Pope Francis meets more than 100 comedians at the Vatican: ‘You also make God smile’
VATICAN CITY — Before flying to Italy’s southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican on Friday celebrating the importance of humor. The pontiff welcomed more than 100 comedians from 15 nations, including U.S. celebrities...
Sen. John Fetterman got 2 speeding tickets before Sunday’s crash, Pa. records show
Sen. John Fetterman’s car crash Sunday, in which he was speeding and found “at fault,” was not the first time the senator has been involved in risky driving behaviors, Pennsylvania state records show. Fetterman, D-Pa., has received two speeding tickets in his home state — the more recent one of...
Howard Fineman, veteran political journalist and analyst, dies at 75
Howard Fineman, the political journalist who covered presidents from Reagan to Biden for a variety of outlets, died Tuesday at the age of 75. Fineman died from pancreatic cancer, which he had been battling for two years, his wife, Amy Nathan, said in a social media post Wednesday afternoon. “I...
Trump refers to Milwaukee as ‘horrible’ just before the city hosts the Republican conventionVideo
MADISON, Wis. — Former President Donald Trump used the word “horrible” in talking about Milwaukee — the city where he will accept the Republican nomination next month — during a closed-door meeting Thursday with GOP congressmen, according to several people in the room who spoke afterward. The comment, first reported...
Justice Clarence Thomas took more trips paid for by donor Harlan Crow, Senate panel revealsVideo
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin says his committee has uncovered at least three additional trips given to Justice Clarence Thomas by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow as part of the panel’s ethics investigation into the Supreme Court. Durbin, D-Ill., said Thursday the committee obtained information from Crow that Thomas took...
Tropical rainstorms in South Florida lead to flight delays and streets jammed with stalled carsVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A tropical disturbance that brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida delayed flights at two of the state’s largest airports and left vehicles waterlogged and stalled in some of the region’s lowest-lying streets. “Looked like the beginning of a zombie movie,” said...
President Biden says he won’t offer commutation to his son Hunter after gun sentenceVideo
FASANO, Italy — President Joe Biden said Thursday that he will not use his presidential powers to lessen the eventual sentence that his son Hunter will receive for his federal felony conviction on gun crimes. Biden, following the conclusion of a news conference held at the Group of Seven summit...
Citing toxins in garlic, group says EPA should have warned about chemicals near Ohio derailment
The Environmental Protection Agency should conduct additional soil studies near the site of a toxic train derailment in Ohio and warn people it might not be safe to garden there after independent testing showed high levels of chemicals in locally grown garlic, a watchdog group said Thursday. In a petition...
Senate Republicans block bill on women’s right to IVF as Democrats make push on reproductive careVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the matter Thursday in an effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care. Sen. Tammy...
Phoenix police have pattern of violating civil rights and using excessive force, Justice Dept. says
PHOENIX — Phoenix police violate people’s rights, discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native American people when enforcing the law and use excessive force, including unjustified deadly force, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday. The government found a “pattern or practice” of the violations, saying the police department unlawfully detains homeless...
Report says unsecured tanker hatch spilled out gas in crash that destroyed I-95 bridge in Philly
HARRISBURG — Gasoline spilled out from an unsecured hatch on the top of the gasoline delivery tanker that overturned and ignited beneath an Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia a year ago, according to new details from federal investigators. Video evidence obtained by investigators shows the cover to the 16-inch “manhole”...
U.S. Supreme Court rules to preserve access to abortion pill
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the...
With deal done, Disney will withdraw lawsuit, ending conflict with DeSantis and his appointees
ORLANDO, Fla. — Now that Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a governing district have reached a deal on how Walt Disney World will be developed over the next two decades, the company plans to ask that a federal lawsuit be dismissed, ending the last piece of conflict...
New turnpike maintenance facility in Penn Township would be solar powered
A new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex in Penn Township could feature nearly 8 acres of solar panels to offset energy costs, according to preliminary plans. Township commissioners next week will consider the plans for the complex, which is scheduled to be built by fall of 2026, according to the turnpike...
U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia on espionage charges, to stand trial
MOSCOW — U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, authorities said Thursday. An indictment of the Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalized and his case was filed to the...
Cheers, cake and a fist-bump from GOP as Trump returns to Capitol Hill in a first since Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill on Thursday, his first with lawmakers since the Jan.6, 2021 attacks, embraced by energized House and Senate Republicans who find themselves reinvigorated by his bid to retake the White House. Despite pending federal charges against Trump for conspiring to...
G7 summit opens with deal to use Russian assets for Ukraine as EU’s traditional powers recalibrate
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy — A Group of Seven summit opened Thursday with agreement reached on a U.S. proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral, giving Kyiv a strong show of support even as Europe’s political chessboard shifts to the right. Italian Premier...
Feds: Arizona man plotted mass shooting in Atlanta to spark ‘race war’
ATLANTA — Federal prosecutors have arrested an Arizona man in an alleged mass shooting plot targeting Black Atlantans with the intent of sparking a “race war” ahead of the presidential election in November. Mark Adams Prieto, 58, of Prescott, Ariz., was arrested last month after the FBI received a tip...
Kari Lake loses Arizona appeals court challenge of 2022 loss in governor race
PHOENIX — Republican Kari Lake has lost an Arizona appeals court challenge arguing that thousands of Phoenix-area mail ballot signatures were not properly verified when she lost the 2022 governor election to Democrat Katie Hobbs. The state Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday a judge’s finding last year that Lake...
Louisiana Supreme Court reopens window for lawsuits by adult victims of childhood sex abuse
NEW ORLEANS — Officially reversing a controversial March ruling, Louisiana’s highest court Wednesday gave childhood victims of sexual abuse a renewed opportunity to file damage lawsuits. The state Supreme Court’s 5-2 ruling Wednesday upholds a so-called look-back law that was passed in 2021 and amended in 2022. The law gave...
Young bear spotted relaxing on hammock in Vermont yard
WAITSFIELD, Vt. — Noah and Kristen Dweck have seen a number of black bears around their home in Vermont but this was a first: a bear relaxing on their hammock. Noah Dweck took iPhone video of two young bears in their yard in Waitsfield on Tuesday with one sitting on...
Jersey Shore cops, politicians want to hold parents responsible for kids’ rowdy actions after meleesVideo
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Parents should be held civilly or criminally responsible for the actions of their children that create disturbances or damage in public places, a group of New Jersey police chiefs and Republican lawmakers said Wednesday during a forum held after a second consecutive year of disturbances at...
8 suspects with alleged ties to ISIS arrested in NYC, Philly, LA
NEW YORK — Eight suspected terrorists from Tajikistan have been arrested in major cities across the country, including New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, over their alleged ties to ISIS, according to reports. The group of suspects were taken into custody over the course of several days as part of...
House votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for withholding Biden audio
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case, Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the Justice Department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates...
Biden faces first lawsuit over asylum crackdown at border
WASHINGTON — A coalition of immigrant advocacy groups sued the Biden administration Wednesday over President Joe Biden’s recent directive that effectively halts asylum claims at the southern border, saying it differs little from a similar move during the Trump administration that was blocked by the courts. The lawsuit — filed...
