European spacecraft on way to Jupiter and its icy moons
A European spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a decadelong quest to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons that could have buried oceans. The journey began with a perfect morning liftoff by Europe’s Ariane rocket from French Guiana on the coast of South America. But there were some tense...
Bomb found by Pa. fire department while fighting nearby brush fire
Police in Schuylkill County reported that a homemade bomb was found when fire fighters responded to a brush fire this week. PA Home Page reports that the Tamaqua Borough Policce and Fire Department responded to a brush fire around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, in the Dutch Hill section of Tamaqua....
Supreme Court temporarily blocks restrictions on abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Friday it was temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to more fully consider the issues raised in a court challenge. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court asked both sides to...
Japan approves plan to open 1st casino to lure tourists
TOKYO — Japan’s government on Friday approved a controversial plan to open the country’s first casino in the city of Osaka as it seeks to lure more foreign tourists. The casino resort is to include conference facilities, an exhibition hall, a hotel and a theater and is expected to open...
Russia trained Belarusian pilots in nuclear weapons use
MOSCOW — Belarusian air force crews have completed their training for using tactical nuclear weapons as part of Russia’s plan to deploy the weapons to its ally Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. The ministry released a video in which a Belarusian pilot...
In private, Gov. Shapiro’s working group on climate change meets
HARRISBURG — The group tasked by Gov. Josh Shapiro with developing a state-level plan to fight climate change met for the first time this week, a step the Democrat promised to take when he questioned his predecessor’s strategy to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt carbon...
Spanish climber leaves cave after 500 days in isolation
MADRID — A Spanish mountain climber emerged Friday from a cave 230 feet underground where she spent 500 days isolated from the outside world. Beatriz Flamini, 50, of Madrid, left the cave in southern Spain shortly after 9 a.m. after being told by supporters that she had completed the feat...
Judge rejects Trump rape trial delay, but grants concessions
NEW YORK — A federal judge rejected a request Thursday to delay former President Donald Trump’s trial this month on civil claims that he raped a woman in the mid-1990s, but he has granted a request by Trump’s lawyers to gather more evidence about who is paying the accuser’s lawyers....
Lawyer: Georgia man died in filthy jail cell, criminal probe needed
ATLANTA — A man being held in the psychiatric wing of a Georgia jail died in a filthy cell with a severe bedbug infestation after jail staff did nothing to address his deteriorating health, his family’s lawyer said Thursday. The lawyer is requesting a criminal investigation. Lashawn Thompson was arrested...
What is Discord, the chatting app tied to classified leaks?Video
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The chatting app Discord, which is one of the most popular ways gamers communicate online, finds itself at the center of an investigation into the leak of classified documents about the war in Ukraine. The investigation is unfolding as Discord makes an ambitious push to recruit more...
TikTok ban gets final approval by Montana’s GOP legislature
HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision due to concerns over...
South Floridians mop up, recall fear after historic delugeVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The water was rising around her car, and Amanda Valentine thought she was going to die. She had just gotten a warning on her phone about flash flooding, and now it was all around her. “I called my parents like, ‘I’m going to die. Like I’m...
Threats to dictionary publisher land California man a year in prison
A California man who made violent anti-LGBTQ-related threats against dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster Inc. over its updated gender definitions was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison. The sentence imposed on Jeremy Hanson, 35, by a federal court in Massachusetts also included 30 days of home confinement, three years of probation...
Supreme Court Justice Thomas, relatives sold family properties to wealthy GOP donorVideo
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and relatives sold three Georgia properties that include Thomas’s boyhood home to GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow in 2014, according to a report, marking the first known instance where money flowed to the Supreme Court justice from the same Texas real estate magnate who...
Romance novel model gets prison for dragging police officer down stairs in Jan. 6 attack
A Michigan pipelayer who modeled for covers of romance novels was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison for assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack. Logan Barnhart joined one of the most brutal clashes between rioters and police on Jan. 6, 2021. He grabbed an...
Florida GOP passes 6-week abortion ban, DeSantis supports
TALLAHASSEE — The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares for an expected presidential run. DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks....
Mother of young boy who shot teacher arrested in Virginia
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot and wounded his teacher in Virginia has been formally arrested on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun, police announced Thursday. The Newport News Police Department released a booking photo of the woman, 25, and...
Tech consultant arrested in killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee
SAN FRANCISCO — A tech consultant was arrested and charged with murder Thursday in the stabbing death of the gregarious and popular Cash App founder Bob Lee last week in downtown San Francisco, authorities said. Nima Momeni, 38, and Lee, 43, knew each other, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott...
No known threats to Boston Marathon, but police are prepared
BOSTON — There are no known threats to this year’s Boston Marathon, but because it’s the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack that killed three spectators, federal, state and city law enforcement leaders said Thursday that they are prepared for anything. “At this point in time, the FBI is not...
AG: Guardsman to be charged with removing classified infoVideo
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who has emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents was taken into custody Thursday by federal agents, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced. Investigators believe that the guardsman, who specializes in intelligence, led the online...
Aurora opens terminal for driverless trucks in Texas
Self-driving vehicle startup Aurora Innovation, Inc. opened its first commercial-ready terminal for autonomous trucks that will serve as a “blueprint” for the Pittsburgh-based company’s future network of 24/7 driverless operations. The terminal in Palmer, Texas, near Dallas, deploys autonomous trucks for Aurora’s pilot customers, including FedEx, Schneider, and Uber Freight,...
Pitt official says more faculty need active killer training sessions
Not enough of the University of Pittsburgh’s 5,800 faculty have opted to take a campus police course that could save their lives if someone with a gun, knife or other weapon invades campus, a top official said. Fallout from Monday night’s active shooter hoaxes and a nearly 90-minute delay by...
Ukraine stands firm on Crimea, wants Russia out of all areas
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s foreign minister said Thursday his country won’t budge from its demand that Russia withdraw its forces from Crimea, as well as from other parts of Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed more recently, for the war to end. Calling the conflict in Ukraine “a bleeding wound in...
Mary Quant, miniskirt designer who swung the 60s, dies at 93Video
LONDON — Mary Quant, the visionary fashion designer whose colorful, sexy miniskirts epitomized Swinging London in the 1960s and influenced youth culture around the world, has died. She was 93. Quant’s family said she died “peacefully at home” in Surrey, southern England, on Thursday. Quant helped popularize the miniskirt —...
First image of a black hole gets a makeover with AI
NEW YORK — The first image of a black hole captured four years ago revealed a fuzzy, fiery doughnut-shaped object. Now, researchers have used artificial intelligence to give that cosmic beauty shot a touch-up. The updated picture, published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, keeps the original shape, but with...
