September 30, 2024 6:52 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum will take the oath of office as Mexico’s first female president in more than 200 years of independence, promising to protect an expanded social safety net and fight for the poor like her predecessor, but facing pressing problems. The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician receives a country with a number of immediate challenges, foremost among them stubbornly high levels of violence, a sluggish economy and hurricane-battered Acapulco. Sheinbaum romped to victory in June with nearly 60% of the vote, propelled largely by the sustained popularity of her political mentor ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
October 1, 2024 12:46 pm
(AP) – DirecTV is buying Dish and Sling, a deal it has sought to complete for years as it seeks to better compete against streaming services that have become dominant. DirecTV said Monday that it will acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that includes a payment of $1, plus the assumption of debt. The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, with headlines about reported talks popping up over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked their owners’ then-$18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns. (Photo: AP)
October 1, 2024 3:12 pm
(AP) — John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84. He played James Evans Sr. on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” it ran from 1974-79 on CBS. Among Amos’ film credits were “Let’s Do It Again” with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel, “Die Hard 2,” “Madea’s Witness Protection” and “Uncut Gems” with Adam Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video “Natural Born Killaz.” Amos’ “Good Times” character, along with wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated on another Lear show, “Maude.” James Evans often worked two manual labor jobs to support his family that included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a breakout star as oldest son J.J. (Photo: AP)
October 1, 2024 5:00 am
Already the longest-lived of the 45 men to serve as U.S. president, Jimmy Carter is about to reach the century mark. Carter remains under home hospice care and will turn 100 on Tuesday. Carter has seen the U.S. population nearly triple. The U.S. has about 330 million residents. There were about 114 million in 1924. And for all the shifts in U.S. politics, some things stay the same. Or at least come back around. Carter was born in an era of isolationism, protectionism and white Christian nationalism. All three of those elements are prominent features of the right in Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
September 30, 2024 12:19 pm
(WPXI) – Verizon users in several areas are reporting outages. According to Downdetector.com, there are outages being reported in Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Missouri and other areas. A Verizon spokesperson says the company is “aware of an issue impacting service for some customers and their engineers are engaged and are working quickly to solve the issue. The exact issue, however, was not released and it was not known if the outage was connected to Hurricane Helene. Downdetector said there were more than 104,000 reports of issues with Verizon service on Monday. Some of those reporting issues said that their phones were working in SOS mode only. A handful of areas without coverage were in the path of Hurricane Helene and crews are trying to restore service during the hurricane recovery.
September 30, 2024 6:54 am
(WPXI) – A man was killed in a car crash in North Fayette Township early Monday morning. The North Fayette Township VFD on Facebook said Noblestown Road was closed in both directions between Margarette Street and Locust Lane at around 2:15 a.m. The victim, identified as Joseph Earl Cooper Jr., 57, was pronounced dead at the scene. Dispatchers said another person was taken to the hospital from the scene. There is currently no word on their condition.
September 30, 2024 5:05 am
NASH COUNTY, NC — (WPXI) – The man accused of stealing a local veteran’s car while his dog was still inside has been arrested after a police chase in North Carolina Saturday night. Kenneth Crider has been found and apprehended by Nash County sheriff’s deputies nearly a week after Pennsylvania State Police said he took off in 87-year-old Willard Martz’s car with Lucky still inside. Police said Lucky remains missing. Lucky, a 10-year-old Airedale-terrier mix, has been missing for a week. He’s been a loyal sidekick to the retired marine after he lost his son to a rare form of muscular dystrophy in 2020 and while he fights cancer. The pair were last together on Monday, Sept. 23. They were in the parking lot of the Tractor Supply store in Mount Pleasant when state police said fugitive Kenneth Crider stole Martz’s car keys from his pocket and sped off in his car with Lucky still inside. A sliver of hope came Saturday night. Police say they received reports of a suspicious car and Crider was behind the wheel. When police tried to pull him over, he led them on a high-speed chase through two counties and eventually crashed. Police say Crider reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour and hit a deputy’s car during the chase. Crider faces charges out of North Carolina and will eventually be extradited back to Pennsylvania. Deputies said Crider told detectives he let Lucky go at a rest stop off I-95 in North Carolina before the high-speed chase. The dog was wearing a red leash.
September 29, 2024 5:15 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A Pittsburgh Police vehicle was involved in a crash near the Smithfield Street Bridge. The Pittsburgh Police K9 officer was responding to a call at around 4:40 p.m. on Sunday when the crash occurred. Police say the officer was t-boned at the intersection of Smithfield Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard. The other vehicle involved in the crash had four people inside of it. All of them were unharmed. Medics evaluated the officer as a precaution but he did not suffer any injuries. The K9 was also not hurt. The officer will undergo a mandatory drug and alcohol test, per Pittsburgh Police protocol. Police say the cruiser had its lights and sirens on when the crash happened.
September 30, 2024 5:18 am
PERRY, Fla. (AP) — North Carolina officials are pledging to get more water and other supplies to storm-damaged areas by Monday after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the U.S. Southeast. Authorities have struggled to get supplies to isolated areas including the city of Asheville. Massive rains brought by Helene left many people stranded or homeless around the region. The death toll from the storm topped 90 people across several states. Forecasters say a new tropical depression in the eastern Atlantic Ocean could become a hurricane by mid-week.
September 30, 2024 5:21 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has used her appearances in Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Sunday to poke at Republican Donald Trump over crowd sizes, his refusal to debate again and his privileged background. During a fancy fundraiser in Los Angeles, she told donors that as she campaigns around the country her “crowds are pretty big.” In Las Vegas, she talked about her middle class background and compared it to Trump’s “silver platter” pedigree that nonetheless produced six bankruptcies. Harris also moved into what Trump considers his terrain — immigration — with a Friday visit to the border town of Douglas, Arizona.
