September 29, 2023 5:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A senior adviser to Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro who abruptly resigned this week was accused earlier in the year of sexual harassment by a former coworker. The woman says Shapiro’s former legislative affairs secretary, Mike Vereb, subjected her to lewd and unwanted sexual advances during her brief time working in the governor’s office. She said Vereb’s behavior forced her to quit that job. A message seeking comment was left Thursday on Vereb’s cellphone but was not immediately returned. Shapiro’s spokesperson declined to comment directly on what he called a specific personnel matter. But he said the administration takes allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.
September 29, 2023 4:58 am
NEW YORK — (WPXI) – A Peruvian national accused of sending hoax bomb threats in Pennsylvania and other states was arrested on Tuesday. According to a news release, the FBI announced on Thursday that Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, 33, also known as “Lucas” is charged with making hoax bomb threats against more than 150 school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals and a shopping mall. The release said all of the threats were made between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, and spanned multiple states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Arizona and Alaska. Nunez Santos is accused of making threats against 24 school districts in Pennsylvania on Sept. 20, saying, “I placed multiple bombs in all of the schools from your School Districts. The bombs will blow up in a few hours. I’ll gladly smile when your families are crying because of your deaths.” Although the release did not specify which school districts in Pennsylvania were impacted, several school districts in Washington County were placed on lockdown after receiving threats on Sept. 20. Nunez Santos is also charged with attempting to get three teenage girls to send him sexually explicit photographs. The news release said Nunez Santos sent the bomb threats in retaliation against them after they refused to send him the photos.
September 29, 2023 2:41 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania State Police have seen a surge of applicants from people hoping to become state troopers in the month since Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro removed college credit requirements, with nearly half of the aspiring cadets previously being ineligible. The agency said Thursday that in the past month, 1,217 applicants applied, 524 of whom hold a high school diploma or equivalent. In the last hiring cycle, 1,745 applications were submitted over the course of six months. Shapiro’s change removed the educational requirement that applicants had to have 60 college credits, which had been in place since the 1990s.
September 28, 2023 1:26 pm
(WPXI) – A 2-year-old girl has died after being struck by her parent’s vehicle in Penn Hills. Just before 8 a.m., Allegheny County 911 was notified of a child that was hit by a vehicle in the 100 block of Lynnwood Drive. First responders found a 2-year-old girl with severe injuries at the end of a driveway. The child was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The preliminary investigation by Allegheny County police determined a parent was leaving the home and struck the child with a vehicle. The parent is cooperating with investigators. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
September 28, 2023 10:26 am
LONDON (AP) — Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of eight “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 82. A statement by his family, issued by his publicist on Thursday, said he died following “a bout of pneumonia.” No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly recognizable by the deep and drawling tones of his distinctive voice. He was cast as the much-loved Dumbledore after the death of his predecessor, Richard Harris, in 2002.
September 28, 2023 5:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family finances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate. The chairmen of the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees used the opening hearing to review the constitutional and legal questions involved with impeachment. They are trying to show what they say are links to Biden’s son Hunter’s overseas businesses, though key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable offenses. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show that the elder Biden “abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.” Comer announced he was issuing subpoenas for additional banking records from Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. He said the panel will continue to “follow the money and the evidence to provide accountability.”
September 28, 2023 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is heading toward a shutdown this weekend that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. It comes as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. While some government entities will be exempt, others will be severely curtailed. Social Security checks, for example, will still go out. But federal agencies will stop all actions deemed non-essential. And millions of federal employees, including members of the military, won’t receive paychecks. The shutdown will begin Oct. 1 if Congress is not able to enact a funding plan.
September 28, 2023 5:15 am
The American soldier who sprinted across a heavily fortified border into North Korea more than two months ago has arrived back in the U-S. At a little after midnight, local time, the plane carrying Army Pvt. Travis King touched down at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Wearing what appeared to be civilian clothing, the 23-year-old shook hands with military officials on the tarmac before being taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. It still is unclear why King, who had served in South Korea, bolted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18th. Pyongyang abruptly announced yesterday that King was being expelled.
September 28, 2023 5:13 am
TEMPE, Arizona (AP) — President Joe Biden has issued one of his most dire warnings yet that Donald Trump and his allies are a menace to American democracy. He said Thursday that the former president is more interested in personal power than upholding the nation’s core values, and he accused mainstream Republicans of complicity: “The silence is deafening,” he said. During a speech in Arizona celebrating a library to be built honoring his close friend and fierce Trump critic the late Sen. John McCain, Biden repeated one of his key campaign themes, branding the “Make America Great Again” movement as an existential threat to the nation’s political system.
September 28, 2023 5:11 am
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Several of Donald Trump’s rivals stepped up their attacks against him in Wednesday’s second Republican presidential debate. They were urgently trying to dent the former president’s commanding primary lead during an event that often seemed like an undercard without him. The debate’s tone was far removed from the campaign’s overall tone. Trump has dominated the field with attacks on his rivals and democratic institutions as well as his grievances about the criminal indictments and civil cases targeting him and his businesses. The moderators did not ask about the indictments or why the people onstage were better qualified than Trump.
