April 5, 2024 5:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has called the former president a “threat to democracy” and says he won’t vote for him in 2024. Former Vice President Mike Pence has declined to endorse his former running mate. His former national security adviser John Bolton has described him as “unfit to be president.” As Trump seeks the presidency a third time, he’s being shadowed by a chorus of people who served in his administration who have become sharp critics, some offering dire predictions about his return to power. While past presidents may have occasional detractors or public critics among those who served them, the stark messages from many former Trump insiders are very unusual.
April 5, 2024 5:10 am
Russia is renewing its strikes on Ukraine’s energy system. Ukrainian officials, energy workers and analysts say Moscow is using more missiles and better intelligence to strike the electrical grid across the country. In an unexpected springtime campaign Russia unleashed the most devastating wave of attacks since the early days of the full-scale invasion, plunging tens of thousands of Ukrainians into darkness and leaving Ukrainian officials scrambling to find better ways to defend their energy facilities. The Associated Press was given rare access to two power plants struck in a deadly attack on March 22.
April 5, 2024 5:09 am
HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescue teams are searching for a family of five feared trapped in a rockslide following Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in 25 years. The quake Wednesday left at least 12 dead. Two bodies were found in the Taroko National Park, a tourist attraction in eastern Taiwan that is famous for its rugged, mountainous terrain. At least four other victims were found in the park already. The family, surnamed You, were hiking in the park after visiting ancestral sites for the traditional grave-sweeping observances. In the city of Hualien, crews were working to demolish a five-story building that was left leaning at a severe angle. The quake damaged scores of buildings around the island and left more 1,000 people injured.
April 5, 2024 5:05 am
Israel says it’s taking steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including reopening a key border crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza. The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the new steps early Friday. Hours earlier, President Joe Biden told Netanyahu that future U.S. support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel doing more to protect civilians and aid workers. Gaza officials say the Palestinian death toll has passed 33,000, with another 75,600 people wounded.
April 5, 2024 4:50 am
Washington City Council has heard from residents concerning flooding on W. Prospect Avenue and Elm Street. The W. Prospect issue is an ongoing concern, the Elm Street issue concerned flooding and a landslide. The resident speaking to council was concerned about proposed new construction and water run off. Overall, Mayor JoJo Burgess felt that because this recent storm system is a somewhat rare event, he praised city first responders for their efforts to help residents with flooded basements and to keep residents safe when roads needed to be blocked or debris cleared from streets. City Fire Chief Chris Richer said that 28 homes had flood waters pumped out of basements in a 48 hour time frame. Burgess did go on to say that the infrastructure in the city performed well for its age. He also stated that any issues with flooding should be called into the city so that they may be addressed as quickly as possible. Other city activities are a Bottle Cap Sorting event sponsored by Clean and Tidy Our County, Inc. That will take place on Saturday April 6, from 9 AM to 6 PM at the Holy Trinity Church on Hewitt Avenue. They also have a parks and playground clean up day scheduled for April 20.
April 4, 2024 3:36 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu future U.S. support for the Gaza war depends on new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Biden and Netanyahu spoke Thursday by phone days after Israeli airstrikes killed seven food aid workers in Gaza and added a layer of complication in the leaders’ increasingly strained relationship. The White House says the Democratic president told Netanyahu an “immediate cease-fire is essential.” The leaders’ conversation came as the World Central Kitchen called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed the group’s staff members, including an American citizen. The Kitchen was founded by restaurateur José Andrés to provide immediate food relief to disaster-stricken areas.
April 4, 2024 3:34 pm
(WPXI) – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced it will be investigating the proposed rate increases at Columbia Gas and Duquesne Light Company. The organization said it voted Thursday to investigate the rate increases. It also voted to suspend the rate increase at both companies for up to seven months. The proposed increase at Duquesne Light would produce a general increase in electric distribution rates at around $133 million, which would increase customer rates by $101 million over current charges. Under the proposal, the total monthly bill for an average residential customer using 600 kilowatt hours would increase from $130.67 to $139.19 (6.52%). Columbia Gas would see an increase of $124.1 million per year. Under the proposal, the total monthly bill for a residential customer using 70 therms of gas would increase from $118.16 to $136.92 (15.88%). A final decision about Columbia Gas’s increase is due by Dec. 14, while the decision about Duquesne Light’s increase is due by Dec. 20.
April 4, 2024 5:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan deemed the former president’s request untimely, ruling that his lawyers had myriad opportunities to raise the immunity issue before they finally did so in a March 7 court filing. Lawyers for the presumptive Republican nominee had asked to adjourn the New York trial indefinitely until Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved.
April 4, 2024 5:25 am
World Central Kitchen demanded an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its staff in Gaza, as Israel faced growing isolation Wednesday over the deaths of six foreign aid workers and a Palestinian driver helping deliver desperately needed food to isolated and starving residents. Wednesday night, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart that the strikes, which Israel says targeted the aid workers in error, strengthened U.S. concerns about Israel’s plans to expand its ground offensive and said that Israel must do more to protect the lives of civilians and aid workers in Gaza.
April 4, 2024 5:23 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities say a nighttime Russian attack using Iranian-designed drones has killed four people and wounded 12 in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Shahed drones smashed into two apartment buildings in the city near the Russian border that has frequently been targeted during more than two years of war. The Kremlin’s forces in recent months have stepped up their aerial barrages of Ukraine, hitting urban areas and the power grid. The about 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line is largely deadlocked, but Kyiv officials say they expect a large-scale Russian offensive in the summer. Officials said three first responders in Kharkiv were killed when Russia struck a multistory building twice in quick succession. Another 14-story building was hit by a drone, killing a woman.
