Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander among 34 killed in a missile strike in Crimea, Ukraine claims
KYIV, Ukraine — The missile strike that blasted the Crimean headquarters of Russia’s navy last week killed 34 officers, including the fleet commander, Ukraine said Monday, though it provided no evidence to support its claim. Ukraine’s Special Operation Forces said on the Telegram messaging app that its strike on the...
Oil prices have risen — making gas more expensive for U.S. drivers and helping Russia’s war
FRANKFURT, Germany — Oil prices have risen, meaning drivers are paying more for gasoline and truckers and farmers more for diesel. The increase also complicates the global fight against inflation and feeds Russia’s war chest. That poses problems for politicians as well as the people having to spend more to...
Biden administration announces $1.4B to improve rail safety and boost capacity in 35 states
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Monday that it has awarded more than $1.4 billion to projects that improve railway safety and boost capacity, with much of the money coming from the 2021 infrastructure law. “These projects will make American rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, delivering tangible benefits...
Taiwan golf ball maker fined after a fatal fire for storing 30 times limit for hazardous material
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan authorities fined a golf ball manufacturer 2.4 million New Taiwan dollars ($75,000) on Monday and warned of criminal charges for storing 30 times the legal limit of hazardous material and other violations after a major factory fire killed nine people and left one other missing. The...
Bushy Run to host car cruise, Paranormal Night on same day
Bushy Run will be lined with classic cars during the day on Saturday, but as the sun begins to set, the park will play host to ghosts and spirits during Paranormal Night. The car cruise is the second-
largest fundraising event for Bushy Run, said museum manager Matt Adams. It was...
Weakening Ophelia still poses a risk of coastal flooding and heavy rain in some parts of the U.S.Video
Nearly a day after being downgraded from a tropical storm, Ophelia still threatened parts of the Northeast on Sunday with coastal flooding, life-threatening waves and heavy rain from Washington to New York City, the National Hurricane Center said. As Ophelia weakened, a new tropical storm named Philippe brewed in the...
NASA’s first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft
NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey. In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military...
7 months after PennWest president announced departure, the search for a successor has yet to begin
Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson announced in February that she was leaving PennWest University’s presidency, but in the seven months since, Western Pennsylvania’s largest state-owned university has yet to begin seeking a permanent successor. Now, the person serving as its interim president, R. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky, could be poised to leave too. State...
Residents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago
HONOLULU — From just outside the burn zone in Lahaina, Jes Claydon can see the ruins of the rental home where she lived for 13 years and raised three children. Little remains recognizable beyond the jars of sea glass that stood outside the front door. On Monday, officials will begin...
With House Republicans in turmoil, colleagues implore GOP holdouts not to shut down government
WASHINGTON — Working furiously to take control of a House in disarray, allies of Speaker Kevin McCarthy implored their Republican colleagues Saturday to drop their hardline tactics and work together to approve a conservative spending plan to prevent a federal shutdown. In public overtures and private calls, Republican lieutenants of...
Government should pay compensation for secretive Cold War-era testing, St. Louis victims say
ST. LOUIS — Ben Phillips’ childhood memories include basketball games with friends, and neighbors gathering in the summer shade at their St. Louis housing complex. He also remembers watching men in hazmat suits scurry on the roofs of high-rise buildings as a dense material poured into the air. “I remember...
Archaeologists unearth largest cemetery ever discovered in Gaza, find rare lead sarcophogi
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip have found dozens of ancient graves, including two sarcophagi made of lead, in a Roman-era cemetery — a site dating back some 2,000 years that archaeologists describe as the largest cemetery to be discovered in Gaza. Workers came upon...
Russian airstrikes kill 2, wound 3 in southern Ukraine as war enters 20th month
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed two people and wounded three others in southern Ukraine’s Kherson province, the region’s governor reported Sunday as the war in Ukraine entered a 20th month. According to Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin, Russian forces struck the city of Beryslav, destroying an unspecified number of...
University of Pittsburgh says it’s willing to freeze in-state tuition in 2024-25 — if it gets a larger state subsidy
The University of Pittsburgh says it’s willing to freeze in-state tuition for the 2024-25 academic year, provided the state delivers a larger-than-usual state appropriation that year: a 9.25% increase. The dollar request was conveyed to state officials in a letter of intent Friday. An in-state freeze would apply to thousands...
The federal government is headed into a shutdown. What does it mean, who’s hit and what’s next?
WASHINGTON — The federal government is heading toward a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. While some government entities will be exempt — Social Security checks, for...
Tropical Storm Ophelia moves inland over North Carolina as coastal areas lashed with wind and rain
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Tropical Storm Ophelia swirled across North Carolina after making landfall near Emerald Isle on Saturday morning, lashing eastern parts of the state with rain, damaging winds and dangerous surges of water. The storm came ashore with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph (110 kph) at around 6:15 a.m....
Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residents
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For months, Carlton Clemons endured crippling pain from a rotting wisdom tooth. He couldn’t sleep, barely ate and relied on painkillers to get by. The 67-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, could not afford to see a dentist on the $1,300-a-month his family gets in Social Security and disability...
Ukraine targets key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering. Sevastopol was put on air raid alert for...
Bushy Run hosts nature walk, final market Saturday
Bushy Run’s final market day of the season will coincide with its fall nature walk Saturday The Bushy Run Market, open from 8 a.m. to noon, is held outdoors near the museum on the fourth Saturday of each month from April to September. The market typically features eight to 15...
New leader of Penn State branch campuses tasked with boosting enrollment
The linguist and administrator who will oversee Penn State University’s 20 branch campuses starting Oct. 1 has talked about their importance as educational game-changers for students and economic anchors for the communities in which they’re located. Margo DelliCarpini also has seen how competitive the higher-education market can be when it...
Auto workers expand strike to 38 locations in 20 states, targeting Stellantis and GM
The United Auto Workers union expanded its strike against major carmakers Friday, walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis parts-distribution centers in 20 states. Ford was spared additional strikes because the company has met some of the union’s demands during negotiations over the past week, UAW President Shawn Fain...
Oklahoma judge arrested in Texas capital, accused of shooting parked cars and causing collision
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma judge was arrested in Austin, Texas, last week after authorities say he opened fire on parked vehicles while out driving, striking at least one of them, and intentionally crashed into a woman’s vehicle, telling officers later that she had cut him off. Brian Lovell, an...
9/11 defendant ruled unfit for trial after medical panel finds torture left him psychotic
WASHINGTON — A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled one of the 9/11 defendants too mentally ill to stand trial, after a military medical panel found that the man’s abuse in CIA custody years earlier has rendered him psychotic. Guantanamo military commission spokesman Ronald Flesvig confirmed the ruling by...
Sen. Bob Menendez, wife indicted on bribe charges as probe finds $100,000 in gold bars, prosecutors say
NEW YORK — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife were indicted Friday on charges that they took bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car for a range of corrupt acts, including having the Democrat use his influence over foreign affairs to benefit the authoritarian...
Ukrainian missile strikes headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, building smolders
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack Friday that left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering, according to military officials on both sides of the war and images from the scene in Crimea. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said...
