Blinken bound for Saudi Arabia in latest Middle East visit
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for his seventh Middle East trip since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off a war in Gaza that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and threatened to widen into a regional conflict. Fresh...
Tick-borne virus in Massachusetts ‘can invade central nervous system’
BOSTON — A confirmed case of the tick-borne Powassan virus has been reported in the Bay State, according to officials who are warning residents to take precautions against the disease. The Sharon Health Department has confirmed the town’s first case of Powassan virus — which, like Lyme disease, is transmitted...
O.J. Simpson’s death certificate confirms his cause of death, lawyer says
LOS ANGELES — O.J. Simpson’s death certificate released this week confirms he died of prostate cancer at his home in Las Vegas, his attorney told the Times. Attorney Malcolm LaVergne said Saturday the Clark County, Nev.-issued death certificate “just confirms what I think most people widely suspected anyway — it...
Texas power prices signal grid stress in another long, hot summer
A surge in Texas power prices for August suggests another summer of heavy electricity demand — and potential grid strain — to meet air conditioning needs. Traders start looking at prices months in advance to gauge the outlook for demand. Already, in mid-April, August power prices for Dallas soared to...
Lawyer: Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after his return to New York from upstate jail
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after...
Residents begin going through rubble after Nebraska, Iowa tornadoes
OMAHA, Neb. — Residents began sifting through the rubble Saturday after a tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Neb., demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slamming an Iowa town. The Friday night tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest, causing a building to...
How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
SAN FRANCISCO — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social...
Point Park, Pitt 2024 grads relish triumphs over pandemic-era troubles
Marley Parker began her studies four years ago at Point Park University living out of a hotel room Downtown — a comfortable enough space just a few blocks off campus, although light years from a normal freshman experience. Housed there temporarily by her university to reduce dorm occupancy amid a...
Charges revealed against former Trump aide, 4 lawyers in Arizona fake electors case
PHOENIX — Authorities revealed Friday the charges filed against an ex-aide of former President Donald Trump and four attorneys in Arizona’s fake elector case, but the names of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani remained blacked out. The Arizona attorney general’s office released a copy...
United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ, other issues
United Methodist delegates have overwhelmingly endorsed a constitutional amendment seen by advocates as a way of defusing debates over the role of LGBTQ people in the church by giving rule-making autonomy to each region of the international church. Delegates voted 586-164 on Thursday for the “regionalization” proposal on the third...
President Joe Biden says he’s ‘happy to debate’ Donald Trump during interview with Howard Stern
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden said Friday that he is willing to debate his presumptive Republican opponent, Donald Trump, later this fall — his most definitive comment yet on the issue. The comment came during an interview with the Sirius XM radio host Howard Stern, who asked Biden whether...
U.S. announces new Patriot missiles for Ukraine as part of new $6 billion aid package
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday. The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air defense systems and are part of a package...
Trump’s lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution’s lead witness in hush money trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s defense team in his hush money case sought Friday to undermine the testimony of the prosecution’s lead witness and his account that a tabloid’s practice of helping to bury embarrassing stories about Trump was part of a scheme to aid the Republican’s 2016 campaign. Returning...
U.S. probes whether Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make sure drivers pay attention
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that Tesla has reported 20 more...
‘The movement will persist’: Advocates stress Weinstein reversal doesn’t derail #MeToo reckoning
NEW YORK — #MeToo founder Tarana Burke has heard it before. Every time there’s a legal setback, the movement is declared dead in the water. A legal success, and presto, it’s alive again. So Burke, who nearly two decades ago coined the phrase “Me too” from her work with sexual...
As some universities negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters, others quickly call the police
The students at Columbia University who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country dug in at their encampment for the 10th day Friday as administrators and police at campuses from California to Massachusetts wrestled with how to address protests that have seen scuffles with police and hundreds of arrests. Officials at...
Rooting for Trump to fail has made his stock shorters millions
NEW YORK — Rooting for Donald Trump to fail has rarely been this profitable. Just ask a hardy band of mostly amateur Wall Street investors who have collectively made tens of millions of dollars over the past month by betting that the stock price of his social media business —...
Trading Trump: Truth Social’s first month of trading has sent investors on a ride
WASHINGTON — There have been lawsuits, short-selling and rampant speculation. Now, as Trump Media & Technology Group approaches its first month as a publicly traded company, it’s clear that — like the man it’s named after — there’s nothing typical about the stock. “If I woke up tomorrow and shares...
University of Pittsburgh, Steelworkers reach tentative agreement on 1st faculty labor contract
The union representing 3,400 University of Pittsburgh faculty has tentatively agreed with the school administration on their first labor contract — a pact running through June 30, 2026. The United Steelworkers union announced the deal late Thursday and said it included what it calls “historic language on wages and job...
Casey, McCormick agree to 3 debates across Pa. in U.S. Senate race
With the primary election just barely in the rearview mirror, the candidates for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate wasted no time in thinking ahead to November. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced Thursday he wants to participate in three debates this fall. Casey, of Scranton, proposed holding debates in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,...
These people were charged with interfering in the 2020 election. Some are still in politics today
ATLANTA — As Donald Trump seeks a return to the White House, criminal charges are piling up for the people who tried to help him stay there in 2020 by promoting false theories of voter fraud. At least five states won in 2020 by President Joe Biden have investigated efforts...
With Democrat Janelle Stelson’s win, analyst dials back chances for GOP to hold Rep. Perry’s seat
On the heels of Janelle Stelson’s win on Tuesday as the Democratic challenger to GOP U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a well-known political forecaster has slightly downgraded Perry’s chances of victory in November. Kyle Kondik with University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball said this week he was...
Higher internet costs could be on the way for low-income Pa. residents as federal subsidies run out
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 — Thousands of Pennsylvanians could soon be hit with higher internet bills when a federal program that gives a discount to low-income households starts...
Gay actor’s speech back on at Pennsylvania school after cancellation over his ‘lifestyle’
A gay actor’s speech that was canceled over his “lifestyle” is back on at a Pennsylvania school after residents spoke out. The Cumberland Valley School District’s board voted 5-4 Wednesday night to allow children’s book author Maulik Pancholy, who is gay, to speak against bullying during an assembly on May...
USC cancels graduation ceremony as college officials worry about pro-Palestinian protest disruptionsVideo
The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony Thursday as college officials across the U.S. worried that ongoing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war could disrupt May commencement ceremonies. Some universities called in police to break up the demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests,...
