AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters
WASHINGTON — Computer engineers and tech-inclined political scientists have warned for years that cheap, powerful artificial intelligence tools would soon allow anyone to create fake images, video and audio that was realistic enough to fool voters and perhaps sway an election. The synthetic images that emerged were often crude, unconvincing...
Pope Francis meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican
ROME — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, saying it was a great honor to meet with the pontiff, who has previously offered to do what he can to try to end the war launched by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year...
‘All we want is to be safe’: Migrants push north after end of Title 42
MEXICO CITY — For weeks, Solangel Contreras raced. The Venezuelan migrant and her family of 22 trudged through the dense jungles of the Darien Gap and hopped borders across Central America. They joined thousands of other migrants from across the Hemisphere in a scramble to reach the United States-Mexico border...
Police: Philadelphia prison escape aided by man charged in deadly cheesesteak shop brawl
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say two escaped prisoners in Philadelphia were helped by a fellow inmate who’s charged with murder in a brawl outside a famed Philadelphia cheesesteak shop. Police said late Friday afternoon that 35-year-old Jose Flores-Huerta has been arrested at the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center and charged with felony...
Census rejecting some big-city complaints of 2020 undercounts
Some of the largest U.S. cities challenging their 2020 census numbers aren’t getting the results they hoped for from the U.S. Census Bureau — an effort by Memphis to increase its official population resulted in three people being subtracted from its count during an initial appeal. Some successes have come...
Twitter’s new CEO is an NBCUniversal executive with deep ad industry ties
Elon Musk confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry. “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk wrote in a Friday tweet. He added that Yaccarino “will focus primarily on...
‘He wanted to live the American Dream’: Honduran teen dies in U.S. immigration custody
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The mother of a 17-year-old boy who died this week in U.S. immigration custody demanded answers from American officials Friday, saying her son had no known illnesses and had not shown any signs of being sick before his death. The teenager was identified as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga...
Police: A Texas woman was fatally shot by a boyfriend angry she had an abortion
DALLAS — A man angry that his girlfriend had an abortion in another state fatally shot the 26-year-old woman, Dallas police said. He was jailed on a murder charge as of Friday. Texas banned abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy in September 2021. But nearly all abortions have been...
West Virginia officer will not face charges for striking, killing 13-year-old with cruiser off-duty
CHARLESTON W.Va. — An off-duty deputy sheriff in West Virginia who struck and killed a 13-year-old girl with his police cruiser last year will not face criminal charges in her death, according to the county prosecutor investigating the case. Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia determined the “tragic loss” of 13-year-old...
Washington & Jefferson to start offering bachelor’s degree in nursing
Washington & Jefferson College plans to start offering a bachelor’s degree in nursing starting in the fall of 2024. W&J leaders say the move makes sense, with nurses in high demand and the school able to partner with nearby Washington Health System’s Washington Hospital. The college plans to enroll 24...
Reports: Myanmar soldiers kill and burn bodies of 19 villagers, including 4 children
BANGKOK — Soldiers from Myanmar’s military government raided a village in the country’s central region, killing 19 villagers including four children and burning their bodies, independent media and a resident said Friday. The killings on Wednesday in Nyaung Pin Thar village in Bago region’s Htantabin township may have been in...
Pa. deer hunter who mistakenly shot Centre County man in the head gets jail time
BELLEFONTE — A Centre County man who tried to shoot a deer on the crest of a hill but instead shot his older neighbor in the head lost his bid Friday to stay out of jail. Michael Lloyd, 41, of College Township was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Jonathan...
United pilots to picket; airline unions press for higher pay
DALLAS — Just ahead of what could be a record-breaking summer travel season, pilots from one of the nation’s biggest airlines are preparing to march in picket lines at major airports on Friday as they push for higher pay. The United Airlines pilots have been working without a raise for...
Biden taps Jefferson as Fed’s vice chair; Kugler as first Hispanic on board
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has nominated Philip Jefferson, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, to serve as vice chair of the board, the White House announced Friday. Biden has also chosen Adriana Kugler, a Georgetown University economist, to join the Fed’s board. If confirmed by the...
Trump’s sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability
PHILADELPHIA — Cassandra Nuñez and her grandmother cast their first ballots in a U.S. presidential election in 2016. She was a first-year college student; her grandmother, a newly minted citizen. They both hoped to elect the first woman president over a man who bragged about grabbing and kissing women at...
The debt ceiling crisis may look like a rerun, but it could end differently this timeVideo
The last time the U.S. government went to the brink of defaulting on its debt — in 2011 — the stock market tumbled and there was something close to a panic across the economy before Washington came to its senses and cut a deal. Much the same scenario is unfolding...
Amid US-Mexico border confusion, El Paso pastors provide migrants with shelter
EL PASO, Texas — As changing policies, rampant misinformation and exasperated, fearful crowds converge in this desert city, faith leaders are striving to provide shelter and uplift. Along with prayers, they are counseling migrants about the daunting challenges that await them on U.S. soil, with enormous backlogs in asylum hearings...
Wave of anti-transgender bills in Republican-led states divides U.S. faith leaders
As Republican-governed states across the nation advance myriad bills targeting transgender young people, America’s faith leaders are starkly divided in their assessment. Some view the legislation as reflecting God’s will; others voice outrage that Christianity is being invoked to justify laws they view as cruel and hateful. In one camp...
Idaho jury convicts Lori Vallow Daybell in murders of 2 children, romantic rival
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho jury on Friday convicted Lori Vallow Daybell in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, a verdict that marks the end of a three-year investigation that included bizarre claims of zombie children, apocalyptic prophesies and illicit affairs. Vallow Daybell, who wore...
Authorities capture 1 of 2 inmates who escaped from Philadelphia prison
PHILADELPHIA — One of two inmates who escaped from a Philadelphia prison was captured while dressed as a woman, authorities said, and a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force focused Friday on tracking down the other escapee. Members of the task force were conducting surveillance in an area of North...
EPA: New pollution limits proposed for coal, gas power plants reflect ‘urgency’ of climate crisisVideo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration proposed new limits Thursday on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. A rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to...
Fishermen caught cheating at Ohio tournament sentenced to 10-day jail terms, forfeit of $100k boat
Two fishermen, including a Mercer County resident, were sentenced Thursday for their roles in a cheating scandal last year at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland. Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage, and Jacob Runyan, 43, of Ashtabula, Ohio, were sentenced in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to...
Virginia judge says law banning sales of handguns to young adults is unconstitutional
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a law banning licensed federal firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21 violates the Second Amendment and is unconstitutional. The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, if not overturned, would allow...
Ready-to-drink cocktails could be coming to any place beer and wine are sold in Pa.
A state senator is once again trying to modernize Pennsylvania’s liquor system by expanding access to pre-packaged cocktails. The legislation would allow restaurants, bars, taverns, beer distributors, grocery and convenience stores that sell beer and wine to add these popular canned cocktails such as rum punch, pina coladas and margaritas...
House Republicans pass new asylum restrictions as Title 42 ends; Biden promises vetoVideo
WASHINGTON — House Republicans passed a sweeping bill Thursday to build more U.S.-Mexico border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum seekers, creating a hard-line counter to President Joe Biden’s policies just as migrants are amassing along the border with the end of coronavirus pandemic restrictions. The bill has virtually...
