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MILLVALE, Pa. (AP) — When the scaffolding came down inside the unassuming hilltop church near Pittsburgh, it revealed a raging storm of biblical proportions.A wide-eyed Moses holds the Ten Commandments aloft in righteous fury, ready to shatter the tablets when his followers abandon God for a golden calf. Lightning sizzles and a tornado surges in the background.The late artist Maxo Vanka created the mural in 1941, based on a scene from the Book of Exodus. It’s one of 25 murals that cover the walls and ceilings of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church.Vanka, a Croatian American immigrant like most of the…

OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — The D-Day generation, smaller in number than ever, is back on the beaches of France where so much blood was spilled 81 years ago. World War II veterans, now mostly centenarians, have returned with the same message they fought for then: Freedom is worth defending.In what they acknowledge may be one of their last hurrahs, a group of nearly two dozen veterans who served in Europe and the Pacific is commemorating the fallen and getting rock-star treatment this week in Normandy — the first patch of mainland France that Allied forces liberated with the June…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to block nearly all foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University, his latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body.In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump declared that it would jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students on its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.“I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States because, in my judgment, Harvard’s conduct has…

Plumes of smoke are blanketing large swaths of the U.S. and parts of Europe, which presents risks for those breathing it. The Midwest, Northeast and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. have “very unhealthy” air quality, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and experts say people should take precautions.What counts as bad air?The EPA’s Air Quality Index converts all pollutant levels into a single number. The lower the number, the better.Anything below 50 is classified as “healthy.” Fifty to 100 is “moderate” while 100-150 is unhealthy for “sensitive groups,” and anything above 150 is bad for everyone. The Air Quality…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Democratic-sponsored proposal to limit per-student payments to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools and make other changes to how they operate narrowly passed the state House on Wednesday over Republican objections that it would imperil the online learning programs. The 104-98 vote, with only two Republicans in favor, sets down a marker on the perennially contentious issue of school funding as state lawmakers work to complete the coming year’s state budget for the fiscal year that starts in July.The bill’s $8,000 limit on how much public school districts would have to reimburse the cyber charters was the…

Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican from Long Island, is making a second push to simplify federal contracts so more small businesses can understand and compete for them.Newsday via Getty Images One barrier that keeps small businesses from chasing federal contracts might soon come down. And it’s not cost or competition. It’s the writing. On Tuesday, the House passed the Plain Language in Contracting Act by voice vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican from Long Island, now heads to the Senate. It calls on federal agencies to write all new small business contracts using “plain language” and…

7 ways to repurpose content into LinkedIn gold getty You’re already sitting on awesome LinkedIn content, you’re just not using it right. When everyone else seems to put together the perfect hooks and inspiring posts, you’re comparing your blank page and that last update that went nowhere. It doesn’t have to be like this. Your notes, emails, client calls, and past work contain hit posts waiting to happen. Business owners burn hours making content from scratch when they could turn existing material into attention-grabbing LinkedIn posts that attract their ideal clients. I spent 18 months doubling down on LinkedIn, learning…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stepped up his efforts Wednesday to guarantee preschool access for every 4-year-old in the state, offering assurances his plan would reap widespread benefits — improving student performance while bolstering employment and family budgets.Having been stymied by the state’s GOP-supermajority legislature in recent years when he pitched his universal pre-K plan, Beshear kicked off a high-profile campaign in hopes of building grassroots support. It comes about seven months before lawmakers convene in January for their 2026 session, which could be the term-limited governor’s last realistic chance to turn his ambitious preschool plan…

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — Officials in the Georgia school district where four people were killed in a September shooting at Apalachee High School are considering a property tax increase to pay for school-based police officers.Barrow County Superintendent Dallas LeDuff told school board members Tuesday that the tax increase would be necessary because county government has informed the school district that it will no longer pay for sheriff’s deputies, local news outlets reported.The school district and Barrow County Commission have been splitting the price of deputies assigned as school resource officers since 2017. That number was originally 12, rose to 16…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to block a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency in the U.S. access to reduced in-state tuition rates. Texas was the first state in the nation in 2001 to pass a law allowing “Dreamers,” or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. Twenty-four states now have similar laws, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, which tracks state policies on immigration and education.The lawsuit filed in Texas federal court asks a judge to block…