July 25, 2024 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country’s democracy. In an address Wednesday he laid out his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden insisted “the defense of democracy is more important than any title.” He did not directly call out former President Donald Trump, whom he has called an existential threat to democracy. “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said in his 10-minute address from the Oval Office. “And that includes personal ambition.”
July 25, 2024 5:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting, is taking to the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris, as Harris’ nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to be Harris’ running mate takes shape. Giffords, speaking Thursday at the Salt & Light church in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, met with community activists in a predominantly Black section of Philadelphia hit by mass shootings recently. The event had been planned, Giffords aides say, well before Giffords’ husband U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro entered the conversation to be Harris’ running mate.
July 25, 2024 4:58 am
Washington County residents who have loved ones with special needs that wander away from home have a new service at their disposal. Washington State Police Troop B and the Washington County Sheriff’s office announced a new program that will help families who have people at risk of becoming lost or disoriented. Project Lifesaver is a nationwide program that provides a transmitter to be worn by those “at risk” of becoming lost, including special needs and dementia patients. The service provides a small transmitter to be worn around the neck or as a watch so if a loved one wanders off police units can quickly track them through a hand held receiving device that will ping as they get closer to the lost person. State Trooper Rocco Gagliardi says our area faces certain obstacles due to rough terrain, several bodies of water and poor cell reception. Washington County Sheriff Tony Andronas points out the transmitter will work in other areas while traveling, so you should contact your local police department with your frequency number upon arriving at your destination. The program will be free for Washington County residents who qualify and was made possible by donations and fundraising by the Sheriff’s office. Project Lifesaver is a nationwide organization operating in 41 states and was launched in 1999. It has helped successfully save over 4300 lives since that time. Anyone interested in learning more about how to sign up for a device should contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office or Pennsylvania State Police Troop B.
July 25, 2024 2:44 am
An East Washington man charged with arson and terroristic threats waived his charges to court on Wednesday. Donald Kosek, 37 is accused of trying to set his home on fire with a woman and a 4 year old child inside. According to the criminal complaint, East Washington police were called to a Christman Avenue address where the victim told them that she and Kosek had an argument earlier in the day. Kosek tried to light a pair of boxer shorts on fire against the front door. He also tried to light a plastic pool on fire. Kosek is in the Washington County Jail on $100,000 bond. He will be arraigned on August 29.
July 24, 2024 4:10 pm
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has told members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta that “we are not playing around,” and asked for their support in November. Voters in Indiana haven’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 16 years. But the biennial meeting of roughly 6,000 people, mostly women, is part of a constituency she hopes will turn out for her in massive numbers: women of color. President Joe Biden stepped away from the race on Sunday. The Democratic campaign previously saw a narrow path for Biden but now sees a wider one for Harris, who’s of Black and South Asian descent.
July 24, 2024 4:07 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is believed to have done a Google search one week before the shooting of “How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” That word comes from FBI Director Christopher Wray during testimony Wednesday before Congress. He’s revealing new details about a suspect who seems to have taken a keen interest in public figures but had otherwise not left behind clear clues of an ideological motive. The online search was recovered from a laptop tied to 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks. It’s a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, the shooter who killed President John F. Kennedy from a sniper’s perch in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
July 24, 2024 4:06 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed militants in a speech before Congress. More than 50 Democratic lawmakers boycotted his appearance and thousands of protesters amassed around the Capitol Wednesday to condemn the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis it created. Netanyahu also wants to project the image of a respected statesman for an increasingly critical audience back in Israel. But that task is complicated by Americans’ divided views on Israel and the war, which has emerged as a key issue in the U.S. presidential election. (Photo: AP)
July 24, 2024 12:56 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to form a task force to investigate the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. The 416-0 vote Wednesday underscores the bipartisan outrage over the shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump came within inches of losing his life. One rallygoer was killed and two others severely injured. Lawmakers have responded quickly with hearings and widespread calls for accountability. The bill is sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, whose hometown was the site of the shooting. Kelly was at the rally with members of his family.
July 24, 2024 9:41 am
PARIS (AP) — As expected, Salt Lake City will be an Olympics host again after the IOC formally awarded the 2034 Winter Games to the United States bid. The capital city of Utah was the only candidate after the International Olympic Committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year in a fast-track contest for 2034. Salt Lake City’s final approval was in a vote Wednesday by IOC members. The IOC also made an unusual demand, pushing local officials to pledge to help end an FBI investigation into actions taken by the World Anti-Doping Agency regarding Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete at the last Olympics despite positive drug tests.
July 24, 2024 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Pennsylvania State Police says two local law enforcement officers stationed in the complex of buildings where the gunman opened fire at former President Donald Trump left to go search for the man before the shooting. Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris’ testimony before a congressional hearing Tuesday raises questions about whether a key post was left unattended as the gunman climbed on a roof. The revelation comes amid growing questions about a multitude of security failures that allowed the 20-year-old gunman to get onto the roof and fire eight shots with an AR-style rifle into the crowd minutes after Trump began speaking.
