As PennWest struggles, 1st-year enrollment up again at other Pa. state-owned universities
In revealing fall 2023 enrollment data Monday, leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities asserted that they potentially had turned a corner in reversing 13 years of student declines. But there’s a problem with that scenario – PennWest University. Data shows a continuing steep drop at PennWest, established last year by merging...
Just shy 4 years ago, another graduate worker union drive has begun at the University of Pittsburgh
Last time, they came close — as in 39 votes shy in an election to secure union representation. Now, four years later, more than 2,000 graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh, including teaching and research assistants, are vying anew to join the United Steelworkers. A card-signing campaign initiated...
What to know as Israel declares war, bombards Gaza Strip after unprecedented Hamas attack
JERUSALEM — The Israeli government promised Monday to hunt down Hamas fighters and to punish the Gaza Strip following a surprise weekend attack killed more than 700 people in Israel, including at least 260 at a crowded music festival that became the scene of one of the country’s worst civilian...
How 3rd-party and independent candidates could threaten Democrats and Republicans in 2024
NEW YORK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, is expected to launch an independent or third-party presidential bid on Monday. Cornel West, a philosopher and Black social leader, made the same choice last week. And No Labels, a new political...
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer criticizes China for not supporting Israel after Hamas attack
BEIJING — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Chinese President Xi Jinping in a rare meeting Monday that he was “very disappointed” by China’s failure to strongly condemn the recent Hamas attack on Israel and show sympathy for the country and its people. Schumer is leading a delegation of...
Major airlines suspend flights to Israel after massive attack by Hamas ignites heavy fighting
NEW YORK — Major airlines have suspended flights to Israel after the nation declared war following a massive attack by Hamas. American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines suspended service as the U.S. State Department issued travel advisories for the region citing potential for terrorism and civil unrest. American...
Workers at Mack Trucks go on strike after rejecting tentative contract deal
DETROIT — Union workers at Mack Trucks went on strike Monday after voting down a tentative five-year contract agreement that negotiators had reached with the company. The United Auto Workers said 4,000 unionized workers walked out at 7 a.m., adding to labor turmoil in the industry that has ensnared all...
Israel strikes and seals off Gaza after incursion by Hamas, which vows to execute hostagesVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody incursion by Hamas militants, as the war’s death toll rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides. Hamas also escalated on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis...
Schools’ pandemic spending boosted tech companies. Did it help U.S. students?
WASHINGTON — As soon as the federal pandemic relief started arriving at America’s schools, so did the relentless calls. Tech companies by the dozens wanted a chance to prove their software was what schools needed. Best of all, they often added, it wouldn’t take a dime from district budgets: Schools...
Nobel economics prize goes to professor for advancing the understanding of the workplace gender gap
STOCKHOLM — The Nobel economics prize was awarded Monday to Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin for research that has advanced the understanding of the gender gap in the labor market. The announcement went a tiny step to closing the Nobel committee’s own gender gap: Goldin is just the third woman...
Knights of Columbus groups serve local communities despite controversial namesake
The legacy of 15th-century Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus has sparked controversy in recent years, but there remain about 100 Knights of Columbus councils in Western Pennsylvania. “When you join the Knights of Columbus, you swear to do charitable works,” said Albert Borgony, grand knight for a Westmoreland council....
U.S. will send a carrier strike group to Eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those...
Clergy burnout is a growing concern in polarized churches. A summit offers coping strategies
STILLWATER, Minn. — Every morning, the Rev. Karna Moskalik goes through a “grounding” routine that involves prayer, Bible reading, positive affirmations, and meditations about the best outcomes for the day’s tasks, as well as lighting a perfumed candle and walking through each space of her Lutheran church. “I always feel...
Toddlers with developmental delays are missing out on help they need. It can hurt them long term
CHICAGO — Alexander watches Paw Patrol with fervor, bowls his baby brother over with hugs and does everything with gusto. What the 3-year-old West Chicago toddler can’t do yet is speak more than a few words. His balance is wobbly and he isn’t able to let his preschool teachers know...
Powerball jackpot up to $1.55 billion as lottery losing streak continues
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize. The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19. The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole...
Israel declares war and bombards Gaza as fighting rages for 2nd day after Hamas attack
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack, as the military tried to crush fighters still in southern towns and intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The toll passed...
Powerful earthquake, aftershocks kill dozens in western Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake followed by strong aftershocks killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan on Saturday, the country’s national disaster authority said. The United Nations gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead but later said the figure was still being verified. Local authorities gave an estimate of...
Trump asks Iowans to help him ‘win big’ in caucuses to set general election tone
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Donald Trump on Saturday called for a show of strength in Iowa, arguing before big audiences that dominating in the Republican presidential caucuses in January would signal to voters across the country his strength in the November election next year. “We have to win big,” Trump...
Republican field blaming Biden for dealing with Iran after Hamas’ attack on Israel
WATERLOO, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump and other GOP contenders tried to lay blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades, citing a $6 billion transfer to Iran that administration officials insisted Saturday had yet to be spent. Hamas’ surprise early...
Massive fentanyl pill mill busted in Bronx, 50 pounds of drugs seized
NEW YORK — The blacked-out windows of a Bronx apartment weren’t enough to hide the lethal fentanyl mill operating inside. Four accused drug dealers were busted and charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and narcotics distribution after one of the largest fentanyl seizures in New York history, with more than...
Witnesses to FBI hunt for Civil War gold in Elk County dispute its story
PENFIELD — In the heart of Pennsylvania elk country, Eric McCarthy and his client, Don Reichel, woke before sunrise to scour the forest for so-called “brown gold,” a rack of freshly shed antlers to add to Reichel’s collection. One hill over, a team of FBI agents also was hunting for...
Immigration among Biden’s biggest problems in bid for reelection
MIAMI — The ad sounds like something out of the GOP 2024 playbook, trumpeting a senator’s work with Republicans to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S., getting tough on Chinese interests helping smugglers, and noting how he “wrote a bill signed by...
House speaker race pits Trump-backed Jordan against Scalise
WASHINGTON — The bitter battle between Reps. Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for the U.S. House speakership culminates a long-simmering personal rivalry that grew along with the fractures in the Republican party. Their tensions will be on display next week as Republicans hold a divisive fight for the...
5 things to know about Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel
JERUSALEM — Without warning Saturday, Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers attacked Israel by air, land and sea. Millions of Israelis in the country’s south awoke to the searing sound of incoming rockets and the inevitable thud of impact. Air raid sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv. Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors...
Hurricane center ups odds for next tropical system in Atlantic
ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center has increased odds a tropical wave in the Atlantic could become the busy season’s next tropical depression or storm. The system that emerged off the lower latitudes of the west of coast of Africa has been producing a large area of disorganized showers...
