September 30, 2024 5:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their argument that the Biden administration is letting migrants who have committed serious crimes go free in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales in response to a request he made for information about people under ICE supervision either convicted of crimes or facing criminal charges. Gonzales posted the numbers online and they immediately became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign. But the numbers have been misconstrued, with the Department of Homeland Security clarifying that the numbers span decades and those not in its custody may be held by a state or local agency.
September 29, 2024 5:13 am
MONROEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Republican Vice President Nominee JD Vance visited Allegheny County to speak at a town hall event. Vance was the featured guest during the Lance Wallnau Show’s Courage Tour stop at the Monroeville Convention Center. A crowd of hundreds attended the event. One of his main talking points was about drug addiction and recovery. He says fighting the fentanyl crisis is key to lowering the number of overdose deaths. “Something that takes away these second chances is all the fentanyl that’s coming into our country,” Vance said. He also said cracking down on illegal immigration would reduce the amount of illegal drugs in the country. Vance will debate Governor Tim Walz on Tuesday.
September 30, 2024 12:58 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, has died. He was 76. Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face across TV series and films, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.” But in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, Ashton played an essential part of an indelible trio. (Photo: AP)
September 30, 2024 5:09 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar who became a superstar songwriter, singer and actor, has died. A family spokeswoman says Kristofferson died at his home in Hawaii on Saturday. He was 88. Kristofferson brought a gritty realism to country music with compositions like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night” and and “Me and Bobby McGee.” As an actor, he played the leading man opposite Barbra Streisand and Ellen Burstyn, but also did shoot-out Westerns and cowboy dramas. With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks, he represented a new breed of country songwriters with his peers like Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
September 29, 2024 7:44 am
PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Massive rains brought by Hurricane Helene have left many people stranded or homeless as the cleanup begins from the monster tempest that killed at least 64 people. Helene has caused billions of dollars in destruction across a wide swath of the southeast U.S. More than 3 million customers were without power Saturday, and some face a continued threat of floods. Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams. Deaths from the storm have occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. (Photo: AP)
September 29, 2024 7:46 am
BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of families displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs after the area was pummeled overnight by the heaviest Israeli airstrikes in nearly a year of limited conflict are sleeping in public squares and beaches or in their cars in the city center. Many had made a fruitless circuit around overflowing shelters set up in schools. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, lines of people could be seen early in the morning making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry. The U.N. says the number of people displaced by the conflict has more than doubled in a week, with over 211,000 now displaced.
September 29, 2024 7:45 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah has confirmed that one of its senior commanders, Ali Karaki, died in the Israeli airstrike that killed its top leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. Israel has killed several top commanders in the Lebanese militant group in recent weeks in a series of strikes. Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it killed another senior commander, Nabil Kaouk, the day before. Hezbollah has not yet confirmed his death.
September 29, 2024 7:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Maya Rudolph playing Vice President Kamala Harris has led a parade of returning cast members at the opening of the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live.” Harris has done her impression at a mock rally and brought out ex-cast member Andy Samberg playing her husband Doug Emhoff and another former “SNL” star, Dana Carvey, to play President Joe Biden. Harris and Carvey jointly delivered the “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night” that launched season 50. “Designing Women” and “Hacks” star Jean Smart hosted for the first time. She says in her monologue this was the first Saturday in 50 years that fit her schedule. (Photo: AP)
September 29, 2024 7:29 am
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. — Cell phone videos of Republican Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance are circulating on social media after the Ohio Senator was reportedly turned away from Primanti Bros. in North Versailles Saturday morning. Allegheny County Republican Party Chair Sam DeMarco said Sen. Vance made a stop at the restaurant on E. Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard to pick up lunch. It was spontaneous, but he said a manager wouldn’t let Vance go inside initially and even threatened to call police. “Senator Vance was absolutely turned away today,” DeMarco said. Primanti Bros. CEO Adam Golomb sent a statement trying to clarify, basically saying the staff was caught off guard. The statement read:
“Primanti’s prides itself on being a staple of the Pittsburgh community and a proud American business that has hosted sitting presidents, politicians, and political candidates from across the spectrum for over 90 years. Our doors are open to all patrons who wish to dine with us. Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff. However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed into our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property. Senator Vance’s supportive comments that our manager got a little nervous given the secret service, police and crowd accurately reflect the nature of what occurred, but we are glad that it was resolved quickly.”
After Vance took pictures and spoke with supporters in the parking lot, DeMarco said he went inside Primanti’s. “After that he then went in, paid the bill for everybody there, left a generous tip, and then he came out and he was very gracious,” he said.
September 29, 2024 7:39 am
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man who has served 43 years of a life sentence for murder is still pursuing appeals. Steve Szarewicz insists he didn’t do it, but so far his claim hasn’t persuaded the courts. He was convicted of killing 25-year-old Billy Merriwether near Pittsburgh in 1981. But a prosecutor from that time says the case was “no prize.” That’s because it was built entirely on the shifting accounts of four jailhouse informants. Despite new evidence the 66-year-old says he has uncovered, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project says appeals in the state are particularly tough to win. Szarewicz’s case is now before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. He says he is hoping for a legal breakthrough. (Photo: AP)
