October 26, 2023 5:07 am
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough to end the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers. The four-year deal still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company. It could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, although no other agreements were announced Wednesday.
October 26, 2023 5:06 am
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — A day after Hurricane Otis roared ashore in Acapulco, unleashing massive floods and setting off looting, the resort city of nearly 1 million descended into chaos, leaving residents without electricity or internet service as the toll remained uncertain. The early images and witness accounts were of extensive devastation, toppled trees and power lines lying in brown floodwaters that in some areas extended for miles. The resulting destruction delayed a comprehensive response by the government, which was still assessing the damage along Mexico’s Pacific coast, and made residents desperate. Many of the once sleek beachfront hotels in Acapulco looked like toothless, shattered hulks after the storm blew out hundreds — possibly thousands — of windows.
October 26, 2023 5:05 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was slapped with a $10,000 fine for violating a gag order after he was unexpectedly called to the witness stand in his New York fraud trial. Wednesday’s courtroom drama previews the tensions mounting between Trump’s competing legal and political interests as he vies for the Republican presidential nomination while facing a litany of criminal and civil cases. It also underscores how efforts to hold Trump accountable are testing the legal system in unprecedented ways as judges struggle with how to rein in the former president’s inflammatory rhetoric while balancing the free speech rights of a political candidate.
October 26, 2023 5:04 am
The new speaker of the U.S. House had a key role in trying to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. Republican Rep. Mike Johnson spearheaded a legal brief in support of an unsuccessful lawsuit trying to overturn the results. He repeated baseless conspiracy theories about the election and voted against certifying its outcome after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His role is significant because he is now second in the line of presidential succession and because the House in January 2025 will have a key role in certifying the winner of next year’s presidential election.
October 26, 2023 5:03 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops and tanks launched an hourslong ground raid into northern Gaza overnight. The military said troops struck several militant targets in Thursday’s raid in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of a widely expected ground invasion. The raid came after the U.N. warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the besieged territory. Hospitals in Gaza are struggling to treat masses of wounded with dwindling resources. The war, sparked by Hamas’ bloody incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, is already the deadliest of five fought between Israel and Hamas in the last 15 years.
October 26, 2023 5:02 am
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Authorities have launched a multistate search on land and water for a U.S. Army reservist who they say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Maine. The shootings in the city of Lewiston on Wednesday night sent panicked patrons scrambling under tables and behind bowling pins. Police identified the suspect as 40-year-old Robert Card. He was still at large Thursday afternoon, sparking a massive search and prompting schools and businesses to shut down and residents to shelter in place. A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Card was taken by police for a mental evaluation in July after he was acting erratically during training. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the information and spoke on condition of anonymity.
October 26, 2023 4:58 am
MCDONALD, Pa. — (WPXI) – A bullet was found at Cecil Intermediate School in McDonald on Tuesday. According to a letter sent to parents, multiple students reported that a bullet was brought to school by another student. When leaders investigated, they found the student had a bullet in their possession. “I would like to give credit, and my thanks, to the students who reported this to staff members at Cecil Intermediate. As always, we encourage our students that when they see or hear something, they should say something. That’s just what these students did in this situation,” Principal Robert Kleinhans said in a letter to parents.
October 26, 2023 2:52 am
A candidate for borough council in East Washington will face trial on juvenile sexual assault charges. Anthony Dinch, 28 of East Washington faced his preliminary hearing on Wednesday and waived involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors felony charges along with several others to court. According to police, In July, Dinch was accused by a 15 year old of at least 25 sexual assaults over several years in Dinch’s apartment. He is also accused of furnishing alcohol to the minor. Dinch is a candidate for borough council in East Washington for a four year term and a two year term. He won those primary races to appear as a Republican candidate via write in campaigns. Dinch is unopposed in the two year term race. Dinch is currently free on a $250,000 unsecured bond. He will be arraigned on November 30.
October 26, 2023 2:31 am
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco has presented his findings from a coroner inquest into the fatal police involved shooting of Eduardo Hoover, Jr. of Coraopolis. Warco recommends that Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh file criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter against Mt.Pleasant Police Officer Tyler Evans. Warco further recommends that if Walsh does not file charges, The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General step in and prosecute the case. Earlier in the year, Walsh determined that Evans’ shooting of Hoover was a justifiable homicide. The case revolves around an April 2, 2023 incident that began in Burgettstown as a car chase with Hoover that wound up being 10 miles in length with speeds reaching 80 miles per hour. The incident ended in the 1000 block of Jefferson Avenue in Washington where traffic slowed Hoover’s pick up truck allowing police to block him in. Hoover tried to escape by ramming his truck into Evans’ police cruiser. Video evidence played in the inquest showed an officer from Smith Township firing his weapon into the engine compartment of Hoover’s vehicle. Upon the impact of Hoover’s truck on Evans’ cruiser, Evans jumped out of the cruiser and fired into the rear of Hoover’s truck striking him and killing him. District Attorney Jason Walsh will hold a press conference on Friday to address the findings of the inquest.
October 25, 2023 4:51 pm
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union appears to be edging closer to a tentative contract agreement with Ford that would be critical to ending the union’s 6-week-old strikes against the three major Detroit automakers. That’s according to two people with knowledge of the talks. The people said Wednesday that the union has made a counter-offer to Ford that proposes a 25% general wage increase over the life of a new four-year contract and that negotiations on Tuesday extended well into Wednesday morning. Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.
