Student loan forgiveness plan in Pennsylvania wipes out $45.1M in debt for 5,600 borrowers
The Biden administration this week canceled $1.2 billion in student debt nationwide. In Pennsylvania, that means 5,600 borrowers with a total of $45.1 million in debt have had their loans wiped clean, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The agency on Friday released a state-by-state breakdown of where the...
Photos: Total solar eclipses around the world
The complete shrouding of our sun by the moon has mesmerized humanity for millennia — a moment in time when skies darken and stillness creeps in. It’s spellbinding not only for the lucky ones in the path of total darkness, but also those on the fringes of the moon’s shadow...
Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, its chief justice had a higher authority in mind. By citing verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker alarmed advocates for church-state separation, while delighting religious conservatives...
Ally of late Kremlin critic Navalny says authorities threaten to bury him on prison grounds
An ally of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Friday that Russian authorities have given his mother a deadline to agree to forgo a public funeral or else they’ll bury him on prison grounds. Lyudmila Navalnaya was given three hours to accept a proposal for a private funeral outside...
Lander ‘alive and well’ after company scores first U.S. moon landing since Apollo era
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The moon’s newest arrival was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first U.S. landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its...
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Aux. Bishop hospitalized in Washington, D.C.
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Aux. Bishop Mark Eckman, one of three auxiliary bishops in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, was taken to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. He was at an event for new bishops and became ill. Jennifer Antkowiak, executive director of communications and...
Pitt becomes latest to extend student decision deadline amid FAFSA worries
The University of Pittsburgh Friday became the latest institution to extend the deadline for first-year admitted students to decide whether to enroll. The May 1 deadline will be extended to May 15, officials said Friday. The move impacts thousands of applicants to Western Pennsylvania’s largest university and is the result...
A decade after crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, planes still at risk of vanishing off the map
“Good Night. Malaysian Three Seven Zero.” Those six words were the last radio transmission from the cockpit of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, less than an hour after the aircraft took off late at night from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. Minutes later, the plane disappeared from air-traffic...
Netanyahu seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in Gaza in new postwar plan
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip, according to a long-awaited postwar plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was swiftly rejected Friday by Palestinian leaders and runs counter to Washington’s vision for the war-ravaged enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin...
Researchers find association between air pollution and Alzheimer’s
ATLANTA — A new study from Emory University researchers has found an association between traffic-related air pollution and Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Using brain tissue donated by metro Atlanta residents, researchers evaluated their home addresses for air pollution generated by nearby traffic. The study, released Wednesday, does not prove air...
AT&T says the outage to its U.S. cellphone network was not caused by a cyberattack
AT&T said the hourslong outage to its U.S. cellphone network Thursday appeared to be the result of a technical error, not a malicious attack. The outage knocked out cellphone service for thousands of its users across the U.S. starting early Thursday before it was restored. AT&T blamed the incident on...
‘Providing a little bit of light’: Penn Middle School supports community, local cancer patients in honor of late teacher
Up until three weeks before Jackie Landram died from ovarian cancer, she was doing what she loved: teaching. Landram taught seventh grade English at Penn Middle School in Penn Township for 16 years. She died at home at age 44 on Jan. 25, 2022, following a seven year battle with...
Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team filed multiple motions Thursday night urging a Florida judge to dismiss the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents, claiming in part that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution — an argument they have already submitted to the U.S. Supreme...
U.S. is imposing more than 500 new sanctions on Russia’s war machine, indicts Russian businessmen
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department plans to impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine on Friday as the U.S. vows to keep up its financial pressure on Moscow with the war entering its third grueling year. The sanctions represent the largest single tranche of penalties...
Mexico president denies report of allegations that close associates took drug money during campaign
MEXICO CITY — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied allegations contained in a U.S. media report published Thursday about a U.S. inquiry into accusations that people close to him took money from drug traffickers shortly before his 2018 election and again after he was president. The New York Times...
Private lander touches down on the moon but sending weak signalVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back until flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact. Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the...
Lara Trump says ‘every penny’ of RNC funds would go to father-in-law’s presidential bid
Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, said that she would direct every cent raised by the Republican National Committee to his White House comeback bid and winning majorities in Congress if she helped lead the organization. “We need to make sure that every penny of every dollar donated to the RNC...
A deficit of experienced voting officials could mean trouble for Pa.’s 2024 election
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. As the presidential election approaches, Pennsylvania is facing a deficit of experienced election directors, increasing the risk of errors that could cause difficulties for voters, disenfranchise their votes, and...
New York AG says she’ll seize Donald Trump’s property if he can’t pay $454 million civil fraud debt
NEW YORK — Donald Trump could be at risk of losing some of his prized properties if he can’t pay his staggering New York civil fraud penalty. With interest, he owes the state nearly $454 million — and the amount is going up $87,502 each day until he pays. New...
Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to U.S. custody
LAS VEGAS — A former FBI informant accused of lying about multimillion-dollar bribery allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and purportedly having links to Russian intelligence was again taken into custody Thursday, two days after a judge said he could be freed ahead of trial, his attorneys...
Texas school legally punished Black student over hairstyle, judge saysVideo
ANAHUAC, Texas — A Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday. Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular Houston-area high school...
Dueling pro-Trump factions in Michigan throw the swing state’s Republicans into disarray
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Michigan Republican Party was deep in debt when a longtime party donor who had given more than $1 million over the past decade asked for a meeting with its chairwoman. Kristina Karamo turned down the donor. Her reasoning, according to two people familiar with the...
Los Angeles woman was arrested in Russia on charges of treason. Here’s what we know
Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency has arrested a woman with dual U.S. and Russian citizenship on charges of treason, accusing her of collecting money for the Ukrainian military. The Federal Security Service said in a statement early Tuesday that the Los Angeles resident was arrested in the Ural Mountains city...
Mother of Kremlin critic Navalny says she’s resisting pressure to agree to secret burial
MOSCOW — The mother of Russia’s top opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Thursday that she has seen her son’s body and that she is resisting strong pressure by authorities to agree to a secret burial outside the public eye. Speaking in a video statement from the Arctic city of Salekhard,...
La Roche University names new president
La Roche University has named as its eighth president Christina Clark, former provost at Marywood University in Scranton, who has spent two decades as an academic at comprehensive Catholic universities. Officials announced the hiring Thursday. She takes office in July as the school’s second lay president in its 61-year history....
