Biden condemns ‘appalling assault’ by Hamas as Israel’s allies express anger and shock
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday decried the “appalling assault” by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel’s allies. Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime...
Deaths rise to 47 after an icy flood swept through India’s Himalayan northeast
GANGTOK, India — Rescuers found more bodies overnight as they dug through slushy debris and ice-cold water in a hunt for survivors after a glacial lake burst through a dam in India’s Himalayan northeast, washing away houses and bridges and forcing thousands to flee. Officials said the hundreds of rescuers...
Pair of earthquakes kill at least 15 in western Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes have killed at least 15 and injured nearly 40 others in Herat province in Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Abdullah Jan, spokesman for the country’s national disaster authority. At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said....
Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
JERUSALEM — Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday, killing dozens and stunning the country. Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched...
Biden administration backs strong rules to close digital divide
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt strong rules to redress historic shortfalls that have left some communities lacking adequate broadband service. The position sets up a possible clash with large broadband providers that have warned the FCC, which is set to produce rules by...
Man accused of killing 10 at Colorado supermarket ruled competent to stand trial
BOULDER, Colo. — A judge ruled Friday the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in a 2021 rampage is mentally competent to stand trial. The decision allows the prosecution of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa to move forward. Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is...
Some see presidential aspirations in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s school voucher support
HARRISBURG — In the partisan politics of education funding, the school choice movement has pressed states for decades to send taxpayer money to private and religious schools and long had to concentrate its efforts on states where a Republican governor was an ally. That suddenly changed over the summer. Pennsylvania...
Voter rolls are new battleground, including in Pa., as intimidation fears grow
SANTA FE, N.M. — A group has been impersonating government officials, harassing New York residents at their homes and falsely accusing them of breaking the law, state officials have warned. But what sounds like a scam aimed at people’s pocketbooks is actually part of a shakedown with a much different...
Rudy Giuliani slapped with $500K lien on Palm Beach condo for unpaid taxes
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani has been hit with a nearly $550,000 lien on his Palm Beach condo for unpaid taxes. Court records show the IRS attached a $549,435.26 lien to the penthouse apartment for failure to pay 2021 taxes, the Daily Mail first reported Friday. The lien means Giuliani...
4 members of Fla. family sentenced for selling dangerous fake covid-19 cure
MIAMI — A Florida man and his three adult sons were sentenced Friday for selling a toxic industrial bleach as a fake covid-19 cure through their online church. A federal judge in Miami sentenced Jonathan Grenon, 37, and Jordan Grenon, 29, to 12 years and seven months in prison, while...
Price of a Forever stamp is going up again
The price of First-Class postage is going up again. On Friday, the U.S. Postal Service said the price of a Forever stamp will increase by 2 cents on Jan. 21. The stamp will go from 66 cents to 68 cents. The price hike notice was filed with the Postal Regulatory...
Nearly 1,000 migrating songbirds perish after crashing into windows at Chicago exhibition hall
David Willard has been checking the grounds of Chicago’s Lakefront Exhibition Center for dead birds for 40 years. On Thursday morning he found something horrible: Hundreds of dead songbirds, so thick they looked like a carpet. Nearly 1,000 songbirds perished during the night after crashing into the McCormick Place Lakeside...
Auto workers stop expanding strikes against Detroit 3 after GM makes battery plant concession
DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union said Friday it will not expand its strikes against Detroit’s three automakers after General Motors made a breakthrough concession on unionizing electric vehicle battery plants. Union President Shawn Fain told workers in a video appearance that additional plants could be added to the...
Amazon launches test satellites for its planned internet service to compete with SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Amazon launched the first test satellites for its planned internet service on Friday as a rival to SpaceX’s broadband network. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket blasted off with the pair of test satellites, kicking off a program that aims to improve global internet coverage with...
Georgia will be 1st state with medical marijuana in pharmacies
ATLANTA — Georgia soon will become the first state in the nation to offer medical marijuana products at independent pharmacies, state officials said. The Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications this week, and nearly 120 pharmacies have agreed to provide medication from Botanical Sciences, one of the state’s two...
Surge of hiring in September defies predictions, points to U.S. job market’s enduring resilience
WASHINGTON — An unforeseen burst of hiring last month has lifted hopes that the economy will prove durable once again, even as an array of threats lie ahead. Businesses across the U.S. economy ramped up their hiring in September, defying surging interest rates, financial market turmoil, the ongoing threat of...
Can a spotlight on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce help the NFL draw more Gen Z and female fans?
Eager as the National Football League has been to cater to the recent public fixation with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it’s certainly not taking any credit for creating the outsized storyline that has emerged around the pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. “Not orchestrated by the...
NY appeals court declines to halt Trump’s civil fraud trial while he contests a pretrial ruling
NEW YORK — A New York appeals judge declined Friday to halt Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, rebuffing the former president’s request to postpone it while he fights a pretrial ruling that could strip him of control of such assets as Trump Tower. The appellate judge agreed that control over...
Police find at least 115 bodies at Colorado ‘green’ funeral home under investigation
CAÑON CITY, Colo. — Police said Friday they have found at least 115 bodies at Colorado ‘green’ funeral home under investigation for improper handling of remains. Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said they are coordinating with other agencies to determine if there is any wrongdoing. The Return to Nature Funeral...
Police issue arrest warrant for 19-year-old acquaintance in death of Philadelphia journalist
PHILADELPHIA — Police said Friday that they have issued an arrest warrant for a 19-year-old acquaintance in the death of a Philadelphia journalist who went from sleeping on the street to working for the mayor to writing urgent columns on the city’s most pressing social issues. Josh Kruger, 39, was...
Police bodycam video shows arrest of suspect in 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur
LAS VEGAS — Newly released police body camera video shows officers arresting Duane “Keffe D” Davis on suspicion of murder in the 1996 shooting of Tupac Shakur off the Las Vegas Strip. Davis, 60, was walking near his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson on Sept. 29 when...
After apparent shark attack, stunned friends mourn ‘full of life’ kiteboarder
Friends and family identified the man missing in a possible shark attack off Point Reyes National Seashore as Felix Louis Syl N’jai, a native of Gambia who grew to call California home and became an avid kiteboarder. N’jai, 52, hasn’t been seen since friends saw him pulled underwater at Wildcat...
Who might replace McCarthy as House speaker? What are Republicans already demanding for their vote?
WASHINGTON — For Republicans, it’s a question with no clear answer: Who becomes House speaker after Kevin McCarthy? It’s not at all certain that any of the GOP candidates will be able to round up enough votes — 218, if all lawmakers are present and voting — to ascend to...
Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting women’s oppression
Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights and democracy and against the death penalty. Mohammadi, 51, has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. “This prize is first...
Penn-Trafford approves purchase of new administration building, security cameras
Penn-Trafford school administrators will get new offices in Bushy Run Corporate Park after the board agreed this week to spend $1.7 million on a new building there. The current administration building is located on Harrison City-Export Road less than a mile away from the high school. The building — which...
