July 19, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a critical weekend ahead for President Joe Biden. Isolated as he battles a COVID infection at his beach house in Delaware, he is confronting the stark reality that many Democrats at the highest levels want him to consider how stepping aside from the 2024 election could be the party’s best chance of preventing widespread losses in November. Biden’s small circle of advisers has grown smaller as he weighs whether to stay in the race. His campaign is calling an all-staff meeting for Friday. And the Democratic National Committee is pressing ahead Friday with planning for a virtual roll call to nominate the president ahead of the party convention in August.
July 18, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden faces a growing drumbeat of pressure to drop his reelection bid, most Democrats think his vice president would make a good president herself. The new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Kamala Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About 2 in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say. Since Biden’s massive debate debacle on June 27, many Democrats have privately and even openly looked to Harris to step in and succeed Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.
July 19, 2024 4:10 pm
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has agreed to delay implementing a requirement that the Ten Commandments be placed in all of the state’s public school classrooms until at least November. The agreement was approved by a federal judge on Friday. A lawsuit was filed in June by parents of Louisiana public school children with various religious backgrounds. They said the law violates First Amendment language forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty. Backers of the law argue that the Ten Commandments belong in classrooms because the commandments are historical and are part of the foundation of U.S. law.
July 19, 2024 8:16 am
YEKATERINBURG, Russia (AP) — A Russian court has convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have rejected as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial in the country’s highly politicized legal system. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently denied the charges. The unusually swift trial perhaps clears the way for a swap between Moscow and Washington.
July 19, 2024 6:28 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman is suing Kennywood for negligence after she said she was injured during a ride on the Thunderbolt. The lawsuit said that the woman visited Kennywood on July 23, 2022 with her son and they decided to ride the roller coaster. She said she had ridden it multiple times before with no issues. The woman claimed everything was operating as usual until the ride started, which was when she was “violently thrown to her side of the car in which she was riding.” The suit said the woman instantly felt pain in her chest, left side and ribs which continued throughout the ride. She also had difficulty breathing. The woman told the ride operator that she got injured because of the seat belt or restraining bar failure. She had chest contusions and bruises, injuries to her lower back and spine, left arm, hand and side injures, leg injuries, nerve root irritations, disc herniation, aggravation of pre-existing back conditions, loss of range of motion and more, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also said the woman’s injuries still continue to present day and she has undergone ongoing medical treatments. She said the Thunderbolt was not properly maintained and claimed Kennywood staff failed to check whether the seat belt was properly secure and would restrict injurious movements. Representatives with Kennywood said they cannot comment at this time.
July 18, 2024 4:51 pm
FREEPORT, Pa. (AP) — Thousands of mourners gathered to celebrate the life of the former fire chief who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally. Fire trucks and police vehicles filled the parking lot outside the banquet hall where friends of Corey Comperatore went to pay their respects to him and his family. Sharpshooters were stationed atop buildings overlooking the venue and the dozens of people waiting in line to enter. Among the mourners were firefighters in dress uniforms and a group of five men in black suits with gold, red and blue “Trump 2024” buttons on their lapels. Comperatore, 50, worked as a project and tooling engineer, was an Army reservist and spent many years as a volunteer firefighter after serving as chief, according to his obituary. He spent the final moments of his life shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire, officials said. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt and has been participating this week in the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (Photo: AP)
July 18, 2024 4:57 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump had photos on his phone of the former Republican president, President Joe Biden and other officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition on anonymity to discuss the details of the ongoing probe. Investigators have been searching for any clues into what motivated Crooks to open fire at Saturday’s campaign rally in attempt to assassinate the GOP presidential nominee.
July 17, 2024 4:49 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — (WPXI) – We continue to learn more about the gunman responsible for an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Our news partners at Channel-11 have learned that Thomas Crooks attended a technical school for two years in high school and was set to go to college in the fall. They spoke with a teacher who said Crooks was a good kid and very smart. The teacher said they didn’t think he was bullied. Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School, but he attended Steel Center Technical School for two of his high school years, a half-day program that students are bussed to and from. He attended the program during his sophomore and junior years, enrolled in the computer technology program. They also heard from a former coworker at the nursing home where Crooks worked. She said he was sweet and helpful. Investigators are still working to determine a motive for the shooting.
July 18, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Joe Biden to reconsider his election bid. Former President Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about Biden’s 2024 candidacy. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he didn’t step away and argued polls show he likely can’t defeat Republican Donald Trump. That’s according to several people who insisted on anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversations. Biden says he’s not dropping out. Biden says in a radio interview with Univision everything between Trump and him “has been basically even.”
July 18, 2024 4:55 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” from the infection. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.
