November 9, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Several federal and state agencies are investigating how racist mass texts were sent to Black people across the country in the wake of the presidential election this week. The messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies. Experts say the culprit likely took advantage of a bulk-messaging industry designed to help legitimate marketers reach people on their phones. Phone service provider TextNow said that “one or more” of its accounts were used to send the text messages and that it quickly disabled those accounts for violating its terms of service.
November 9, 2024 4:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has unsealed criminal charges in a thwarted Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump before this week’s presidential election. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact this past September to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump. The plot reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target U.S. government officials, including Trump, on U.S. soil. The charges were unsealed Friday, just days after Trump’s defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris,
November 9, 2024 4:45 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near a fence surrounding the site and that workers are using food to try to recapture them. Officials say the Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them. The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing about 7 pounds. Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and the police all say the monkeys pose no risk to public health.
November 9, 2024 4:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case has canceled any remaining court deadlines after prosecutors said they need time to assess “the appropriate course going forward” after the Republican’s presidential victory this week. Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the two federal cases before the president-elect takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. In a court filing Friday in Trump’s election interference case, Smith’s team said it needs “time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
November 9, 2024 3:27 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada has won reelection. The Democrat won her second term over Republican challenger Sam Brown, who was endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump. Rosen positioned herself as a nonpartisan advocate for her state while hammering Brown for his opposition to abortion rights. Brown tried to tie Rosen to the rising cost of living in Nevada and leaned on his own biography as a former Army captain who was badly wounded in Afghanistan.
November 9, 2024 3:22 am
There has been no update on the condition of a South Strabane Firefighter who was hit by a tree yesterday while battling a brush fire. Authorities say they received a call for a fire along Dynamite Road around 3pm. About an hour after fire crews were dispatched to the scene they received word about the firefighter’s injury. He was flown to a local hospital. The South Strabane Fire Department urges residents to stop burning until it is safe to do so.
November 8, 2024 12:24 pm
Multiple fire departments and emergency services were called out around nine-thirty Friday morning for reports of a house fire at 139 Fifth Street in McDonald. Washington County 911 says one firefighter was taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment of hypertension, otherwise, there were no other reported injuries. The home, which housed two adults and two children, was destroyed. Dispatchers tell us the family was displaced and the Red Cross has been called in to help them. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
November 8, 2024 10:49 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats will keep their majority control of the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives next year after holding onto a Johnstown area seat. The reelection of incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Burns means his party will have a one-vote margin, 102-101. That’s enough to retain the speakership and determine the chamber’s voting agenda. Burns is a conservative Democrat who supports gun rights and opposes abortion. He’s regularly found himself voting against his fellow House Democrats and has long been an electoral target of Republicans. The district includes Johnstown and a wide swath of Cambria County.
November 8, 2024 5:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key rate by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory this week. The rate cut follows a larger half-point reduction in September, and it reflects the Fed’s renewed focus on supporting the job market as well as fighting inflation, which now barely exceeds the central bank’s 2% target. Annual inflation has since fallen from a 9.1% peak in 2022 to a 3 1/2-year low of 2.4%. Asked how Trump’s election might affect the Fed’s policymaking, Chair Jerome Powell said that “in the near term, the election will have no effects on our [interest rate] decisions.”
November 8, 2024 5:19 am
President-elect Donald Trump has not said what he would do on student loan forgiveness, leaving millions of borrowers facing uncertainty over what will happen with their payments once President Joe Biden leaves office. Biden promised the student loan cancellation program during his run for the presidency and Trump has criticized his efforts. From its launch, Biden’s loan forgiveness faced relentless pushback from Republican opponents. They say it heaps advantage on elites and comes at the expense of those who repaid their loans or did not attend college. Borrowers around the country are worried, student loan experts say.
