Harris looks to lock up Democratic nomination after Biden steps aside, reordering 2024 race
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their own party that he would be unable to defeat Republican Donald Trump. Biden’s exit Sunday, prompted by Democratic worries...
Israel orders evacuation of part of Gaza humanitarian zone
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military ordered the evacuation Monday of part of an area in the Gaza Strip it has designated a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants there. Heeding the call, thousands of Palestinians, many carrying backpacks and accompanied by children,...
Democrats promise ‘orderly process’ to replace Biden — Harris is favored, but questions remain
WASHINGTON — Shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he would drop his reelection campaign, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison had a message: There would be no automatic coronation for his replacement. “In the coming days, the party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward,” Harrison...
Biden’s decision to drop out crystallized Sunday. His staff knew 1 minute before the public did
WASHINGTON — At 1:45 p.m. Sunday, President Joe Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. At 1:46 p.m., that message was made public. It was never Biden’s intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside Sunday, he was all...
Civilians killed and wounded as Russia and Ukraine trade attacks. Russia claims gains in the east
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone, missile and shelling attacks on Sunday. At least two people were killed in Ukrainian strikes on the partly Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Russian state media said, while Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes wounded at least five people. Along the front line in the...
Israel’s Netanyahu walks political tightrope on Washington trip following Biden’s exit from race
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington on Monday, leaving behind a brutal war to make a politically precarious speech before Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. With efforts ongoing to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and...
Biden’s legacy: Far-reaching accomplishments that didn’t translate into political support
WASHINGTON — Sitting in the Oval Office behind the iconic Resolute desk in 2022, an animated President Joe Biden described the challenge of leading a psychologically traumatized nation. The United States had endured a life-altering pandemic. There was a jarring burst of inflation and now global conflict with Russia invading...
Democrats hail Biden’s decision to not seek reelection as selfless. Republicans urge him to resign
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers hailed President Joe Biden’s historic decision on Sunday not to seek reelection, praising him as putting his country and his party before himself. Republicans called on him to resign from office, saying that if he could not run for another term, office, then he’s unable to...
Harris, endorsed by Biden, could become 1st woman, 2nd Black person to be president
WASHINGTON — She’s already broken barriers, and now Kamala Harris could shatter several more after President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid and endorsed her. Biden announced Sunday that he was stepping aside after a disastrous debate performance catalyzed fears that the 81-year-old was too frail for a second...
What happens next: Joe Biden wants to pass the baton to Kamala Harris. Here’s how that might work
ATLANTA — With President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year. Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. What was supposed to be a coronation...
The Secret Service acknowledges denying some past requests by Trump’s campaign for tighter security
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — The Secret Service has acknowledged it denied some requests by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign for increased security at his events in the years before the assassination attempt on him at a recent rally. In the immediate aftermath of the July 13 attack, the law...
Biden ends his 2024 bid; endorses Harris
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent’s fitness for office. The unprecedented announcement, delivered less than four months before the election, immediately...
Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urges Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to drop his reelection bid and focus on the remaining months of his presidency. “I came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new...
Bethel Park, Butler Township communities grapple with aftermath of Trump rally shooting
Butler Township and Bethel Park didn’t share much in common before last weekend. Now, the Western Pennsylvania communities separated by about 50 miles are inextricably linked by the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Butler Township, where a gunman wounded Trump, killed a spectator and critically injured two others...
A hectic July propels Trump, GOP to new heights as Biden, Dems flounder
With four months before the presidential election, Republicans are flying high while the Democrats are in a tailspin. It’s been a tale of two parties in July, as a surging Donald Trump keeps racking up the wins even as a wobbly President Joe Biden falters. Capitalizing on the momentum from...
Pelosi delivers speech to N.C. Democrats with notable absence — Biden’s future as nominee
RALEIGH, N.C. — In a state expected to help decide the presidency, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi did little to quell speculation on President Joe Biden’s path forward as the Democratic nominee to a room full of North Carolina Democrats on Saturday. Pelosi addressed more than 900 people at the...
North Korea flies more balloons likely carrying trash after the South resumes propaganda broadcasts
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Sunday, days after the South restarted blaring anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border in retaliation for the North’s repeated balloon campaigns, Seoul officials said. The Cold War-style psychological battle between the two Koreas is...
Franklin Regional sees benefits of ‘Parents as Allies’ program
Members of a family that just moved to the Franklin Regional School District from overseas might not have the confidence to get up at a school board meeting and ask a question. But get a few of those families together for dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and conversations start...
EA Sports College Football 25, among most anticipated sports video games in history, hits the market
EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has flooded the market as gamers who waited more than a decade for the franchise’s next installment rush to play. The game officially launched Friday, with EA Sports increasing its server capacity ahead of...
Florida man arrested, accused of making threats against Trump, Vance on social media
JUPITER, Fla. — A Florida man accused of making threats against former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance and their families on social media was arrested on Friday, police said. The Jupiter Police Department said in a news release that officers arrested Michael W. Wiseman on charges of written...
U.S. says Iran moving forward on key aspect of developing nuclear bomb
ASPEN, Colo. — Iran is talking more about getting a nuclear bomb and has made strides in developing a key aspect of a weapon since about April, when Israel and its allies overpowered a barrage of Iranian airstrikes targeting Israel, two top Biden administration officials said Friday. Secretary of State...
2 deaths linked to listeria food poisoning from meat sliced at deli counters
At least two people have died and more than two dozen were hospitalized in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning linked to meat sliced at grocery store deli counters, federal health officials said Friday. At least 28 people in a dozen states have gotten sick, though the largest number, seven,...
Energy ‘off the charts’ at Republican National Convention, Westmoreland attendees say
Jill Cooper thought there was a lot of energy swirling around at the 2016 Republican National Convention during Donald Trump’s initial candidacy for president. That was before attending this week’s convention in Milwaukee. “The energy was off the charts,” said the state representative from Murrysville, who attended the convention as...
3 courts agree that a woman deemed wrongfully convicted should be freed, yet she still isn’t
A circuit judge, an appellate court and the Missouri Supreme Court agree that a woman whose murder conviction was overturned should be free after 43 years in prison. Yet Sandra Hemme is still behind bars, leaving her lawyers and legal experts puzzled. “I’ve never seen it,” said Michael Wolff, a...
What’s known about the massive tech outage causing worldwide disruptions
NEW YORK — Much of the world faced online disarray Friday as a widespread technology outage affected companies and services across industries — grounding flights, knocking banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air. At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides...
