Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages raises alarm about its conduct in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including the mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages, fueled global concerns about the conduct of the 10-week-old war in Gaza. Israeli protesters are urging...
‘It’s not just a class thing’: Penn-Trafford adds hour to annual telethon, aims for $55,000 total
When Penn-Trafford High School’s video production class hosted its first telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish in 2017, the live production was 3 1⁄2 hours long. With about five hours of content planned for Thursday’s broadcast, the students and their teacher, Steve Vinton, have to piece together each minute. “We’re getting to the...
Forgoing traditional Christmas celebrations to travel is becoming more common
Melinda Cody of Allegheny Township has implemented a Christmas strike, and she’s never been happier. For decades, Cody — a wife and mother of two adult children — prepped, baked, cooked, decorated, shopped, organized and wrapped gifts, providing a traditional Christmas experience for her family with all the expected holiday...
Local potters build sense of community with mug exchange
More than 30 potters from Westmoreland, Allegheny and Somerset counties gathered in Clair Witkowski’s Ligonier home this month, each holding a unique ceramic mug that would be exchanged with another. The mug exchange was organized by Witkowski and Marine Ruth, volunteers at the Greensburg Art Center in Hempfield, to build...
Pittsburgh police probe Northview Heights infant’s death
Pittsburgh police are investigating the death Saturday of a newborn. First responders were dispatched Friday around 11:36 p.m. to the boy’s home in the 600 block of Mt. Pleasant Road in the Northview Heights neighborhood for a report of an infant in distress. The 5-day-old baby, Jah’Shawn O. Martin, was...
$148 million damages verdict adds to Rudy Giuliani’s financial woes as he awaits his criminal trial
A criminal trial awaits Rudy Giuliani in Georgia. He is an alleged unnamed co-conspirator in a federal indictment against Donald Trump. And now he’s been ordered to pay a sum he surely cannot afford. The $148 million verdict in a defamation case brought by two former Georgia election workers marks...
Confederate memorial to be removed in coming days from Arlington National Cemetery
ARLINGTON, Va. — A Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities, a cemetery official said Saturday. The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40...
As Trump threatens to repeal Obamacare, these ‘insurance godmothers’ are signing Florida Latinos up
MIAMI — Salsa music blares from the food court in a rundown Miami shopping center as Latinos head to a kiosk and an office showing signs for ” Obamacare,” where they hope to renew their health coverage plans before the year ends. It’s areas near this mall where former Democratic...
Latino Democrats shift from quiet concern to open opposition to Biden’s concessions in border talks
WASHINGTON — Prominent Latinos in Congress looked on quietly, at first, privately raising concerns with the Biden administration over the direction of border security talks. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was on the phone constantly with administration officials questioning why the Senate negotiations did not include any meaningful consideration...
Netanyahu says Israel is as ‘committed as ever’ to war after soldiers mistakenly killed 3 hostages
JERUSALEM — Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said Saturday, in Israel’s first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin...
With Iowa’s caucuses a month away, Trump urges voters to hand him a blowout
CORALVILLE, Iowa — Donald Trump was uncharacteristically serious when he implored an audience in eastern Iowa to carry him to a blowout in next month’s Republican caucuses. “The margin of victory is very important, it’s just very important,” Trump told about 1,000 people attending a Wednesday rally aimed at organizing...
Philly City Council bars hospitals from carrying out ‘medical deportations’ of undocumented immigrants
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia City Council enacted what immigration advocates say is a landmark law to stop so-called medical deportations, in which hospitals spirit seriously ill, undocumented patients out of the country to deeply uncertain futures. Critics call it international patient dumping, an attempt by health systems to avoid the cost...
Arizona’s governor sending National Guard to border to help with migrant influx
PHOENIX — Arizona’s governor Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage an influx of migrants. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep...
Tesla driver to pay $23K in restitution for 2019 crash that killed 2
LOS ANGELES — A Tesla driver will pay more than $23,000 in restitution for the deaths of two people during a 2019 car crash in a Los Angeles suburb, a decision announced the same day the automaker recalled nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S. Wednesday’s court hearing wrapped up...
Ohio man indicted on sex-trafficking charges involving Monroeville hotel
An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges that he transported a minor to a Monroeville hotel to engage in “commercial” sex acts, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a news release. Donte Lashawn Cole, 39, of Euclid, an Ohio suburb of Cleveland, allegedly used...
Georgia teacher accused of threatening student in dispute over Israeli flag
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A middle school teacher in Georgia was arrested because witnesses told a sheriff’s investigator he threatened to cut off the head of a student who objected to an Israeli flag in his classroom. Benjamin Reese, a teacher at Warner Robins Middle School, was taken into custody...
Dozens stranded in stuck elevators as lights flicker in brief NYC power outage
NEW YORK — Lights flickered, subway service was disrupted and firefighters rescued scores of people trapped in elevators after a small explosion at an electrical facility caused a momentary power outage in New York City. The brief outage just before midnight Thursday affected most of the city, officials said. “Essentially,...
Jury awards $148 million in damages to Georgia election workers over Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 vote lies
WASHINGTON — A jury awarded $148 million in damages on Friday to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. The damages verdict follows emotional testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss...
Court upholds $75,000 in fines against Alex Jones for missing Sandy Hook case deposition
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut appeals court on Friday upheld $75,000 in fines against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for missing a deposition in the lawsuit by Sandy Hook families, which led to a $1.4 billion judgment against Jones for repeatedly calling the 2012 Newtown school shooting a hoax. The state...
Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher in Virginia gets 2 years in prison for child neglect
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for felony child neglect, nearly a year after her son used her gun to critically wound the educator. Friday’s sentencing was the second time Deja Taylor was...
Israeli military says it mistakenly killed 3 Israeli hostages in Gaza
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli military on Friday mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip, military officials said. The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was...
U.S. homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses
WASHINGTON — The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness to its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday. About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness, the most since...
Sen. John Fetterman says he is ‘not a progressive’
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says that he is “not a progressive” amid criticism from some of his supporters. Fetterman gained fame, especially in progressive circles, for his backing of issues like single-payer health care, recreational marijuana, LGBTQ rights and progressive politicians like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. But he told NBC...
Prince Harry’s phone hacking victory is a landmark in the long saga of British tabloid misconduct
LONDON — Prince Harry’s victory against Mirror Group Newspapers on Friday over what a British judge called “habitual” illegal activity is a landmark moment in the long and twisting saga of lawbreaking by Britain’s tabloid press. Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that Mirror newspapers had hired private investigators to snoop for...
Prince Harry claims vindication in court victory as judge finds British tabloid hacked his phoneVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry’s phone was hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the Daily Mirror who invaded his privacy by snooping on him unlawfully, a judge ruled Friday, delivering an historic victory for the estranged royal who broke from family tradition to take on the British press. Phone...
