July 21, 2024 6:06 am
SPRING, Texas (AP) — A rising number of heat-related deaths in Texas among residents who lost power during Hurricane Beryl has pushed the number of storm fatalities to at least 23. Most Houston-area residents had their power back after more than a week of widespread outages across the nation’s fourth-largest city. Beryl knocked out electricity to nearly 3 million people in Texas at the height of the outages. Hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses. Experts say that while it may be weeks or even years before the full human toll of the storm in Texas is known, understanding that number helps plan for the future.
July 21, 2024 6:03 am
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day. Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the first by Israel on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. The Israeli army says a number of “military targets” were hit in the port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold. The army adds that its attack was in response to “hundreds of attacks” against Israel in recent months. A Houthi spokesman says the “blatant Israeli aggression” targeted fuel storage facilities and the province’s power station.
July 20, 2024 3:39 am
Community activists are concerned about possible damage to Peters Lake Park due to a proposed development in North Strabane Township. Friends of Peters Lake is holding a Community Walk on Sunday July 21 at 9:00 AM at Rolling Hills Park. The group is advocating against a 41 home development that would border the lake. Their fear is that construction activities and residential fertilizers and other chemicals will harm the water quality of the lake and upset the fragile ecosystem that has been found to contain several rare and unusual species of plants and animals. Their goal is to do everything possible to preserve the natural resource of the lake and preserve the tranquil nature of the preserve that has become a regional treasure. Several North Strabane Township residents filed a Land Use Appeal challenging the decision of North Strabane Township to approve a conditional use to develop a conservation subdivision of single family residences in the township and against the developer Laurel Communities, LLC. Briefs have been filed by both parties and a hearing on the matter has yet to be scheduled. (Photo: Friends of Peters Lake Facebook Page)
July 21, 2024 5:56 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)-The City of Pittsburgh hosted a special event celebrating the life of a beloved iceball stand owner. Gus Kalaris, owner of Gus & YiaYia’s Cart on the city’s North Side, died on June 29. He had served flavored iceballs for decades. The stand opened in 1934 and he took over in 1951. Pittsburgh officials and community members decided to take some time on Saturday to officially honor Kalaris with a celebration of life event on Saturday. Visitors left flowers on the stand at Allegheny Commons Park and shared photos of Kalaris as they had some flavored iceballs. Mayor Ed Gainey attended the event and later made a special statement about Kalaris. “Gus Kalaris embodied Pittsburgh. You got more than just an ice ball when you came to see Gus. You had someone to care about you, even if he didn’t know you. It takes somebody special to make others feel special, and Gus did that for so many people,” Gainey said. Gainey encouraged others to continue Kalaris’s legacy by treating others with kindness and wished everyone a Happy Gus Kalaris Day.
July 21, 2024 1:43 am
Multiple emergency responders were called out Friday afternoon to Speers Borough for reports of a vehicle that had left the roadway and went into the Monongahela River. Charleroi fire officials say one female was trapped in the vehicle. Rescue boats were called and a landing zone was set up. Crews worked what they said was a complicated rescue for approximately 30 minutes when the woman was extricated from the vehicle and loaded onto a boat, where she was transported down river to the landing zone. There’s been no word on the extent of her injuries. (Photo: Charleroi Fire Department Facebook Page)
July 21, 2024 5:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is believed to have flown a drone around the Pennsylvania rally site ahead of time in an apparent attempt to scope out the site before the event. That’s according to a law enforcement official familiar with the situation. The drone has been recovered by the FBI, which is leading the investigation into last Saturday’s shooting at the rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Details of the drone were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
July 20, 2024 4:06 am
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Republican Donald Trump will hold his first public campaign rally since he was injured in an assassination attempt, an event in the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate. The joint rally with Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Saturday is the first for the pair since they officially became the GOP’s nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Michigan is one of the crucial swing states expected to determine the outcome of the presidential election. With Vance by his side, Trump will deliver remarks in Grand Rapids, a historically Republican stronghold that has trended increasingly blue in recent elections.
July 20, 2024 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a week of campaign stops, interviews and a determined drive to confront Republican Donald Trump, President Joe Biden’s efforts to revive his campaign have not softened the push for him to exit the race. Biden has weighty options before him this weekend. Almost 35 Democrats in Congress say it’s time for Biden to step aside — 12 coming forward on Friday alone — with more lawmakers expected to speak out in the days ahead. From his beach home in Delaware, Biden, 81, is isolating with a COVID infection, but the president’s team vows insisted he’s ready to return to the campaign trail next week to counter what he called a “dark vision” laid out by Trump.
July 20, 2024 4:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air after a faulty software update disrupted companies and services around the world and highlighted their dependence on just a handful of providers. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said the trouble with the update it issued that was affecting computers running Microsoft Windows was not a security incident or cyberattack. It said a fix was on the way. But hours later, the disruptions continued. Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services at a time when many travelers are heading away on summer vacations. Hospitals and doctors’ offices had problems with their appointment systems, and canceled surgeries.
July 20, 2024 4:01 am
Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas has died. She was 74. The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district since 1995. Jackson Lee had previously had breast cancer and announced she had pancreatic cancer in June. Jackson Lee helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence, and to get Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.