October 17, 2024 5:14 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades. An attorney says it is the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese. Attorneys for 1,353 people who allege that they suffered horrific abuse at the hands of local Catholic priests reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say there is justice in accountability. After the announcement of the agreement in principle, Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement, “I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart.”
October 17, 2024 5:13 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge has declared that seven new election rules recently passed by the State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox issued the order Wednesday after holding a hearing on challenges to the rules. The rules that Cox invalidated include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results. He ordered the board to immediately remove the rules and to inform all state and local election officials that the rules are void and not to be followed.
October 17, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative interview with Fox News on Wednesday. She sparred with anchor Bret Baier on immigration and her shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency. Harris’ interview marked her first foray onto the network, which is popular with conservative viewers. She’s looking to broaden her outreach to GOP-leaning voters with less than three weeks until Election Day. Her nearly 30-minute sit-down with Baier repeatedly grew heated, with the two talking over each other. Harris tried repeatedly to pivot the conversation to attacking Trump.
October 17, 2024 5:08 am
In the months since he became Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance has repeatedly deflected questions about whether the Republican presidential nominee lost the 2020 election, saying he was focused on the future. During a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Vance was more declarative, saying “no” when asked about whether Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance said: “I think there are serious problems in 2020. So, did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use, OK?” The answer was the most specific Vance has been on the subject, and a departure from the series of evasions he has offered about the election Trump continues to say without evidence was decided fraudulently in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
October 17, 2024 5:04 am
QANA, Lebanon (AP) — Officials say Israeli airstrikes have pounded areas across Lebanon, killing at least 27 people over the past 24 hours, including more than a dozen in a southern town where Israeli bombardments in previous conflicts are seared into local memory. Elsewhere in the south, a city’s mayor was among the dead in a strike Wednesday that Lebanese officials said targeted a meeting coordinating relief efforts. Fifteen people were killed late Tuesday in the southern town of Qana, with Israel saying it targeted Jalal Mustafa Hariri, a Hezbollah commander. In 1996, Israeli artillery shelling on a United Nations compound housing hundreds of displaced people in Qana killed at least 100 civilians.
October 17, 2024 5:03 am
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials told Argentine media. He was 31. Buenos Aires police say in a statement that Payne fell from the third floor, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Medics confirmed his death on the spot. The spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality tells The Associated Press that police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man” and Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.” Authorities are investigating the circumstances of his death and have not made an official cause of death determination.
October 17, 2024 4:58 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Robinson Township leaders voted two to one on a new police department. McDonald Boro has been patrolling Robinson Township for 20 years and their contract expires this year. The township manager told Channel 11 it’s a decision they didn’t take lightly. Our evaluation process for choice of agency involved a combination of in-person interviews, polling, site visits and extensive consultations with the chiefs,” said Crystal Brown. “I do feel like Mount Pleasant township, although it was a controversial choice for some residents, I think it was a responsible choice.” The board received similar proposals from the North Fayette, McDonald, Smith and Mount Pleasant Departments. Mount Pleasant Chief Matthew Tharp gave Channel 11 a statement saying, “If the contracted service is finalized, we are excited at the opportunity to work with their community, visitors and business to provide professional police services as we do for our community now. We are fortunate enough to have five police officers who currently or previously worked for the municipality that previously covered Robinson Township, which will greatly aid in knowing many of their residents, streets and best routes to respond for emergencies in their community. ” Community members have been outspoken about the decision, with some embracing the chance and pushing for regionalization, others against the decision, and others want more questions answered.
October 17, 2024 4:52 am
SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Wednesday morning, South Fayette Township neighbors who live along Boyce Road and close to a giant water main break, found themselves without water. Pennsylvania American Water says a broken 36-inch concrete cylinder water main is to blame. Officials started emergency repairs and are currently working to get it fixed. Until then, Boyce Road from Hunting Ridge to Mayview Road is closed. Drivers who need to get to Route 19 and Washington Pike will have to detour for the foreseeable future. Pennsylvania American Water says there are currently 15 customers who don’t have any water. Officials anticipate their service being restored on Thursday morning. There’s no ETA on when the road will reopen.
October 17, 2024 2:48 am
The Washington City Mission held a “Topping Off” Ceremony on Thursday, to celebrate the final steel beam being set into place for their new, fifty-bed Women’s Shelter. The new shelter will be called, “Sally’s Sanctuary,” after the mission’s former Chief Development Officer, Dr. Sally Mounts. Mounts announced last month that after eleven years with the mission, she would be retiring at the end of September. The shelter will be a 50 bed facility for homeless women. It will compliment the Mission’s other facilities such as the Crabtree-Kovacicek Veteran’s House, the Men’s Shelter, Women with Children Shelter and Sally’s House. According to Irey-Vaughan, City Mission is currently receiving 60 calls per month from women seeking help. It is a $7.1 million project that is expected to be completed in the next 12-14 months.
October 17, 2024 1:52 am
(AP) – The deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote in the 2024 general election is Oct. 21, that’s just 15 days before Election Day on Nov. 5. To register, applicants must be 18 years old on the day of the election. They must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Pennsylvania and the district where they are registering to vote for at least 30 days before the election. Identification such as a Pennsylvania driver’s license, PennDOT ID card or last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number is required. Registration is part of the public record, including names, addresses, birth dates, voting history and voting districts. (Photo: AP)
