April 9, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Efforts to ban TikTok from government devices have picked up steam in the past year in state legislatures and Congress even as politicians continue to use it to connect with and expand their base. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a prolific poster, but legislation seeking to ban the app from state networks and devices could reach his desk soon. Researchers say using social media to connect with constituents has a long history. And it’s largely Democrats having the internal debate about using TikTok while weighing a significant ban over security concerns. A TikTok spokesman said there is “no regard for the facts” when bills like this are pushed through.
April 9, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is urging the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The brief from prosecutors was submitted just over two weeks before the justices will take up the legally untested question of whether an ex-president is shielded from criminal charges for official actions taken in the White House. The outcome of the April 25 arguments is expected to help determine whether Trump faces trial this year in a four-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to block the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
April 9, 2024 5:15 am
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade Rafah. In a video statement Monday, he declared: “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has insisted on sending troops into Rafah, saying the city on the Egyptian border is Hamas’ last stronghold. However, this has raised international alarm over the fate of the around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.
April 9, 2024 5:25 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Beyoncé has made history once again. Her latest album, the epic “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart, making her the first Black woman to top the chart since its 1964 inception. The album also topped the all-genres Billboard 200, marking her eighth No. 1 album. According to Luminate, “Cowboy Carter” totaled 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. since its March 29 release. As a Black woman reclaiming country music, she stands in opposition to stereotypical associations of the genre with whiteness. In February, “Texas Hold ’Em” reached No. 1 on the country airplay chart. (Photo: AP)
April 9, 2024 5:14 am
DALLAS (AP) — If you missed North America’s total solar eclipse or if you caught the eclipse bug, there are more chances to see the sun disappear. Full solar eclipses happen about every year or two or three, due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. The next total solar eclipse will be in 2026 and will pass over the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. An eclipse on the scale of Monday’s event won’t happen again until Aug. 12, 2045 though the U.S. will get a taste of totality before then.
April 8, 2024 2:40 am
(WPXI) – A man accused of killing two people in Allegheny County is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being found by police in West Virginia. Dennis Rahuba, 50, was wanted for the shooting deaths of a man and woman inside a home in the 1300 block of Great Oak Drive in Scott Township just before 3 a.m. Monday. Around 6 a.m. Monday, 911 dispatchers were notified that Rehuba was possibly traveling on I-79 toward Charleston, West Virginia. Deputies from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office spotted the suspect’s vehicle just before 7 a.m. on a Charleston interstate. Police from several surrounding agencies attempted to pull over Rahuba. The interstate was immediately shut down and Rahuba’s vehicle was surrounded. The Kanawha County Sherrif’s Office said one of its deputies tried to order Rahuba to get out of the vehicle when he saw and heard what he believed was a single gunshot. Once SWAT was able to approach the vehicle, they found Rahuba dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Allegheny County police continue to investigate.
April 8, 2024 5:10 am
MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America as a total solar eclipse began its race across the continent. Monday’s spectacle was eagerly awaited by millions of spectators in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It’s North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path. Cloud cover threatened to spoil the view in some places, especially in parts of Texas, but the skies cleared with minutes to spare. During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks the sunlight for a few minutes. The rest of North America will see a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
April 8, 2024 4:59 am
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman is dead and a man is in a hospital after a crash in North Versailles. Allegheny County dispatchers say police, firefighters and medics were alerted about the crash at 6:12 p.m. on Sunday. The crash happened near the intersection of Crooked Run Road and 5th Avenue. Allegheny County Police say a 66-year-old woman who was driving a Nissan Versa was hit by a Pontiac Grand Am driven by a 20-year-old man. Investigators say the woman was taken to a hospital where she later died. The man was also taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries. He is in stable condition. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the Allegheny County Police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.
April 8, 2024 5:05 am
BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The last 48 hours have been emotionally draining for Alanna Posch and her family after her devoted husband, Brian Posch, 36, went missing on Friday and never came home. “We’re extremely emotional and we really miss him, and we really want him to come home,” Alanna Posch said. That morning started out like any other. “Just saying, ‘I love you’ and I had said, ‘I love you’ to him,” said Alanna. “We always just say, ‘I love you’ in the morning.” Just a few hours before that last text message, Alanna said Brian left their house in Brighton Township to head to work but never showed up at the construction site. “He doesn’t miss work,” Alanna said. “He’s punctual. He’s the head of his job site. He’s not into drugs. This is very, very unusual.” Brighton Township Police said his license plate was last scanned going south along Route 51 near Jefferson Hills around 6:30 Friday evening. The white Ford 250 pickup truck has a Pennsylvania plate reading ZTH-8685. “This is very uncharacteristic,” Alanna said. “He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful husband, and he loves us and his daughter so much. So, for him not to come home, for him not to call and to not ask about his daughter is extremely, extremely not him.” If anyone knows where he could be, call the Brighton Township Police Department, or the Beaver County Emergency Services Center at 724-775-0880.
April 8, 2024 4:55 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – While no one in Pennsylvania took home the over $1 billion Powerball jackpot, some still won sizeable prizes in the delayed Saturday drawing. According to Powerball, a single lucky ticket holder in Oregon won the $1.326 billion grand prize after numbers were drawn early Sunday morning because of a procedural delay. That prize is the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of Powerball and the eighth-largest in U.S. lottery history. According to the Pennsylvania Lottery, four people who bought tickets in the state matched four of the five drawn numbers and the Powerball, each earning a $50,000 prize. The winning numbers drawn Sunday were 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and the red Powerball was 9.
