Democrats wrestle with whether to attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress as many plan to boycott
WASHINGTON — The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress, nearly 60 Democrats skipped his speech nine years ago, calling it a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama as he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. With Netanyahu scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers on...
Abortion access has won when it’s been on the ballot. That’s not an option for half the states
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucked inside the West Virginia Statehouse is a copy of a petition to lawmakers with a simple request: Let the voters decide whether to reinstate legal access to abortion. The request has been ignored by the Republican lawmakers who have supermajority control in the Legislature and banned...
Former first lady Melania Trump stays out of the public eye as Donald Trump runs for president
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After Melania Trump missed key events in her husband’s presidential bid earlier this year — from the kickoff of the 2024 election in Iowa to Donald Trump’s Super Tuesday victory party — reporters asked the former first lady whether she planned to hit the campaign...
Millions in the U.S. prepare for more sweltering heat as floodwaters inundate parts of the Midwest
Millions of Americans prepared to sweat through yet another scorching day, with the potential for rolling storms later Sunday to bring relief from the sweltering heat for at least some. Floodwaters inundated parts of the Midwest, including a town in Iowa evacuated after being submerged up to the rooftops. Across...
Manor to host expanded Community Day celebration in August
Manor is one step closer to making its Community Day celebration an annual tradition again. The festival was hosted by the local fire department every Labor Day for about 80 years before it ceased in 2002. The borough revived the tradition last year. Last year’s event drew about 1,000 people....
FAFSA delays continue to disrupt admissions at some colleges
For years, Slippery Rock University has held its own in a slumping student market, and its leaders anticipate another strong fall aided by a third consecutive increase in first-year students. But as that cautiously optimistic forecast was conveyed to school trustees in recent days, one unsettling statistic stood out. With...
AI, educator diversity and angry parents: National education conference comes to Pittsburgh
The use of AI in classrooms, the importance of educator diversity and dealing with angry parents are just a few of the topics that will be discussed at a national education conference in Pittsburgh beginning Sunday. More than 200 state government officials, representatives from educator preparation programs and school district...
Millions baking across the U.S. as heat prolongs misery with little relief expected
A relentless heat wave continued to bake most of the United States on Friday, with numerous areas expected to see record-breaking temperatures and forecasters warning there would likely be little relief through the weekend for most areas. The steamiest conditions on Friday were expected in parts of Ohio and Indiana,...
Supreme Court rejects a settlement in a water dispute between New Mexico and Texas
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a settlement between Western states over the management of one of North America’s longest rivers. In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that the water-sharing deal between Texas and New Mexico can’t go through because the federal government still has concerns about...
Amazon to remove plastic air pillows from packaging
Amazon announced its intention to remove all plastic air pillows in its packages by the end of the year. Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging, said most — if not all — packages ordered and delivered on Prime Day in July will be packed with paper filler...
Trump ally Bannon asks Supreme Court to delay his 4-month prison sentence on contempt charges
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to delay his prison sentence while he fights his convictions for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the attack on U.S. Capitol. The request came after a federal appeals...
Supreme Court upholds a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal gun control law that is intended to protect victims of domestic violence. In their first Second Amendment case since they expanded gun rights in 2022, the justices ruled 8-1 in favor of a 1994 ban on firearms for people under...
N.Y. prosecutors urge judge to keep gag order blocking Trump from criticizing jurors who convicted him
NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors are urging the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case to uphold a gag order that bars the former president from criticizing jurors, court staff or members of the prosecution that convicted him. They agreed that one provision of the gag order, which prevented...
What’s left for the Supreme Court to decide? Here’s the list
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has over a dozen cases still undecided, including ones that could reshape the law on everything from abortion to social media. The justices are also still weighing whether former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution in the election interference case against him, roughly...
How does heat kill? It confuses your brain. It shuts down your organs. It overworks your heart.
As temperatures and humidity soar outside, what’s happening inside the human body can become a life-or-death battle decided by just a few degrees. The critical danger point outdoors for illness and death from relentless heat is several degrees lower than experts once thought, say researchers who put people in hot...
Long a Republican state, Louisiana is redder than ever under new governor
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has long been reliably red. The Bayou State has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000, with residents overwhelmingly supporting Donald Trump during the past two, and the GOP has held a majority in the statehouse for years. But policies in...
How Biden and Trump are taking very different approaches to preparing for next week’s debate
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes...
Trump dwarfs Biden in latest fundraising numbers: Billionaire Timothy Mellon donates $50 million to pro-Trump group
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s campaign outraised President Joe Biden by more than $60 million last month, according to federal filings that detailed the Republican fundraising explosion sparked by Trump’s felony convictions. Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in May and reported $212...
As France reels from alleged rape of a Jewish girl, antisemitism comes to fore in election campaign
PARIS — The alleged rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suspected antisemitic attack has sent shockwaves throughout France and thrust concerns about antisemitism to the forefront of campaigning for the country’s legislative elections. The anti-immigration National Rally party, which has tried to shed historical links to antisemitism, is...
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Appeals court panel refuses to delay Trump ally Steve Bannon’s 4-month contempt prison sentence
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court panel on Thursday rejected longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon’s bid to stay out of prison while he fights his conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol attack. Bannon is supposed to report to prison by July...
New Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments churns old political conflicts
NEW ORLEANS — A bill signed into law this week makes Louisiana the only state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges — and stirs the long-running debate over the role of religion in government institutions. Under the new law, all...
RFK Jr.’s campaign files petitions to get on presidential ballot in swing-state Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork Thursday to get on the ballot for the November election in swing-state Pennsylvania, the state’s election office said. Kennedy’s filing comes six weeks before the Aug. 1 deadline, after which the paperwork can be challenged in court. The campaigns...
FBI raids several California homes, including Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’sVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Federal authorities raided a home belonging to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao early Thursday as part of a California investigation that included a search of at least two other houses, officials said. FBI agents carried boxes out of 80 Maiden Lane, a four-bedroom home that property records link...
Amtrak service resumes from Philadelphia to New Haven after power restored to train tracks
NEW YORK — Amtrak service resumed Thursday from Philadelphia to New Haven, Connecticut, in time for the evening rush hour commute after power was restored to train tracks, the national rail service said. A circuit breaker malfunction led to a widespread loss of power on the tracks between Penn Station...