Scientists push back as Trump and RFK Jr. promote false links between vaccines and autism
The message is hammered over and over, in news conferences, hearings and executive orders: President Donald Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., say they want the government to follow “gold standard” science. Scientists say the problem is that they are often doing just the opposite by relying...
Fire on Los Angeles container ship prompts shelter-in-place order for nearby communities
LOS ANGELES — A fire that broke out aboard a Los Angeles container ship on Friday continued to burn overnight, prompting a shelter in place order for surrounding communities over concerns about hazardous materials within the ship’s cargo. All 23 crew members of the ship were accounted for and there...
Israel launches new strikes in Gaza against Hamas in ceasefire’s latest test
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military on Saturday said it launched airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 14 people killed and another 45 wounded, including children. Similar waves of strikes...
Ukraine’s allies push back on U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country on Saturday as they pushed to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home. A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, former Trump loyalist, says she is resigning from Congress
WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of President Donald Trump who faced his political retribution if she sought reelection, said Friday she is resigning from Congress in January. Greene, in a more than 10-minute video posted online, explained her decision and said she didn’t want...
Supreme Court blocks order that found Texas congressional map is likely racially biased
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas’ 2026 congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump likely discriminates on the basis of race. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito will remain in place at least for the next few...
Info to decipher secret message in Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters sells for close to $1M
BOSTON — The information needed to decipher the last remaining unsolved secret message embedded within a sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia sold at auction for nearly $1 million, the auction house announced Friday. The winner will get a private meeting with the 80-year-old artist to go over the codes...
RFK Jr. says he personally directed CDC’s new guidance on vaccines and autism
NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally directed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its website to contradict its longtime guidance that vaccines don’t cause autism, he told The New York Times in an interview published Friday. His comments provide clarity into who...
Abortion is illegal again in North Dakota after court reverses a judge’s earlier decision
BISMARCK, N.D. — Abortion is again illegal in North Dakota after the state’s Supreme Court on Friday couldn’t muster the required majority to uphold a judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s ban last year. The law makes it a felony crime for anyone to perform an abortion, though it...
Flu activity is low, but experts worry about a new strain and vaccination rates
NEW YORK — The U.S. flu season is starting slowly, and it’s unclear if it will be as bad as last winter’s, but some health experts are worried as U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Friday shows a new version of the virus has emerged. An early...
See how much money your Pa. school district will receive to close adequacy, tax burden gaps
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts will each receive a slice of $565 million that lawmakers put in this...
Trump and Mamdani go from adversaries to bromance after White House meeting
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday met the man who had proudly proclaimed himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” but he seemed to find the opposite. The Republican president and New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani were warm and friendly, speaking repeatedly of their shared goals to help Trump’s hometown...
Trump administration sues California over giving in-state tuition to immigrants in U.S. illegally
SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration has sued California for providing in-state college tuition, scholarships, and state-funded financial aid to students who do not have legal status to be in the United States. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges the...
Kashoggi’s widow and Democrats demand release of a call transcript with Trump and Saudi crown prince
WASHINGTON — The widow of Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi called Friday for the release of the transcript of a 2019 phone call that President Donald Trump had with Mohammed bin Salman, joining Democratic lawmakers who are raising questions about whether Trump personally benefitted from his embrace of the Saudi...
Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’
A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson...
Pontifical secret revealed: Pope Leo XIV changes his Wordle start word each day
Pope Leo XIV opened a virtual meeting with American Catholic young people Friday by revealing a closely held pontifical secret: He uses a different Wordle start word each day. Leo divulged his strategy playing the popular New York Times online game before fielding questions via videoconference about artificial intelligence, social...
Trump and Mamdani meet Friday in the Oval Office. They’ve cast each other as adversaries for months
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has called New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and a “total nut job.” Mamdani has called Trump’s administration “authoritarian” and described himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.” So their first-ever meeting, scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. at the White House,...
Ohio officer acquitted in death of Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother accused of shoplifting
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio officer who shot and killed a pregnant Black mother in a supermarket parking lot after she was accused of shoplifting has been acquitted of all charges, including murder. Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb could have faced up to life in prison. The Blendon Township...
Putin says U.S. plan for Ukraine could form the basis for a final peace settlement
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday cautiously welcomed a U.S. proposal to end Moscow’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement.” Putin said Moscow had received the plan, which he called “a new version” and “a modernized plan,”...
Nations and environmental groups slam proposals at UN climate talks, calling them too weak
BELEM, Brazil — Several nations and environmental groups on Friday slammed proposals put forward at the U.N. climate talks in Brazil, saying they failed to explicitly mention the cause of global warming — the burning of fuels such as oil, gas and coal. The proposals, released on what was to...
Indian fighter jet crashes during a demonstration flight at Dubai Air Show, killing the pilot
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Indian fighter jet crashed Friday at the start of a demonstration flight in front of a crowd of spectators at the Dubai Air Show, killing its sole pilot. The Indian HAL Tejas smashed into the ground at the vast Al Maktoum International Airport at...
Pope tweaks a law allowing a woman to head the Vatican City State, months after a nun was appointed
ROME — Pope Leo XIV fixed a technical glitch on Friday in a Vatican law that became problematic after Pope Francis named the first-ever woman to head the Vatican City State administration. Leo amended the 2023 law to remove a reference that had said the president of the Vatican City...
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake in central Bangladesh kills at least 8 people
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A strong, 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook central Bangladesh on Friday, killing at least eight people and leaving more than 300 injured, authorities and local media said. Buildings in the country’s capital, Dhaka, swayed in the temblor, sending panicked residents into the streets. The quake hit at 10:38...
This is Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s 28-point draft proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine has been presented in Kyiv. Washington and Moscow worked together on the draft, and it offers terms more favorable to Russia by calling for Ukraine to cede territory, avoid joining NATO and more. The Associated Press...
Chris Deluzio’s Western Pa. offices targeted with bomb threats
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio’s district offices in Carnegie and Beaver County’s Center Township were targeted with bomb threats Friday afternoon, a spokesperson reported. The threats came a day after President Donald Trump accused Deluzio and five other Democratic lawmakers of engaging in “seditious behavior” by releasing a video telling servicemembers...
