Netanyahu says Israel has ‘no choice’ but to continue fighting in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced again Saturday that Israel has “no choice” but to continue fighting in Gaza and will not end the war before destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and ensuring that the territory won’t present a threat to Israel. The prime minister...
Supreme Court blocks, for now, new deportations under 18th century wartime law
The Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices...
Spring allergies are back. Here’s how to check pollen levels and keep from sneezing
ATLANTA — Allergy season can be miserable for tens of millions of Americans when trees, grass, and other pollens cause runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing. Where you live, what you’re allergic to and your lifestyle can make a big difference when it comes to the severity of your...
Putin announces an Easter ceasefire as Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of POWs
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons, as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in the largest exchange since Moscow’s full-scale invasion started over three years ago. According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow...
DEI rollbacks hit campus support systems for students of color
WASHINGTON — Campus mentors. Move-in events. Scholarships. Diversity offices that made them feel welcome on predominantly white campuses. As U.S. colleges pull back on diversity, equity and inclusion practices, students of color say they are starting to lose all of these things and more. The full scope of campus DEI...
250 years after America went to war for independence, a divided nation battles over its legacy
LEXINGTON, Mass. — Thousands of people came to this Massachusetts town Saturday just before dawn to witness a reenactment of how the American Revolution began 250 years ago, with the blast of gunshot and a trail of colonial spin. Starting with Saturday’s anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord,...
Some Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump are now embraced as heroes and candidates for office
JACKSON, Mich. — Ryan Kelley thought he had a good shot at becoming Michigan’s governor in 2022. That is, until he was charged with misdemeanors for participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. His campaign sputtered and he finished fourth out of five candidates in the Republican...
Glitches, unproven tech in Pa.’s new financial aid system exacerbated delays for thousands of students
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. By October, the scale of the crisis was clear. State grants that thousands of students were counting on to pay for college were weeks behind...
Shooting rampage at Florida State that left 2 dead lasted less than 5 minutes, police say
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Several thousand students, staff and faculty packed a plaza at Florida State University for a vigil Friday evening, bowing their heads in a moment of silence honoring the two people who were killed and six others who were wounded in a shooting rampage the previous day. The...
Judge orders Trump administration to tell fired workers they were not let go for poor performance
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. district judge in San Francisco on Friday ordered the Trump administration to provide probationary workers fired en masse a written statement saying they were not terminated for performance reasons, but as part of a government-wide termination. Judge William Alsup is overseeing a lawsuit brought by...
Listen to the 911 call Cody Balmer placed after allegedly setting fire to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansionVideo
PHILADELPHIA — In a roughly minute-long phone call to Dauphin County 911, the man accused of setting three fires in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence told dispatchers Pennsylvania’s chief executive needed to leave his family and friends alone. “Gov. Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take...
Former Pa. State Police commissioner hired to investigate security breach that led to governor’s mansion arson
PHILADELPHIA — A former commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police who later served as chief of security for the National Football League will conduct an independent security review of the arson attack on the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg, the current head of the state police announced Friday. Jeffrey B. Miller,...
The arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion erupted within minutes. The effect lingers
HARRISBURG — The pounding of fists on the governor’s bedroom door was loud and urgent. The mansion was on fire, a state trooper yelled, and Pennsylvania’s first family needed to get out immediately. Gov. Josh Shapiro and his wife, Lori, jumped out of bed and rushed from room to room...
U.S. senator returns from El Salvador trip, says Abrego Garcia case is about far more than one man
WASHINGTON — The dispute over the wrongful deportation and imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia “is not only about one man” but about Donald Trump’s disregard of the American judicial system as well, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Friday as he returned from a three-day trip to El Salvador to press...
U.S. has 800 measles cases and outbreaks in several states. Here’s what you should know
The U.S. has 800 cases of measles nationwide as of Friday, and two more states identified outbreaks this week. Texas is driving the high numbers, with an outbreak centered in West Texas that started nearly three months ago and is up to 597 cases. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died...
Judge orders Tufts University student in detention case to be brought to Vermont
A federal judge on Friday ordered that a Turkish Tufts University student detained by immigration authorities in Louisiana to be brought to Vermont by May 1 for a hearing over what her lawyers say was apparent retaliation for an op-ed piece she co-wrote in the student newspaper. U.S. District Judge...
Trump says Ukraine-Russia talks ‘coming to a head’ and ‘no one is playing’ him in push to end war
PARIS — President Donald Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war. Trump spoke shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the U.S. may “move on”...
The people who represent you in D.C. and Harrisburg are allowed to keep their calendars secret
This story originally appeared in Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from the Spotlight PA State College bureau. Sign up at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, multiple protests have been held outside U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson’s...
The U.S. has a single rare earths mine. Chinese export limits are energizing a push for more
OMAHA, Neb. — America’s only rare earths mine heard from anxious companies soon after China responded to President Donald Trump’s tariffs this month by limiting exports of those minerals used for military applications and in many high-tech devices. “Based on the number of phone calls we’re receiving, the effects have...
Judge won’t take further steps to enforce his order in AP case against Trump administration
WASHINGTON — A federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop blocking The Associated Press’ from presidential events refused Friday to take immediate steps to get White House officials to comply — an incremental development in a two-month dispute between the global news agency and administration officials over access....
U.S. seeks to turn deportations into an efficient business ‘like Amazon’
JENA, La. — Amid rural Louisiana’s crawfish farms, towering pine trees and cafes serving po’boys, nearly 7,000 people are waiting at immigration detention centers to learn whether they will be expelled from the United States. If President Donald Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands...
A U.S. citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country
MIAMI — A U.S. citizen was arrested in Florida for allegedly being in the country illegally and held for pickup by immigration authorities even after his mother showed a judge her son’s birth certificate and the judge dismissed charges. The man was released after his case received widespread coverage. Juan...
Federal judge pausing Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs at the CFPB
WASHINGTON — A federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ruled Friday that the bureau can’t go forward immediately with plans to mass fire hundreds of employees. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she is “deeply concerned” that administration officials aren’t complying...
Students at Florida State gather at memorials, prepare to retrieve belongings after deadly shooting
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Students dropped off balloons, candles and teddy bears at a memorial Friday morning near Florida State University’s student union where a 20-year-old opened fire, killing two men and wounding six others. Some returned to retrieve their belongings less than a day after after they had barricaded classroom...
Mack Trucks to lay off hundreds of workers at Pa. plant, with company blaming tariffs, other factors
Mack Trucks will lay off 250 to 350 workers at its Lehigh Valley Operations plant in Lower Macungie Township because of tariffs and other economic factors. A Mack spokesperson said heavy-duty truck orders “continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and...
