July 26, 2024 5:14 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans have a crucial decision ahead of them. On Sunday, they decide whether to give President Nicolas Maduro a third six-year term in office or to allow the opposition a chance to deliver on their promise to undo the policies that caused economic collapse and forced millions to emigrate. Maduro is being challenged by nine candidates. Maduro has fended off previous challenges by barring rivals from elections and painting them as out-of-touch elitists in league with foreign powers. But this time, he is allowing the coalition of main opposition parties to participate with former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia as its candidate.
July 26, 2024 5:13 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s video game performers are going on strike, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections. The strike will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday. It’s the second strike for video game actors and performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. It comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants. Union negotiators say gains have been made over wages and job safety but that the game studios will not make a deal over the regulation of generative AI.
July 26, 2024 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has told reporters that she’s “ready to debate Donald Trump.” She accused Trump of “backpedaling” away from a previous agreement for a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. Trump has said he would prefer to shift the event to Fox News, but he would be open to holding two debates with Harris. She says, “I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on the debate stage.” She spoke to reporters after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a trip to Indiana and Texas.
July 26, 2024 5:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, have been arrested by authorities in Texas. Zambada has been a leader of the powerful cartel for decades alongside Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. His is known for running the cartel’s smuggling operations while keeping a lower profile. A Mexican federal official told The Associated Press that Zambada and Guzmán López arrived on a private plane and turned themselves in to U.S. authorities. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter,
July 26, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to mend ties with Donald Trump on Friday and offered measured optimism about progress toward a cease-fire deal for Gaza. Netanyahu was nearing the end of a contentious U.S. visit that put on display the growing American divisions over support for the Israeli-Hamas war. Former President Trump, the Republican nominee to retake the White House, welcomed Netanyahu to his Florida estate for their first face-to-face meeting in nearly four years. The Israeli leader, asked by journalists if his U.S. trip was making progress on a cease-fire, said he hoped so and was eager for a deal. The two men are seeking to mend an important political alliance that had broken down after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 victory.
July 26, 2024 5:08 am
PARIS (AP) — The French national rail company SNCF says high-speed lines have been hit by several “malicious acts” that have heavily disrupted traffic on the day of the high-risk Olympics opening ceremony. Lines in the west, north and east of France were affected, SNCF announced. Government officials denounced the incidents hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which are happening around France, though there was no immediate sign of a link to the Games. Many French families are also heading on summer vacation Friday. National police said authorities are investigating what happened. French media reported a big fire on a busy western route.
July 26, 2024 5:02 am
FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – More than 1,600 felony charges have been filed against a woman accused of stealing or misusing more than $600,000 of an elderly dementia patient’s money. Lisa Costolo, 58, is charged in the crime, according to Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele. “They use a scale for dementia from one to 15. One is the most severe. She was a four. She wasn’t able to care for herself and she was not cognizant of what was going on,” Aubele said, explaining the victim’s condition. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the victim and Costolo were friends and neighbors, and the victim signed over power of attorney to Costolo in 2015. In 2020, police say Costolo told a care home she could no longer afford the monthly payments and needed to apply for Medicaid. The Medicaid evaluation led the staff at Uniontown Health and Rehab to call police. A 2021 forensic audit of the victim’s accounts from 2015 to 2020 revealed Costolo allegedly made $254,000 in ATM withdrawals, paper check withdrawals of $307,000, and $130,000 in debit card transactions, totaling $691,000. “The defendant and her family were essentially using this money as a paycheck, buying very lavish things, basically living off her income, to the point where they couldn’t afford to pay for this care home, and it was because of the Medicaid evaluation that the funds were discovered,” Aubele said. Costolo was arraigned Thursday and released on $200,000 unsecured bail.
July 26, 2024 4:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – Former President Donald Trump will return to Pennsylvania for the first time since a gunman tried to assassinate him at a campaign rally in Butler. NBC affiliate WGAL reports Trump will hold a rally in Harrisburg on July 31 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. The rally is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. with doors opening at 2 p.m. Anyone wishing to attend must reserve tickets. Trump was last in the Keystone State for his July 13 rally when Thomas Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, opened fire on the former president from a rooftop. Three attendees were shot and two of them survived. Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, died shielding his family from the gunfire.
July 26, 2024 2:14 am
Republican State Lawmaker Bud Cook, who represents Washington and Greene counties, along with Democratic State Representative Jessica Benham from Allegheny County, participated in a “Save the Pharmacies” tour on Wednesday at Curtis Pharmacy in Carmichaels, in Greene County, to illustrate how her legislation will help smaller pharmacies compete and make medication more affordable for the patients they serve. “I’ve spoken with independent pharmacy owners in big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between,” said Benham. “And the story is always the same, that the pharmaceutical industry is currently set up to allow large corporations to dominate the market and drive up the cost of prescription drugs. “Given the lack of oversight on pharmacy benefit managers, I’m not surprised more than 140 Pennsylvania pharmacies have closed this year. I know the new reforms Governor Shapiro signed into law last week will help more community pharmacies stay in business, and I’m so proud we were able to come together in a bipartisan fashion to get this done.” “Convenient access to affordable prescription drugs is absolutely vital to the health and well-being of our citizens, and we cannot achieve that mission without independent pharmacies like those represented here today,” Cook said. “By reforming the way Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) operates, we can better protect these independent pharmacies and ensure they remain open to meet the needs of our communities.” “There is bipartisan support at both the state and federal level for PBM reform – that speaks to the significance of the issue,” said Curtis Pharmacy owner Erich Cushey. “We’ve had many local pharmacies close, and the chains are pushing us out. This new law is a great start, and we appreciate the governor and both sides of the aisle in passing the bill, but there will be more work to be done.”
July 25, 2024 9:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy accelerated last quarter at a strong 2.8% annual pace, with consumers and businesses helping drive growth despite the pressure of continually high interest rates. The gross domestic product picked up in the April-June quarter after growing at a 1.4% pace in the January-March period. Economists had expected a weaker 1.9% annual pace of growth. The GDP report also showed that inflation continues to ease, though still remaining above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The latest figures should reinforce confidence that the U.S. economy is on the verge of achieving a rare “soft landing,” whereby high interest rates, engineered by the Fed, tame inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
