Suspect arrested in arson at Pennsylvania governor’s residenceVideo
HARRISBURG — A man was arrested on felony charges of setting an early morning fire Sunday that badly damaged the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in Harrisburg and forced Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family and guests to flee. Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg faces felony charges of criminal attempted homicide, aggravated arson,...
The dead in upstate New York plane crash included 2022 NCAA woman of the year and family members
COPAKE, N.Y. — A private plane that crashed in upstate New York over the weekend was carrying six members of a close-knit family of physicians and distinguished student-athletes on a trip to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and the Passover holiday. The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B went down shortly after...
Supreme Court slows Trump’s mass deportations but doesn’t stop them
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court this week put an important check on President Donald Trump’s power to arrest and quickly deport people who are alleged to be members of a foreign crime gang. Those who face deportation “are entitled to notice and opportunity to challenge their removal” before a federal...
Iran, U.S. plan talks next week after ‘constructive’ meeting
Iran said the first formal talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over its nuclear program were “constructive” with both sides agreeing to meet again next week. The two sides discussed Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions “in a constructive atmosphere and with mutual respect,” the Iranian foreign...
Dominican club collapse death toll rises to 226 after woman pulled from rubble dies in hospital
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A woman hospitalized after being rescued from the rubble of a roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic died on Saturday, raising the death toll to 226, health officials said. The latest victim was a 41-year-old Costa Rican national, according to the...
Buffalo Trace Distillery, inspections of affected barrels will take time as flood cleanup progresses
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Signs of renewal are underway at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky since floodwaters that inundated the whiskey-making campus receded. But executives say the painstaking task of inspecting any bourbon barrels touched by the high water will take time. The historic distillery has resumed shipping spirits and...
Regulators order corrective action as Keystone Pipeline operators aim to restore service
BISMARCK, N.D. — Federal regulators have ordered the operator of the Keystone Pipeline to take several corrective actions after a rupture caused 147,000 gallons of oil to spill onto farmland in North Dakota, and the company said its goal is to resume deliveries to refineries on Tuesday. The Pipeline and...
Israel cuts off Gaza’s southern city of Rafah and vows to ‘vigorously’ expand in the territory
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel announced Saturday it has completed construction of a new security corridor that cuts off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, as the military said it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory. Palestinians were further squeezed into...
Judge relaxes ban on DOGE access to sensitive U.S. Treasury information
NEW YORK — A New York judge has relaxed a ban she had put on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency preventing it from accessing sensitive Treasury Department information related to millions of Americans. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas said in a written opinion late Friday that one DOGE worker, Ryan...
Apple has few incentives to start making iPhones in U.S., despite Trump’s trade war with China
SAN FRANCISCO — President Donald Trump’s administration has been predicting its barrage of tariffs targeting China will push Apple into manufacturing the iPhone in the United States for the first time. But that’s an unlikely scenario even with U.S tariffs now standing at 145% on products made in China —...
Trump administration says it will exclude some electronics from reciprocal tariffs
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Trump administration late Friday said they would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S. It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and...
Trump administration ordered to unfreeze funding in dispute with Maine over transgender students
PORTLAND, Maine — A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program that were suspended amid a disagreement between the state and the president over transgender athletes. District Court Judge John Woodcock issued a temporary restraining order Friday in a case...
At least 100 people killed in attacks on famine-hit camps in Sudan’s Darfur, UN official says
CAIRO — Sudan’s notorious paramilitary group launched a two-day attack on famine-hit camps for displaced people that left more than 100 dead, including 20 children and nine aid workers, in the Darfur region, a U.N. official said Saturday. The Rapid Support Forces and allied militias launched an offensive on the...
Iran and U.S. envoys hold 1st negotiation — face to face — over Tehran’s nuclear program
MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. American officials offered...
Hempfield’s High Park, West Point fire stations aim to ‘continue what was started’ through merger
Hempfield’s High Park Volunteer Fire Department is coming out of retirement and merging with the West Point station on the opposite side of the township. Westmoreland County Orphan’s Court approved the merger this week, according to court documents. The joint station will be operate under West Point’s name and location...
Israel cuts off Gaza’s southern city of Rafah and vows to ‘vigorously’ expand in the territory
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel announced Saturday it had completed construction of a new security corridor cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, and the military said it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory. Palestinians were further squeezed into shrinking...
Trump proclaims himself ‘in good shape,’ but the results of his physical aren’t immediately released
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had an annual physical on Friday and concluded, “I did well,” praising his own heart, soul and cognitive ability while noting medical reports from White House doctors may not be ready until the weekend. The 78-year-old, who in January became the oldest in U.S. history...
April ‘pink moon’ returns this weekend as micromoon
The annual April “pink moon” is set to rise this weekend — and this year, it’s going to be a micromoon. The pink moon will reach peal illumination at 8:22 p.m. EDT Saturday in the United States, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. April’s full moon will rise when its...
Immigration judge rules that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported
JENA, La. — Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil can be deported as a national security risk, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled Friday during a hearing over the legality of kicking the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations out of the U.S. Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans said at...
Trump wants Congress to end changing of clocks and keep country on daylight saving time
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday urged Congress to “push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day” in his latest dig at the semiannual changing of clocks. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media network, said it would be “Very popular and, most importantly,...
Trump reaches deals with 5 law firms, allowing them to avoid prospect of punishing executive orders
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced deals Friday with five law firms that will allow them to avoid the prospect of a punishing executive order and require them to together provide hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of free legal services for causes his administration supports. The resolutions reflect the...
Emails between Pa. lawmakers, lobbyists will remain hidden from public after court ruling
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. HARRISBURG — Emails and other communications between Pennsylvania lawmakers and the lobbyists who try to influence them will remain hidden from the public, an appellate...
Convicted killer who was mistakenly released from jail is caught 2 weeks later, U.S. Marshals say
JONESBORO, Ga. — A convicted killer who was mistakenly released from a Georgia jail has been caught two weeks later in Florida, the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday. Kathan Guzman was apprehended Friday by the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida, spokesman Brady McCarron told The Associated Press. Guzman admitted to...
Judge refuses to dismiss Central Park Five’s defamation case against President Trump
HARRISBURG — A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him filed by the men formerly known as the Central Park Five who were exonerated after spending more than a decade in prison for the 1989 rape and beating of a woman who...
Sen. Dave McCormick joins Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in calling for term limits for members of Congress
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick has joined forces with U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in calling for changes to the Constitution to impose term limits on members of Congress — a concept that continues to be an off-and-on debate on Capitol Hill. McCormick’s resolution, introduced Thursday, proposes capping term limits...
