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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Justice Department instructed to dismiss legal challenge to Georgia election law
ATLANTA — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday instructed the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a sweeping election overhaul that Georgia Republican lawmakers passed in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in the state. The lawsuit, filed in June 2021 under former President Joe...
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates make final push amid high spending, voting
MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court and his Democratic-backed challenger made a final blitz across the state on Monday, the day before voting concludes in a race where early turnout has surged and spending is nearing $100 million. Billionaire Elon Musk, a top Trump...
Wisconsin judge won’t stop Musk’s $1 million payments to voters. Attorney general appeals
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Saturday declined to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters in the state at a planned rally days before the closely contested Supreme Court election. The state attorney general, who argues that the offer violates the law,...
Democrats pour millions of dollars into 2 special elections in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Democrats, with few electoral outlets for their outrage at President Donald Trump’s dramatic restructuring of the federal government, are pouring millions of dollars into two special elections in Florida. That’s where Democratic candidates are trying to accomplish the improbable by flipping a pair of Trump-friendly congressional seats...
Musk promises he’ll go to Wisconsin to deliver $2 million to voters but then deletes his message
MADISON, Wis. — Billionaire Elon Musk on Friday deleted a social media post in which he had announced plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the state’s hotly contested Supreme Court race....
Dan Goughnour wins big in state House race, positioning Dems to reclaim majority
Democrats are poised to reclaim control of the Pennsylvania House as McKeesport police officer Dan Goughnour rolled to a commanding victory Tuesday night in a special election to fill a vacancy in the chamber. The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of...
Norwin School Board candidates face hearing on petition challenges
Three Norwin School Board candidates should be removed from the May 20 primary ballot, according to legal challenges filed by two opponents. Westmoreland County Judge Harry Smail is scheduled to hear challenges Wednesday to the nominating petitions of Alex Detschelt, a current school board member seeking a nomination on the...
2 veteran Hempfield Area school board members decide not to seek reelection
Hempfield Area school board will see at least two new faces next year, as veteran members Paul Ward and Diane Ciabattoni are opting not to run for reelection. Board President Jerry Radebaugh and Vice President Scott Learn will seek another term, according to Westmoreland County records. The former Westmoreland County...
3 candidates vie for state House in Mon Valley special election race
A special election in the Mon Valley will determine control of the state House. The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of state Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport. Gergely had represented the 35th Legislative District for just under two years. Looking to fill...
Pete Buttigieg won’t seek U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, leaving door wide open for 2028 run
SAUGATUCK, Mich. — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that he will not seek an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, a move that leaves the door wide open for him to seek a much bigger role as his party’s next presidential nominee. Since his role in the Biden administration...
Wisconsin clerk who failed to count almost 200 ballots is suspended
MADISON, Wis. — The mayor of Wisconsin’s capital city said Wednesday she has placed the municipal clerk on leave as investigators work to determine how she failed to count almost 200 absentee ballots in the November election. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a statement that the city has launched...
Why should America worry about Trump? Try the price of eggs, say some Democrats
NEW YORK — As their party struggles to navigate the early days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, some Democrats are convinced that their road to recovery lies in the price of eggs. Instead of leaning into Trump’s teardown of the federal government or his alliance with billionaire lieutenant Elon Musk,...
Wisconsin audit of Trump win finds not a single voting machine error
MADISON, Wis. — An audit of the November election won by President Donald Trump in swing-state Wisconsin found that not a single vote was counted incorrectly, altered or missed by tabulating machines. The audit also found no evidence that any voting machine or software had been hacked or otherwise tampered...
From Cabinet secretary to doomsday president: What being a designated survivor is like
WASHINGTON — They start the day often as low-profile Cabinet secretaries. They end it that way, too, God willing. But, when the rest of the government is gathered together for a big event, like President Donald Trump ‘s joint congressional address Tuesday night, a designated survivor is kept away to...
Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decades-long tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in...
Retired deputy coroner will seek to lead office
A former deputy coroner who left his job just months after his new boss was elected has announced his candidacy for coroner. John Ackerman, 68, of Hempfield, said he has no ill will against incumbent Coroner Tim Carson, but said he wants to lead the county office of death investigations....
Trump’s 3rd week saw more executive orders, a trade war that wasn’t and a Mideast jolt
WASHINGTON — Three weeks in, President Donald Trump keeps cranking out executive orders designed to remake the government while billionaire Elon Musk hunts for more ways to upend the federal workforce. Trump also provoked — then called off — trade wars with Canada and Mexico but allowed one with China...
Gainey, O’Connor talk budget, traffic in mayoral debate
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor laid out their plans on key issues such as traffic and city finances in a brief debate hosted Sunday by the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, with assistance from the 14th Ward Democratic Committee. The two will face off in...
Hempfield lawyer announces campaign for county judge
Hempfield attorney Matt Schimizzi on Wednesday announced his candidacy for a seat on Westmoreland County’s Court of Common Pleas. Schimizzi, 41, is making his second run for a judicial post after finishing third in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in 2019, in what was among the expensive local judicial...
Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson will seek 2nd term
Tim Carson is seeking a second term as Westmoreland County coroner. Carson, 53, a Republican from Scottdale, won the four-year seat in 2021. In an announcement about his candidacy, Carson pointed to strides he said he has made in modernizing the office after he took the reins. He also touted...
Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned after submitting his Trump report, Justice Department says
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump, an expected move that comes amid legal wrangling over how much of that document can be made public in the days ahead. The department disclosed Smith’s departure in a...
‘I Voted’ sticker contest voting opens in Allegheny County
Are you tired of receiving the generic American flag “I Voted” sticker that’s given out during elections? Well, you now have a chance to provide input for the design of the Allegheny County “I Voted” sticker that will be used in the upcoming primary and general elections. Voting is open...
Justice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel’s Trump report for now
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect’s hoarding of classified documents at...
Commissioners look to ‘retool’ Westmoreland election bureau
The search for a new director of Westmoreland County’s election bureau could begin in earnest this month as officials said Monday they want to have a new leadership team in place before the May primary. Former director Greg McCloskey retired in December, leaving a vacancy officials have yet to begin...
A small group of donors dominated these high-profile Pa. races during the 2024 election
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 — A handful of groups were responsible for the vast majority of donations and independent spending in high-profile Pennsylvania elections for positions that make...


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