Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah leader threatens escalation with Israel as its war with Hamas rages on
BEIRUT — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his powerful militia is already engaged in unprecedented cross-border fighting with Israel along the Lebanon-Israel border and threatened a further escalation as the Israel-Hamas war nears the one-month mark. In the televised remarks — Nasrallah’s first since the beginning of the...
Trump asks appeals court to lift gag order imposed on him in 2020 election interference case
Former President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court on Thursday to lift a gag order restricting his speech about potential witnesses, prosecutors and court staff in the case that accuses him of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump’s attorneys urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
Indiana attorney general reprimanded for comments on doctor who provided rape victim’s abortion
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana’s attorney general violated professional conduct rules in statements he made about a doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, according to a court opinion filed Thursday. The...
House approves $14.5 billion in assistance for Israel as Biden vows to veto the GOP’s approach
WASHINGTON — The House approved $14.5 billion in military aid Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the war with Hamas but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden. In a departure from norms, Johnson’s package...
Prosecutor: Former Memphis officer pleads guilty to state and federal charges in Tyre Nichols’ death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A former Memphis police officer changed his plea to guilty Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to reverse course, with prosecutors recommending up to 15 years in prison. Desmond Mills Jr. entered his plea during a hearing at...
Don’t pre-tip on delivery? Don’t expect your food quickly, DoorDash warns
Americans are tipping their delivery drivers less often than they did last year. DoorDash is seeking to reverse that trend with an automated nudge — one that carries a hint of a threat. The food delivery service is testing out a new in-app warning that encourages non-tipping customers to rethink...
Senate confirms 3 military officers as Sen. Tuberville holds up hundreds more
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed three top military officers on Thursday — including the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — as bipartisan frustration swirled around Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville for blocking hundreds more nominees. Republican senators plan to hold a closed-door meeting next week to discuss...
New Stanton Volunteer Fire Department hosts 3rd winter clothing giveaway
Hundreds of winter clothing items are available for those in need this weekend at the New Stanton Volunteer Fire Department. Located on South Main Street, the department will host its third annual winter clothing giveaway from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday — donating coats, sweatshirts, gloves, ear muffs and...
Pennsylvania partners with natural gas driller on air and water monitoring amid new regulatory push
The state of Pennsylvania will work with a major natural gas producer to collect in-depth data on air emissions and water quality at well sites, enhance public disclosure of drilling chemicals and expand buffer zones, the governor announced Thursday, touting the collaboration as the first of its kind. CNX Resources...
The U.S. imposes new sanctions on people and firms alleged to boost Russia’s Ukraine war supplies
WASHINGTON — The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on 130 firms and people from Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to choke off Russia’s access to tools and equipment that support its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions imposed by Treasury Department’s...
‘A curse to be a parent in Gaza’: More than 3,600 Palestinian children killed in just 3 weeks of war
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 3,600 Palestinian children were killed in the first 25 days of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by misfired rockets, burned by blasts and crushed by buildings, and among them were...
Minnesota justices appear skeptical that states should decide Trump’s eligibility for the ballot
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Thursday that states have the authority to block former President Donald Trump from the ballot, with some suggesting that Congress is best positioned to decide whether his role in the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack should prevent him from running. Justices...
Biden calls for humanitarian ‘pause’ in Israel-Hamas war
MINNEAPOLIS — President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester calling for a cease-fire. “I think we need a pause,” Biden said. The call was a subtle departure for Biden and...
Ornithological society to rename dozens of birds — and stop naming them after people
Birds in North America will no longer be named after people, the American Ornithological Society announced Wednesday. Next year, the organization will begin to rename around 80 species found in the U.S. and Canada. “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past...
Pressure rises on Israel to pause fighting and ease siege as battles intensify near Gaza City
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops battling Hamas militants encircled Gaza City on Thursday, the military said, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000. U.S. and Arab leaders raised pressure on Israel to ease its siege of Gaza and at least briefly halt its attacks in order to...
Republicans confront Tommy Tuberville over military holds in extraordinary showdown on Senate floorVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican senators angrily challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers Wednesday evening, taking over the Senate floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a monthslong stalemate. Tuberville, R-Ala., stood and objected to each nominee — 61 times...
House rejects effort to censure Rashida Tlaib over the Palestinian-American’s rhetoric about Israel
WASHINGTON — The House late Wednesday rejected an effort to censure Democratic Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, scrapping a Republican attempt to condemn the only Palestinian-American in Congress over her recent rhetoric around the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. A measure to move forward with a censure resolution of Tlaib, a punishment one...
Florida judge indicates she may delay Trump trial on charges he hid classified documents at Mar-a-Lago
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida indicated Wednesday that she may delay the start of the classified documents trial of Donald Trump, pointing to the other criminal cases the former president is facing as well as the mounds of evidence his attorneys need to review. Trump’s trial...
3 students found stabbed inside Los Angeles high school, suspect remains at large
LOS ANGELES — Three students were found stabbed inside a Los Angeles high school Wednesday morning and the suspect remained on the loose, authorities said. The stabbings were reported shortly before 11 a.m. and prompted a lockdown at Van Nuys High School in the city’s San Fernando Valley, authorities said....
Report: NYC student homelessness reaches record high of 119,320 children
The number of homeless students in New York City public schools reached a record high last year, with roughly one in nine schoolchildren lacking a stable place to call home. A jaw-dropping 119,320 students slept in shelters or the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family — a 14% increase...
NYC student homelessness reaches record high of 119,320 children, report says
The number of homeless students in New York City public schools reached a record high last year, with roughly one in nine schoolchildren lacking a stable place to call home. A jaw-dropping 119,320 students slept in shelters or the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family — a 14% increase...
Cornell University student arrested for antisemitic death threats
A 21-year-old junior at Cornell University was arrested Tuesday for making online threats to Jewish students, federal authorities said. Patrick Dai was charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications after his disturbing messages put the Ithaca, N.Y., campus on high alert last weekend. Dai posted...
It’s time to buy health insurance through the marketplace. Experts suggest doing your research first
It’s time to pick health coverage for next year on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and experts caution against focusing your choice on price alone. In order to prevent thousands of dollars in financial surprises, buyers should know what a plan covers, how it works and what costs you...
The mayors of five big cities seek a meeting with Biden about how to better manage arriving migrants
WASHINGTON — The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are pressing to meet with President Joe Biden about getting federal help in managing the surge of migrants they say are arriving in their cities with little to no coordination, support or resources from his administration. The...
Westmoreland County students tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, prepare for design challenge
Madison Labuda likes to learn how things work. When Mt. Pleasant Area High School’s gifted program announced an opportunity to tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity and participate in a design challenge, she could not pass it up. “To be here and tour (the airport) and learn how all...
