June 21, 2024 5:05 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David. His trip comes as officials in both parties scramble to set expectations for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. Biden’s team notes he cannot afford an underwhelming performance against Donald Trump Thursday night. Trump’s allies are pushing the Republican to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud and his legal baggage. Strategists on both sides agree on one thing: Nearly four months before Election Day, the political stakes could not be higher.
June 21, 2024 5:04 am
BEIJING (AP) — China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power among the three authoritarian states. Experts say the Chinese leadership likely is fretting the potential loss of influence over North Korea and how that could increase instability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing so far has not commented on the deal and only reiterated boilerplate statements that it seeks to uphold peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and advance a political settlement of the North-South divide.
June 21, 2024 5:02 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest a defense pact with North Korea, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement vowing mutual defense with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a state visit to Pyongyang. South Korea’s government has denounced the agreement as a threat to the South’s security and said it will consider providing arms to Ukraine to help it fight Russia’s invasion. Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, underscoring rising tensions on the peninsula.
June 21, 2024 5:06 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has established a corridor for the delivery of aid into southern Gaza but a declared ‘tactical pause’ in its war with Hamas has brought little relief to desperate Palestinians. The United Nations and international aid organizations say a persistent breakdown in law and order has rendered the aid route unusable. Thousands of truckloads of aid are piled up at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Groups of armed Palestinians are regularly blocking convoys, holding drivers at gunpoint and rifling through their cargo. That’s according to a U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
June 21, 2024 3:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers. Friday’s action is the government’s strongest acknowledgment that switching to flavored vaping can reduce the harms of smoking. The FDA authorized four menthol e-cigarettes from Njoy, the vaping brand recently acquired by tobacco giant Altria, which also makes Marlboro cigarettes. The decision gives new credibility to vaping companies’ longstanding argument that their products can help blunt the toll of smoking. But parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates immediately criticized the decision, saying flavors like menthol are more popular with teens.
June 20, 2024 1:39 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The film and television actor whose prolific career stretched from “M.A.S.H” to “JFK” to “The Hunger Games,” Donald Sutherland has died at 88. The tall and gaunt Canadian actor was known for offbeat characters like Hawkeye Piece in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H.,” the hippie tank commander in “Kelly’s Heros” and the stoned professor in “Animal House.” But over the decades, Sutherland showed his range in more buttoned-down parts in Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People” and Oliver Stone’s “JFK.” His son Kiefer Sutherland also became a star. (Photo: AP)
June 20, 2024 5:59 pm
At least one person was reportedly injured in an accident that occurred Thursday afternoon at the height of rush hour. The accident, which reportedly involved a vehicle and scooter, occurred around four o’clock in the area of Beau Street and Claire Drive. There’s been no word on the nature of the injuries or how the crash occurred. The road was closed for a brief period of time and traffic was detoured around the crash.
June 20, 2024 12:42 pm
(WPXI) – A man was stopped at Pittsburgh International Airport for trying to bring a grenade onto his flight. Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said while most people plan on having a blast on their trip, the passenger wasn’t thinking along those lines. The grenade was inert. However, inert and live grenades are not allowed on planes, TSA said.
June 20, 2024 9:29 am
Crews worked through the day Thursday to repair a water main break. Pennsylvania American Water says it occurred along East Pine Avenue in the City of Washington. Officials tell WJPA News the break involved an 8-inch line and repairs were expected to take about eight-hours to complete. Some six to eight homes in the area were affected. Once water service was restored, customers who experienced discolored water were asked to run the cold water taps only at the lowest level of their home for about three to five minutes until the water ran clear.
June 20, 2024 5:00 am
PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Peters Township family lost their home in what may have been an electrical outlet fire. Patrick Cullen told Channel 11 he opened up his door Tuesday night to smoke and tried to put out the flames himself. “I came home and opened the front door, and there was a bunch of smoke and I ran to my truck and got a fire extinguisher, and came around the back to try and put it out but it was too smokey,” Cullen said. An indoor camera caught the flames going up the wall. Patrick said there was nothing plugged into that socket. “We are assuming it was an electric outlet. That’s where the fire came from… luckily we had video from inside the house,” Cullen said. Medics treated him for smoke inhalation. The state police fire marshal is still investigating.
