June 29, 2024 3:42 am
Slowly but steadily this summer, Russian troops are forging through Ukraine’s outgunned and undermanned defenses along the front line of the battlefield in a relentless onslaught, prompting the West to push for new weapons and strategies to shore up Kyiv. That, in turn, has brought new political demands by President Vladimir Putin of Ukraine’s leadership and threats of retaliation against the West — either directly or by indirect methods. The moves by the West to blunt the offensive and the potential Kremlin response could lead to a dangerous escalation as the war drags through its third year — one that further raises the peril of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
June 29, 2024 3:39 am
GIMHAE AIR BASE, South Korea (AP) — The newly inaugurated Freedom Edge exercise is wrapping up in the East China Sea, having brought together Japanese, South Korean and American naval assets for multidomain maneuvers for the first time. It is foreseen as an annual drill, a critical development as Washington looks to strengthen its partnerships and military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter growingly assertive postures from both China and North Korea. One analyst says South Korea and Japan have the largest militaries among American allies in East Asia and have the sophistication to integrate operations with the U.S.
June 29, 2024 3:28 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa.—(WPXI)-2 bodies were pulled from a creek along the Montour Trail Friday. Allegheny County police said dispatch was notified of a body floating in the Montour Run Creek at around 4:05 p.m. First responders found a deceased man floating in around 6 feet of water. Divers recovered the body. While the divers were in the water, they found a second man in around 10 feet of water. Preliminary information shows no sign of foul play, police said. The bodies were transported to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office for a cause and manner of death determination. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
June 28, 2024 5:25 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is working to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with ex-President Donald Trump. He’s not the debater he used to be, Biden conceded at a rally Friday in North Carolina. But he added that “The choice in this election is simple: Donald Trump will destroy our democracy. I will defend it.” Democratic lawmakers are expressing plenty of concern but sticking by him for now. Meanwhile, Trump’s attacks on critics and his policy falsehoods served as a reminder of the daily turbulence of his Republican presidency.
June 29, 2024 1:50 am
(WPXI) – A man was found dead in the Monongahela River in Fayette County on Thursday evening. State troopers were called around 7:05 a.m. to a report of a male floating unresponsive near Point Marion. The 50-year-old man, later identified as Larry Christopher Greene of Greensboro, was pulled from the river and pronounced dead by the Fayette Deputy Coroner at 8:28 p.m. This case is under investigation by the coroner’s office and state police.
June 28, 2024 2:44 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- Five tornadoes touched down throughout the Pittsburgh region during Wednesday’s storms, the National Weather Service confirms. The NWS said an EF-1 tornado touched down in the Oakdale area of Allegheny County. It skipped along the path and uprooted or snapped trees starting from Old Steubenville Pike near the intersection of Highway 22 and Potato Garden Road. Other tree damage was noted along Seabridge Road and Kelso Road. The NWS also said a storm survey confirmed EF-2 tornado damage just south of US Highway 22 from south of Delmont to southwest of Shieldsburg and New Alexandria. Winds hit around 115 mph and numerous large trees snapped or uprooted. Another tornado touched down in Westmoreland County, near Trafford and Harrison City, the NWS said. Thursday night, it was confirmed that a fourth tornado touched down near the Blairsville area in Indiana County. The fifth tornado, confirmed Friday morning, touched down near Mount Morris, Greene County, according to the NWS. Snapped trees, minor roof damage and a carry-on trailer tossed into a ditch were among some of the damage reported to NWS.Storm survey crews from the NWS in Pittsburgh will be out for a few days to confirm whether more widespread damage was caused by tornadoes. Multiple tornado warnings were issued Wednesday night and potential tornado damage was widespread through Allegheny, Westmoreland, Greene and Indiana counties.
June 28, 2024 12:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland says he’s disappointed the Supreme Court has made it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction. The charge also has been brought against former President Donald Trump. The justices ruled Friday the charge of obstructing an official proceeding must include proof defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents. Only some of the people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, fall into that category. Garland says the court’s decision “limits an important federal statute” but cases against the “vast majority” of people charged Jan. 6 won’t be affected. Trump calls the ruling “Big News!” The Republican ex-president says it’s a “massive victory” for those arrested Jan. 6.
June 27, 2024 3:55 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden repeatedly sought to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election. But Biden’s uneven performance crystallized the concerns of many Americans that at, age 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to step aside. Meanwhile, the 78-year-old Trump’s rhetoric offered Americans an unwelcome reminder of the bombast he launched daily during his tumultuous four years in office, as he struggles to win over skeptical voters. He declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election.
June 27, 2024 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of Donald Trump has granted the former president’s request for a hearing on whether prosecutors were permitted to improperly breach attorney-client privilege when they obtained crucial evidence from one of his ex-lawyers. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ensures further delays in a criminal case that’s been snarled by significant postponements. They’ve led to the indefinite postponement of a trial that had been set to begin on May 20 in Fort Pierce, Florida. Cannon will revisit a different judge’s order from last year that permitted prosecutors to get testimony and other evidence from a Trump attorney that wound up being cited in Trump’s indictment.
June 28, 2024 4:04 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick and injured children and their companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since May, when the territory’s sole travel crossing was shut down. The Israeli military body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs says the evacuation was carried out in coordination with officials from the United States, Egypt and the international community. The children and their companions left the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing, and the patients were to travel to Egypt and further abroad for medical treatment. The nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza’s health sector and forced most of its hospitals to shut down.
