Capitol rioter who attacked Reuters cameraman and police officer gets more than 4 years in prison
A man who attacked a police officer and a Reuters cameraman during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than four years in prison. Shane Jason Woods, 45, was the first person charged with assaulting a member of the news media during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection....
Man charged with voter fraud in Florida blames rivalry between Trump and DeSantis supporters
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — A man has been charged with forgery and fraud after authorities say he cast a ballot in Florida for his deceased father in the 2020 election, though the suspect says the charges were motivated by a local, internal GOP political rivalry between former President Donald Trump...
A building collapse in Havana leaves 1 person dead and at least 2 injured
HAVANA — A building in the historic center of Havana that housed 13 families partially collapsed, leaving one person dead and at least two injured, Cuban authorities said Wednesday. Rescue teams were trying to access the building where two people remained trapped after Tuesday night’s collapse. While the reason for...
Bail set at $3M for Penn State student charged with vehicular homicide in State College crash
BELLEFONTE — Centre County’s top judge set bail at $3 million Wednesday for a Penn State student charged with vehicular homicide in the death of a fellow student who was killed while jogging near the University Park campus. Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine’s ruling gave Ahmed M. Alqubaisi, 20,...
Suspect charged in rapper Tupac Shakur’s fatal shooting makes 1st court appearance in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — A self-described gangster who police and prosecutors say masterminded the shooting death of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 made his first court appearance Wednesday on a murder charge. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, stood shackled, wearing a dark-blue jail uniform and plastic orange slippers. He...
San Francisco will say goodbye to Dianne Feinstein as her body lies in state at City Hall
SAN FRANCISCO — Mourners will pay their respects Wednesday to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco City Hall, where she launched her groundbreaking political career and where she spent a decade as the city’s first female mayor. Feinstein’s body will lie in state in the City Hall...
Thousands of U.S. health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages
LOS ANGELES — Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 health care workers go on strike in Virginia, California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the United States. Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s larger...
Former Russian state TV journalist gets 8½-year sentence in absentia for Ukraine war criticism
A Moscow court on Wednesday sentenced a former state TV journalist 8½ years in prison in absentia for protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine, the latest in a crackdown on dissent that has intensified since the invasion began nearly 20 months ago. Marina Ovsyannikova was charged with spreading false information about...
What comes next in the Speaker of the House situation?
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is entering uncharted territory after a far-right effort to remove fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the speakership succeeded thanks to support from Democrats. A resolution — titled a motion to vacate — from Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., passed Tuesday with the support of eight...
The U.S. is forgiving more federal student loans in a bid to tackle ‘unsustainable debt’ for borrowers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday to address the “unsustainable debt” that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education. The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the covid-19 pandemic and...
Bus plummets 50 feet from elevated road in Venice, killing 21 in fiery crash
VENICE — A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 50 feet from an elevated road in Venice, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite. Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least four...
Trio wins Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on quantum dots, used in electronics and medical imaging
STOCKHOLM — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots — tiny particles that can release very bright colored light and are used in electronics and medical imaging. Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University; and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology...
5 people were wounded in a shooting after a homecoming event at Morgan State University in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — A shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration at Baltimore’s Morgan State University on Tuesday, wounding five people and prompting an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college. Students hunkered down for about four hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects. No arrests were made. Police...
Tropical Storm Philippe brings increasing risk of tropical storm conditions for BermudaVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Philippe began shifting away from the far eastern Caribbean islands late Tuesday afternoon, but heavy rain and strong wind are expected to continue through Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Philippe’s maximum sustained winds were holding at 45 mph as of 5 p.m....
Pence: Trump’s attacks on Milley ‘utterly inexcusable’
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday criticized his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump, for calling retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a traitor over phone calls he made to China in the final stormy months of their administration. “Frankly, what Donald...
Laphonza Butler sworn in as California’s newest U.S. senator
WASHINGTON — Laphonza Butler is California’s newest senator, following a historic swearing-in ceremony with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday afternoon in the U.S. Capitol. Flanked by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Butler raised her right hand to take the oath of office....
New Mexico Attorney General charges police officer in shooting death of Black man
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Tuesday announced a police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man during a confrontation at a gas station. Las Cruces police Officer Brad Lunsford was booked on the single charge and...
Man who killed 2 women he met a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 put to death
STARKE, Fla. — A man who killed two women after meeting them a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 was put to death Tuesday evening. Michael Zack III, 54, was pronounced dead minutes after 6:14 p.m. after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. The execution...
Pa. bill would allow cities to crack down on illegal dirt bikes, ATVs
State legislators from Pennsylvania’s urban areas are hoping a bill that would allow cities to pass their own, stricter rules regarding dirt bikes and ATVs will help curb the problem of off-road vehicles ridden by thrill-seekers on city streets. The Pennsylvania House passed the bill Monday with a bipartisan 160-43...
Pitt names Marnie Oakley as new dental school dean
The University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday named Marnie Oakley as its new dean of the School of Dental Medicine. Oakley is a doctor of dental medicine, educator and administrator who has held positions at Pitt for almost three decades, most recently as the dental school’s interim dean. A national search...
New York judge issues limited gag order after Trump sends disparaging post about court clerkVideo
NEW YORK — A New York judge sternly imposed a limited gag order in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial Tuesday after the former president disparaged a key court staffer. Amid a long day of testimony, Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order, which applies to all parties in the case...
Forbes Hospital in Monroeville adds behavior health suite to emergency departmentVideo
Allegheny Health Network officials have added a behavioral health suite to the emergency department at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, part of a response to an increase in ER visits by patients with behavioral health needs. “Being hospitalized or visiting an emergency department is incredibly stressful for anyone, let alone those...
Speaker McCarthy ousted in historic House vote, as scramble begins for a Republican leaderVideo
WASHINGTON — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has...
Western Pa. members of Congress weigh in on potential ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Congress could lose its House Speaker on Tuesday afternoon, as the U.S. House could vote this afternoon to vacate its top position. The effort is led by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a hard-line conservative from Florida, who is upset with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over a recent vote to...
Biden tries to reassure allies of continued U.S. support for Ukraine after Congress drops aid request
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with U.S. allies and partners to coordinate future support for Ukraine after Congress passed — and he signed — legislation that kept the U.S. government funded but dropped his request for billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The...