NRA chief Wayne LaPierre takes the stand in his civil trial, defends luxury vacations
NEW YORK — Longtime National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre took the stand in his New York civil trial Friday, defending himself against allegations that he violated the trust of the group’s 5 million members by spending tens of millions of dollars to enrich himself and close associates. Under questioning...
Justice Department finds Cuomo sexually harassed employees, settles with New York state
ALBANY, N.Y. — The U.S. Justice Department reached a settlement with the state of New York on Friday to resolve a sexual harassment investigation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, confirming allegations from the damaging misconduct probe that led to the Democrat’s resignation. The agreement details a series of reforms made...
Bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to governor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill that would decriminalize all strips used to test drugs for deadly substances in West Virginia, the state with the nation’s highest overdose rate, is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice. Justice hasn’t said publicly if he supports the bill, which has received...
Lauren Boebert’s ex-husband charged after 2 domestic incidents
RIFLE, Colo. — Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s ex-husband, Jayson Boebert, has been charged with assault and other counts in connection with two domestic altercations, including an argument with the congresswoman in a restaurant that spiraled out of control and a fight with the former couple’s son, authorities said. The...
Jury: Trump must pay additional $83.3M to E. Jean Carroll in defamation case
NEW YORK — A jury has awarded an additional $83.3 million to former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who says former President Donald Trump damaged her reputation by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. Friday’s verdict was the second time in nine months a jury...
Alabama man shook violently on gurney during first-ever nitrogen gas execution
ATMORE, Ala. — A man put to death using nitrogen gas shook and convulsed for minutes on the gurney as Alabama carried out the first-of-its-kind execution that has ignited debate over the humaneness of the method. Breathing through a nitrogen-filled mask that deprived him of oxygen, 58-year-old convicted killer Kenneth...
Shapiro’s higher education overhaul plan and $1,000 tuition proposal draws intrigue, skepticism
Already there are questions about the cost to cap tuition and fees for many state university students at $1,000 a semester and who would pay — not to mention bringing state universities and community colleges under one umbrella. There are regulatory, legal and logistical hurdles, all in a state whose...
Manor police officer accused of impersonating UPMC police, stealing credit cards, key from employee
A Manor Borough police officer is accused of breaking into a UPMC building, impersonating a UPMC police officer and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, Westmoreland County, was observed on security camera footage entering the UPMC Baum/Ross Building, located...
Former President Donald Trump walks out of court during closing arguments of defamation trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump abruptly walked out on closing arguments at his defamation trial Friday as a lawyer for writer E. Jean Carroll urged a jury to award her client at least $12 million damages, saying Trump had shattered her reputation and her world by unleashing a...
Ukrainians worry after plane crash that POW exchanges with Russia will end
KYIV, Ukraine — As Russia and Ukraine trade accusations over this week’s crash of a Russian military transport plane, one thing is clear: families fears that future prisoner exchanges may be in danger and loved ones could stay imprisoned. Even the basic facts are being debated. Russian officials accused Kyiv...
Airstrikes in central Gaza kill 15 overnight while fighting intensifies in the enclave’s south
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat urban refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 15 people, including a 5-month-old baby, as health authorities in the besieged territory said the death toll since the start of the war has surpassed 26,000. In southern...
Top UN court stops short of ordering cease-fire in Gaza and demands Israel contain deaths
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court stopped short Friday of ordering a cease-fire in Gaza in a case accusing Israel of genocide in the tiny coastal enclave, but demanded that Israel try to limit deaths and damage caused by its military offensive there. South Africa brought the...
Gov. Shapiro pitches plan to restructure state-owned universities, community colleges
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday will propose uniting Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities and its 15 community colleges under a new governance structure to make higher education in the state more efficient and affordable. The move is part of a blueprint for reform that emerged from a working group Shapiro assembled...
Florida House passes a bill to ban social media accounts for children under 16
TALLAHASSEE — Florida children under the age of 16 would be banned from popular social media platforms regardless of parent approval under a bill passed by the House on Wednesday, a measure that is the top priority for the chamber’s speaker. The bill doesn’t list which platforms would be affected,...
Prosecutor tells jury that mother of Michigan school shooter is at fault for 4 student deaths
PONTIAC, Mich. — A school shooting that killed four students in Michigan could have been prevented if the mother of the armed teen had removed him after seeing his violent drawings that same day, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday in an uncommon trial about parental responsibility. Jennifer Crumbley is charged...
Texas had estimated 26,000 pregnancies from rape since total abortion ban
DALLAS — Texas has had an estimated 26,000 rape-related pregnancies since the state enacted its abortion bans, according to new research published this week. Doctors performed fewer than 10 abortions per month in Texas in the first eight months of 2023, meaning that survivors of rape may have crossed state...
Senate deal on border and Ukraine at risk of collapse as Trump calls it ‘meaningless’Video
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid faced potential collapse Thursday as Senate Republicans grew increasingly wary of an election-year compromise that Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, says is “meaningless.” Senate negotiators have been striving for weeks to finish a carefully...
Trump accuses DA Fani Willis of inappropriately injecting race into Georgia election case
ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump said the district attorney in the Georgia election interference prosecution should be removed from the case, claiming she “inappropriately injected race into the case and stoked racial animus” in response to allegations of misconduct against her. Defense attorneys Steve Sadow and Jennifer...
Pennsylvania lawmakers file lawsuit against Shapiro, Biden over election-related orders
A group of conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers have filed suit against President Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro over their use of executive authority in election matters. In the 33-page complaint filed in U.S. Middle District Court, the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus asks the court to halt activities authorized through executive orders...
New York dancer dies after eating mislabeled cookies that contained peanuts
HARTFORD, Conn. — A New York City woman died after eating a mislabeled cookie containing peanuts, part of a batch that has since been recalled. Stew Leonard’s announced Tuesday that Vanilla Florentine Cookies sold in its grocery stores in Danbury and Newington in Connecticut from Nov. 6 to Dec. 31...
Trump White House official Peter Navarro gets a 4-month sentence for defying a House Jan. 6 subpoena
WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to four months behind bars. He was the second Trump aide convicted of...
Penn State branch campuses face large share of $94M in proposed budget cuts
Penn State University branch campuses — their enrollments down sharply — face the largest share of $94 million in universitywide spending cuts intended to erase an operating deficit and create what President Neeli Bendapudi calls “a more sustainable future.” The 20 campuses, including those in Western Pennsylvania, would absorb a...
Artist who performed nude in 2010 exhibit sues MoMA over sexual assault claims
ALBANY, N.Y. — A performer who appeared naked in a show by world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art is suing the museum, saying it failed to take action after he was sexually assaulted multiple times by attendees during the performances nearly 14 years...
Alabama man shook violently on gurney during first-ever nitrogen gas execution
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A man put to death using nitrogen gas appeared to shake and convulse on the gurney as Alabama carried out the first-of-its-kind execution that once again placed the United States at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at...
Washington and Baghdad plan to hold talks soon to end presence of U.S.-led coalition in Iraq
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Iraq expect to begin formal talks soon to wind down the mission of a U.S.-led military coalition formed to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq, both governments said Thursday. The U.S. has had a continuous presence in Iraq since its 2003 invasion. Although all...
