July 11, 2024 5:09 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military has urged all Palestinians to leave Gaza City and head south. The evacuation orders issued Wednesday indicated that Israel was pressing ahead with a fresh offensive across the north, south and center of the embattled territory that has killed dozens of people over the past 48 hours. The stepped-up military activity came as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators were meeting with Israeli officials in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks seeking a long-elusive cease-fire deal with Gaza’s Hamas militant group. Israel informed people in Gaza of the evacuation order by dropping leaflets.
July 11, 2024 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As he prepares to accept the Republican nomination for the third time, Donald Trump has promised to expand his coalition — and, in particular, to win over more of the nonwhite voters who largely rejected him during the 2020 election. But an AP analysis of two consecutive polls from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted in June shows that about 7 in 10 Black Americans have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Trump, as do about half of Hispanic Americans. While both groups do see Trump a little more favorably than when he left office in 2021, their opinion is still more negative than positive.
July 11, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s ability to run for reelection faces crucial tests Thursday. He will be fielding questions at a highly anticipated press conference that many Democrats will be watching for signs he’s up for another four-year term. And he sent his campaign team to meet privately with skeptical senators on Capitol Hill, even as more House Democrats called for him to exit the race. The Biden campaign is laying out what it sees as its path to keeping the White House in a new memo, saying that winning the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan is the “clearest pathway” to victory. It says there’s no indication another Democrat would do better against Republican Donald Trump.
July 11, 2024 5:04 am
BEIJING (AP) — China has accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia. The statement from a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday came a day after NATO labeled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine. He urged NATO to stop interfering in China’s internal politics and smearing China’s image.
July 11, 2024 4:56 am
The Canon-McMillan School Board held a special voting session on Wednesday with the purpose to appoint a new district superintendent. The board unanimously appointed Dr. Greg Taranto as the new superintendent. Taranto served as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and instruction K-6 before assuming his new role. Taranto is a 25 year veteran of the school district, coming in as a student teacher and then being offered a full time job later that summer. Taranto called the appointment “surreal” but expressed his gratitude to the board and to several members of the audience that filled the board room for the meeting. Taranto brings with him several awards from his career, chief among them is his being named Pennsylvania Principal of the Year in 2012. A published scholar, Taranto is also the author of 30 educational articles. He is also an adjunct professor at Penn West University. Taranto will be sworn in Thursday to officially begin work in his post. He has been awarded a 5 year contract that runs through June 30, 2029.
July 11, 2024 2:22 am
Washington County Controller April Sloane posted bond and was released from the Allegheny County Jail Wednesday afternoon. After a thirty minute hearing, Washington County Judge John DiSalle revoked Sloane’s $150,000 unsecured bond. Prosecutors argued that she was living with a cat and that was a clear violation of her probation terms that stated that she could not harbor any animal. Her defense attorney argued that she did not care for the cat so therefore harboring was not in question. Sloane was remanded into custody after a new bail was set at $150,000 straight cash. Sloane was initially taken to the Washington County Jail and then transferred to Pittsburgh. Her trial is expected to be held sometime in September. Sloane is facing animal cruelty and animal neglect charges after police – on a tip from the Humane Society, found a dead dog sealed in plastic in her garage in December of 2023. Washington County Commission Chairman Nick Sherman says Sloane will still be in charge of her office. Sherman, however, did say that he was pleased that the appropriate action was taken to revoke Sloane’s bond since her failure to follow the conditions of her probation for harboring a cat is both abhorrent and shocking.
July 10, 2024 5:54 pm
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A defense attorney says that Alec Baldwin’s shooting of a cinematographer was “an unspeakable tragedy,” but that he “committed no crime, he was an actor, acting.” Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro gave the opening statement Wednesday at his involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico. Prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson told jurors Baldwin “violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety” in her opening. The trial will delve into the confluence of gun safety, high-wattage celebrity and a low-budget Western movie on a remote movie ranch. Baldwin was the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust.” He has pleaded not guilty and says he followed instructions in pointing the gun and didn’t pull the trigger.
July 10, 2024 5:02 am
Grammy award winner and celebrated Oak Ridge Boys tenor Joe Bonsall has died. A representative for his family says Bonsall died Tuesday from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He was 76. A Philadelphia native and resident of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Bonsall joined the Oak Ridge Boys in 1973, which originally formed in the 1940s. He saw the band through its golden period in the ’80s and beyond, which included their signature 1981 song “Elvira.” The hit marked a massive crossover moment for the group, reaching No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100. The group is also known for such hits as 1982’s “Bobbie Sue.”
July 10, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s imperiled reelection campaign is hitting new trouble. Rather than urging him to stay in, on Wednesday Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said “it’s up to the president to decide” if he should. Celebrity donor George Clooney said he should not run, and Democratic senators expressed fresh fear about his ability to beat Republican Donald Trump. It all shows how unsettled the questions over Biden’s candidacy remain among Democrats, despite Biden’s insistence he is staying in the race. Pelosi has been widely watched for signals of how top Democrats are thinking about Biden’s candidacy. And Clooney’s portrayal of Biden as “the same man we all witnessed at the debate” shows the depth of concerns.
July 10, 2024 4:57 am
HOUSTON (AP) — The return of soaring heat in Houston is deepening the misery for people still without power after Hurricane Beryl crashed into Texas and left residents in search of places to cool off and fuel up as the extended outages strain one of the nation’s largest cities. Officials say restoring power is the No. 1 priority. Nevertheless, frustration is mounting that Houston appeared to buckle under a storm less powerful than previous ones. State officials are facing questions over whether Houston’s power utility had sufficiently prepared for the storm that made landfall early Monday.
