George Santos attorney expresses optimism about plea talks as expelled congressman appears in court
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos ’ lawyer expressed optimism about plea negotiations in Santos’ criminal fraud case Tuesday, successfully fending off prosecutors’ attempts to speed up the the ousted congressman’s trial. In Santos’ first court appearance since he was expelled from Congress earlier this month, his...
How the 2016 election could factor into the case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 race
WASHINGTON — To hear his lawyers tell it, Donald Trump was alarmed by Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, motivated as president to focus on cybersecurity and had a good-faith basis four years later to worry that foreign actors had again meddled in the race. But to federal prosecutors, 2016...
Kentucky woman seeking court approval for abortion learned her embryo no longer has cardiac activity
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A pregnant woman in Kentucky who filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion has learned her embryo no longer has cardiac activity, her attorneys said Tuesday. The plaintiff’s attorneys signaled their intent to continue the challenge to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban, but did not immediately...
As Navalny vanishes from view in Russia, an ally calls it a Kremlin ploy to deepen his isolation
MOSCOW — The loss of contact with Alexei Navalny at the prison colony where the opposition leader was being held likely signals a Kremlin effort to tighten his isolation while President Vladimir Putin runs for reelection over the next three months, Navalny’s spokeswoman said Tuesday. Worries about Navalny spread Monday...
Russia blasts southern Ukraine region; hackers strike Ukrainian phone, internet services
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine came under heavy attacks from the air and from cyberspace Tuesday, local officials said, as nearly 600 Russian shells, rockets and other projectiles rained down on a southern region and unidentified hackers knocked out the phone and internet services of the country’s biggest telecom provider. One...
Backlash to House testimony shines spotlight on new generation of Ivy League presidents
WASHINGTON — The university presidents called before a congressional hearing on antisemitism last week had more in common than strife on their campuses: The leaders of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT were all women who were relatively new in their positions. In that sense, they represented the changing...
As few details are released, fatal stabbing of Catholic priest rocks small Nebraska community
FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — The fatal stabbing of a Catholic priest inside the church rectory where he lived has rocked the eastern Nebraska community of Fort Calhoun, a one-stoplight town where people tend not to worry if they forget to lock their doors at night. The Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, who...
Israel, U.S. show sharp divisions over mounting casualties and future of war against Hamas
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel and the United States on Tuesday showed their sharpest public disagreement yet over the conduct and future of the war on Hamas as the two allies became increasingly isolated by global calls for a cease-fire. The dispute emerged while Israeli forces carried out strikes across...
Pitt launches grad program to make data science more accessible
Understanding how to work with data is a skill that once seemed important only for those with careers tied at the hip to a computer. Not any more. Artists, accountants, health care workers and just about anyone else in an increasingly digitized world can benefit from being able to assemble,...
Detroit police: New evidence prompted arrest of ‘person of interest’ in death of synagogue leader
DETROIT — The second man to be taken into police custody following the Oct. 21 fatal stabbing of Samantha Woll has been on detectives’ radar since early in the investigation, two Detroit Police sources told The Detroit News, although the city’s police chief said Monday that new evidence surfaced over...
George Santos is in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is in negotiations to resolve his federal criminal fraud case, prosecutors said in a court filing Monday. “The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace’s office wrote in...
Firefighters search for anyone trapped after corner of 6-story Bronx apartment building collapsesVideo
NEW YORK — A six-story corner of a Bronx apartment building collapsed Monday afternoon, leaving apartments exposed like a stack of shelves, according to authorities and bystander and news video. There were no reports of injuries by early evening, but firefighters were continuing to search. A worker at a nearby...
Hunter Biden’s lawyers argue he’s immune to gun, tax charges
Hunter Biden is immune from federal tax and gun charges because of a failed plea deal he reached with federal prosecutors in July that remains binding, his lawyers argued in court filings. Lawyers for Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, filed a challenge Monday to an indictment that special...
Supreme Court turns away case threatening California ban on gay ‘conversion therapy’
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Monday turned down a Christian group’s free-speech challenge to the laws in California and 21 other states that forbid licensed counselors from using “conversion therapy” with children and teenagers. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. filed dissents, and Justice Brett M....
Western Pa. lawmaker’s bill would expand use of forensic genetic genealogy
A Western Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to expand law enforcement’s ability to use a more-detailed form of DNA analysis when identifying victims in cold cases. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, introduced the Cold Case Modernization Act which would expand the criteria for federal Department of Justice grants funding the use of forensic...
Harvard faculty rallies to the aid of university president criticized for remarks on antisemitism
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of Harvard faculty members are urging the Ivy League university to keep its president, Claudine Gay, in command as she faces calls from some lawmakers and donors to step down over comments at a congressional hearing on antisemitism. A petition signed by more than 600 faculty members...
Air Force disciplines 15 as IG finds that security failures led to massive classified documents leak
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has disciplined 15 personnel in connection with the massive classified documents leak by an airman earlier this year, concluding that multiple officials intentionally failed to take required action on his suspicious behavior, the Air Force inspector general reported Monday. Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack...
Texas woman who sought court permission for abortion leaves state for the procedure, attorneys sayVideo
AUSTIN — A pregnant Texas woman who was seeking court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. could not wait any longer and went to another state, her attorneys said Monday. The announcement came as Kate Cox, whose fetus...
Pennsylvania school choice program criticized as ‘discriminatory’ as lawmakers return to session
HARRISBURG — Public school advocates in Pennsylvania are criticizing publicly funded programs that help underwrite tuition at private and religious schools, saying many of the eligible schools discriminate by cherry-picking the students they want to teach. Pennsylvania’s Capitol is already gripped by a broader and mostly partisan debate over how...
Can the Pa. legislature finish the budget before a leaky roof closes the state House for months?
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 — State lawmakers will return to Harrisburg next week in hopes of finally ending nearly six months of partisan deadlock on the last pieces...
Biden is hosting a Hanukkah ceremony at the White House as fears mount about rising antisemitism
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is hosting a White House reception Monday evening to mark Hanukkah, celebrating the festival of lights as he has continued to denounce rising antisemitism in the U.S. and abroad amid the Israel-Hamas war. The president, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will...
Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. Smith made his request for the court to act with unusual speed to...
Ramaswamy was the target of death threats in New Hampshire that led to FBI arrest, campaign says
CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire man has been accused of sending text messages threatening to kill a presidential candidate ahead of a scheduled campaign event Monday, federal prosecutors said. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not name the candidate. However, a spokesperson for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Monday that...
Jurors in a Giuliani damages case hear the threats election workers got after his false claims
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for two Georgia election workers played audio recordings in a Washington courtroom Monday of graphic and racist threats the two women received after Rudy Giuliani falsely accused them of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s baseless claims after the 2020 election. The recordings were part of the opening...
Embattled wolves gain a new frontier in Democratic Colorado. The move is stoking political tensions
DENVER, Colo. — Wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, at the behest of urban voters and to the dismay of rural residents who don’t want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state. The most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the U.S....
