December 13, 2024 5:05 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia fired 93 missiles and almost 200 drones in Friday’s bombardments. He says it is one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago. He says Ukrainian defenses shot down 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles that were intercepted by F-16 warplanes provided by Western allies earlier this year. Zelenskyy renewed his plea for international unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin. But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital U.S. military support for Kyiv will continue.
December 12, 2024 2:27 pm
(AP) – The head of the Federal Aviation Administration says he will step down next month to let President-elect Donald Trump name his choice to lead the agency. Mike Whitaker announced his pending resignation in a message to FAA employees on Thursday. Since taking the helm at the FAA in October 2023, Whitaker has dealt with challenges that include a surge in close calls between planes, a shortage of air traffic controllers and antiquated equipment. He has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a jetliner in January.
December 12, 2024 12:24 pm
(WPXI) – There was no bomb threat made onboard a Spirit Airlines plane at Pittsburgh International Airport Thursday. Allegheny County police said they were requested to investigate a “security issue” onboard a Spirit flight that was scheduled to depart PIT for Tampa. The issue was reported to be a bomb threat. County police determined no threat was made and the situation was deemed not criminal in nature. Spokesperson for the Allegheny County Airport Authority Bob Kerlik said no injuries were reported and airport operations are unaffected.
December 12, 2024 9:47 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Twenty-two vehicles were involved in a pileup crash on the Boulevard of the Allies ramp to Oakland Thursday morning. The crash happened around 6:20 a.m. Our crews driving by could see the ramp going to Forbes Avenue blocked off by emergency vehicles. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said five people had to be taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Several vehicles had to be towed. A public safety spokesperson said the exact cause is not known at this time but is believed to be weather-related. Icy roads were reported across the area Thursday morning.
December 12, 2024 4:54 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Over the holidays, more than five million drivers will use Pennsylvania Turnpike, and some will likely receive a text message telling them they owe turnpike fees. While it may look legit, it’s a scam. “They went from sending it to me to now sending it to my grandmother, so now I’m like okay let me check this out,” said Aria King. King is a small business owner, and while she says she doesn’t do a lot of traveling, she began receiving this text message from a Canadian area code: “438.” The message even included a Pennsylvania Turnpike icon and suggested that she use the link provided in the message to avoid an additional $35 fee. The amount the scammers said she owed was $291. According to the PA Turnpike Commission bills are only sent via the mail. They always include either your E-Z pass account information or your plate number. FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek has been cracking down on these types of scams and told us the goal of this smishing scam is to steal your info. Last year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center that the FBI runs collected more than 800,000 complaints for a total loss of more than $12 billion. Money that Rojek told said is often never recovered.
December 12, 2024 5:01 am
CLAIRTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – The sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in Japan might come down to whether or not a committee on foreign investment deems it a national security concern. One local councilman believes that reason is “nonsense.” Allegheny County Councilman Dan Grzybek supports the $15 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, saying it would benefit the whole region. “Nippon has already promised to put even more money into the Mon Valley, and I think it would be good for the longevity of the area,” Grzybek told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. But, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, is reviewing the bid of the potential sale to see if there are national security concerns. Their recommendation is expected in the next 10 days. Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have expressed the desire to block the sale. So has the United Steel Workers Union. On Tuesday, union leadership sent a letter to its members saying Nippon was resorting to bribery to get the deal across the finish line. Nippon announced it would give $5,000 to employees other than senior leadership if the deal is finalized. U.S. Steel is holding a rally at its Clairton plant Thursday at 3 p.m. in support of the sale.
December 12, 2024 4:56 am
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — New York City’s police commissioner says the gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO matches shell casings found at the crime scene. Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said Wednesday that lab results matched suspect Luigi Mangione’s prints to a water bottle and a snack bar wrapper found near the scene of the killing. Police had said earlier that they believed the gunman bought the items at a nearby coffee shop while awaiting his target. Mangione is jailed in Pennsylvania on weapon and forgery charges, but he also has been charged in New York with murder in Brian Thompson’s death. His lawyer has noted that Mangione is presumed innocent. Authorities are scrutinizing evidence and the suspect’s experiences with the health care industry.
December 12, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. The White House says it’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people before the Trump administration takes over in January. He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office.
December 12, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors Thursday for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. At the stock exchange, Trump was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day and raised his fist.
December 12, 2024 5:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake took a hard line against illegal immigration in both her campaigns. Also Wednesday, Trump announced Leandro Rizzuto as his choice to be the U.S. ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States, and said he wanted Florida personal injury attorney Dan Newlin to be U.S. ambassador to Colombia. Physician and donor Peter Lamelas is his pick for U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
