Putin says Russia is in dialogue with the U.S. on exchanging jailed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Moscow is in dialogue with with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not easy.” Putin spoke about Whelan and Gershkovich during...
Pennsylvania is in its Taylor Swift era, her home state decides
HARRISBURG — She’s Time magazine’s person of the year. She’s the most-played artist globally on Spotify. She’s helmed the first tour to gross more than $1 billion and then the highest-grossing concert film of all time. And now Taylor Swift can add one more accolade: A state House of Representatives...
Pennsylvania lawmakers defeat funding for Penn amid criticism over school’s stance on antisemitism
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday night defeated legislation to send more than $33 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school after the university’s president resigned amid criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism. The legislation won a majority in two different votes, but it failed to...
Private schools, child care legislation pass in Pennsylvania as lawmakers move past budget feud
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers moved past a monthslong budget feud Wednesday in Pennsylvania’s Capitol, with the House and Senate advancing legislation to tie up loose ends and send millions more to subsidize private school tuition and child care tax credits for parents. After days of negotiations that typically play out before...
House approves impeachment inquiry into President Biden as Republicans rally behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The 221-212 party-line vote put the...
Shorter weeks, longer days? Pennsylvania poised to give schools flexibility on minimum requirements
HARRISBURG — A bill that would give Pennsylvania school districts greater flexibility to have shorter school weeks or longer days, as long as students meet an annual minimum of instructional time, is headed to the governor’s desk for his approval. The legislation passed both chambers unanimously. It changes Pennsylvania law...
Seven Springs slopes to open this weekend, close for week
Area snow sport fans need wait no longer as Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County will open its slopes this weekend. The slopes will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, according to Anna Weltz, senior communications manager...
Judge in Trump election case pauses court deadlines as appeal is heard on presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington will be put on hold while the former president further pursues his claims that he is immune from prosecution, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, agreed in a three-page order to pause...
Testimony ends in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, but the verdict isn’t expected until next month
NEW YORK — After 10 weeks, 40 witnesses and bursts of courtroom fireworks, testimony wrapped up Wednesday in former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial. But a verdict is at least a month away. Closing arguments are set for Jan. 11, and Judge Arthur Engoron has said he hopes...
A common abortion pill will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s how the drug works
Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court next year. Demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has grown as states have imposed bans or...
Appeals court denies Trump’s ‘presidential immunity’ argument in defamation lawsuit
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump gave up his right to argue that presidential immunity protects him from being held liable for statements he made in 2019 when he denied that he raped advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. A three-judge panel of...
The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and...
Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the U.S. Capitol that he will only testify in public. In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a...
Safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers and resources, experts say
WASHINGTON — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at...
House set for key vote on Biden impeachment inquiry as Republicans unite behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House is pushing toward a vote Wednesday to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The vote...
Expansion of Pennsylvania permits to grow, sell medical marijuana headed to governor’s desk
A bill that will allow more of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana growers and processors to also act as retailers — and vice-versa — fully cleared the legislature on Tuesday and will head to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. Despite some legislators’ predictions earlier this year that the bill could — or should...
Harvard board keeps president as leader of Ivy League school following antisemitism backlash
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, the university’s highest governing body announced Tuesday. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our...
Zelenskyy pleads for Ukraine aid at Capitol and White House, says to U.S.: Our fight is yoursVideo
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told America his country was fighting for “our freedom and yours” as he made an impassioned plea Tuesday for Congress to approve more assistance to fight Russia’s invasion. But prospects for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine appeared seriously delayed, if not in grave doubt,...
Donald Trump’s lawyers again ask for early verdict in civil fraud trial, judge says ‘no way’
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers rested his defense Tuesday and sought anew to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. The judge said “there’s no way I’m going to grant that.” Trump’s lawyers — thwarted in a similar bid last...
Florida GOP looks to remove Christian Ziegler as chair, analysts say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Embattled Florida Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler faces a vote on Sunday to remove him from his $120,000 a year job as a result of rape allegations lodged against him and the admission that he and his wife had a three-way affair. So far he has steadfastly...
U.N. General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The vote also shows the growing isolation of the United States and Israel. The vote in the 193-member world body...
Auto union boss urges New Jersey lawmakers to pass casino smoking ban
ATLANTIC CITY — Shawn Fain, the international president of the United Auto Workers union who recently won large raises for his workers, is taking aim at a new target: New Jersey lawmakers who are delaying votes on a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos. The head of the...
Georgia election worker suing Rudy Giuliani tells jurors his lies made her fear for her life
WASHINGTON — Scared for her life after Rudy Giuliani and other Donald Trump allies falsely accused her of fraud, Georgia election worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss told jurors Tuesday she seldom leaves her home, suffers from panic attacks and battles nightmares brought on by a barrage of threatening and racist messages....
New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of U.S. House
ALBANY — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House. The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals...
13 cold, stunned sea turtles from New England given holiday names as they rehab in FloridaVideo
JUNO BEACH, Fla. — This Rudolph will not be leading his pals Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid through the Christmas Eve sky, but maybe he will lead them back out to sea one day. For now the seven Ridley’s sea turtles and six of their pals have been...
