June 22, 2024 1:55 am
(WPXI) – An iconic piece of Steelers history can stay at the Heinz History Center, the Pittsburgh Zoning Board ruled on Thursday. The four-ton Heinz ketchup bottle was placed at the history center in December 2023. It was one of two iconic bottles removed from Heinz Field, as the stadium became Acrisure. In May, zoning officials said the bottle qualified as a “sign,” and on its platform, it exceeded the maximum permitted sign height of 40 feet. The board ultimately determined the bottle was an artifact and not subject to city regulations.
June 21, 2024 5:51 pm
HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a Pennsylvania couple vacationing in Florida with their six children drowned after they were caught in a rip current while swimming. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office identified the couple in a Facebook post as Brian Warter, 51, and 48-year-old Erica Wishard. Investigators say the couple and two of their mostly teenage children were caught in the current on Hutchinson Island, along Florida’s southeast coast. The children broke free but the parents were unable to swim out of the current. A crisis intervention deputy is assisting the children while other family members travel to meet them in Florida.
June 21, 2024 3:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers. Friday’s action is the government’s strongest acknowledgment that switching to flavored vaping can reduce the harms of smoking. The FDA authorized four menthol e-cigarettes from Njoy, the vaping brand recently acquired by tobacco giant Altria, which also makes Marlboro cigarettes. The decision gives new credibility to vaping companies’ longstanding argument that their products can help blunt the toll of smoking. But parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates immediately criticized the decision, saying flavors like menthol are more popular with teens.
June 21, 2024 3:41 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld a federal gun control law that’s intended to protect domestic violence victims. President Joe Biden praised the decision, saying that “no one who has been abused should have to worry about their abuser getting a gun,” The justices ruled 8-1 Friday in favor of a 1994 ban on firearms for people under restraining orders to stay away from their spouses or partners. The justices reversed a ruling from the federal appeals court in New Orleans that had struck down the law. It’s the justices’ first Second Amendment case since they expanded gun rights in 2022. The case involved a Texas man accused of hitting his girlfriend and threatening to shoot her.
June 21, 2024 3:40 pm
((AP) – A relentless heat wave continues to bake most of the United States, with numerous areas expected to see record-breaking temperatures. Forecasters were also warning there would likely be little relief through the weekend for most areas. The steamiest conditions on Friday were expected in parts of Ohio and Indiana, where heat indexes were expected to soar past 100 degrees Fahrenheit and remain there most of the day. But the Midwest was not the only area being baked, as heat and excessive heat warnings and advisories has been issued across the northeast, the mid-Atlantic and in some western states. Millions of residents across the country have had their lives disrupted by the heat’s intensity. (Photo: AP)
June 21, 2024 12:56 pm
State Police in Uniontown say two suspects got away with $60,000 in jewelry during an armed robbery in South Union Township. The Kay Jewelry store at 201 Walmart Drive was robbed just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. Police say two suspects entered the store one minute before it closed and asked to see a two-karat diamond. One of the suspects showed a store employees a pistol in his waistband, state police said. They had store employees take them to a safe, where they stole 25 LEO diamonds, Neil Lane jewelry and various lab-created diamonds worth about $60,000. Both were dressed in all black, including black ball caps. One suspect had a cap with a broken heart picture with the writing “no love” in red. Anyone with information is asked call State Police Uniontown at 724-439-7111 or PSP Tips at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. All callers to PSP Tips could be eligible for a cash reward.
June 21, 2024 5:06 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has established a corridor for the delivery of aid into southern Gaza but a declared ‘tactical pause’ in its war with Hamas has brought little relief to desperate Palestinians. The United Nations and international aid organizations say a persistent breakdown in law and order has rendered the aid route unusable. Thousands of truckloads of aid are piled up at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Groups of armed Palestinians are regularly blocking convoys, holding drivers at gunpoint and rifling through their cargo. That’s according to a U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
June 21, 2024 5:05 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David. His trip comes as officials in both parties scramble to set expectations for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. Biden’s team notes he cannot afford an underwhelming performance against Donald Trump Thursday night. Trump’s allies are pushing the Republican to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud and his legal baggage. Strategists on both sides agree on one thing: Nearly four months before Election Day, the political stakes could not be higher.
June 21, 2024 5:04 am
BEIJING (AP) — China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power among the three authoritarian states. Experts say the Chinese leadership likely is fretting the potential loss of influence over North Korea and how that could increase instability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing so far has not commented on the deal and only reiterated boilerplate statements that it seeks to uphold peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and advance a political settlement of the North-South divide.
June 21, 2024 5:02 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest a defense pact with North Korea, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement vowing mutual defense with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a state visit to Pyongyang. South Korea’s government has denounced the agreement as a threat to the South’s security and said it will consider providing arms to Ukraine to help it fight Russia’s invasion. Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, underscoring rising tensions on the peninsula.
