Baltzer Meyer launches restoration work at 1881 schoolhouse
Robert Reintgen and his crew of contractors spent the better part of Friday removing eight large glass windows from the Baltzer Meyer Historical Society’s Hempfield schoolhouse. He had one goal in mind, maintaining the integrity of the 1881 structure. “You don’t want to embarrass the building,” said Reintgen, a Derry...
Wisconsin elections officials find clerk broke laws over uncounted ballots
MADISON, Wis . — Wisconsin elections officials declared Thursday that the former clerk of the state’s capital city broke several laws related to not counting nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November presidential election, but they stopped short of recommending criminal charges be brought. The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted...
Germany deports 81 Afghan nationals to their homeland in 2nd flight since the Taliban’s return
BERLIN — Germany deported dozens of Afghan men to their homeland on Friday, the second time it has done so since the Taliban returned to power and the first since a new government pledging a tougher line on migration took office in Berlin. German authorities said a flight took off...
Civil rights work is slowing as Trump dismantles the Education Department, agency data shows
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration insists it hasn’t wavered in its duty to protect the civil rights of America’s children even as it dismantles the Education Department. Yet its own data shows the agency has resolved far fewer civil rights cases than in past years despite families filing more complaints....
House Republicans grasp for response to demands for transparency in Epstein case
WASHINGTON — House Republicans were grasping late Thursday to formulate a response to the Trump administration’s handling of records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, ultimately putting forward a resolution that carries no legal weight but nodded to the growing demand for greater transparency. The House resolution, which could...
Shaler Area grad identified as victim of fatal Armstrong Tunnel crash
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 19-year-old man killed this week in a motorcycle crash in the Armstrong Tunnel. Bilol Egamberdiev of Glenshaw was driving on the inbound side of the tunnel in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood near Downtown just before 12:25 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators said he was traveling...
House approves Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting, foreign aid
WASHINGTON — The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked...
House gives final approval to Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid
WASHINGTON — The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked...
Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter
WASHINGTON — The controversy over President Donald Trump ‘s handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation entered a new dimension Thursday as his administration struggles to make good on its promises to release details on the sex trafficking case involving a one-time friend of the now-president. Trump promised a...
Rushing to save swimmers, former baseball player and police officer loses his life
PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. — Chase Childers, a former minor league baseball player and ex-police officer, has died after rushing into the ocean to save swimmers in a rip current, according to police in South Carolina and a GoFundMe page for his family. Trying to help a family of five, Childers...
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE
WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press....
An Idaho judge has lifted a sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case
BOISE — An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case. Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022. A coalition...
Trump has no plans to appoint special council for Epstein case, White House says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would not recommend a special counsel to look into the Jeffrey Epstein case in the face of bipartisan calls for further investigation. “The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” Leavitt said...
Felix Baumgartner, the 1st skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound, dies in crash in Italy
MILAN — Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile leap through the stratosphere more than a decade ago, was killed in a crash Thursday along the eastern coast of Italy, according to an official where the crash occurred. He...
U.S. says it destroyed 500 metric tons of expired food aid but it won’t affect future distribution
WASHINGTON — The State Department says its destruction of 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that was stored in a warehouse in the Middle East was required because it had expired and that the move will not affect the distribution of similar assistance moving forward. The high energy biscuits...
Some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to ban fluoride in public drinking water. Here’s what to know
A bill recently introduced to the state Senate would ban fluoride in Pennsylvania’s public drinking water, part of growing skepticism toward the naturally-occurring mineral that dental health experts have considered essential for decades. The Fluoride Choice Act, introduced by Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-York, would prevent fluoride from being added to...
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided Florida county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws...
Trump is checked for lower leg swelling and diagnosed with a common condition in older adults
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the...
Louisiana cancels $3B repair coastal restoration funded by Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is officially halting a $3 billion coastal restoration funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement money, state and federal agencies confirmed Thursday. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project had been intended to rebuild upward of 20 square miles of land in southeast Louisiana to combat sea...
U.S. Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Justice Department is recommending an ex-Kentucky police officer convicted of using excessive force during the deadly Breonna Taylor raid should serve no prison time, an abrupt about-face after spending years prosecuting the former detective. Brett Hankison is the only officer who fired his weapon the...
Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty
GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than...
Idaho judge lifts sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case. Bryan Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022....
Juul can continue selling its tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration is allowing vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend. FDA regulators said Thursday that Juul’s studies show its e-cigarettes are less harmful...
Gallery: Photos from July 17, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, July 17, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Ukraine to boost domestic arms production to counter Russia’s invasion
KYIV, Ukraine — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed...
