U.S. tells Israel any ground campaign in southern Gaza must limit further civilian displacement
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior U.S. officials said. The administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or...
In new challenge to indictment, Trump’s lawyers argue he had good basis to question election results
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump had a “good faith” basis to question the results of the 2020 election, his lawyers said in demanding that prosecutors turn over any evidence related to voting irregularities and potential foreign interference in the contest won by Democrat Joe Biden. A defense motion filed late Monday...
Hunter Biden tells Congress he’ll testify publicly, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden offered Tuesday to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes face-off even as a separate special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection. The Democratic president’s son...
Thick fog likely caused a roughly 30-vehicle collision on an Idaho interstate, police say
POCATELLO, Idaho — A thick layer of fog is believed to have caused a roughly 30-vehicle collision on an Idaho interstate, state police said. The collision occurred Monday morning on eastbound Interstate 86, near milepost 56, west of Pocatello, near the Pocatello Regional Airport. Police said the fog caused visibility...
Cities crack down on homeless encampments. Advocates say that’s not the answer
PORTLAND, Ore. — Tossing tent poles, blankets and a duffel bag into a shopping cart and three wagons, Will Taylor spent a summer morning helping friends tear down what had been their home and that of about a dozen others. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last....
Trump says he will renew efforts to replace ‘Obamacare’ if he wins 2nd term
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to reopen the contentious fight over the Affordable Care Act after failing to repeal it while in the White House, saying he is “seriously looking at alternatives” if he wins a second term. Trump’s comments drew rebuke from Democratic President...
Israel says 12 more hostages have been freed by Hamas and have arrived in Egypt
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A fragile truce between Israel and Hamas held for a fifth day Tuesday, as the militant group released more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war. Israel came under pressure from the United States to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if its...
Sandy Hook families offer to settle Alex Jones’ $1.5 billion legal debt for a minimum of $85 million
Sandy Hook families who won nearly $1.5 billion in legal judgments against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for calling the 2012 Connecticut school shooting a hoax have offered to settle that debt for only pennies on the dollar — at least $85 million over 10 years. The offer was made in...
Pennsylvania will require patient consent for pelvic exams by medical students
HARRISBURG — A new Pennsylvania law will require doctors to get a patient’s verbal and written consent before medical students can perform pelvic or rectal exams on someone who receives anesthesia. At a press conference Monday, supporters touted the recently enacted legislation, which goes into effect in January. Tracking how...
Clock ticking for Rep. George Santos as expulsion vote looms
The clock is ticking on Rep. George Santos’s congressional career as a vote looms on the embattled lawmaker’s expulsion in the coming days. The Long Island Republican could face a fresh vote to boot him from office as early as Wednesday as the House of Representatives returns from its Thanksgiving...
China says a surge in respiratory illnesses is caused by flu and other known pathogensVideo
BEIJING — A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country’s health ministry said. Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of...
Pa. community colleges still waiting for state funding using loans, reserves to get by
Pennsylvania lawmakers who managed to pass a long-overdue appropriation for state-related universities before Thanksgiving left Harrisburg without doing the same for the state’s 15 community colleges. The appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year were due July 1 and are five months late. Some community college leaders say they have begun...
Donald Trump set to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial
NEW YORK — After a scorching first turn on the witness stand, former president Donald Trump plans to testify again next month in his civil fraud trial, his lawyers said Monday. He is to return Dec. 11, defense attorney Christopher Kise said. Trump was called to testify last time by...
Rescuers using hand-held drills to free 41 workers trapped in tunnel for over 2 weeks
NEW DELHI — Rescuers in India began digging manually Monday in hopes of reaching 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for over two weeks. Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson, said a dozen men were taking turns burrowing into the...
Trump hints at expanded role for military within U.S. A legacy law gives him few guardrails
WASHINGTON — Campaigning in Iowa this year, Donald Trump said he was prevented during his presidency from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states. Calling New York City and Chicago “crime dens,” the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told his audience, “The next...
Delaware County’s top prosecutor becomes 5th Democrat to run for Pennsylvania attorney general
HARRISBURG — Jack Stollsteimer, the top prosecutor in heavily populated Delaware County, will run for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024, seeking an office that played a critical role in court defending Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the presidential battleground. Stollsteimer said he will make an official announcement Tuesday, joining a...
Rosalynn Carter tributes highlight her reach as first lady, humanitarian and small-town Baptist
AMERICUS, Ga. — Rosalynn Carter embarked on her final journey Monday to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center as her family began three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. Family members watched as Rosalynn Carter’s casket was...
Ukraine has a new way to get its grain to the world despite Russia’s threat in the Black Sea
KYIV, Ukraine — Grain thunders into rail cars and trucks zip around a storage facility in central Ukraine, a place that growing numbers of companies turned to as they struggled to export their food to people facing hunger around the world. Now, more of the grain is getting unloaded from...
Elon Musk visits Israel to meet top leaders as accusations of antisemitism on X growVideo
JERUSALEM — Elon Musk, who’s been under fire for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory and wider accusations of hatred flourishing on his social media platform X, visited Israel, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas militants and held talks with top leaders. The billionaire met with Israeli President Isaac...
Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and to free more hostages and prisoners
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, raising the prospect of further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by...
Suspect in shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent near the University of Vermont pleads not guiltyVideo
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Three college students of Palestinian descent out for a walk in Vermont were seriously injured over the weekend when a man shot them at close range on a city street — an attack being investigated as a possible hate crime, authorities said Monday. Jason J. Eaton, 48,...
Dead, wounded or AWOL: The voices of desperate Russian soldiers trying to get out of the Ukraine war
In audio intercepts from the front lines in Ukraine, Russian soldiers speak in shorthand of 200s to mean dead, 300s to mean wounded. The urge to flee has become common enough that they also talk of 500s — people who refuse to fight. As the war grinds into its second...
Biden says 4-year-old Abigail Edan was released by Hamas. He hopes more U.S. hostages will be freedVideo
NANTUCKET, Mass. — President Joe Biden confirmed Sunday that Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old American girl held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed, was released as part of the cease-fire deal in the Israel-Hamas war. “Thank God she’s home,” Biden said told reporters. “I wish I were there to...
Hamas releases 3rd group of hostages as part of truce deal while Netanyahu visits Gaza
JERUSALEM — The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third set of releases under a four-day truce that the U.S. said it hoped would be extended. Some hostages were...
Donald Trump draws cheers in Nikki Haley’s backyard at Clemson-South Carolina football game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump used college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while trying to upstage his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf at the Clemson-South Carolina football game. The former president and...
