December 28, 2024 1:21 am
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, began this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh Stanton, a vice president of the Jewish Federations of North America. He oversees interfaith initiatives involving the 146 local and regional Jewish federations that his organization represents. While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it’s taking place this year amid continuing conflicts involving Israeli forces in the Middle East, and apprehension over widespread incidents of antisemitism. Locally, a Menorah was lit on the front lawn of the Washington County Courthouse> (Photo: AP)
December 28, 2024 1:26 am
(AP) – Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African descendant populations. The holiday, which serves as a nationwide communal event reinforcing self-determination and unity in the face of oppression, spans seven days from the day after Christmas through New Year’s Day. It is observed in large, city-sponsored events as well as in smaller communities and homes nationwide. Kwanzaa has grown in popularity in the decades since its founding and is celebrated by 3% of the country, according to a 2019 AP-NORC survey. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all released statements commemorating the holiday, and in 1997 the U.S. Postal Service began issuing Kwanzaa stamps. It is not recognized as a federal holiday. (Photo: AP)
December 27, 2024 4:46 am
PITTSBURGH — The Fort Pitt Museum will close for updates in January. Closure begins on Jan. 1 and is expected to reopen on Feb. 1. The updates include routine maintenance and cleaning of the diorama of 18th-century Pittsburgh, which has been on display since the museum opened in 1969. Kids can visit the museum now for free through Dec. 31. An exhibit about the culture of Native American tribes who lived in Western Pennsylvania is open too.
December 26, 2024 4:54 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman is dead after she was hit and killed by a vehicle in Peters Township. Washington County dispatchers said emergency crews were called to the 2000 block of Washington Road at 7:35 p.m. Peters Township Police said the crash happened as a 79-year-old woman and her daughter were crossing the road near the lower entrance of Pizzaz and Simmons Farm Market’s parking lot. The woman was hit by a Honda traveling in the northbound lanes. Her daughter was not hit. The woman was taken to St. Clair Hospital where she later died. The driver of the Honda, a 73-year-old man, immediately stopped and cooperated at the scene. Police said he was not impaired. The victim’s identity has not been released at this time.
December 26, 2024 5:06 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The community came together on the first night of Hanukkah for a special ceremony in Squirrel Hill on Wednesday. The candle lighting of the larger-than-life menorah in front of the Tree of Life synagogue has a deeper meaning. “Remember it takes just a little light to dispel the darkness,” said Tree of Life synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. Standing strong outside the Pittsburgh synagogue, the menorah was a gift to the congregation in 2018, just weeks after the deadly antisemitic shooting where 11 Jewish worshipers were killed. Though plans are underway for a new synagogue on the site, the congregation, including Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the horrific mass shooting, said this will always be their home. “We’re temporarily not housed in this space but we’re still here,” Myers said. “Our spirit didn’t leave and the light that’s Tree of Life congregation didn’t go out. We are still here.” The Rabbi said Judaism and Christianity are intertwined through that light, especially on a rare double holiday. This December 25, Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day for the first time in 19 years.
December 26, 2024 4:58 am
The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. “We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium said in a Wednesday statement. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
December 26, 2024 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions. Scrutiny is being focused on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria. Some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in for all of Trump’s picks. But others have withheld their support for now, especially on some of his more controversial nominees. That injects uncertainty into the process as Republicans are set to take the Senate majority with a four-seat margin. Trump has challenged them to confirm his Cabinet immediately.
December 26, 2024 5:11 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won’t be tried until September 2025. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order released on Monday that Ryan Routh’s trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10 start date. Routh has pleaded not guilty. Routh’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay the trial until next December, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense. Routh’s charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence in the event of a conviction.
December 26, 2024 5:09 am
An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard has crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau and an official says 38 people were killed and 29 survived. The Embraer 190 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Aktau. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information showed that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
December 25, 2024 6:22 am
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem’s economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war.
