November 11, 2023 4:17 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s prime minister is pushing back against growing calls from Western allies to do more to protect Palestinian civilians as troops closed in on Gaza’s largest hospital. Israel claims Shifa Hospital is Hamas’ main command post but it still hosts thousands of patients and people seeking shelter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday the responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas, repeating that the militant group uses civilians in Gaza as human shields. His statement came after French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for a cease-fire and urged other leaders to join his call, exposing differences in how allies feel Israel should conduct its fight that entered the second month.
November 11, 2023 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepare to meet at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, basic information has remained guarded. That could ratchet up the pressure on how each side negotiates at their Wednesday meeting, down to the smallest detail. Any encounter involving the U.S. president and a foreign leader requires managing tricky logistics. But few cultures are more attuned to etiquette than the Chinese. And Washington and Beijing’s often-conflicting interests may make things all the more delicate. Haggling may include everything from who enters the room first, to what kind of flowers are present, to if a meal is served.
November 10, 2023 1:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — New House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan to avert a government shutdown. The task looks increasingly difficult. Federal agencies are making plans for a shutdown that would shutter government services and halt paychecks for millions of federal workers and military troops. It’s a disruption that Johnson has said he wants to avoid. But House lawmakers left Washington without a plan after a week of setbacks. Republicans who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations say Johnson is still sounding out support among Republicans and is expected to unveil the legislation over the weekend.
November 10, 2023 5:12 am
ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — A 96-year-old Korean War veteran from Minnesota has been waiting for 70 years for a Purple Heart medal. The Army keeps turning him down. He has provided documents to back up his assertion that he was wounded in combat in June 1951. His doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs accepted his account that the shrapnel in his thigh came from a mortar attack. But an Army review board has issued what it called a final rejection in April, citing insufficient documentation. Meyer sued the Army in September. Now the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army says it’s going to take another look.
November 10, 2023 5:11 am
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge has upheld the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil-drilling project on Alaska’s remote North Slope, a massive project that drew the ire of environmentalists who accused the president of backpedaling on his pledge to combat climate change. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason rejected calls made by a grassroots Iñupiat group and environmentalists to vacate the approval and dismissed their claims. Those groups raised concerns about planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from Willow and argued that federal agencies failed to consider how increased emissions from the project could affect ice-reliant species. Environmental groups have vowed to appeal the ruling.
November 10, 2023 5:10 am
YANKEETOWN, Fla. (AP) — Patrick Parker Walsh is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history — potentially plundering more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid. Walsh is currently serving five and half years in federal prison for stealing nearly $8 million in COVID-19 relief funds that he used, in part, to buy a Florida island. While Walsh’s private island ranks among the most unusual purchases by pandemic aid fraudsters, his crime was not unique. The scammers who defrauded the government spent lavishly on houses, luxury watches, diamond jewelry, strip clubs and gambling sprees. Authorities vow to track down the fraudsters. Nearly 3,200 defendants have been charged with COVID-19 relief fraud, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
November 10, 2023 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic operatives believe that Joe Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection virtually ensures the party will lose his Senate seat next year in deep-red West Virginia. At the same time, some Democratic officials are concerned that Manchin’s announcement frees him to pursue a third-party presidential bid. Some think Manchin might ultimately undermine President Joe Biden’s reelection. Overall, his announcement injects a new layer of uncertainty for Democratic leaders already anxious about the party’s prospects in 2024. Biden is seeking a second term despite persistent concerns about his age and economic leadership. And Democrats are clinging to a one-seat majority in the Senate.
November 10, 2023 5:07 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Fistfights break out in bread lines. Residents wait hours for a gallon of brackish water that makes them sick. Scabies, diarrhea and respiratory infections rip through overcrowded shelters. And some families have to choose who eats. With the Israel-Hamas war in its second month and more than 10,000 people killed in Gaza, trapped civilians are struggling to survive without electricity or running water. Over half a million displaced people have crammed into hospitals and U.N. schools-turned-shelters in the south. Each day has become a mind-numbing cycle of searching for bread and water and waiting in lines. A sense of desperation has strained Gaza’s close-knit society and even emboldened some Palestinians to vent their anger against the ruling Hamas militant group.
November 10, 2023 5:06 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes hit near several hospitals in Gaza City early Friday as the military pushed deeper into dense urban neighborhoods in its battle with Hamas militants. The fighting has prompted increasing numbers of civilians to flee toward the south of the besieged territory. Israel has accused Hamas fighters of hiding in hospitals, and using the Shifa Hospital complex as its main command center. The militant group and hospital staff deny the claim, saying Israel is creating a pretext to strike it. The head of the Hamas-run media office in Gaza said Israel struck the Shifa courtyard and the obstetrics department as well as two other hospitals early Friday.
November 10, 2023 5:04 am
NORTH BELLE VERNON, Pa. — (WPXI) – The eastbound lanes on Interstate 70 in North Belle Vernon were closed for some four-hours after a two-vehicle crash that left three people hurt. The call for a crash in the eastbound lanes near Exit 42A came in at 10 p.m. Thursday, Westmoreland County dispatchers said. According to reports, two people, including a child, were flown to area hospitals and another person was transported by ambulance. Traffic was closed in both directions initially. Pennsylvania State Police in Belle Vernon are handling the investigation. (PHOTO: Rostraver Central Fire Department)