Iran Acknowledges Sending Drones To Russia

November 5, 2022 8:40 am

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran’s foreign minister has acknowledged for the first time that his country has supplied Russia with drones, insisting the transfer came before Moscow’s war on Ukraine. The comments on Saturday by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian come after months of confusing messaging from Iran about the weapons shipment, as Russia sends the drones slamming into Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets. Previously Iranian officials had denied arming Russia in its war on Ukraine. Even so, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has vaguely boasted of providing drones to the world’s top powers. Amirabdollahian told reporters: “We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war.” He said Iran remained committed to stopping the conflict.

Make Sure Your Mail In Ballot Counts

November 5, 2022 3:48 am

Pennsylvania voters can take steps to make sure their mail-in ballots are counted. Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman says Pennsylvania voters who have been contacted by their county elections office notifying them that their ballot has been cancelled or who are concerned that their ballot may have been cancelled due to an error on the outside envelope should contact their county election office or call the Department of State voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA. Voters are reminded to return their ballot immediately, delivering it in person to their county election board. The deadline for the county election board to receive your vote is 8:00 PM Tuesday November 8. Postmarks of November 8 do not count.

Powerball Now Largest In History

November 5, 2022 3:46 am

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is now the world’s largest lottery prize ever offered. The estimanted annual annuity prize is estimated at $1.6 billion. The cash option is worth $782.4 million. The Powerball was last won on August 3. Lottery officials say that if there is no winner in tonight’s drawing, the next drawing on Monday would be worth an estimated $1.9 billion or $929.1 million in cash.

It’s Time To “Turn Back Time”

November 5, 2022 3:29 am

(AP) – A transition is coming this weekend across most of the United States, and it has nothing to do with the election: Daylight saving time is out, standard time is in this weekend. Standard time begins at 2 a.m. local time Sunday and lasts until March 12. Relish the chance to catch up on sleep and remember to set clocks back an hour before going to bed Saturday night. The time change means darkness will arrive earlier in the evening but it will be lighter earlier in the morning than now. Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time.  The International Association of Firefighters also recommends that people replace batteries in their smoke detectors when we switch to and from daylight saving time. The group says that 60 percent of home fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

Paul Pelosi Released From The Hospital

November 4, 2022 3:50 pm

UNDATED (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says her husband is out of the hospital. She says Paul Pelosi “remains under doctors’ care” as he continues what she calls a “a long recovery process and convalescence” from a hammer assault last week. Paul Pelosi was treated at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. The House Speaker thanked the 911 operator who sent police to the Pelosi home as well as emergency responders and hospital doctors and staff. She also expressed thanks for the love, support and prayers the family has received from around the world.

Oprah Winfrey Endorses Democrat John Fetterman

November 4, 2022 1:53 pm

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — TV icon Oprah Winfrey on Thursday endorsed Democrat John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s hotly contested Senate race and rejected Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, whom she had helped launch to stardom nearly two decades ago when she brought him on her popular daytime talk show as a regular guest.  Until now, Winfrey had said she would leave the election to Pennsylvanians, but she changed that position in an online discussion on voting in next Tuesday’s election.  “I said it was up to the citizens of Pennsylvania and of course, but I will tell you all this, if I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons,” Winfrey said, before going on to urge listeners to vote for Democrats running for governor and Senate in various states.  The Pennsylvania seat has for months been seen as the most likely pickup opportunity for Democrats in the evenly divided Senate.  Polls show a close race between Fetterman and Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.  (Photo:  ABC News)

U.S. Employers Keep Hiring At Solid Pace

November 4, 2022 9:26 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers kept hiring briskly in October, adding a substantial 261,000 positions, a sign that as Election Day nears, the economy remains a picture of solid job growth and painful inflation. Last month’s hiring remained near the robust pace it has maintained in the two-plus years since the pandemic recession ended. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7% from a five-decade low of 3.5%. A robust job market is deepening the challenges the Federal Reserve faces as it raises interest rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s to try to bring inflation down from near a 40-hear high.

Gas-Line Fire Leads Bentworth To Cancel Classes

November 4, 2022 7:56 am

The Bentworth School District cancelled classes on Friday after receiving word of a fire in a gas line from a gas well sub-station along Johnston Road.  Superintendent Scott Martin tells WJPA News the fire was less than a quarter-of-a-mile from the district’s campuses.  He says the decision was made out of an abundance of caution.  Students already at the school or on their way were returned home.  There will be no online instruction, but Martin says afternoon Vo-Tech students will be transported and will have instruction.   Martin says no injuries resulted and the fire was put out quickly.  We have no word on what may have sparked the fire.

Alex Jones Trial Moves To Punitive Damages Phase

November 4, 2022 4:08 am

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is facing the possibility of having billions more dollars added onto the amount he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The punitive damages phase of his Connecticut trial is set to begin Friday. A jury last month ordered Jones and his media company to pay nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages to the Sandy Hook families for repeatedly telling his audience of millions the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators was a hoax. A judge will determine punitive damages after hearings set for Friday and Monday.

Abortion Clinic Inundated After Roe Fell

November 4, 2022 4:07 am

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas abortion clinic that was among the first in the country to open after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade has been inundated with patients. Some drive 10 hours or more to get there, coming from Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and even Louisiana. But that’s only if they can get an appointment. Planned Parenthood clinics in the state, including this newest one, are only able to take about 10% to 15% of the patients seeking abortions. Kansas is one of the few states in the region still providing abortions in the wake of the court’s ruling.