July 22, 2024 5:06 am
RADFORD, Va. (AP) — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has used his first solo campaign appearances to throw fresh barbs at Vice President Kamala Harris. His rallies in Ohio and Virginia on Monday came a day after President Joe Biden threw the presidential election into upheaval by dropping out and endorsing his second-in-command to lead Democrats against Donald Trump. The venues were intended to play up Vance’s populist appeal across the Rust Belt and small-town America. Vance said that “history will remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States of America.” But he added that “Kamala Harris is a million times worse and everybody knows it.”
July 22, 2024 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service’s director says the roof where a shooter opened fire at Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally was identified as a potential vulnerability days before the event. Director Kimberly Cheatle made the comments Monday as she was grilled by lawmakers over the July 13 assassination attempt of the Republican presidential nominee. Cheatle acknowledges the agency was told about a suspicious person “between two and five times” before the assassination attempt of the former president. Cheatle told lawmakers during a congressional hearing, “On July 13, we failed.” Cheatle was berated for hours by Republicans and Democrats, repeatedly angering lawmakers by evading questions about the investigation into the shooting.
July 22, 2024 5:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Airlines, including Delta Air Lines, continued to struggle to restore operations two days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and resulted in several carriers grounding flights. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in a statement Sunday that flight cancellations continued as the airline tried to recover its systems and restore operations. He noted that the pause in Delta’s operations resulted in more than 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection scrubbed flights. Delta has been offering waivers to affected customers.
July 22, 2024 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee against Donald Trump. That’s according to an Associated Press survey taken in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his bid for reelection. The unofficial AP survey is only an indication that she has the backing of more than then 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot. But it shows she is the overwhelming choice of her party to replace Biden at the top of the ticket.
July 22, 2024 4:57 am
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Flames have torn through a church in Fayette County. Dispatchers say emergency crews were called to Market Street in Brownsville at around 5:35 p.m. Firefighters from Brownsville Fire Company say their crews were met with heavy fire and smoke coming from the abandoned First Baptist Church. Part of the church collapsed while crews were battling the flames. A machine will be brought in to tear down the rest of the damaged wall. One firefighter was taken to a hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion. Investigators say the church has been condemned for years. 13 departments that came from both Fayette and Washington counties responded to the fire. The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal has been called to investigate the cause of the fire.
July 22, 2024 4:52 am
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election. The endorsement comes after President Joe Biden announced that he would be ending his reelection campaign on Saturday. Biden also endorsed Harris. Shapiro’s full endorsement said: “When our founders came together in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to declare our independence and establish our democracy, they did so with the clear understanding that we would only succeed if we were united. In the 248 years since, our country and our people have been tested – but the American spirit has always triumphed. “Despite our individual differences, when our safety was threatened, when our values and freedoms were attacked, when the stakes were high, Americans have found ways to come together and unite behind a common cause and common purpose. That’s the lesson of our founders who gathered in Pennsylvania two-and-a-half centuries ago – and it’s the lesson our Party must learn from now. “I’ve known Kamala Harris for nearly two decades – we’ve both been prosecutors, we’ve both stood up for the rule of law, we’ve both fought for the people and delivered results. Kamala Harris is a patriot worthy of our support and she will continue the work of generations of Americans who came before us to perfect our union, protect our democracy, and advance real freedom. She has served the country honorably as Vice President and she is ready to be President.
July 22, 2024 2:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The last surviving original member of the Four Tops has died. Abdul “Duke” Fakir was 88. He was a charter member of the Motown group along with lead singer Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton. Between 1964 and 1967, the Tops had 11 top 20 hits and two No. 1′s: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and the operatic classic “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Other songs, often stories of romantic pain and longing, included “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” and “Just Ask the Lonely.” (Photo: AP)
July 22, 2024 2:47 am
On Monday, Governor Josh Shapiro joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley, President of the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council Darrin Kelly and local elected leaders to celebrate the Shapiro Administration securing nearly $400 million to fund efforts to help Pennsylvania companies lower climate emissions while creating good-paying jobs and supporting Pennsylvania’s economy. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been selected to receive a more than $396 million grant for the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) project – 10% of the federal funds available for this program nationwide, making Pennsylvania one of the largest grant winners in the country. The RISE PA program is a part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s application to the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. “My Administration is taking real action to address climate change while continuing to create energy jobs and grow the economy – and today, I’m proud to announce that thanks to our partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration, Pennsylvania has been awarded $396 million in federal funding to start a new initiative called RISE PA,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “This is one of the largest federal grants Pennsylvania has ever received, and through RISE PA, we will offer grants for companies working to make their operations more efficient. This investment will help us reduce toxic air pollution, create thousands of jobs, invest in our energy sector, and continue Pennsylvania’s legacy of energy leadership.”
July 22, 2024 2:13 am
A group of preservationist activists called Friends of Peters Lake hosted a Community Walk on Sunday to draw attention to their concerns about the Peters Township nature preserve park if a 41 home development is to be built in neighboring North Strabane Township bordering Peters Lake Park. Approximately 175 people of all ages turned out at Rolling Hills Park to walk in protest to the development of The Collective At Peters Lake, proposed by Laurel Communities, that was recently given conditional use approval. Residents expressed their concerns about construction activity polluting the lake. They are also worried about chemicals such as fertilizers and other pollutants entering the lake if the development were to be completed. Several people that participated were participants in a walk 30 years ago sponsored by The Lake and Woodland Society, formed to protect the lake from possible development in Peters Township. Their efforts were instrumental in influencing Peters Township Officials to purchase the lake from the Pennsylvania American Water Company in 1996. State Representative Natalie Mihalek (R-40) was also in attendance to support preservation efforts. She stated that it is important now that people get involved by expressing their concerns to regulatory agencies such as the DEP and PennDot to closely monitor the application process to assure that any approvals take into account the preservation of the lake. She said the best way to influence all of the agencies and governmental bodies is to call, email and send letters.
July 21, 2024 3:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election. The decision comes after escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump, and encouraged his party to united behind her. Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon ET on Jan. 20, 2025. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account. Nearly 30 minutes later, Biden throw his support behind Harris, the party’s instant favorite for the nomination at its August convention in Chicago. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.” Biden’s decision came as he has been isolating at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, huddling with a shrinking circle of close confidants and family members about his political future. Biden said he would address the nation later this week to provide “detail” about his decision. A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never stepped out of the race so close to the election. The closest parallel would be President Lyndon Johnson who, besieged by the Vietnam War, announced in March 1968 that he would not seek another term. (Photo: AP)
