WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. - Inside Lehigh Valley Mall's Build A Bear store, 11-year-old Niya was working on something new. Read moreAdopt Lehigh Valley Kids: Niya

They wore their caps and gowns, and walked the halls of Sheridan, Mosser, and Ritter elementary schools. Read moreDieruff seniors, clad in caps and gowns, visit former elementary schools before graduation

There are events being held this weekend by land and air. Read moreHot air balloon festival in Warren County, NJ kicks off

May job numbers blew past expectations, with 339,000 jobs added, marking the 29th straight month of job growth. Read moreLocal economists weigh in after strong jobs report exceeds expectations, US set to avoid default

Panama has launched a security operation along its shared border with Colombia to combat organized crime groups and migrant smugglers involved in record-setting migration through the perilous Darien Gap this year. Security officials said Friday that the “Shield” campaign is part of the agreement reached with the governments of Colombia and the United States in April to stop the flow of migrants through the border’s jungle-clad mountains. Panama will use previously U.S.-donated helicopters to increase aerial patrols of the largely roadless region, but stressed that it was a Panamanian operation. The government will also send more special border police units into the area to try to root out the criminal gangs. Read morePanama launches operation in Darien jungle targeting organized crime and migrant smugglers

Two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 200 people and trapping hundreds of others inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars.  Fire Services Chief Sudhanshu Sarangi told the Press Trust of India that more than 800 people were hurt. He said the number of fatalities was likely to climb. The accident happened in eastern India, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata. The cause was under investigation. Read morePassenger trains derail in India, killing more than 200, trapping many others

Churchill Downs will suspend racing operations on Wednesday and move the remainder of its spring meet to Ellis Park to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of safety and surface protocols in the wake of 12 horse fatalities the past month at the home of the Kentucky Derby. A release stated that no single factor has been identified as a potential cause for the fatalities or pattern detected, but it decided to relocate the meet “in an abundance of caution.” Read moreChurchill Downs moves meet to Ellis Park to examine protocols following 12 horse deaths

President Joe Biden will address the nation Friday evening from the Oval Office on the budget deal that lifts the federal debt limit and averts a U.S. government default. The legislation was passed by the Senate late Thursday night after being approved by the House the previous night. Biden is expected to sign the measure on Saturday. That will end a tumultuous episode in Washington that threatened an unprecedented default on the country’s debt, which would have sent shockwaves through the global economy. Biden’s speech is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time. Read moreBiden to say default 'crisis averted' in Oval Office address on debt ceiling deal Friday evening

Scores of residents from Canada’s Atlantic Coast province of Nova Scotia whose homes have been destroyed by wildfires boarded buses to get a look at what little remains of where they used to live. The region’s executive director of community safety says about 200 people would be part of the grim tour through subdivisions northwest of the downtown. About 200 structures, including 151 homes, have been destroyed in the Halifax area, though those numbers could change. In all, more than 16,000 people were evacuated from homes and businesses there. The forecast was calling for steady rain tonight and into Saturday. Read moreHalifax residents board buses to view homes destroyed by wildfires

Kaija Saariaho, who wrote acclaimed works that made her the among the most prominent composers of the 21st century, has died. She was 70. Saariaho's family says in a statement posted on her Facebook page that she died at her apartment in Paris. She had been diagnosed in February 2021 with an aggressive and incurable brain tumor. Her “L’Amour de Loin” premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2000 and made its U.S. debut at Santa Fe two years later. In 2016, it became the first staged work by a female composer at the Metropolitan Opera since Ethel M. Smyth’s “Der Wald” in 1903. Read moreAcclaimed composer Kaija Saariaho dies at age 70 of brain tumor

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse. DeSantis, whose whirlwind tour this week included stops in Iowa and New Hampshire, used his first stop Friday morning in Bluffton to respond to knocks from Donald Trump, who boasted that he could accomplish in six months what would take the governor eight years. DeSantis told voters it can't be done “in 24 hours or six months or anything like that” but described the mission of the next Republican president as “trench warfare.” Read moreDeSantis wraps up 1st early states tour as candidate with more personal touch in South Carolina

An Iowa task force has completed its search for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed Davenport apartment building without finding three missing people who are feared dead, authorities said Friday. The focus has shifted to shoring up the structure so recovery efforts can begin. Rick Halleran, the task force’s Cedar Rapids division chief, said the search for survivors was completed Thursday evening after electrical equipment connected to the building was controlled. Officials said Friday the building has been unstable and needed to settle before further action could take place. Halleran said, “We do what the building tells us to do." Read moreRescuers at site of Iowa building collapse complete search for survivors, move on to recovery

A U.S. official says CIA Director William Burns went to Beijing in May to meet with Chinese counterparts. It's the highest level visit by a Biden administration official since a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by American forces. First reported by The Financial Times, Burns' visit comes as Washington tries to cool tensions with Beijing. U.S. officials have long worried about miscommunication causing conflict between the world’s two largest economies and geopolitical rivals. Beijing rejected Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's request for a meeting at a security forum this week with his Chinese counterpart. The Pentagon says Austin did speak briefly with Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu on Friday. Read moreCIA Director William Burns met Chinese leaders in Beijing as Washington tries to thaw tensions

Customers of Chase’s online banking services have seen double transactions, fees and payments in their accounts. But by late Friday the bank said it had fixed the glitch. Numerous Chase customers had posted on social media that their rent or bill payments were taken out of their accounts twice and reported hold times with customer service approaching more than an hour. The New York-based bank is one of the country’s largest financial institutions with millions of online customers. Read moreChase says online banking issue now resolved after bug causes double transactions and fees

A building under construction in New Haven, Connecticut, partially collapsed during a concrete pour, injuring eight construction workers, including two critically. But officials say there were no fatalities in Friday's collapse. Officials say firefighters pulled six people from the building, including three who were partially buried, and two others made it out on their own. Fire Chief John Alston Jr. says the injuries include broken bones. Officials say a portion of second floor collapsed through the first floor and into the basement. Workers told officials the concrete was being poured faster than they could spread it, and it pooled too much and caused the collapse. Federal officials are investigating. Read more8 construction workers injured as building partially collapses during concrete mishap in New Haven

The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. And the Book of Mormon could be next. The Davis School District north of Salt Lake City banned the Bible from its elementary and middle schools in response to a parental complaint. After news of the Bible ban, the district said it received a complaint about the Book of Mormon. This all comes as parent activists throughout the United States sow alarm about how sex is talked about in schools. Read moreUtah district bans Bible in elementary and middle schools 'due to vulgarity or violence'

Donald Trump’s lawyers are demanding that the judge in his New York City criminal case step aside, echoing the former president’s complaints that he’s “a Trump-hating judge” with a family full of “Trump haters.” Trump's lawyers said Friday that Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has shown anti-Trump bias in previous cases related to the businessman-turned-politician. They also say he has a conflict of interest arising from his daughter’s work for some of Trump’s Democratic rivals. The decision on recusal is up to Merchan himself, and judges seldom exit cases over such requests. A message seeking comment was left with Merchan. A court spokesperson said “it would be inappropriate for any further comment” since the case is pending. Read moreDonald Trump’s lawyers ask judge to exit criminal case, echoing claims of political bias

Memphis guard Ja Morant not being charged with a crime for twice displaying a gun on social media will not prevent the NBA from handing down more discipline, Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday. Silver is preparing to announce whatever penalty is coming Morant’s way for the second gun incident shortly after the end of the NBA Finals. He suspended Morant for eight games in March after the Grizzlies star held a gun in a suburban Denver nightclub while streaming himself live on Instagram. Another live stream in May, this time while sharing the front seat of a car with one of his friends, saw Morant displaying a weapon again. Read moreSilver says Morant not being charged with a crime won't prevent NBA penalties

A judge in Colorado has agreed to delay the first criminal trial in the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who was stopped by police, forcibly restrained and injected with a powerful sedative nearly four years ago. Police officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt had been scheduled to go on trial starting July 10, but their lawyers asked for more time. They said they could not mount a proper defense because prosecutors had not spelled out what actions by their clients allegedly led to McClain’s injuries, or whether they are accused of being directly responsible for his death or considered complicit in other defendants' actions. The two have pleaded not guilty. Read moreJudge delays first criminal trial in Elijah McClain's death over objections of prosecutors