December 19, 2022 2:02 am
CECIL TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) — Thousands of volunteers came out to the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies on Saturday afternoon for this year’s Wreaths Across America ceremony. Family members of those laid to rest joined the American Legion, local scouts, and community members in placing 15,000 wreaths on each individual grave — a token of appreciation for the 23,000 buried on these grounds in Cecil Township. Volunteers said for the last few years, the events surrounding Wreaths Across America Day were spread out over several days, due to the pandemic, so this was the first ceremony since 2019.
December 18, 2022 8:07 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles with a potential range of striking Japan in a possible protest of Tokyo’s adoption of a new security strategy to push for more offensive footing against North Korea and China. The launches come two days after the North claimed to have performed a key test needed to build a more mobile, powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland. South Korea and Japan condemned the North’s latest missile launches. On Friday, the Japanese government adopted a national security strategy that would allow it to carry out preemptive strikes and fire powerful cruise missiles. That was a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle.
December 18, 2022 8:07 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has revealed that shortly after being elected pontiff in 2013 he wrote a resignation letter in case medical problems impede him from carrying out his duties. In an interview published by Spanish newspaper ABC, Francis said he gave the note to the cardinal who then was the Vatican secretary of state, and he presumes the current cardinal in that role now has the instruction. Francis, who turned 86 on Saturday, has had surgery to repair a bowel narrowing and has been hobbled by knee pain that for months saw him use a wheelchair. Now he increasingly uses a cane. Francis played down the mobility issue, saying, “You don’t govern with your knee.”
December 18, 2022 8:06 am
Just in time for the holidays. The Mega Millions jackpot rose again as there were no winners in Friday night’s drawing, lottery officials announced. The jackpot is now at $465 million heading into Tuesday night’s drawing, according to the Mega Millions website. The numbers drawn Friday night were 8, 35, 40, 53 and 56, plus the gold Mega Ball 11. If someone wins on Tuesday, it would be the 12th largest jackpot in the promotion’s history. A winner could take the amount in an annuity paid over 30 years or opt for a lump sum of $250.4 million before taxes. One ticket in California matched all five white balls for $1 million, while 21 tickets had four white balls plus the Mega Ball. The last time that anyone won the grand prize in the game was Oct. 14, lottery officials said.
December 18, 2022 4:03 am
Washington County 9-1-1 Officials state that a car hit a tree in Peters Township at about 2:30 Saturday morning. The accident occurred at the intersection of Churchhill and Turkeyfoot roads. A car crashed into a tree, one female was entrapped and extricated, a male was able to escape. Both were taken to a local hospital.
December 18, 2022 4:02 am
A one vehicle accident happened on Route 40 in Amwell Township at about 9PM Friday night. County 9-1-1 Officials state that a car hit a utility pole and brought down power lines that crossed both lanes. The accident occurred in the area of 578 E. National Pike. Rt. 40 has reopened. It was closed between Zediker Station Road and Hallam Road.
December 17, 2022 9:13 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Prosecutors say the father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Robert Crimo Jr. surrendered to police on Friday and will have a bond hearing Saturday. Rinehart said the charges are based on Crimo sponsoring his then 19-year-old son’s application for a gun license. A grand jury in July indicted Robert Crimo III on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the people killed and wounded in the attack.
December 17, 2022 9:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration says the U.S. is buying 3 million barrels of oil to begin to replenish U.S. strategic reserves that officials drained earlier this year to fight inflation. The new action was announced late Friday. The oil was drained in a bid to stop gasoline prices from rising amid production cuts by OPEC and a ban on Russian oil imports. President Joe Biden withdrew 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting in March, bringing the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s. Officials say the new purchase will begin in January, with addiiional purchases likely to follow.
December 17, 2022 9:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump pledged to fix U.S. infrastructure as president. He vowed to take on China and bulk up American manufacturing. He said he would reduce the budget deficit and make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. Yet after two years as president, it’s Joe Biden who is acting on these promises. Aides insist Biden is following his own agenda. His legislative victories are not winning him votes from Trump loyalists or boosting his overall approval ratings, but they reflect a major pivot in how the government interacts with the economy. Biden has committed more than $1.7 trillion to reshaping industry, technology and energy in the U.S.
December 17, 2022 9:08 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Emergency crews have pulled the body of a toddler from the rubble in a pre-dawn search for survivors of a Russian missile strike that tore through an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. The missile was one of what Ukrainian authorities said a day earlier were 16 strikes eluding air defenses among 76 fired in the latest Russian attack targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The attacks were part of Moscow’s strategy to leave Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in the dark and cold this winter.
