhaps merely jet-lagged after flying straight from Italy but clearly not the...
More than 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF, AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Relatively few Americans fully endorse the idea that a fertilized egg should have the same rights as a pregnant woman. But a significant share say it describes their views at least somewhat well, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The...
Alec Baldwin weeps in court when judge announces involuntary manslaughter case dismissed midtrial
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge on Friday brought a sudden and stunning end to the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin, dismissing it in the middle of the actor’s trial and saying it cannot be filed again. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case based on...
1st victim of 1921 Tulsa massacre of Black community is identified since graves found, mayor says
OKLAHOMA CITY — A World War I veteran is the first person identified from graves filled with more than a hundred victims of the 1921 Tulsa massacre of the city’s Black community, the mayor said Friday. The remains of C.L. Daniel from Georgia were identified by Intermountain Forensics through DNA...
Extreme heat and some medicines can be a risky combo. Here’s what to know
Extreme heat can raise the danger of heat-related illnesses and threaten health in a more subtle way — by amplifying the side effects of many common medications. Hot weather, too, can damage medicines such as insulin that require refrigeration. Inhalers can explode. Epinephrine injectors such as EpiPens can malfunction. Meds...
1 dead, 2 missing after tourist helicopter crashes off Hawaiian island of Kauai
HONOLULU — A tour company helicopter crashed off the Hawaiian island of Kauai, police said, killing one person and leaving two missing in the latest in a series of crashes to plague the industry in recent years. Hikers reported seeing the helicopter crash into the water about a quarter of...
