Pittsburgh – A prosecutor refused to approve criminal charges Friday against Pittsburgh’s mayor and six City Council members over the passage of firearms restrictions that gun rights advocates say are blatant and deliberate violations of state law. Seven city residents tried to file private criminal complaints against Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto, who signed the legislation [...]

Jerusalem – Four Jewish House Democrats known for their ties to AIPAC warned Israel not to annex West Bank territory days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election-eve pledge to do that. The statement by Reps. Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey, both D-N.Y., Ted Deutch, D-Fla. and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., did not name Netanyahu, but alluded [...]

Albany, NY – New York’s governor says legislation that would end the ability of parents to object to vaccinations for their children on religious grounds is “legally questionable.” Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo during interviews this week called the recent surge in measles cases a serious public health concern but said eliminating the religious exemption to [...]

South Korea – Just two hours after Lee Dong Kil’s daughter was born on New Year’s Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn’t alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1. According [...]

Chicago – The number of young kids who went to U.S. emergency rooms because they swallowed toys, coins, batteries and other objects has more than doubled, a new study says. In 2015, there were nearly 43,000 such visits among kids under 6, compared with 22,000 in 1995, according to the study published Friday in the [...]

Jerusalem – Benny Gantz, head of the centrist Blue and White party who had challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called to congratulate him Friday after Israel’s final election results showed the prime minister poised to win a fifth term. Netanyahu appeared all but certain to form the next government, as the final tally showed his [...]

Washington – The White House considered going after political opponents by pushing U.S. immigration authorities to release detained immigrants into “sanctuary cities,” three sources familiar with the idea confirmed Friday. They told The Associated Press that President Donald Trump considered the proposal amid his ongoing battling Democrats over border wall funding. So-called sanctuary cities are [...]

Jerusalem – Israel’s president says he will receive party representatives at his residence on Monday to hear their recommendations for who should be the next prime minister. President Reuven Rivlin’s office announced Friday he will consult with the heads of all elected factions, in order of largest to smallest, about their choices. Rivlin, whose role [...]

Tehran – Iranians have rallied against the U.S.’s decision to designate the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guards as a foreign terrorist organization. Thousands of worshippers came out of mosques after Friday prayers and burned flags of both the U.S. and Israel while also chanting traditional anti-U.S. slogans at such rallies of “Death to America” and “Death [...]

Miami – A metal rod fell from a pickup truck and broke through the windshield of an SUV, narrowly missing the driver on a Florida expressway. Teresita McConney tells WSVN she heard a bang while driving on the Dolphin Expressway on Thursday. The rod pierced through the glass, just to the right of the rosary [...]