EDITOR’S NOTE: Editorial Page editor Megan Schrader takes a side in the “real vs. fake” Christmas tree debate. Look for the counterpoint by Features coordinator Barbara Ellis, slugged HOME-TREES-DEBATE-FAKE:DP.

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If you’ve tried to buy a fresh Christmas tree since 2020, the sticker shock probably drove you to check out the plastic ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers bought and sold stocks or other securities collectively worth between $19.8 million and $58.8 million this year as Congress inches toward a potential vote on banning stock trading for its members and immediate family, a Post-Gazette analysis found.

The transactions — primarily by two wealthy ...Read more

EDITOR’S NOTE: Features coordinator Barbara Ellis takes a side in the “real vs. fake” Christmas tree debate. Look for the counterpoint by Editorial Page editor Megan Schrader, slugged HOME-TREES-DEBATE-REAL:DP.

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I can still see my dad, hand slapping his forehead, looking exasperated, as my mom instructed (OK, bossed) him on how to �...Read more

Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast won Chile’s presidency by a landslide Sunday, harnessing voter anger over crime and migration to drive the country into its most dramatic rightward shift in decades.

With nearly 100% of ballots counted, Kast received 58% of the vote, followed by leftist Jeannette Jara with 42%, according to electoral body...Read more

Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast was decisively elected Chile’s president Sunday, driven by growing fears of crime and uncontrolled migration — making it the latest Latin America nation to take a hard turn to the right.

With 83.4% of ballots counted, Kast received about 59% of the vote, followed by leftist Jeannette Jara with 41%, ...Read more

NEW YORK — In dimly lit Italian restaurants, boisterous Irish pubs, and the vintage sprawling ballroom atop Rockefeller Center, candidates running for Congress in Philadelphia spent a busy weekend in New York trying to woo donors and supporters.

State Sen. Sharif Street, Ala Stanford, and State Rep. Morgan Cephas, all seeking to replace ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s final elections of 2025 delivered a resounding rebuke to Republicans, with Democratic candidates outperforming President Donald Trump’s 2024 margins by double digits. The swing gives Democrats a glimmer of hope for next year, a sharp contrast to the despair many felt a year ago in the aftermath of Trump’...Read more

President Donald Trump wants a very different kind of CNN if the cable news channel's parent Warner Bros. Discovery changes hands.

As details emerge in the battle between Netflix and Paramount over control of the historic movie studio and its streaming and TV assets, Trump has made it clear he wants new ownership and leadership at the network ...Read more

A group of 19 states sued the Trump administration to block a $100,000 fee for any new applications for H-1B visas, which allow employers in the U.S. to hire skilled foreign workers.

The mostly Democrat-led states argue in the suit filed Friday that the fee creates a costly and illegal barrier for employers to use the popular visa program, ...Read more

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Friday said President Donald Trump “just sits in the Oval Office and just hurls 1980s tropes about Baltimore” — the latest jab in a months-long feud between the two leaders.

Moore chastised Trump in an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” show, where one of the show’s hosts asked him to react to Trump ...Read more

​WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to recommend reinstalling Rep. Henry Cuellar as the ranking member of the panel’s Homeland Security subcommittee, after President Donald Trump pardoned the congressman for alleged bribery schemes.

Trump’s “full and unconditional” pardon of the Texas ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Brian Cahill had never been to a protest caroling event in his life, he admitted.

Cahill, who is 66 and lives in Fair Oaks, was among 45 people who walked around downtown Sacramento on a chilly Thursday evening. The group sang a medley of traditional songs and modified Christmas carols that protested Donald Trump’s ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration's immigration policy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — A handful of Las Vegas casino executives and the industry’s top Washington D.C.-based lobbyist recently met with a high-ranking congressional representative in a last-ditch effort to undo a provision in the president’s signature legislation that will hurt gamblers when it goes into effect next year.

Derek Stevens of Circa, ...Read more

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament, setting the stage for an early election after a key political party backing his minority government threatened to withdraw its support.

Anutin said in a Facebook post late on Thursday that he would “return power to the people.” Hours later, King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed the ...Read more

On most days, the words “Donald Trump” and “strategy” don’t fit in the same sentence. Combined, they’re an oxymoron in the truest sense. After all, strategy denotes a well-thought-out plan with concrete goals, realistic ways of achieving those goals and a set of principles that serve as an anchor as the president goes about the job. ...Read more

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday evening that seeks to challenge state laws on artificial intelligence and withhold certain grant funds for states with AI laws the administration dislikes.

The effort could be a significant victory for major technology companies but is almost certain to be challenged in court.

“We ...Read more

President Donald Trump is expected to direct his administration to move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could represent one of the biggest shifts in U.S. policy toward cannabis in decades.

Trump has discussed the idea with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators are demanding more details on the drug pricing deals that Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and others have struck with the Trump administration in an effort to understand whether they’re actually saving the government any money.

In letters sent to chief executives of Pfizer, Lilly, Novo Nordisk A/S and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an order aimed at thwarting state-level regulation of artificial intelligence, handing a policy win to tech industry leaders who have pressed for preemption of local rules.

Trump said the measure was necessary to bolster the emerging technology and counter a patchwork of state-level regulation the ...Read more