October 10, 2024 5:40 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday lobbed new complaints about the federal response to a pair of hurricanes that ravaged large swaths of the Southeast, as he again seeks to increasingly turn two deadly storms to his political advantage ahead of the November election. Trump offered empathetic messages to people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which came ashore Wednesday night. Trump also suggested that the federal response had been lacking, particularly in North Carolina, where he alleged the government after Helene had “not done what you’re supposed to be doing.” “They’ve let those people suffer unjustly,” said Trump, who has for several days promoted falsehoods about the response of President Joe Biden and emergency management officials. President Joe Biden has repeatedly slammed Trump for spreading misinformation about federal assistance available to victims, including falsely claiming that such assistance is capped at $750. In reality, that is just for immediate needs, the first potential payout rather than the total.
October 10, 2024 4:58 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two Bethel Park YouTubers are facing felony charges after “pranks” that police say were targeting elderly people. Andrew Janidlo and Dennis Meyers are accused of illegally recording incidents in two Peters Township neighborhoods for their YouTube channel. The two men and at least one other man covered their vehicle’s license plate and sprayed a lawn, one man dressed in HAZMAT gear. According to police, the men told the 81-year-old homeowner that unless she paid them thousands of dollars her shrubbery and flowers would die. Neighbors say the men then blocked her from going back into her home, frightening her, and causing her to shout for help. “They filmed themselves spraying shrubbery and then try and convince the homeowner they were killing their shrubs,” said Peters Township Police Chief Joseph Glover. “I don’t think any of this was funny. They were recording the people without their knowledge. There was somebody filming from a distance and the person close to them was recording with a hidden device. Pennsylvania takes wiretap laws very seriously. It’s a felony and the penalties are very stiff.” Janidlo was arraigned on a $10,000 bond, with strict orders not to post any videos. Meyers has a warrant out for his arrest. Police found more videos after Andrew’s arrest and have given them to other local police departments to investigate. Glover said this is criminal as well as morally disturbing.
October 10, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of retirees who receive Social Security benefits will see a 2.5% cost-of-living increase to their monthly checks beginning in January. That word comes Thursday from the Social Security Administration. Agency officials say the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees translates to more than $50 more on average per retiree every month. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, get Social Security benefits. The agency’s commissioner says the cost-of-living adjustment will provide a measure of relief for recipients as inflation has cooled. But Martin O’Malley’s message to those who feel the increase isn’t enough is that “they’re not wrong.”
October 10, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation last month likely reached its lowest point since February 2021, clearing the way for another Federal Reserve rate cut and adding to the stream of encouraging economic data that has emerged in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. The consumer price index is expected to have risen just 2.3% in September from 12 months earlier, down from the 2.5% year-over-year increase in August. A reading that low, likely reflecting lower gas prices and only a slight rise in food costs, would barely exceed the Fed’s 2% inflation target. A little over two years ago, inflation had reached a peak of 9.1%.
October 9, 2024 5:06 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has hurled insults at his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the co-hosts of ABC’s “The View.” He said on Wednesday he had no interest in stopping his attacks, even if they turn off female voters. Trump spoke as Hurricane Milton made landfall, lashing Florida with rain, tornadoes and tropical-storm-force winds. “I don’t want to be nice,” Trump said at his first of two rallies of the day in the pivotal battleground state of Pennsylvania. “You know, somebody said, ‘You should be nicer. Women won’t like it.’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’”
October 10, 2024 2:16 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket worth $5 million was recently sold in Washington County. The ticket was sold at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, which will earn a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. The ticket, MONOPOLY Own It All, is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million. Scratch-off prizes expire one year from the game’s end-sale date posted at palottery.com.
October 9, 2024 7:48 am
One person was transported to Canonsburg Hospital after a two-vehicle crash in North Strabane Wednesday morning along Interstate 79 northbound. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just after 7 a.m. and was a rear-end type collision near the Houston exit. There is no word on the identity or condition of the person injured. Dispatchers said one-lane was blocked but traffic was getting by.
October 9, 2024 2:40 am
North Franklin Township Supervisors acted on strengthening their version of the International Property Maintenance Code. Staff and Code Enforcement officers combed through the ordinance and adopted measures that will give code enforcement more power to investigate issues and properly write and enforce citations for violations. The adoption of the ordinance was unanimous. As of the last couple of years, properties, both commercial and residential have been allowed to decay due to lack of ability to address certain safety issues. The measures passed will now allow broader investigation of safety concerns and give enforcement officers the power to cite those property owners.
October 9, 2024 4:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The National Hurricane Center says tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Milton are just off the western coast of Florida. Officials in a Tampa Bay-area county said Wednesday that that they’re taking buses off the roads and that it’s people’s “last chance if you need to get to a shelter.” The powerful storm’s center remains over 100 miles away in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane center stresses it is not certain exactly where Milton’s center will come ashore Wednesday night. But it says the entire Tampa Bay region and points south are at grave risk. (Photo: AP)
October 9, 2024 4:44 am
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A gun was found at Pittsburgh International Airport on Sunday. TSA officers found the teal handgun, which was not loaded, in a Ligonier woman’s purse. A release from TSA says the woman said she was moving and forgot she put the gun in her purse. “Forgetting where you placed your gun is no excuse,” Donald Weston, TSA’s Acting Federal Security Director for the airport, said. “Responsible owners of a firearm always know where their gun is. If you must travel with your firearm, the proper way to do it is to make sure it’s unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case and taken to the airline check-in counter. The airline will ensure it is transported in the belly of the aircraft.” This is the 34th gun found at the airport in 2024. TSA reminds travelers that bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint will result in a federal civil penalty. This applies to travelers with and without concealed carry permits.
