August 7, 2024 9:54 am
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – (WPXI) – Emergency crews responded to a house fire in Fayette County early Wednesday morning. Fayette County dispatchers said the fire started in the 400 block of Green Street in Brownsville at 3:26 a.m. Dispatchers said no one was hurt in the blaze and that it’s not known at this time if the house was occupied.
August 7, 2024 4:50 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate disappointed fans of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was one of Harris’ finalists for the job and seen as someone who could help Democrats win a key swing state and make history by electing the first Jewish vice president. With his history of thrice winning statewide elections in Pennsylvania, Shapiro was seen as a strategic choice who could appeal to moderate voters, especially those in his pivotal state. But the governor faced critiques from some in the left of the party for a private school voucher program, natural gas infrastructure, and particularly his support for Israel’s war on Hamas.
August 7, 2024 5:02 am
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend their first full day as running mates in Wisconsin and Michigan. The trip is aimed at shoring up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. That coalition has shown signs of fraying over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by Harris’ choice of a running mate. They believe it signals that she is listening to their concerns. The leaders had opposed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because they thought he had gone too far in his support of Israel.
August 7, 2024 4:53 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A national organization is asking people in Pennsylvania for help while they search for a missing teenage girl. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is looking for Haley Hardin, 14, of Louisville. The agency says Haley went missing on Aug. 4 from her Louisville home. She may still be in Kentucky, but she also may have traveled to Pennsylvania. Haley is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has hazel eyes and red hair. Haley’s dad told NCMEC she’s never gone missing before and her family is concerned for her safety. He shared this message to his daughter: “Come home baby girl, I love you so much. Love, dad.” Anyone with information on where Haley is should contact NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 or the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office (Kentucky) at 1-502-543-7074.
August 7, 2024 5:04 am
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Military-run hearings for accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are in upheaval following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to throw out a plea agreement. Defense attorneys contend the plea deal still stands and suspended participation in the pre-trial hearings while legal challenges to Austin’s action play out. The judge overseeing the case, acknowledged concerns over outside pressure on the case. The events of the past week are the latest significant disruption of the U.S. military prosecution of defendants accused in the 2001 killings of nearly 3,000 people, in an al-Qaida plot
August 7, 2024 5:16 pm
VIENNA (AP) — Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts as part of her Eras Tour. Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” (Photo: AP)
August 7, 2024 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that around 7 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had a major or minor impact on their electricity bills in the past year, and a majority have seen a similar impact on their outdoor activities. Around 4 in 10 also report that extreme heat has had a major or minor impact on their sleep, pets, or exercise routine. The results came at a time when several regions of the U.S. set all-time temperature records, including Las Vegas reaching a scorching 120 F on July 7.
August 7, 2024 4:57 am
NEW SEWICKLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A local police sergeant has been charged with driving under the influence. On July 18, Beaver Valley Regional Police said an officer saw a man, later identified as Sgt. Timothy Gatehouse for the New Sewickley Township Police Department, driving abnormally slow on Route 65. Police say that the officer saw Gatehouse then turn into the Marathon parking lot where he tried several times to park his truck. The officer went up to the truck and saw Gatehouse passed out in the driver’s seat while the engine was still running. The officer woke him up and Gatehouse told police he was coming from his mother’s house and was not drinking. However, the officer said he smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and was slow to respond. Police took him to get his blood drawn and said Gatehouse’s blood alcohol level was 0.28 %, which is between 3 to 4 times over the legal limit. Gatehouse faces DUI charges and has a preliminary hearing scheduled at the end of August.
August 6, 2024 4:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate. Harris said in a post on social media Tuesday that Walz has “delivered for working families.” The two will appear together in Philadelphia at an evening rally. The Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter has helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and aid to families. Walz has taken on greater national visibility since a 2023 legislative session that he calls one of the most consequential in state history. He was elected chair of the Democratic Governors Association in December.
August 6, 2024 2:43 am
Attorneys representing seven disenfranchised voters, the Washington Branch of the NAACP and the Center for Coalfield Justice squared off against special counsel appointed by Washington County Commissioners to defend their policy to prohibit notice to mail in voters that there are defects in their ballots and not allow curing of ballots. This policy segregated 259 votes from being counted in the April 2024 primary election, even though in 2023, those voters with ballots in similar condition could have been notified and offered the opportunity to cure the violating condition. Vic Walczak, Legal Director of the ACLU of PA says that their argument is based on the Pennsylvania Constitution under the due process clause. Not notifying the voters of the problematic ballot denied them the due process to be able to have their vote count and thus robbed them of their right to vote. David Berardinelli, Special Counsel appointed by commissioners to defend their decision to not allow notice and curing stood behind the Pennsylvania Election Code, stating that no language exists covering ballot curing. He called it a legislative issue and those decisions on ballot curing should be made by state representatives and senators. They argue that notice has been given in mail in ballot directions that state that if the envelopes are not filled out precisely, that ballot will not be counted. He cautioned the judge that deciding against the policy in place may put him in the position of legislating from the judicial bench. The judge took the matter under advisement for further review. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
