December 26, 2024 5:09 am
An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard has crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau and an official says 38 people were killed and 29 survived. The Embraer 190 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Aktau. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information showed that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
December 26, 2024 5:06 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The community came together on the first night of Hanukkah for a special ceremony in Squirrel Hill on Wednesday. The candle lighting of the larger-than-life menorah in front of the Tree of Life synagogue has a deeper meaning. “Remember it takes just a little light to dispel the darkness,” said Tree of Life synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. Standing strong outside the Pittsburgh synagogue, the menorah was a gift to the congregation in 2018, just weeks after the deadly antisemitic shooting where 11 Jewish worshipers were killed. Though plans are underway for a new synagogue on the site, the congregation, including Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the horrific mass shooting, said this will always be their home. “We’re temporarily not housed in this space but we’re still here,” Myers said. “Our spirit didn’t leave and the light that’s Tree of Life congregation didn’t go out. We are still here.” The Rabbi said Judaism and Christianity are intertwined through that light, especially on a rare double holiday. This December 25, Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day for the first time in 19 years.
December 26, 2024 4:58 am
The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. “We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium said in a Wednesday statement. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
December 26, 2024 4:54 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman is dead after she was hit and killed by a vehicle in Peters Township. Washington County dispatchers said emergency crews were called to the 2000 block of Washington Road at 7:35 p.m. Peters Township Police said the crash happened as a 79-year-old woman and her daughter were crossing the road near the lower entrance of Pizzaz and Simmons Farm Market’s parking lot. The woman was hit by a Honda traveling in the northbound lanes. Her daughter was not hit. The woman was taken to St. Clair Hospital where she later died. The driver of the Honda, a 73-year-old man, immediately stopped and cooperated at the scene. Police said he was not impaired. The victim’s identity has not been released at this time.
December 25, 2024 6:22 am
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem’s economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war.
December 25, 2024 6:19 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole. Trump said that he will direct the Department of Justice to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated.” Trump was vague on what specific actions he may take.
December 25, 2024 6:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has made it official: The bald eagle is now the national bird of the United States. Biden signed a bill into law on Tuesday to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle as the national bird. The bald eagle has been a symbol of the United States for more than 240 years, appearing on the nation’s Great Seal since the design was finalized in 1782. That year, Congress also designated the bald eagle as the national emblem. But the honor of becoming the national bird had remained elusive until now.
December 25, 2024 6:14 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year. It’s a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome. And it will test the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. This begins the Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope.
December 25, 2024 6:09 am
The South Strabane Fire Department was called to a fire near the ramp of Exit 21 (Interstate 79 South) at 3:14 pm on Tuesday. According to Washington County 9-1-1 officials, brakes on a tractor trailer caught fire. One lane of traffic was shut down for about 15 minutes during the incident. The fire was extinguished quickly. No injuries were reported. (Photo: South Strabane Fire Department Facebook)
December 25, 2024 6:07 am
North Strabane Township emergency responders were called to a two vehicle accident near the Exit 45 (Canonsburg) off ramp at approximately 8:00 on Tuesday evening. According to Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers, both the fire department and police department responded to the wreck on McClelland Road. No injuries were reported. The accident scene was cleared in about 45 minutes.
