Judge says Trump can wait a week to testify at sex abuse victim’s defamation trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump can wait a week to testify at a New York defamation trial where he could face millions of dollars in damages after a jury concluded that he sexually abused a columnist in the 1990s, a federal judge said Sunday. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan...
4 killed, 1 injured in hot air balloon crash south of Phoenix
ELOY, Ariz. — Four people were killed and another critically injured after a hot air balloon crash Sunday morning near Eloy, Arizona, authorities said. Eloy police said the crash occurred about 7:50 a.m. Sunday in a rural desert area about 60 miles south of Phoenix. The victims’ names are being...
Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland, sending lava flowing toward a nearby settlementVideo
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday, sending lava snaking toward a nearby community and setting at least one home on fire. The eruption, which began just before 8 a.m. local time, came after authorities evacuated the...
District attorney defends the qualifications of a prosecutor hired in Trump’s Georgia election case
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Sunday defended the qualifications of a special prosecutor she hired for her case against Donald Trump and others over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia after a defense lawyer accused Willis of professional impropriety. In her first public remarks...
Republican candidates try to lock down undecided Iowans in the countdown to the leadoff caucuses
INDIANOLA, Iowa — Marc Smiarowski hunched over to fight off the minus 18-degree Fahrenheit (minus 28 degrees Celsius) chill on Sunday, waiting for the doors to open for Donald Trump’s midday rally at a small college outside Des Moines. But as the weak winter sun hung low in the sky,...
Millions of Americans face below-zero temperatures as storms bring blast of Arctic air, snow and ice
Subfreezing temperatures across much of the U.S. left millions of Americans facing dangerous cold over the weekend as Arctic storms knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South, and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions that forced the postponement of an NFL game....
‘The Honeymooners’ actress Joyce Randolph has died at 99; played Ed Norton’s wife, Trixie
NEW YORK — Joyce Randolph, a veteran stage and television actress whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband, has died. She was 99. Randolph died of natural causes Saturday night at her home on the Upper West Side...
Pa. needs to spend $5.4B to close gap between rich and poor schools, report advanced by Dems says
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 — Pennsylvania will need to spend at least $5.4 billion to close the gap between rich and poor school districts, according to a long-awaited...
U.S. military academies focus on oaths and loyalty to Constitution as political divisions intensify
WEST POINT, N.Y. — For 75 minutes, Maj. Joe Amoroso quizzed his students in SS202, American Politics, about civilian leadership of the military, the trust between the armed forces and the public, and how the military must not become a partisan tool. There was one answer, he said, that would...
As legal challenges mount, some companies retool diversity and inclusion programs
NEW YORK — Sophia Danner-Okotie’s has ambitious plans for her Nigerian-inspired clothing line but a sense of dread has punctured her optimism as she watches a legal battle being waged against a small venture capital firm that has provided funding instrumental to her boutique brand’s growth. The case against the...
Fire from Lebanon kills 2 Israeli civilians as the Israel-Hamas war rages for 100th day
JERUSALEM — Two civilians were killed in northern Israel on Sunday after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit their home in a town near the border, raising new concerns of a second conflict erupting against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The deadly strike came on the 100th...
‘A pretty overwhelming feeling’: Greensburg Salem, Slippery Rock grad completes ‘Triple Crown of Hiking’
Greensburg native Jared Frith witnessed plenty of breathtaking sunsets and sunrises from the tops of mountains while hiking more than 8,000 miles from June 2021 to November. But Frith found much greater value in the low moments of his journey — shivering in rain-drenched clothes for days during a tropical...
Greensburg bridal store showcases ‘Bridgerton’-themed wedding dress collection
Bishop sleeves, tiered layers and florals are making a comeback in bridal dresses. MB Bride in Greensburg is showcasing Allure Bridals’ new wedding dress line themed after the hit Netflix show “Bridgerton” — a series based on Julia Quinn’s novels about eight siblings in London high society in the early...
Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupts again, leading to evacuations but no reported casualties
AGAM, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupted again on Sunday, spewing smoke and ash high into the air, but no casualties were reported. The Marapi Volcano Observation Post in West Sumatra province recorded an eruption with an ash column about 4,265 feet high from its peak, followed by ash rain....
John Kerry to step down as U.S. climate envoy
WASHINGTON — John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate, is stepping down from the Biden administration in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with his plans. Kerry, a longtime senator and secretary of state, was tapped shortly after Joe Biden’s November 2020 election to take on the...
Major Republican donor in Iowa says he’s decided to back Trump
DES MOINES, Iowa — Bruce Rastetter, a major Iowa Republican donor, predicted a resounding Iowa caucus victory for Donald Trump, saying the agriculturally-heavy state maintains nostalgia for the former president’s tenure in the White House. At a Des Moines roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News on Saturday morning, Rastetter said, after...
Biden says U.S. doesn’t support Taiwan independence after vote
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said the U.S. does not support independence for Taiwan after voters there defied China and returned the governing Democratic Progressive Party — which has sought to limit Beijing’s influence — to a third consecutive term. “We do not support independence,” Biden told reporters Saturday as...
Trump turns on Ramaswamy, telling Iowans ‘don’t get duped’
Former President Donald Trump trained his sights on rival Vivek Ramaswamy, casting him as a threat to his Make America Great Again movement in what appeared to be a shift in strategy two days before the Iowa caucuses. “Vote for ‘TRUMP,’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA,” Trump...
U.S. says Texas blocked border agents from entering park to try to save 3 migrants who drowned
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The U.S. Homeland Security Department said Saturday that Texas denied federal agents access to a stretch of border when they were trying to rescue three migrants who drowned. The federal government’s account came hours after U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said the Texas Military Department and Texas National...
Massachusetts considers banning book bans in response to rise in challenges
BOSTON — A bill making its way through the Massachusetts legislature would block efforts to ban books from school and public libraries. Lawmakers of the Joint Committee on Education heard testimony from advocates and opponents of “An Act regarding free expression,” which would prevent the removal of books from school...
As shutdown looms, congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend government funding to March
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week. The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out Friday and extend the remainder of...
Analysis: Slowing inflation suggests Biden’s policies are helping, but American voters are still hurting
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden can make an increasingly strong case that he’s helped fix inflation — if only he can get voters to believe him. Figures issued this past week reflected a historic level of progress on battling high prices, hinting that inflation could be near the Federal Reserve’s...
Republicans try to block Biden administration plan to cut money for anti-abortion counseling centers
WASHINGTON — In a new twist to the fight over abortion access, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to so-called...
Pa.’s poorest school districts were slated for a funding boost, but aid went to construction instead
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. BELLEFONTE — Pennsylvania’s poorest districts won’t receive $100 million in new money to help fill vacancies and reduce funding deficits after lawmakers diverted those dollars...
Two Navy SEALs missing after night mission off coast of Somalia
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a nighttime boarding mission Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to three U.S. officials. The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, climbing up a vessel when one got knocked off by high waves. Under their protocol, when one SEAL...
