October 28, 2023 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have filled the main concourse of New York City’s famed Grand Central Terminal to demand a cease-fire as Israel intensifies its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Protesters wore black T-shirts saying “Jews say cease-fire now” and “Not in our name.” They staged the sit-in during the evening rush hour Friday, chanting slogans and unfurling banners. The New York Police Department says at least 200 were detained. The protesters were led out of the station with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, issued summons and released. Israel stepped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday, knocking out internet and largely cutting off communication with the 2.3 million people inside the besieged Palestinian enclave.
October 28, 2023 4:10 am
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — In the absence of government aid, Acapulco’s desperate residents have cleaned out the city’s largest stores in three days. It wasn’t isolated to any particular neighborhood or carried out under cover of darkness, but widespread and in full view of authorities who have conceded they do not have the resources or in most cases the will to intervene. It is in part the result of a government reaction delayed by the historically fast strengthening of a storm that no one forecast to go from tropical storm to catastrophic Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours. It is also a continuation of a government strategy that addresses problems — drug violence, natural disasters — with personnel, but not necessarily the tools to resolve the situation.
October 28, 2023 4:07 am
Israel has knocked out communications in the Gaza Strip with bombardment and artillery fire. Explosions from continuous airstrikes overnight Friday and into Saturday lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours. The Israeli military says it is expanding ground operations in the territory. On Friday, the U.N. General Assembly called for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza, while protesters in New York and Jakarta held demonstrations calling for an end to Israeli military action. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has passed 7,300, and in the occupied West Bank more than 100 Palestinians have been killed. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed and 229 people were taken hostage during the incursion and remain in captivity in Gaza.
October 28, 2023 2:53 am
The Canonsburg Houston Joint Authority (CHJA) approved two major items at its meeting on Thursday evening. First, after a lengthy discussion of operating costs and costs for long delayed upkeep of several locations, the board approved a rate increase to customers. Currently CHJA customers pay $8.86 per 1000 gallons of water. The rate increase will be to $11.26 per 1000 gallons of water. That is a 30% increase. In a second voting measure the board approved the asset sale of the CHJA. According to CHJA Chairman Robert Luksis, the authority was contacted by Pennsylvania American Water Company (PAWC) two years ago about an asset sale. After several discussions and requests for quotes and requests for proposals, the board voted to put itself up for sale. The motion narrowly passed, Board members Luksis, Steve Lucas and Larry Scears voted in favor of the measure. Board members Michael Alterio and Jim Maund voted against. It is a $145 million proposal with the proceeds being divided between the boroughs of Canonsburg and Houston. Luksis indicated that the competitive bid process had the AQUA Company beat out PAWC by $5 million and other contract details. The boroughs of Canonsburg and Houston will vote on the sale in their November meetings. If all goes smoothly, legal representatives figure to have the sale closed by the end of 2024.
October 27, 2023 5:11 am
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Survivors of the Category 5 storm that killed at least 27 people and devastated Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco are getting desperate amid a slow government assistance response. They worry that the focus will remain on repairing tourism infrastructure instead of helping the neediest. The coastal city of 1 million once known for its beachside glamour was still in a state of complete chaos by the end of Thursday. The Mexican government has deployed around 10,000 troops to deal with the aftermath, but equipment to move tons of mud and fallen trees from the streets was slow in arriving.
October 27, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Republicans worry the infighting that essentially shuttered the House for three weeks will serve as an obstacle to their bid to stay in the majority after next year’s elections. Several lawmakers acknowledge the recent chaos has not helped their chances, but they hope that time and results will help voters forget the dysfunction. There is precedent for such hopes. Republicans gained seats in the election following the 2013 government shutdown. Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the campaign arm for House Democrats, says candidates in key swing districts will contrast the fractures among House Republicans with a Democratic focus on the need to govern to meet constituents’ priorities.
October 27, 2023 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strikes come in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week. They reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, while also working to avoid provoking a wider conflict. The U.S. does not have any information yet on casualties or an assessment of damage from Friday’s strikes.
October 27, 2023 5:08 am
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Shocked and fearful Maine residents are keeping to their homes for a second night as hundreds of police and FBI agents search intently for Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar. Wednesday’s attack in Lewiston was the worst mass killing in state history. On Thursday, heavily armed police surrounded a home in rural Bowdoin as they searched for Card but left hours later after searching the residence. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition. Meanwhile, schools and businesses are closed and people sheltered in their homes in communities as far as 50 miles away from Lewiston.
October 27, 2023 5:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) — About two in three Americans say their household expenses have risen over the last year, but only about one in four say their income has increased in the same period. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. As household expenses outpace earnings, many are expressing concern about their financial futures. What’s more, for most Americans, household debt is rising or not going away. About half say they currently have credit card debt, 4 in 10 are dealing with auto loans, and about one in four have medical debt. Just 15% say their household savings have increased over the last year.
October 27, 2023 5:04 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones have carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days. The military said Friday that it struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, as it prepares for a widely expected full-scale ground offensive. The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, has released a detailed list of names and ID numbers. More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack. Hamas is holding at least 224 captives inside Gaza.
