David McCormick is gearing up for a Senate run in Pennsylvania. But he lives in Connecticut
WASHINGTON — David McCormick had a clear explanation for why his fellow Republican, Dr. Mehmet Oz, lost a critical Pennsylvania Senate seat last year: Voters viewed the daytime television celebrity as an interloper from New Jersey with limited ties to the state he hoped to represent. “People want to know...
Russia’s currency hits the lowest level since beginning of the war in Ukraine
LONDON — The Russian ruble has reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Western sanctions weigh on energy exports and weaken demand for the national currency. On Monday, the Russian currency passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline...
Railway bridge collapses in southeastern Norway after last week’s torrential rain
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A railway bridge in southeastern Norway that ran across a river swollen by torrential rain collapsed on Monday, authorities said. BaneNOR, a government agency in charge of the Norwegian rail infrastructure, said the central section of the steel truss bridge over the Laagen River slid into the...
Maui officials and scientists warn that after the flames flicker out, toxic particles will remain
LAHAINA, Hawaii — When flames swept through western Maui, engulfing the town of Lahaina, residents saw toxic fumes spewing into the air as burning homes, pipes and cars combusted, transforming rubber, metal and plastic into poisonous, particulate matter-filled smoke. Retired mailman and Vietnam veteran Thomas Leonard heard a boom as...
Maui wildfire death toll reaches 96; Obama promotes telethon to raise funds
The Maui Police Department updated the number of confirmed deaths to 96 around 9 p.m. Sunday, Maui County said in a statement. In a video update released earlier Sunday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said more than 2,700 structures were destroyed in Lahaina and “an estimated value of $5.6 billion has...
U.S. Steel rejects $7.3B offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs, considers alternatives
NEW YORK — United States Steel Corp. said Sunday that it rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland Cliffs and was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said it rejected the offer because Cleveland-Cliffs was pushing it to accept the terms without being...
‘It was my life’: Former North Hills resident continues 40-year photography business in Manor
Alicia Dallago’s journey with photography first took shape far outside Western Pennsylvania. Over a 40-year career behind a camera, she earned numerous accolades, including two Kodak Gallery awards. Dallago, owner of Alicia Photography, was a portrait photographer in the North Hills for 36 years. For the past year, she has...
Many Western Pa. colleges still looking to enroll students for fall in late push
Acceptance letter in hand, Dana Sinatra appeared to be destined to enroll at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and play basketball there. But Sinatra, 19, a forward on her high school basketball team, began to have doubts several months ago about the 1½-hour travel distance from her McDonald home....
Atlanta braces for chaos as fourth Trump indictment nears
The streets around the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta where Donald Trump may soon face his fourth criminal indictment were quiet this week as orange barricades and law enforcement created a sense of anticipation. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been probing the former U.S. president’s effort to...
Police questioned over legality of Kansas newspaper raid in which computers, phones seized
MARION, Kan. — A small central Kansas police department is facing a firestorm of criticism after it raided the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher and owner — a move deemed by several press freedom watchdogs as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection...
Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t deserve the credit
WASHINGTON — Even President Joe Biden has some regrets about the name of the Inflation Reduction Act: As the giant law turns 1 on Wednesday, it’s increasingly clear that immediately curbing prices wasn’t the point. While price increases have cooled over the past year — the inflation rate has dropped...
Trump’s Iowa state fair spectacle clouds DeSantis as former president is joined by Florida officials
DES MOINES, Iowa — Gone was the helicopter, but Donald Trump on Saturday renewed his reputation for defying norms and creating a mega-celebrity’s spectacle at the Iowa State Fair. Trump, in fewer than two hours on the steaming fairgrounds in Des Moines, attracted thousands of sweating, chanting supporters to his...
Alabama riverfront brawl videos spark a cultural moment about race, solidarity and justice
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — As bystanders trained their smartphone cameras on the riverfront dock while several white boaters pummeled a Black riverboat co-captain, they couldn’t have known the footage would elicit a national conversation about racial solidarity. Yet, a week after multiple videos showing the now-infamous brawl and valiant defense of...
Popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may raise risk of complications under anesthesia
Patients who take blockbuster drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss may face life-threatening complications if they need surgery or other procedures that require empty stomachs for anesthesia. This summer’s guidance to halt the medication for up to a week may not go far enough, either. Some anesthesiologists in...
As death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 93, effort to find and identify the dead is just beginning
LAHAINA, Hawaii — As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town climbed to 93, authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Crews...
Fulton grand jury to hear Trump case early next week
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will begin presenting her 2020 elections interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies to a grand jury early next week. The timeline came into sharper focus on Saturday, when former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and independent journalist George...
Starting next year, child influencers can sue if earnings aren’t set aside, says new Illinois law
CHICAGO — Illinois is the first state in the U.S. to ensure child social media influencers are compensated for their work, according to Sen. David Koehler, of Peoria, who sponsored a bill that was signed into law and will go into effect on July 1, 2024. “The rise of social...
70-year-old woman who used knife stored in cane to kill man turns herself in, says police
A 70-year-old Philadelphia woman charged with the murder of a man her son previously punched turned herself in to police this week, according to officials. Renee DiPietro is facing charges of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of crime for stabbing 31-year-old Michael Sides to death earlier...
A historic banyan tree burned in Maui’s wildfires still stands, but can it survive?
In 1873, an exotic banyan tree was planted in the port town of Lahaina, a major hub for the then-Kingdom of Hawaii. At the time it was only 8 feet tall. Today, its branches extend over 60 feet high and stretch even wider, providing shade to nearly two-thirds of an...
6 dead, over 50 rescued from capsized migrant boat in the English Channel
LONDON — An overloaded boat carrying migrants capsized before dawn Saturday in the English Channel, killing at least six people and leaving more than 50 others to be rescued, according to French authorities. About 65 people were estimated to have boarded the boat and two people may still be lost...
Death toll rises to 80 in Maui wildfires as survivors begin returning to communities in ruins
LAHAINA, Hawaii — The death toll has risen to 80 as a result of the wildfires that decimated parts of the island of Maui this past week, officials in Hawaii said Friday. The number of confirmed fatalities in the 9 p.m. announcement by the County of Maui increased from the...
Russia downs 20 drones over Crimea following a spate of attacks on Moscow
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia thwarted an attack by 20 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. Fourteen drones were shot down by Russian air defenses and a further six were jammed electronically, the ministry said in a Telegram post. No casualties or damage were reported....
WVU facing possible academic program cuts, 7% faculty reduction
West Virginia University has unveiled preliminary recommendations to discontinue 32 of its 338 majors and reduce faculty ranks in Morgantown by 7% to confront enrollment losses and adapt to shifting student demand. Twelve of the majors are undergraduate level and 20 are at the graduate level, officials with the state’s...
Apple to pay up to $500 million to iPhone users after judge nixes final appeal
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Owners of some older iPhone models are expected to receive about $65 each after a judge cleared the way for payments in a class-action lawsuit accusing Apple of secretly throttling phone performance. The Cupertino cellphone giant agreed in 2020 to pay up to $500 million to...
Men attacked Alabama boat co-captain for ‘just doing my job,’ he says
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama boat co-captain was hanging on “for dear life” as men punched and tackled him on the capital city’s riverfront, he told police after video of the brawl circulated widely online. Dameion Pickett, a crew member of the Harriott II in Montgomery, described the brawl in...
