December 29, 2024 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency says it seized more than 20,000 counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers that were shipped from Israel to an address in Philadelphia. The agency said that customs officers found the stickers in two different shipments that arrived on different days, Nov. 26 and Dec. 9. The agency didn’t say in a Thursday statement who sent the stickers, who was to receive them and what purpose the stickers were going to serve. The agency said it made no arrests. Pennsylvania requires that motor vehicles be inspected annually to ensure they meet minimum mechanical, safety and emissions standards.
December 29, 2024 3:59 am
The Pennsylvania State Police released its crash and enforcement report for the 2024 Christmas travel period. From December 24 through December 26, State Troopers investigated 495 crashes. Those crashes resulted in one death and 81 injuries. Impaired driving was a factor in 27 of these crashes. Additionally, during those three days troopers arrested 138 individuals for driving under the influence. Other citations included 720 for speeding, 72 for failure to wear a seat belt and 19 for not securing children in safety seats. Pennsylvania State Police are warning drivers that they will be on the lookout for impaired, aggressive and distracted drivers over New Year’s Eve. They ask that if your plans include alcohol, plan to have a designated driver.
December 28, 2024 4:24 am
Longtime CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel has died from cancer. He was 78. His family announced his death in a statement released by CBS on Friday. In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 due to what he said at the time were family health issues. Gumbel was the studio host for CBS since returning to the network from NBC in 1998. Gumbel signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping back from NFL announcing duties. David Berson, the president and CEO of CBS Sports, described Gumbel as someone who broke barriers and set standards for others during his career.
December 28, 2024 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is signaling that Rudy Giuliani’s contempt hearing next Friday might not end so well for the former New York City mayor and onetime personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump. Judge Lewis J. Liman issued an order Friday in which he was dismissive of what he described as attempts by Giuliani and his lawyer to dodge providing information to lawyers for two Georgia election poll workers who won a libel case against him. The election workers were awarded $148 million in the defamation case and their lawyers have been trying to recover Giuliani’s assets to collect the judgment.
December 28, 2024 4:20 am
President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. Trump’s request Friday came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court. Oral arguments are scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The brief said Trump opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
December 28, 2024 4:16 am
TORONTO (AP) — Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers have met with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary at Mar-a-Lago as Canada tries to avoid sweeping tariffs when Trump takes office. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly met with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, as well as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department. The meeting was a follow up to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month. Trump has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs if Canada does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States.
December 28, 2024 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says a ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. But Anne Neuberger, a deputy national security adviser, said Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks.
December 28, 2024 4:10 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk. Some want to stay in the region at all costs. Others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that commanders are unable to evacuate their dead. Lags in communication and poorly timed operations have cost lives and commanders say they have little way to counterattack. The overstretched Ukrainians have lost more then 40% of the territory they won in the lightning incursion that seized much of Kursk in August.
December 28, 2024 1:26 am
(AP) – Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African descendant populations. The holiday, which serves as a nationwide communal event reinforcing self-determination and unity in the face of oppression, spans seven days from the day after Christmas through New Year’s Day. It is observed in large, city-sponsored events as well as in smaller communities and homes nationwide. Kwanzaa has grown in popularity in the decades since its founding and is celebrated by 3% of the country, according to a 2019 AP-NORC survey. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all released statements commemorating the holiday, and in 1997 the U.S. Postal Service began issuing Kwanzaa stamps. It is not recognized as a federal holiday. (Photo: AP)
December 28, 2024 1:21 am
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, began this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh Stanton, a vice president of the Jewish Federations of North America. He oversees interfaith initiatives involving the 146 local and regional Jewish federations that his organization represents. While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it’s taking place this year amid continuing conflicts involving Israeli forces in the Middle East, and apprehension over widespread incidents of antisemitism. Locally, a Menorah was lit on the front lawn of the Washington County Courthouse> (Photo: AP)
