Musk uses his X ownership and White House position to push Trump priorities, intimidate detractors
WASHINGTON — The emergence of X owner Elon Musk as the most influential figure around President Donald Trump has created an extraordinary dynamic — a White House adviser who’s using one of the world’s most powerful information platforms to sell the government’s talking points while intimidating its detractors. In recent...
2nd federal judge in 2 days blocks President Trump’s birthright citizenship order
SEATTLE — A second federal judge in two days has blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally, decrying what he described as the administration’s attempt to ignore the Constitution for political gain. U.S. District Judge John C....
Fiery resignation by Pa.’s consumer advocate breeds fear office will lose independence
HARRISBURG — In a letter announcing he would resign as Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate, Patrick Cicero claimed he was the victim what he called a public campaign led by various investor-owned utilities to seek his removal. David W. Sunday, the incoming Republican attorney general, Cicero said, had asked him to reapply...
From fighting disease to protecting the Amazon rainforest, USAID has big impact across the globe
The Trump administration’s decision to close the U.S. Agency for International Development has drawn widespread criticism from congressional Democrats and raised questions and concern about the influence billionaire ally Elon Musk wields over the federal government. The United States is by far the world’s largest source of foreign assistance, although...
Ukraine says its long-range drones hit Russian airfield as France delivers Mirage fighter jets
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces struck an airfield in southern Russia that was being used to launch Iran-designed Shahed drones, Ukraine’s General Staff claimed Thursday. France meanwhile said it had delivered the first batch of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine and the Netherlands sent more F-16s. The nighttime attack on...
Panama’s president denies making a deal that U.S. ships can transit canal for free
PANAMA CITY — Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free. Mulino said he had told U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday that he could neither...
Egypt lobbies against Trump plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians as Israel makes preparations
CAIRO — Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of Palestinians from Gaza despite international rejection of President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the territory of its population. Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes against the proposal, warning it would put its peace deal with...
Gallery: Photos from Feb. 6, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Trump unleashes a supercharged MAGA agenda and Republicans come aboard
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is testing how far Republicans are willing to go in supporting his supercharged “Make America Great Again” agenda, tearing down government agencies and taking actions fundamentally at odds with once-traditional party principles. For now, Republicans are marching largely in lockstep. They are backing Cabinet...
U.S. is freezing and La Nina usually eases warming. Earth just set another heat record anyway
WASHINGTON — The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus. The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by a...
Judge temporarily blocks Trump plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to push out federal workers by offering them financial incentives, the latest twist in a chaotic and distressing saga playing out for millions of government employees. The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for them to...
Penn Township 8th grader’s glass art earns spot in international showcase
Most 13-year-olds wouldn’t ask for a glass-blowing torch for their birthday. But Penn Township native Caitlin Dolhi isn’t like most 13-year-olds. Dolhi, an eighth grade student at Penn Middle School, learned three years ago about the Pittsburgh Glass Center, tucked along Penn Avenue in the city’s Friendship neighborhood, and enrolled...
U.S. officials advise travelers to be careful in Uganda because of Ebola
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Wednesday urged Americans traveling to Uganda to take precautions because of an Ebola outbreak — and said they are helping Ugandan health officials respond to the threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel alert does not call on travelers to steer...
CIA offers buyouts to staffers as new director looks to stamp Trump’s imprint on agency
WASHINGTON — The CIA confirmed on Wednesday that it has offered buyouts to employees who voluntarily resign, the latest group of workers targeted in President Donald Trump’s push to transform the federal government. A CIA spokesperson declined to say how many people received offers or whether they face any deadline...
Boy who protected sister from plane crash debris making ‘miraculous’ recovery
PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year-old boy has been making a “miraculous” recovery after protecting his younger sister from the flying debris of a medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia last week, his family said. “Daddy, did I save my sister?” was one of the first things Trey Howard asked his...
The heist of 100,000 eggs in Franklin County becomes a whodunit that police have yet to crack
ANTRIM TOWNSHIP — The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack. Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper...
Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the...
’60 Minutes’ publicly releases transcripts of interview at heart of its dispute with Trump
NEW YORK — CBS’ “60 Minutes” posted online Wednesday the unedited transcripts of its October interview with Kamala Harris that sparked a lawsuit by Donald Trump, saying that they proved its broadcast was not “doctored or deceitful.” That’s what Trump contended in a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the...
Thousands protest Trump administration policies in cities across the country
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities across the U.S. on Wednesday to protest the Trump administration’s early actions, decrying everything from the president’s immigration crackdown to his rollback of transgender rights and a proposal to forcibly transfer Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Protesters in Philadelphia and at state capitols in...
Podcast: Seton Hill’s Setonian hiatus signals journalism’s need to adapt
Seton Hill University in Greensburg has decided to place its student-run newspaper on indefinite hiatus. While the Setonian’s shuttering came as a surprise to some students, university representatives and the organization’s longtime adviser said the newspaper needs to change and the journalism major needs to regain student interest. TribLive reporter...
VA nurses are in short supply. Unions say Trump’s deferred resignation plan could make things worse
For the federal government’s largest group of employees — nurses caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs — the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer and its looming Thursday deadline come amid longstanding staffing shortages, deemed severe at more than half of all facilities. Unions are discouraging nurses...
Trump’s birthright citizenship order is put on hold by a second federal judge
GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a “most precious right.” U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court...
Fox News hires president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump for weekend show on network
NEW YORK — Fox News Channel has hired the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to be host of a new weekend show on the network. Trump was a contributor who made appearances on Fox in 2021 and 2022, after President Donald Trump lost his bid for a second term, then served...
Callers swamp Senate offices in Trump’s first weeks, only to get busy signals and full voicemail
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Callers are getting busy signals and voicemail inboxes are full at many U.S. Senate offices as people try to reach out and voice their opinions on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, executive orders and moves to dismantle various federal programs. A memo distributed to Senate staff on...
Black church in DC that was vandalized by the Proud Boys gains control over the group’s trademark
WASHINGTON — A judge has awarded a historic Black church in Washington control over the Proud Boys trademark after the far-right group defaulted on a $2.8 million judgment. The Monday ruling in D.C. Superior Court grants rights to the trademark of the group’s name to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal...
