Refugee camps in Chad are overcrowded and running out of aid, and Sudanese refugees keep coming
METCHE CAMP, Chad — Overcrowded refugee camps in eastern Chad are set to run out of money soon, exacerbating a dire humanitarian crisis caused by the spillover from a deadly conflict in Sudan, the United Nations said. More than a million people in Chad, including refugees, face losing access to...
Cheating on your spouse is a crime in New York, but the 1907 law may finally be repealed
ALBANY, N.Y. — For more than a century, it has been a crime to cheat on your spouse in New York. But adultery may soon be legal in the Empire State thanks to a bill working its way through the New York Legislature, which would finally repeal the seldom-used law...
Former executive given death sentence in poisoning of founder of high-flying Chinese gaming company
BEIJING — A former executive at Yoozoo Games was sentenced to death on Friday in the 2020 poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company, which has links to “Game of Thrones” and the new Netflix series, “The Three-Body Problem.” Xu Yao poisoned the food of company founder...
Congress rushes to approve final package of spending bills before shutdown deadline
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are racing Friday to pass the final spending package needed for the current budget year, a long overdue action that will set funding for federal agencies and push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall. With spending set to expire for several key federal agencies...
Coaches across Pa. state universities reach tentative labor pact with State System
Union and management negotiators have a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract covering athletics coaches across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities, officials said Thursday. If ratified by the parties, the pact between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Facilities and State System of Higher Education would run through...
U.S. calls for vote Friday on UN resolution declaring that immediate Gaza cease-fire is ‘imperative’
UNITED NATIONS — The United States called for a vote Friday on a newly revised and tougher U.N. resolution declaring that “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is “imperative” to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry...
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez says he won’t run in Democratic primary
TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Thursday he won’t run in the Democratic primary as he faces federal corruption charges, but he left open the possibility that he would reenter the race as an independent later this year if he is exonerated at a trial....
Pro-Trump attorney in Michigan released from jail after posting bail on outstanding warrant
PONTIAC, Mich. — An attorney who unsuccessfully sued to overturn former President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss in Michigan posted a $10,000 bond and was released from jail after appearing in a Michigan court on an outstanding warrant Thursday. Stefanie Lambert turned herself in Thursday morning after having been arrested in...
White former officers get sentences of 10 to 40 years in torture of 2 Black men in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. — The last of six former law enforcement officers who tortured two Black men outside Mississippi’s capital has been sentenced. Former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield was given an approximately 10-year federal prison sentence on Thursday. The six white officers were fired and pleaded guilty to subjecting Michael...
Biden cancels $5.8B more in student debt for firefighters, nurses, public service workers
The Biden administration on Thursday announced $5.8 billion in additional student loan relief for those working as firefighters, nurses and various other public service jobs in Pennsylvania and across the nation. The latest batch of canceled debt applies to 77,700 borrowers. It stems from fixes made by the administration to...
Congress unveils $1.2 trillion plan to avert federal shutdown and bring budget fight to a close
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers introduced a $1.2 trillion spending package Thursday that sets the stage for avoiding a partial government shutdown for several key federal agencies this weekend and allows Congress, nearly six months into the budget year, to complete its work in funding the government through September. Democrats were largely...
78,000 more public workers are getting student loans canceled through Biden administration changes
WASHINGTON — Another 78,000 Americans are getting their federal student loans canceled through a program that helps teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public servants, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The Education Department is canceling the borrowers’ loans because they reached 10 years of payments while working in public service, making...
Trump’s latest 2024 campaign fundraising report shows him lagging behind Biden in cash
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s fundraising picked up last month, but his political operation is still struggling to catch up to President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in money coming in. Trump’s campaign and his Save America political action committee, two key committees in his political operation,...
Biden is using the ‘are you better off today’ question to contrast himself with Trump
DALLAS — President Joe Biden opened a new line of attack against former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, asking and answering the classic “are you better off today than you were four years ago” question to remind voters of what it was like when Trump was in office. The Democratic...
Their WWII mission was secret for decades. Now the Ghost Army will get the Congressional Gold Medal
DALLAS — For decades, their mission during World War II was a secret. With inflatable tanks, trucks and planes, combined with sound effects, radio trickery, costume uniforms and acting, the American military units that became known as the Ghost Army helped outwit the enemy. Now, they are being awarded the...
A firework is lit, a boy is shot. Israel’s use of deadly force against Palestinians is scrutinized
JERUSALEM — A 12-year-old boy in east Jerusalem lights the fuse of a long firework and hoists it in the air. Then, just before it explodes and illuminates the night sky with a burst of red, he is shot in the chest by Israeli police and falls to the ground....
1 of the few remaining survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor has died at 102
HONOLULU — Richard C. “Dick” Higgins, one of the few remaining survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died, a family member said Wednesday. He was 102. Higgins died at home in Bend, Oregon, on Tuesday of natural causes, granddaughter Angela Norton said. Higgins was a radioman assigned...
Russia fires 31 missiles at Kyiv in 1st attack in 44 days; 13 people hurt
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling wreckage, they said. Residents...
Republicans make last-ditch request for Biden to testify as impeachment inquiry winds down
WASHINGTON — The House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is all but winding down, lacking the political appetite from within the Republican ranks to go forward with an impeachment but facing political pressure to deliver after months of work. The chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Republican...
Republicans call for raising retirement age in clash with Biden
WASHINGTON — The largest caucus of House Republicans called for an increase in the Social Security retirement age Wednesday, setting up a clash with President Joe Biden over spending on popular programs. The Republican Study Committee, which comprises about 80% of House Republicans, called for the Social Security eligibility age...
What a proposed performance-based funding model could mean for Pitt, Penn State, other state-related universities
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. STATE COLLEGE — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed creating a predictable funding formula and boosting state support by 5% for the state-related universities —...
United Steelworkers union endorses Biden for president
PITTSBURGH — The United Steelworkers Union has endorsed President Joe Biden, giving him support from another large labor union. The announcement Wednesday by the Pittsburgh-based union came less than a week after Biden voiced opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying it’s vital...
Pittsburgh Technical College put on probation
Pittsburgh Technical College in Oakdale has been placed on probation by the Middle States Commission for Higher Education and warned that its accreditation “is in jeopardy.” In a post to its website, the accrediting body said it acted due to “insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with...
New York asks court not to let Trump forgo $454M bond in fraud case appeal
NEW YORK — New York state lawyers urged an appellate court Wednesday not to buy former President Donald Trump’s claims that it’s impossible to post a bond fully covering a $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals. The presumptive Republican nominee’s lawyers said earlier this week that he couldn’t...
1 of 6 former officers in Mississippi gets 40 years for racist torture of 2 Black men
JACKSON, Miss. — A fourth former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced for his part in the racist torture of two Black men by a group of white officers who called themselves “the Goon Squad.” Christian Dedmon was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in federal prison, hours after Daniel Opdyke...
