October 30, 2022 8:08 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that global hunger could increase because of Russia’s suspension of a U.N.-brokered deal to allow safe passage for ships carrying Ukrainian grain. He spoke after Russia announced it would immediately halt participation in the agreement, alleging that Ukraine carried out a drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet off the coast of occupied Crimea. Ukraine has denied the attack. The grain initiative has allowed more than 9 million tons of grain in 397 ships to safely leave Ukrainian ports since it was signed in July. It was to be renewed in late November. The grain agreement has succeeded in lowering global food prices, which have fallen by approximately 15% from their peak in March.
October 30, 2022 8:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is taking stock of a newly empowered Xi Jinping as the Chinese president begins a third, norm-breaking term as Communist Party leader. Xi’s consolidation of power comes as the United States has retooled its defense and national security strategies to reflect China as America’s most potent military and economic adversary. Biden takes pride in having built rapport with Xi since first meeting him more than a decade ago. But now Biden faces a counterpart buoyed by a greater measure of power and determined to cement China’s superpower status. Biden and Xi are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of next month’s Group of 20 summit in Indonesia.
October 30, 2022 8:06 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Concerned relatives raced to hospitals in search of their loved ones Sunday as South Korea grieved the deaths of at least 153 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s. They got trapped and crushed after a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul. Tens of thousands of people were believed to have gathered Saturday night in Itaewon for festivities. Witnesses say the streets were so densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley near Hamilton Hotel, as the situation quickly developed into one of the country’s worst disasters in years.
October 30, 2022 8:04 am
It’s trick-or-treating time for Powerball players. For the second time in its history, the Powerball jackpot stands at $1 billion. There were no winning tickets for the grand prize in Saturday night’s drawing for $825 million, meaning that Monday’s drawing on Halloween night will be the second largest amount in the promotion’s 30-year history. The winning numbers for Saturday’s drawing were 19, 31, 40, 46, 57 and the red Powerball was 23, according to lottery officials. The Power Play was 3X. According to lottery officials, Monday’s drawing trails only the world-record $1.586 billion won six years ago and will be the fifth-largest lottery in U.S. history. That jackpot was won on Jan. 13, 2016, and was split by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee. It has been nearly three months since someone won a Powerball jackpot, and Saturday night was the 37th consecutive drawing without a winner. The last Powerball jackpot was won on Aug. 3, when a ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $206.9 million, lottery officials said. While the big prize was not won, six tickets won $1 million after matching all five white balls Saturday night. Two were sold in California and two were bought in Michigan. Winning $1 million tickets were also bought in Maryland and Texas. One ticket in Florida matched all five balls and jumped to $2 million because the Power Play option was used. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET.
October 30, 2022 2:56 am
State Police have issued a warning, urging parents and guardians to check children’s candy carefully this Halloween, before allowing them to eat any. They say the candy packaging can look similar to packaging used for edibles infused with THC and other substances that can cause hallucinogenic reactions. Police said they are not aware of any incidents of these products being distributed to children, but are concerned they could be confused with candy and accidentally distributed during trick-or-treating. Anyone coming into possession of these products should contact their local police. Parents should immediately contact 911 for medical assistance if a child unknowingly ingests such products, police said.
October 30, 2022 2:01 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — Two teenagers are facing attempted homicide charges after police said they were seen running away from the funeral shooting in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. According to court documents, two Black males can be seen on surveillance video approaching the church on Benton Avenue. Both were holding guns with extended magazines. Court documents said one of the males began shooting toward the front of the church before disappearing off to the side. He reappeared a short time later in the same area. The other male started shooting at a man standing on the sidewalk in front of the church. The man collapsed near a horse and carriage and the shooter began chasing him, still firing the gun. Court documents said the horse also appeared to be struck by gunfire. During the chase, the criminal complaint said multiple people who were outside of the church could be seen limping back into the building. According to court documents, police were able to catch up with the suspects on the McKees Rocks Bridge. Hezekiah Nixon, 16, reportedly ran away from the car back toward McKees Rocks and, while doing so, threw a gun over the bridge and into the river. Shawn Davis, 19, also had a gun, but he dropped it on the roadway. Nixon and Davis were taken into custody after with no further incident, police said. At police headquarters, officers observed that Nixon’s clothing was identical to those worn by the initial shooter. Nixon is charged with one count each of criminal conspiracy attempt homicide and aggravated assault, four counts of aggravated assault, one count of recklessly endangering another person, one count of firearms not to be carried without a license, one count of possession of firearm by a minor, one count of tampering with physical evidence and one count of aggravated cruelty to animal. Davis is charged with one count each of criminal conspiracy attempt homicide and aggravated assault, four counts of aggravated assault, one count of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of firearms not to be carried without a license, two counts of persons not to possess a firearm and one count of aggravated cruelty to animal.
October 29, 2022 9:32 am
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – The University of North Carolina was once a bastion of segregation. Today, the school takes account of race to make up for that history and to increase the number of Black students and other underrepresented minorities on campus. Its affirmative action program, using race among many factors to build a diverse student body, is similar to plans in place at other selective public and private institutions. But a Supreme Court that’s twice blessed race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 19 years now seems poised to restrict their use or outlaw them altogether. The court is hearing two such cases on Monday, involving UNC and Harvard. They’re the nation’s oldest public and private universities, respectively.
October 29, 2022 9:27 am
The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. David DePape was known in Berkeley, California, as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public. More recently, online posts under DePape’s name repeated false claims about COVID vaccines, questioned whether climate change is real and displayed an illustration of a zombified Hillary Clinton dining on human flesh.
October 29, 2022 9:24 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian military officials say Russian troops are moving large numbers of sick and wounded comrades from hospitals in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region. Ukraine’s forces are fighting to retake the region, which invading Russia soldiers occupied early in the war. Kremlin-installed authorities in the region previously were reported to have joined civilians in fleeing the city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address that the Russians were “dismantling the entire health care system” in Kherson and other illegally annexed regions. Elsewhere on Saturday, at least one Russian ship suffered damage in a major port in Crimea. Ukraine and Russia offered different versions of what happened.
October 29, 2022 8:42 am
(AP) – Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have announced their divorce. The superstars who respectively reached the pinnacles of fashion and football each posted statements to Instagram on Friday saying they had finalized the end of their 13-year marriage. The announcement landed in the midst of Brady’s 23rd NFL season and just months after the seven-time Super Bowl champion changed his mind about retirement. Brady had long expressed a desire to spend more time with Bundchen and his three children, but later said he had “unfinished business” with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Photo: ABC News)
