October 7, 2024 5:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East. That’s according to a report by Brown University’s Costs of War project released Monday on the anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel. The report says an additional $4.86 billion has gone into stepped-up U.S. military operations in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, including the costs of a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthis. It’s one of the first tallies of these estimated U.S. costs. The research was completed before Israel opened a second front against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
October 7, 2024 5:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official says false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which are being spread most prominently by Donald Trump, are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance. Deanne Criswell of the Federal Emergency Management Agency tells ABC that “it’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people.” She says the unfounded allegations have created a sense of fear and mistrust from residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground.
October 7, 2024 5:28 am
RE’IM, Israel (AP) — Israelis are holding vigils and somber ceremonies to mark a year since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in the country’s history, an attack that sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly. The surprise attack, which caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis’ sense of security and shook their faith in their leaders and their military. Its aftershocks still ripple one year later. In Gaza, which is still buckling under the weight of the ongoing war, no formal commemorative event was planned. Israelis are expected to flock to ceremonies and cemeteries around the country on Monday.
October 7, 2024 5:27 am
BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa area with a potential direct hit and menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. The center of the storm could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a head-on hit by a hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it is still forecast to hit as a Category 3 hurricane or higher.
October 7, 2024 5:19 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Police in Bethel Park say they have found a missing man who is autistic and bipolar. Nathyn Patrick Hoffman, 24, was last seen at the Dollar General in the Hillcrest Shopping Center Sunday evening. He was last seen wearing a black polo shirt, blue shorts and sandals. He often spends time in Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Downtown communities. No information on where he was found has been released. (Photo: Bethel Park Police Department)
October 7, 2024 5:15 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Sunday night showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys has started after a lengthy weather delay. The original scheduled start time of 8:20 p.m. was delayed nearly 90 minutes when a line of thunderstorms made their way through downtown Pittsburgh at around 8 p.m. The Steelers were just about to be introduced when the delay was called. With plenty of lightning around Acrisure Stadium, fans retreated to the concourse during the hour-long downpour.
October 7, 2024 5:13 am
No injuries are reported after a two-vehicle crash overnight in the City of Washington. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 12:30 a.m. in the 500-block of East Maiden Street. Dispatchers say a pole was knocked down. The roadway was closed after the crash but reopened before 6 a.m.
October 7, 2024 4:51 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning singer who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin and the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91. Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston tells The Associated Press that Houston died Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by family members. Houston was in the well-known vocal group, the Sweet Inspirations, with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick. Houston won Grammys for her albums “Face to Face” in 1997 and “He Leadeth Me” the following year in the best traditional soul gospel album category.
October 7, 2024 4:44 am
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Gulf Coast is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton’s winds and expected massive storm surge. The storm could bring destruction to cities and towns already reeling from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian’s wrath two years ago. Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane warning early Tuesday. Milton’s winds are some of the strongest seen. The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is 1980’s Allen, which reached wind speeds of 190 mph. Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region. The area has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.
October 7, 2024 2:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away a challenge from Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to a Biden administration executive order that is intended to boost voter registration. The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting an appeal from the Republicans, who claimed the order is an unconstitutional attempt to interfere in the November election. Lower courts had dismissed the lawsuit. The justices separately rejected two appeals from Colorado and Pennsylvania stemming from baseless claims made by Republicans that voting machines and software of Dominion Voting Systems were responsible for Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020. presidential election.
