Hurricane Lee barrels through open Atlantic waters as the season’s first Category 5 storm
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Lee on Friday charged through warm Atlantic waters as the season’s first Category 5 storm, threatening to unleash heavy swells across the northeast Caribbean. The hurricane is not expected to make landfall, but meteorologists warned it would generate dangerous waves of up to 15...
Penn State to consider asking state for millions more next year while awaiting this year’s funding
Penn State has yet to receive any state funding to support the university’s operating budget this year but its trustees are poised to ask for millions of dollars more for next year. A university trustees’ committee on Thursday voted to recommend the full board consider requesting $368.1 million from the...
Community Bands of Westmoreland County brings ‘familiar’ music for all ages to community college
The Community Bands of Westmoreland County has performed in Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, Lancaster County and at the Flight 93 Memorial, but their at-home shows have been limited. This weekend, the group will bring its set of classic rock, marches, show tunes and patriotic selections back home for a performance at...
Congressional watchdog describes border wall harm, says agencies should work together to ease damage
PHOENIX — The construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border under former President Donald Trump toppled untold numbers of saguaro cactuses in Arizona, put endangered ocelots at risk in Texas and disturbed Native American burial grounds, the official congressional watchdog said Thursday. A report released by the Government Accountability...
Trump White House official Peter Navarro convicted of contempt after defying House Jan. 6 subpoenaVideo
WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress charges filed after he was accused of refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The verdict came after a short trial for Navarro, who served...
Spicy ‘One Chip Challenge’ chips removed from store shelves after 14-year-old’s deathVideo
The maker of an extremely spicy tortilla chip sold as the One Chip Challenge and popularized as a dare on social media is pulling the product after the family of a Massachusetts teenager blamed the stunt for his death. The cause of Harris Wolobah’s death last Friday hasn’t been determined...
Pa. election 2023: A complete guide to the candidates for state Supreme Court
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — During Pennsylvania’s general election on Nov. 7, voters will select the newest state Supreme Court justice. The winner of the election —...
‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison for rapes of 2 women
LOS ANGELES — A judge sentenced “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old Masterson after hearing statements from the...
New federal rule may help boost competition for railroad shipments at companies with few options
OMAHA, Neb. — Companies that have plants and facilities only served by one railroad may soon be able to get a bid from another railroad if their current service is bad enough under a new rule that was proposed Thursday to help boost competition. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced...
Ta’Kiya Young, killed by police in an Ohio parking lot, had big plans for her growing family
Ta’Kiya Young treated her two little boys like kings, dressing them sharply, letting them have too many sweets, cooking them big gourmet meals of T-bone steak with broccoli, cheese and rice. The royal life also awaited her unborn daughter. When Young found out she was pregnant with her third child...
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell to 7.12%, second weekly drop since marking 22-year high
LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell again this week, but remains near the 22-year high it hit three weeks ago, little relief for house hunters facing persistently high prices and a near-historic low number of homes for sale. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the...
Prince Harry to attend charity event in London – but meeting up with the family isn’t on the agenda
LONDON — Prince Harry is attending a charity event Thursday night in London, though he isn’t expected to meet with King Charles III or Prince William as Britain prepares to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Harry’s relationship with his family has been strained since he and...
Presidential centers from Hoover to Bush and Obama unite to warn of fragile state of U.S. democracy
WASHINGTON — Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country’s bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs. The statement released Thursday, the first...
Hurricane Lee charges through open Atlantic waters as it approaches northeast CaribbeanVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Lee whirled through open waters on Thursday as forecasters warned it could become the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season. Lee was not expected to make landfall while on a projected path that will take it near the northeast Caribbean, although forecasters...
Severe flooding in Greece leaves at least 4 dead and 6 missing, villages cut off
ATHENS, Greece — Widespread flooding in central Greece left at least four people dead, six missing and dozens trapped, with severe rainstorms turning streams into raging torrents, bursting dams, washing away roads and bridges, and hurling cars into the sea. Flooding triggered by severe rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and...
Search for escaped Pennsylvania murderer enters 8th day
WEST CHESTER — As the hunt for an elusive murderer stretches into a second week, residents of suburban southeast Pennsylvania say they’re unsettled and perhaps frustrated — but not panicked — as hundreds of heavily armed searchers scoured roads, neighborhoods and dense woodlands. Danilo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old from Brazil,...
Mexican Supreme Court’s abortion decision expands access to millions, stands in contrast to U.S.
MEXICO CITY — The decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court to invalidate all federal criminal penalties for abortion opened access for millions of people in the sprawling public health system a year after the court’s U.S. counterpart went in the opposite direction. Under Mexico ‘s legal system, however, the ruling did...
Greek shipper pleads guilty to smuggling Iranian crude oil and will pay $2.4 million fine
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed U.S. court documents seen Thursday by The Associated Press show. The now-public case against Empire Navigation, which faces three years of probation...
Biden administration cancels remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic RefugeVideo
JUNEAU, Alaska — In an aggressive move that angered Republicans, the Biden administration canceled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, overturning sales held in the Trump administration’s waning days, and proposed stronger protections against development on vast swaths of the National...
Mar-a-Lago tech director cuts deal to aid government in Trump classified documents case, defense lawyer says
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Mar-a-Lago technology worker employed by Donald Trump agreed to testify for the government in the former president’s classified documents case after he was offered a non-prosecution agreement, a defense lawyer asserted in a filing made public Wednesday. The worker, identified in court papers as “Trump...
This summer was a global record breaker for the highest heat ever measured, meteorologists say
GENEVA — Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Last month was not only the hottest August scientists ever recorded by far with modern equipment, it was...
Tropical Storm Lee strengthens into a hurricane as it churns across Atlantic toward CaribbeanVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Lee strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it churned through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean. The hurricane was located about 1,130 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had...
Ron DeSantis returned to the campaign trail with 2 fundraisers in Pennsylvania this week
PHILADELPHIA — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised about $400,000 in a fundraising swing through Pennsylvania Tuesday, his campaign told The Inquirer. The trip marked DeSantis’ return to the campaign trail after a week hiatus overseeing recovery efforts in Florida following Hurricane Idalia. He met with donors at a luncheon in...
Judge orders Texas to remove border buoys from Rio Grande, rejects Gov. Abbott’s ‘invasion’ claim
AUSTIN — Texas must remove floating border buoys by Sept. 15 and cannot install any similar structures in the Rio Grande without receiving proper approval, a federal judge wrote Friday in a scathing ruling criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott for ignoring federal laws. Federal Judge David Ezra of the Western District...
Trump White House adviser acted ‘above the law’ in defying Jan. 6 Committee, prosecutors say
WASHINGTON — A White House adviser to President Donald Trump acted as if he were “above the law” when he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors argued at his trial Wednesday. Peter Navarro was charged with two counts...
