May 7, 2024 5:06 am
CAIRO (AP) — An Israeli tank brigade has seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, moving ahead with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge. The development on Tuesday comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war. The militant group on Monday said it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
May 7, 2024 5:04 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – At a time when new COVID-19 infections are considered low, new variations, called FLiRT variants are now starting to spread. Doctor Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert with Johns Hopkins, who is based out of Pittsburgh, says they evolved from Omicron. “The most recent variants that are becoming dominant are called FLiRT variants. The word FLiRT has to do with technical ways of describing the mutations that are present in it,” Adalja explained. “The virus that causes COVID-19 is going to continue to mutate in perpetuity, forever. That’s what viruses do, so there’s always going to be a new variant, whether that’s today, tomorrow, thirty years from now, there’s always going to be one variant rising, one variant falling, that’s how evolution occurs,” Adalja said. According to Adalja, FLiRT will have similar symptoms to all previous versions of COVID-19 — cough, cold-like-symptoms, muscle aches and pains, fevers, headaches, and sore throat — but most people will have some level of protection from vaccines and/or previous infections. For the general public, Adalja says new variants do not pose too much concern but he warns high-risk people need to take them very seriously. When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, Adalja says they will continue to evolve to handle new strains of the virus. He says talks are happening now about what should be included in the next version of the vaccine.
May 7, 2024 5:04 am
DALLAS (AP) — The decision by Boy Scouts of America to rebrand after 114 years and become Scouting America marks another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change. With flagging membership numbers, the Texas-based organization is leaning into a more inclusive message as it emerges from a long stretch of turmoil that includes bankruptcy and a flood of sexual abuse claims. The change was announced Tuesday at the Boy Scout’s national meeting in Florida but won’t take effect until February.
May 7, 2024 5:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump squirmed and scowled, shook his head and muttered as Stormy Daniels described the unexpected sex she says they had in a hotel nearly two decades ago. It was a story Daniels has told before. This time, Trump had no choice but to sit and listen. Years in the making, the in-person showdown between the former president and the porn actor happened Tuesday in a New York courtroom that has been the stage for Trump’s hush money trial. Trump denies her claims and has pleaded not guilty in the case. Trump is charged with falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to Daniels to keep quiet.
May 7, 2024 4:57 am
The National Weather Service reports a confirmed tornado touched down overnight in northern Hancock County, West Virginia, and moved toward western Beaver County near Harshaville, Hanover Township. At this time, there are no reports of injuries. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA that there are no weather related issues this morning in Washington County.
May 7, 2024 4:56 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – TSA stopped a loaded gun from getting on a plane at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday. Officials say a Greensburg woman was stopped at a TSA checkpoint when officers caught her with gun that was loaded with six bullets, plus one in the chamber. This is the 12th gun stopped at the airport so far in 2024. “I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to the TSA officers who acted to ensure that the woman did not maintain control of her loaded weapon inside the terminal,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “The fact that there was a bullet in the chamber is an accident waiting to happen. Responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and they know not to bring one in their carry-on bags.” Civil penalties for bringing a weapon into a checkpoint can reach up to $15,000, depending on the specific weapon and the circumstances. TSA prevented 44 guns from getting on planes at Pittsburgh International Airport in 2023, which is the most ever recorded for the airport.
May 7, 2024 4:51 am
Cecil Township Supervisors worked quickly through an agenda filled with contract payments and land subdivisions on Monday night. Supervisor Chairman Tom Casciola indicated that the public hearing for updates to the township’s oil and gas ordinance will reconvene on Wednesday. The hearing will be held at the municipal building and begin at 6:00 PM. According to Casciola, supervisors will present proposed changes based on the previous public hearing. They will also take further testimony for possible additional changes. Casciola said that an additional meeting will be scheduled to present the ordinance in its final draft.
May 7, 2024 2:27 am
(WPXI) – The man accused of trying to shoot a local pastor during a sermon is now charged in the homicide of a family member. Twentyh-six-year-od Bernard Polite was charged with criminal homicide Tuesday afternoon. The Allegheny County Police Department in a press release said Bernard is charged in the death of 56 year old Derek Polite, his cousin. This new charge comes two days after he was arrested for allegedly trying to shoot a pastor who was giving a sermon at a church in North Braddock. The disturbing moment was captured on the church’s live stream of the service. Hours after Bernard was taken into custody, Derek Polite was found dead around 8:15 p.m. Sunday at a home on the 500 block of Stokes Avenue in North Braddock. Police say Derek was found dead when his family went to check on him after learning of the attempted shooting at the church. In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, police said there was no evidence of any kind of altercation between the two men and it appears Derek was shot once as he was walking upstairs.
May 6, 2024 2:56 pm
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Hamas militant group says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel. An official familiar with Israeli thinking says Israeli officials are examining the cease-fire proposal approved by Hamas. But the official warns that the plan “is not the framework Israel proposed.” It remained uncertain whether a deal would be sealed to bring a halt to the war and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signaling that an attack was imminent.
May 6, 2024 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden campaign and top Democrats are wrestling with how best to use artificial intelligence, exposing the party’s anxiety over falling behind Republicans in the race to deploy technology that could transform the future of elections. Democratic strategists say they are nevertheless treading carefully in embracing tools that disinformation experts warn could pose a threat to democracy. So far, they say, AI is primarily helping them find and motivate voters and to better identify and defeat disinformation.
