July 5, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is opening a critical stretch in his effort to salvage his imperiled reelection campaign. There’s a growing sense that Biden may have just days to make a persuasive case that he’s fit for office before Democratic support for him completely evaporates in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. Already, some financial backers are holding off or canceling upcoming fundraisers. And Biden himself acknowledged to Democratic governors that he needs to get more sleep and limit late events so he can be fit and rested for the job.
July 5, 2024 5:18 am
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the British people have “delivered a sobering verdict” as he conceded that the Labour Party has won the election. With more than two-thirds of results counted, Labour has secured enough seats to form a majority government. Exit poll results suggested that after 14 years in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak’s Conservatives are set to have their seats in the 650-seat House of Commons cut down to 131. That would be the Tories’ worst result in the party’s two-century history.
July 5, 2024 5:19 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians have begun voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. Voters face a choice between the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime parliament member who has allied himself with moderates and reformists within Iran’s Shiite theocracy. An initial round of voting June 28 saw no candidate get over 50% of the vote, forcing the runoff. It also saw the lowest turnout ever for an Iranian election, leaving turnout Friday a major question.
July 5, 2024 5:20 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it is conducting a counterterrorism activity that includes an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities say five people were killed. The military said Friday that Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.
July 4, 2024 7:13 am
A fire broke out Wednesday night in Bentleyville, according to their fire department Facebook page. An alarm came in just before 10 pm in the 400 block of Main Street for a commercial structure fire. Crews found an active fire inside a wall, which they quickly extinguished. No injuries reported and no cause of fire has been released. (Photo: Bentleyville Fire Facebook Page)
July 4, 2024 5:22 am
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl ripped off roofs in Jamaica, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before rumbling toward the Cayman Islands and taking aim at Mexico’s Caribbean coast with at least seven dead in its wake. What had been the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic has weakened slightly but remained a major hurricane. Its eye was forecast to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight. Mexico’s popular Caribbean coast prepared shelters, evacuated some small outlying coastal communities and even moved sea turtle eggs off beaches threatened by storm surge.
July 4, 2024 5:17 am
FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) — Charges have been filed in a nearly 13-year-old cold case in Fayette County. A letter from Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele says Frank Timothy Campbell, 37, of Merrittstown, has been charged in the 2011 murder of Leon Mickens. Mickens was shot in the head in Masontown on Aug. 15, 2011, the night before his 36th birthday. At the time of the crime, Aubele says police spoke with witnesses, gathered evidence and even identified a person of interest, but charges were not filed. Leon’s cousin told Channel 11 four years after the crime that she was worried his killed would go scot-free. Aubele says when he took office in January, he promised the Mickens family that his office would do their best to secure justice for Leon. The charges against Campbell come after a new lieutenant took over the cold case investigation and authorities were able to locate witnesses and evidence, Aubele said. Reportedly police have statements, photographs, and circumstantial items that have “long supported” the charges, but now they have DNA evidence that places Campbell at the scene of the crime. Online court records show Campbell is facing several charges, including criminal homicide and aggravated assault.
July 4, 2024 5:54 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Senate has passed legislation to encourage school districts to effectively ban students’ use of cellphones during the school day. The bill passed 45-5 on Wednesday. It would help school districts pay for locking bags after the district creates a policy requiring students to leave their phones in such bags for the whole school day. The bill now goes to the state House for consideration. Its sponsor, Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster, says he hopes that limits on phone use will result in improvements in students’ mental health and academic performance. Participating school districts must track changes in student mental health, bullying, violence and academic performance.
July 4, 2024 5:25 am
All signs point to big celebrations for Americans this Fourth of July. Travel records are projected to fall as people gather for cookouts, parades and fireworks. Some unique celebrations are also planned. In Down East, Maine, lobster boat races will be held off the rocky coast. In Philadelphia, descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence will ring the Liberty Bell. An annual tug-of-war contest is being held in California. And, of course, there’s the annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, New York.
July 4, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is vowing to keep running for reelection as he rejects pressure from within his Democratic Party to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness. But in an ominous sign, one of his top allies publicly suggested on Wednesday a way that the party might choose someone else. According to a campaign aides, Biden told his staff that “no one is pushing me out” of the race. But there are signs that support for Biden is rapidly eroding among Democrats on Capitol Hill. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a longtime Biden ally, says he’d support a “mini-primary” in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention next month if Biden were to leave the race.
