Bank failures: Anger in Congress, but division on what to do
WASHINGTON — Bills were filed, hearings were planned and blame was cast as Congress reacted this past week to the abrupt failure of two banks. A look at what lawmakers are saying and planning as the fallout continues from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Quick legislative...
Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate
WASHINGTON — Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk’s new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility. The accounts, which parroted Kremlin...
Trump says he expects to be arrested, calls for protest
NEW YORK — Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that his arrest is imminent and issued an extraordinary call for his supporters to protest as a New York grand jury investigates hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Even as Trump’s lawyer and spokesperson said...
Supreme Court honors legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death ahead of the 2020 election led to a conservative shift on the Supreme Court, was remembered Friday during ceremonies at the high court as a legendary champion for women’s rights. Speaking just two days after what would have been the justice’s 90th...
‘I’M BACK!’: Trump returns to Facebook after reinstatement
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook after a more than two-year ban. “I’M BACK!” Trump posted on the site weeks after his personal account was reactivated. Trump, who is running his third campaign for the White House, also shared an old video clip in which...
EPA tells states not to block waste from Ohio derailment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered states to stop blocking contaminated waste from a fiery train derailment in Ohio from being sent to hazardous waste storage sites around the nation. A handful of politicians and states have sought to block shipments from East Palestine, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin...
Officials discussing security in case of Trump indictment
NEW YORK — Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks by a Manhattan grand jury and appear in a courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with...
Pa. delegation pushes to end opioid treatment co-pays, saying many people thwarted by cost
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey this week introduced a bill that would lower costs for people who need drug addiction treatment. Another Pennsylvania Democrat, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, said she would introduce a similar bill in the U.S. House. What would the bills do? Mainly, they would eliminate insurance deductibles and...
Scientists create mice with cells from 2 males for 1st time
For the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males. This raises the distant possibility of using the same technique for people — although experts caution that very few mouse embryos developed into live mouse pups and no one knows whether it would work for humans. Still, “It’s...
Biden welcomes Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — Sporting a green tie and fresh shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, President Joe Biden on Friday voiced his support for a recent economic accord affecting Ireland as he hosted the republic’s prime minister, a longstanding meetup scuttled by the covid-19 pandemic two years in a row. Biden was...
ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin over Ukraine war crimes
THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of...
Pa. woman mauled to death while caring for neighbor’s dogs, coroner says
A woman who went to her neighbor’s Perry County home to feed their dogs while they were out of town was mauled to death by the pets, authorities said. Two Great Danes killed Kristen Potter, 38, of New Bloomfield, around 5 p.m. Thursday on the 700 block of Clouser Hollow...
North Korea says ICBM test aimed to strike fear into enemies
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile to “strike fear into the enemies” as South Korea and Japan agreed at a summit to work closely on regional security with the United States and staged military exercises around the region. The missile, launched Thursday...
Officer who killed George Floyd pleads guilty in tax case
MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer serving time for the 2020 murder of George Floyd pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of tax evasion. Derek Chauvin entered the plea in a Minnesota court before Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawley. Chauvin appeared via Zoom from a federal prison in Tucson,...
Trump vs. DeSantis: Rivals’ very different styles on display
DAVENPORT, Iowa — In his first trip to Iowa this year, Ron DeSantis did not take any questions from voters. He ignored the local press. He avoided the diners, pizza parlors and ice cream shops that have helped presidential contenders in the leadoff voting state showcase their personal appeal and...
Pa. woman whose wheelchair was shoved down stairs by Mercyhurst student athletes lost legs in car wreck
A 22-year-old Erie woman who lost both of her legs in a car crash in 2021 owned the wheelchair that was shoved down a flight of stairs by Pa. college student athletes at a bar Saturday night, PennLive has found. Sydney Benes, who has a TikTok account under the name...
New covid origins data suggests pandemic linked to raccoon dogs
International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market close to where the first human cases of covid-19 were detected in China said they found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab. Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which also has...
Protests erupt in France over Macron’s retirement age push
PARIS — Protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote disrupted traffic, garbage collection and university campuses in Paris as opponents of the change maintained their resolve to get the government to back down....
Canine influenza: How to avoid spreading it, and symptoms to watch for
As the Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg copes with an infection that rapidly spread among all 50 of their dogs, animal care professionals across the region are warning pet owners about recent canine influenza outbreaks. “We’ve been seeing an increase , and sometimes they’re not definitively diagnosed,” said Erin...
Russia to award pilots involved in U.S. drone incident
MOSCOW — Russian fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards, the Defense Ministry announced Friday. The move appears to signal Moscow’s intention to adopt a more aggressive stance toward future U.S. surveillance flights. The U.S. military said...
Biden hosting Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to host Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the covid pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, will attend a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris...
Death toll rises, locals pick up pieces after Cyclone Freddy
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Authorities are still getting to grips with the scale of Cyclone Freddy’s destruction in Malawi and Mozambique since late Saturday, with over 370 people confirmed dead, several hundreds still missing and tens of thousands displaced. On Friday, Malawi authorities said Freddy killed at least 326 people, with...
Prince Harry sues tabloid for defamation over security story
LONDON — Lawyers for Prince Harry asked a judge Friday to rule that a tabloid newspaper libeled the British royal with an article about his quest for police protection when he and his family visit the U.K. Harry is suing Mail on Sunday publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article...
Somerset County DA convicted of sex assault
SOMERSET — A Western Pennsylvania county prosecutor was in jail Friday after jurors convicted him of six charges for an attack on a woman while acquitting him of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. The verdict against suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas was issued Thursday after less...
California to overhaul San Quentin prison, emphasizing rehab
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The infamous state prison on San Francisco Bay that has been home to the largest death row population in the United States will be transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners will receive education, training and rehabilitation, California officials announced Thursday. The inmates serving death sentences at...
