U.S. to impose tariffs on EVs, other Chinese green energy imports, sources say
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan. Tariffs on electric vehicles, in particular, could quadruple — from 25% to 100%. The plan...
U.S. says Israel’s use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence incomplete
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Friday that Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes. The administration’s finding of “reasonable” evidence to conclude its ally breached international law in its conduct...
U.S. announces new $400 million package of weapons for Ukraine to try to hold off Russian advances
WASHINGTON — The U.S. announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region. This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding in late April after...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: May 10
The following is a new feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz: 1. On Wednesday, an EF-1 tornado shook the Ligonier area in Westmoreland County and created considerable damage. According to the National Weather Service, what were the peak speeds of the wind? A/ 80 mph B/ 90 mph C/...
Third week of testimony in Trump’s hush money trial draws to a close, with Michael Cohen yet to come
NEW YORK — In the wake of salacious testimony from porn actor Stormy Daniels, prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial narrowed their focus to checks and phone records Friday as they laid the groundwork for jurors to hear from their star witness: Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney. With the...
U.S. consumer sentiment drops to 6-month low on inflation, unemployment fears
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer sentiment fell sharply in May to the lowest level in six months as Americans cited stubbornly high inflation and interest rates, as well as fears that unemployment could rise. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, released Friday in a preliminary version, dropped to 67.4 this...
Biden White House highlights a coming showdown with GOP over 2017 tax cuts that are due to expire
WASHINGTON — The winner of November’s presidential election will face an epic challenge next year with the coming expiration of nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts — an issue that the Biden White House is highlighting in the runup to November. Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic...
Biden administration won’t conclude Israel violated terms of U.S. weapons agreement, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — A soon-to-be released Biden administration report does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for its use of U.S. weapons, according three people who have been briefed on the matter. The report is expected to be sharply critical of Israel even though it didn’t conclude that Israel...
Education board in Virginia votes to restore Confederate names to 2 schools
WOODSTOCK, Va. — A Virginia school board voted Friday to restore the names of Confederate military leaders to a high school and an elementary school, four years after the names had been removed. Shenandoah County’s school board voted 5-1 to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School,...
One man was a Capitol Police officer. The other rioted on Jan. 6. They’re both running for Congress
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For Derrick Evans, being part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol wasn’t enough. The former West Virginia lawmaker wants to make his path to the halls of Congress permanent. On the other side of the metal barricades that day, Police Officer Harry Dunn couldn’t stand...
Duquesne student’s journey from a cracked violin to master’s degree, fellowship
At age 9, Jesse Thompson heard a violin for the first time and was mesmerized by it during a student assembly as a public school student in Williamsport, Pa. There was one problem. There were not enough violins in school for him to study it in class. “I was bawling...
Heavy fighting in Gaza’s Rafah keeps aid crossings closed, sends 100,000 civilians fleeing
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and caused over 100,000 people to flee north, a United Nations official said Friday. Israel’s plans for a full-scale invasion of...
Ukraine says Russia trying to break through its defenses in northeastern Kharkiv region
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine rushed reinforcements to its northeastern Kharkiv region to hold off a Russian attempt to breach local defenses, authorities said, a tactical switch in the war by Moscow that Ukrainian officials have been expecting for weeks. Intense nighttime shelling targeted Vovchansk, in the Kharkiv region and less...
John Fetterman slams Biden over threat to withhold some arms supplies to Israel, calling it ‘deeply disappointing’
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman called President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold military aid to Israel “deeply disappointing,” the latest criticism he has levied at the president over his handling of the war in Gaza. On Wednesday, Biden announced on CNN that he would halt some shipments of bombs and artillery...
Barron Trump, 18, to make political debut as Florida delegate to the Republican conventionVideo
MIAMI — Former President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, has been chosen to serve as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention, the state party chairman said Wednesday. Republican Party of Florida chairman Evan Power said the 18-year-old high school senior will serve as one of 41 at-large...
Convicted murderer was last person to see Pittsburgh area woman missing from Dauphin County
A convicted murderer was the last person to see a Pittsburgh area woman who vanished from Dauphin County and who is believed to be dead, court records show. Anthony E. Proctor, 59, also was caught on camera using her state benefits card at a warehouse store in mid-February, one week...
Court rejects Hunter Biden’s appeal in gun case, setting stage for trial to begin next month
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden’s federal gun case should move forward, an appeals court ruled Thursday, setting the stage for the president’s son to stand trial on criminal charges next month in Delaware. Hunter Biden’s lawyers went to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the judge overseeing the case...
Pennsylvania to ban cellphone use while driving and require police to collect traffic stop data
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will join the majority of states that ban motorists from handling a cellphone for almost any purpose while driving, as backers of the legislation hope to reduce distracted driving accidents and deaths after nearly two decades of pressing the measure. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said Thursday that...
Homeless encampment cleared from drug-plagued Philadelphia neighborhood
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police have cleared out a homeless encampment in a city neighborhood where drug use has been pervasive for years, but homeless advocates and others have raised concerns about how it was done. The effort, which the city called an “encampment resolution,” started around 7 a.m. Wednesday in...
American river otter returns to Pa. watershed after 100-year absence
An American river otter has been spotted in the Ridley Creek watershed after more than a century of absence. Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in Chester and Delaware counties near Philadelphia. The otters have returned to the headwaters of the creek in southeastern Chester County. “This...
Netanyahu on U.S. threat to withhold arms: Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails’ if needed
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a U.S. threat to withhold some arms would not prevent Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza, indicating it might proceed with an invasion of the packed city of Rafah against the wishes of its closest ally. President Joe Biden has...
Homeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer, coffee maker
Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said. “She was homeless,” Officer Brennon Warren of the Midland Police Department...
Nikki Haley will meet with donors to her shuttered presidential campaign; no Trump endorsement expected
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley is meeting next week with donors who supported her now-abandoned Republican presidential campaign, a reentry into public life that comes as the former South Carolina governor keeps drawing notable support in some state primaries despite Donald Trump’s status as the presumptive nominee. Haley will appear...
10 injured as Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport
DAKAR, Senegal — A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire. “Our plane just caught fire,” wrote...
Trump’s hush money trial hinges on business transactions, not on Stormy Daniels’ shocking testimony
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s defense attorney on Thursday accused Stormy Daniels of slowly altering the details of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, trying to persuade jurors that a key prosecution witness in the former president’s hush money trial cannot be believed. “You made all this up, right?”...
