Americans found quickly, but Mexico’s missing remain lost
MEXICO CITY — When four Americans were kidnapped in the border city of Matamoros, authorities rescued the survivors within days, but thousands of Mexicans remain missing in the state long associated with cartel violence — some in cases dating back more than a decade. Mexican authorities quickly blamed the local...
Pa. lawmaker Mike Zabel quits amid sex harassment allegations
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state lawmaker submitted his resignation letter Wednesday, a week after a union lobbyist accused him by name of having sexually harassed her four years ago. Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel of Delaware County said in the letter to Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton that his resignation will take...
Russian forces claim progress in Bakhmut but no end in sight
KYIV, Ukraine — The owner of Russia’s Wagner Group military contractor claimed Wednesday that his troops have extended their gains in the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut, but it remained unclear how long the grinding fight might go on. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Kyiv for talks with President Volodymyr...
FTC probes Twitter data practices after Elon Musk’s layoffs
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report. The FTC has been watching the company...
Medical tourism: Traveling outside U.S. for care is common
The recent kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico highlights a common practice for many people in the U.S.: traveling to other countries for medical care that either is not available at home or costs a lot less. The four were abducted — leading to the deaths of two — during...
Women’s Day events highlight gaps in gender equality
MADRID — Demonstrations, conferences and artistic events around the world Wednesday marked International Women’s Day, an annual observance established to recognize women and to demand equality for half of the planet’s population. While activists in some parts of the planet noted advances, repression in countries such as Afghanistan and Iran...
January U.S. job openings dip, but still high at 10.8 million
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted 10.8 million job openings in January, indicating the American job market continues to run too hot for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve. Job openings fell from 11.2 million in December but remained high by historical standards, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, but layoffs...
Erie man gets 25-50 years for 2021 Conneaut Lake-area murder
An Erie man has been sentenced in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas to a total of 25 to 50 years in prison for killing his estranged wife at a Sadsbury Township home in 2021. Daryl S. Gillespie, 29, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Mark Stevens for...
Oklahoma voters reject legalizing recreational marijuana
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma voters on Tuesday rejected the legalization of recreational marijuana, following a late blitz of opposition from faith leaders, law enforcement and prosecutors. Oklahoma would have become the 22nd state to legalize adult use of cannabis and join conservative states like Montana and Missouri that have approved...
Biden upends politics, precedent in pivot on D.C. crime law
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s support of a Republican resolution to block new District of Columbia crime laws has split members of his own party amid rising concerns about crime in the nation’s capital and other cities. The GOP-led disapproval resolution is expected to easily pass the Senate on Wednesday...
‘Boy Meets World’ star Ben Savage enters U.S. House race in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — Actor Ben Savage, who starred as a child in the ABC teen sitcom “Boy Meets World,” is running for a U.S. House seat in California, marking his latest attempt to make the jump from Hollywood to politics. Savage, a Democrat, said in an Instagram post Monday that...
FBI tested by attacks, politically explosive investigations
WASHINGTON — Three days after federal agents searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida home for classified documents, FBI Director Christopher Wray emailed his workforce urging them to tune out criticism from those who “don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see.” The work was done by the...
Elon Musk apologizes after mocking laid-off Twitter employee
SAN FRANCISCO — If you’re not told you are fired, are you really fired? At Twitter, probably. And then, sometimes, you get your job back — if you want it. Haraldur Thorleifsson, who until recently was employed at Twitter, logged in to his computer last Sunday to do some work...
As bourbon booms, thirst for rare brands breeds shenanigans
SALEM, Ore. — Buttery, smooth, oaky. These are characteristics of the best bourbons, and a growing cult of aficionados is willing to pay an astonishing amount of money for these increasingly scarce premium American spirits — and even bend or break laws. Premium spirits have always been expensive and sought-after....
Gigi Sohn withdraws after Joe Manchin opposes her FCC confirmation
Gigi Sohn withdrew her nomination to become a member of the Federal Communications Commission after Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday said he would oppose her confirmation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Sohn’s withdrawal at a news conference. “She would have brought tremendous intellect and experience” to the FCC,...
State university scholarship initiative not included in Shapiro’s budget, nor is aid sought to freeze tuition
Leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities said boosting Commonwealth funding by 3.8% to $573.5 million would enable them to consider freezing tuition across the 85,000-student system for a fifth straight year this fall. But when Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled his proposed state budget for 2023-24, he included about half...
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch in filings says 2020 election ‘not stolen’
NEW YORK — Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said under oath that he believes the 2020 presidential election was free, fair and not stolen, according to court filings released Tuesday in a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit over Fox News’ coverage of former President Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims....
Women sue Texas over abortion ban, say it risked their lives
AUSTIN — Five women who said they were denied abortions even when pregnancy endangered their lives are suing Texas over its abortion ban, the latest legal fight against state restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. The lawsuit filed Monday in state court said the Texas...
U.S. judge strikes down Missouri gun law as unconstitutional
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri law banning local police from enforcing federal gun laws is unconstitutional and void, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes ruled the 2021 law is preempted by the federal government under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause. “At best, this statute causes...
In reversal, Biden administration weighs detaining migrant families
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is considering detaining migrant families who cross into the U.S. illegally as it prepares to end covid-19 restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. officials familiar with the plans. That would be a major reversal after officials in late 2021 stopped holding families in...
Speaker Joanna McClinton sets vote during May primary to fill House vacancy
HARRISBURG — A special election to fill a state House vacancy in a Republican-leaning district was scheduled on Tuesday to take place during the May primary. Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia announced that the vote to succeed former Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver will take place on May 16. Schlegel...
Boulder falls onto Jefferson Hills road, traffic detoured
State Route 837 in Jefferson Hills was closed down after a boulder fell into the roadway Tuesday, according to PennDOT officials. The road was shut to traffic between Route 51 in Jefferson Hills and St. Clair Avenue in Clairton. As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the road was still listed as...
Tucker Carlson amplifies Jan. 6 lies with GOP-provided videoVideo
WASHINGTON — Handed some 41,000 hours of Jan. 6 security footage, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson has launched an impassioned new effort to explain away the deadly Capitol attack, linking the Republican Party ever more closely to pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot. The conservative commentator aired a first installment...
Safety agency opens probe of Norfolk Southern rail accidents
OMAHA, Neb. — Federal investigators are opening a wide-ranging investigation into one of the nation’s biggest railroads following a fiery derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month and several other accidents involving Norfolk Southern, including the death of a train conductor Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday...
Train, dump truck collide at Ohio crossing; conductor killed
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A train and a dump truck collided early Tuesday in Cleveland, killing the train conductor as he stood on the outside of a car, authorities said. The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. when the dump truck — which was carrying a full load of limestone — approached...
