February 1, 2024 5:43 pm
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers say an asteroid as big as a skyscraper will pass within 1.7 million miles of Earth on Friday. There’s no chance of it hitting us since it will pass seven times the distance from Earth to the moon. NASA estimates the space rock is between 690 feet and 1,575 feet across. That means the asteroid could be similar in size to New York City’s Empire State Building or Chicago’s Willis Tower. The asteroid was discovered in 2008. It won’t be back our way again until 2032, but it will be a much more distant encounter, staying 45 million miles away.
February 1, 2024 5:41 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he never directed anyone on his staff to keep his cancer surgery and hospitalization secret from the White House but acknowledges he should have handled it differently. He apologized for keeping President Joe Biden and others in the dark for weeks. Austin was speaking to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room on Thursday, providing his most extensive comments to date on the secrecy surrounding his cancer diagnosis and struggles with complications since his surgery on Dec. 22. It was the first time he answered reporters’ questions since his surgery. (Photo: AP)
February 1, 2024 5:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, illnesses like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks their own bodies. That gender disparity has baffled scientists for decades but new research may finally explain why. Females have two X chromosomes and Stanford University researchers say how cells handle that extra X can be a red flag for the immune system, essentially an early risk factor. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Cell, could lead to better ways to detect autoimmunity.
February 1, 2024 10:19 am
A tanker truck hauling brine water overturned in a two-vehicle accident Thursday morning in Buffalo Township. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News it happened just before 9 a.m. in the 29-hundred block of S. Bridge Road. Dispatchers say no one was transported from the scene but HAZMAT was called because the tanker was leaking material. The crash did shut down the roadway in both directions.
February 1, 2024 5:11 am
(WPXI) – State police are investigating a deadly stabbing in Fayette County. A man was stabbed around midnight outside a home on Hilltop Avenue in Redstone Township. The victim was identified as 24-year-old Shawn Hriscisce. State police said another person was taken to Uniontown Hospital for a stab wound to the arm. They were released and are cooperating with the investigation. State troopers said the people involved got into a verbal altercation which turned physical and led to the stabbing. The investigation is ongoing.
February 1, 2024 5:01 am
Superstar Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, have become the focus of a raft of false claims and political conspiracy theories on social media this week as the team advances to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. Baseless posts range from allegations that Swift has played a part in Pentagon psychological operations to the idea that she and Kelce, a two-time Super Bowl champion, are key assets in a secret plot to help President Joe Biden get reelected in 2024, and that the Chiefs’ success was rigged as part of the plan.
February 1, 2024 4:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. adults are only feeling slightly better about the economy, despite stocks being near record highs and surprisingly strong growth last year. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 35% of U.S. adults call the national economy good. That’s an uptick from 30% who said so late last year and up from 24% who said so a year ago. While 65% still call the economy poor, that’s an improvement from a year ago, when 76% did. Voters’ confidence in the economy could be the pivotal factor in this year’s election. President Joe Biden is running for reelection in part on the economy. The poll puts his overall approval rating at 38%.
February 1, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll shows half of U.S. adults believe Israel’s war in Gaza has “gone too far.” The poll by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found growing disapproval among Republicans and political independents for Israel’s conduct of its military offensive in Gaza. And notably for President Joe Biden, about 7 out of 10 young people in Biden’s Democratic Party disapprove of his approach to the conflict. Overall, 31% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of the conflict, including just 46% of Democrats. The U.S. has become increasingly isolated in its support of Israel as the Palestinian death toll rises.
February 1, 2024 4:50 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said North Korea has fired multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, extending a provocative series of weapons tests in the face of deepening tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan. The launches came hours after state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated his focus on strengthening his naval forces as he inspected the construction of new warships at a western shipyard, calling such projects crucial to the country’s war preparations. There was no immediate information on the exact number of missiles fired or how far they flew.
February 1, 2024 4:49 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — New data from automatic voter registration at Pennsylvania driver’s license centers shows that sign-ups have grown but remain almost evenly divided between the political parties in the presidential battleground state. The latest data was published Wednesday. It tallies just over four months of new voter registrations since Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the change in September. There has been an increase of about 45% in sign-ups at driver’s license centers compared with a similar period two years ago. The data also shows little change in the partisan mix of those signing up under the new system. That’s despite accusations by Donald Trump that Democrats would use automatic registration to “steal Pennsylvania.”
