October 9, 2024 3:56 pm
(AP) – Sin City blew a kiss goodbye to the Tropicana in an elaborate implosion that leveled two hotel towers. The celebration in Las Vegas early Wednesday included a fireworks display. It was the first casino implosion in nearly a decade for a city that loves fresh starts. The Tropicana closed in April after 67 years to make room for a new baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics. Once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, the Tropicana was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack. Its past under the mob has long cemented its place in Las Vegas lore. (Photo: AP)
October 9, 2024 3:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security recipients are expected to receive a smaller cost-of-living increase in January than in recent years as inflation moderates. The Social Security Administration will announce the increase Thursday. In advance, analysts are forecasting a 2.5% increase for 2025. The announcement comes as the national social insurance plan faces a severe financial shortfall in the coming years. The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report in May that the program’s trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. If the trust fund is depleted, the government will be able to pay only 83% of scheduled benefits.
October 9, 2024 7:48 am
One person was transported to Canonsburg Hospital after a two-vehicle crash in North Strabane Wednesday morning along Interstate 79 northbound. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened just after 7 a.m. and was a rear-end type collision near the Houston exit. There is no word on the identity or condition of the person injured. Dispatchers said one-lane was blocked but traffic was getting by.
October 9, 2024 5:06 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has hurled insults at his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the co-hosts of ABC’s “The View.” He said on Wednesday he had no interest in stopping his attacks, even if they turn off female voters. Trump spoke as Hurricane Milton made landfall, lashing Florida with rain, tornadoes and tropical-storm-force winds. “I don’t want to be nice,” Trump said at his first of two rallies of the day in the pivotal battleground state of Pennsylvania. “You know, somebody said, ‘You should be nicer. Women won’t like it.’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’”
October 9, 2024 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S. That’s according to a Justice Department announcement Tuesday. Officials say 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi of Oklahoma City had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan. After he was arrested, the Justice Department said, Tawhedi told investigators he had planned an attack for Election Day that would target large gatherings of people.
October 9, 2024 4:53 am
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business in order to eliminate its online search monopoly. In a late court filing on Tuesday, federal prosecutors also said the judge could ask the court to open the underlying data Google uses to power its ubiquitous search engine and artificial intelligence products to competitors. A federal judge ruled in August that Google’s search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. Google plans to appeal but must wait until the remedies are decided.
October 9, 2024 4:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The National Hurricane Center says tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Milton are just off the western coast of Florida. Officials in a Tampa Bay-area county said Wednesday that that they’re taking buses off the roads and that it’s people’s “last chance if you need to get to a shelter.” The powerful storm’s center remains over 100 miles away in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane center stresses it is not certain exactly where Milton’s center will come ashore Wednesday night. But it says the entire Tampa Bay region and points south are at grave risk. (Photo: AP)
October 9, 2024 4:48 am
President Joe Biden is warning airlines and other companies not to overcharge people who are trying to get out of the path of Hurricane Milton. Biden said Tuesday he’s calling on the airlines to help people evacuate. The storm is bearing down on the west coast of Florida, causing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights in Tampa and other cities in the state. Travelers at airports and people posting online are collecting evidence of airfares rising sharply as the storm approaches. The airlines said they are capping fares and trying to accommodate people affected by the storm. United Airlines says economy-class seats on some flights from the Florida cities in the hurricane’s path are averaging less than $500.
October 9, 2024 4:47 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Early in-person voting is beginning in Arizona, making it the first of this year’s presidential battleground states where all residents can cast a ballot at a traditional polling place ahead of Election Day. The start of in-person voting on Wednesday in the closely contested state also is drawing the presidential tickets, with both campaigns scheduling visits there this week. Each of Arizona’s 15 counties is required to open at least one site for in-person voting, which runs until the Friday before the Nov. 5 general election. In-person voting begins next week in four more presidential swing states — Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada.
October 9, 2024 4:44 am
FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – A gun was found at Pittsburgh International Airport on Sunday. TSA officers found the teal handgun, which was not loaded, in a Ligonier woman’s purse. A release from TSA says the woman said she was moving and forgot she put the gun in her purse. “Forgetting where you placed your gun is no excuse,” Donald Weston, TSA’s Acting Federal Security Director for the airport, said. “Responsible owners of a firearm always know where their gun is. If you must travel with your firearm, the proper way to do it is to make sure it’s unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case and taken to the airline check-in counter. The airline will ensure it is transported in the belly of the aircraft.” This is the 34th gun found at the airport in 2024. TSA reminds travelers that bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint will result in a federal civil penalty. This applies to travelers with and without concealed carry permits.
