July 11, 2021 7:55 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday made his first public appearance since major intestinal surgery last week, greeting well-wishers as he stood for 10 minutes on a hospital balcony, offering hearty thanks for all the prayers for his recovery and calling health care for all a “precious” good. Francis, 84, has been steadily on the mend, according to the Vatican, following his July 4 scheduled surgery to remove a portion of his colon which had narrowed due to inflammation. But it hasn’t said just when he might be discharged. On the morning after his surgery, a Holy See spokesperson said his hospital stay was expected to last seven days, “barring complications.” At first the pontiff’s voice sounded on the weak side as he began his remarks after stepping onto a balcony outside his special suite at Gemelli Polyclinic at noon (1000 GMT; 6 a.m. EST). That is the hour when traditionally he would have appeared from a window at the Vatican overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Exactly a week earlier, in his noon remarks he had given no hint that in a few hours he would have entered the hospital for surgery that same night.
July 11, 2021 7:54 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The North Korean and Chinese leaders expressed their desire Sunday to further strengthen their ties as they exchanged messages marking the 60th anniversary of their countries’ defense treaty. In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said it is “the fixed stand” of his government to “ceaselessly develop the friendly and cooperative relations” between the countries, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. Xi said in his message that China and North Korea have “unswervingly supported each other,” according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. North Korea has been expected to seek greater support from China, its major ally and aid benefactor, as it grapples with economic hardship exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. China, for its part, sees preventing a North Korean collapse as crucial to its security interests and would need to boost ties with North Korea and other traditional allies amid fierce rivalry with the United States, some experts say.
July 11, 2021 7:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With just a year and a half left in office, Gov. Tom Wolf’s primary focus will be convincing the Republican-controlled Legislature to modernize how state aid is distributed to Pennsylvania’s public schools — a shift that could carry a price tag of $1 billion. Doing so would direct more money to Pennsylvania’s poorest school districts — including districts with the state’s biggest proportions of Black students — as well as to growing suburban districts whose share of state aid reflects early 1990s demographics or political compromises in the Legislature. In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, the Democratic governor also said he remains dedicated to two initiatives opposed by many Republicans: adding tolls to nine major interstate bridges in need of upgrades and forcing fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for the carbon dioxide they emit. On the proposed bridge tolls, Wolf said he hasn’t seen a better idea to fill the growing highway construction-funding gap worsened by stagnating gasoline tax revenues. On the other, the centerpiece of his agenda to fight climate change, Pennsylvania’s coal-fired power plants have been closing anyway, Wolf said, and his plan at least promises aid to coal communities that lose plants in the future. Wolf, 72, is term-limited and must leave office in January 2023.
July 11, 2021 7:48 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Allegheny Technologies, Inc. is investigating an incident in which a striking employee was reportedly seen carrying a scythe and wearing a “Grim Reaper” mask and a noose around his neck outside of the company’s plate mill in Washington, Pa., a company spokeswoman said Thursday. Craig Smalls, 53, a replacement worker from Charlotte, N.C., said he and others saw the picketer as they left the plant on Tuesday. An overhead crane operator, Smalls said he’s been working there for two weeks, according to Trib Live. Smalls said that at one point, the employee grabbed the rope to the noose and pointed it at them. “As a Black man, I was very offended,” he said. “We are human. We have families. We are just making a living, too.
July 11, 2021 3:56 am
Antonio Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to nine different charges, including aggravated assault, simple assault, and attempted homicide, at his preliminary hearing. Gonzalez, alongside accomplice Juan Garcia-Hernandez, allegedly attacked an individual on May 24th. Two different surveillance videos caught the incident, which occurred near a Charleroi Sunoco. The victim contacted the EMT after the brawl, where he was later found at a Sunoco with head and back injuries. The exact reason behind their assault is unknown, according to Gonzalez’s defense attorney Renee Colbert. However, Colbert plans to further investigate the footage to “determine how to best defend” Gonzalez. “The District Attorney is going to be providing copies of a video and all written police reports”, said Colbert. Magisterial District Judge Eric Porter waived the case after Gonzalez pleaded not guilty. A formal arraignment will now be scheduled for the Court of Common Pleas.
July 11, 2021 3:49 am
MONESSEN, Pa. (WPXI) — Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a man who robbed a bank in Monessen Friday afternoon. The man entered Citizens Bank on Grand Boulevard shortly after 1:15 p.m. and passed a note to a teller. The teller gave an undisclosed amount of money to the man, who walked out of the bank. The robber was wearing a white Puma hooded sweatshirt, baseball cap, sunglasses and a face covering. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Monessen Police at 724-684-4620. (Photo: WPXI)
July 10, 2021 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that he must “take action” against cybercriminals acting in his country and that the U.S. reserves the right to “defend its people and its critical infrastructure.” The warning to Putin was largely a repetition of the tough rhetoric Biden had used during their meeting in Geneva last month, when he warned that there would be consequences for continuing cyberattacks emanating from Russia. Since then, a new ransomware attack linked to the Russia-based REvil hacking group has caused widespread disruption, placing Biden under growing pressure to this time marry the warning with actions. None were immediately announced.
July 10, 2021 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden has fired the Social Security commissioner. Biden has also accepted the resignation of the agency’s deputy commissioner. The White House says Biden asked Commissioner Andrew Saul to resign, and Saul’s employment was terminated when he refused the Democratic president’s request. Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to step down. Both officials had been put in place under President Donald Trump, a Republican. Biden has named Kilolo Kijakazi, the agency’s deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy, to lead the agency in an acting capacity.
July 10, 2021 4:59 am
HAITI (AP) – An American arrested in connection to the assassination of Haiti’s president worked alongside Sean Penn to rebuild the country from a devastating earthquake in 2010, according to three people familiar with the Hollywood actor’s decade-old relief drive. The two people said James Solages worked as a driver and in a security capacity for J/P Haitian Relief Organization, which was started by Penn following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 300,000 people in the impoverished Caribbean nation. One of the people said Solages had left the organization sometime in 2011. All three people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
July 10, 2021 4:57 am
BECKWOURTH, Calif. (AP) – A Northern California wildfire exploding through bone-dry timber has prompted Nevada authorities to evacuate a border-area community. The Beckwourth Complex – a merging of two lightning-caused fires – headed into Saturday showing no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada. Across the state line, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office asked people to evacuate a section of Rancho Haven, north of Reno. Other fires are burning in Oregon, Arizona and Idaho. Authorities say fire conditions are tough as a heat wave engulfs the region, promising triple-digit temperatures in many areas through the weekend.
