April 14, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has arrived at a New York court for the start of jury selection in his hush money trial, making history as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges. It’s the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial and will present a split-screen of a presidential candidate spending his days in court while, he has said, “campaigning during the night.” Scores of people are expected to be called into the courtroom as the process to find 12 jurors and six alternates begins. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records and making payoffs to two women as part of a scheme to bury stories he worried would hurt his 2016 campaign.
April 14, 2024 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to host Iraq’s leader this week for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran’s attack on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria. The sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. Iranian proxies there have launched attacks against U.S. interests throughout the region. Monday’s meeting between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani will include a discussion of regional stability and future U.S. troop deployments but will also focus on economic, trade and energy issues.
April 14, 2024 5:05 am
Former President Donald Trump is endorsing U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick of Pennsylvania. Trump spoke during a rally in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Schnecksville on Saturday and urged his supporters in the state to vote for McCormick in one of the year’s most hotly contested Senate races. Trump’s endorsement came two years after he successfully helped sink McCormick in Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary, creating an awkward dynamic between the two men. McCormick didn’t attend the rally. McCormick responded on social media, saying: “Thank you, President Trump! Together we will deliver a big win for Pennsylvania and America in November.” McCormick is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.
April 13, 2024 5:35 am
SYDNEY (AP) — Police in Sydney say a man stabbed five people to death at a busy shopping center before he was fatally shot, leaving multiple people including a small child injured. Police say the suspect attacked nine people at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, which is in the city’s eastern suburbs, before a police inspector shot him after he turned and raised a knife. Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke said he believed that the suspect acted alone, and there was no continuing threat. He said officials didn’t know who the offender was and an investigation was just beginning. Cooke said the police inspector was alone when she confronted the suspect and engaged him soon after her arrival on the scene, “saving a range of people’s lives.”
April 13, 2024 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is headed to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to talk about who he believes should be paying more in taxes and who should be paying less. Biden’s campaign says the speech will be Tuesday, the day after Tax Day. The campaign said Friday the speech will drive home a simple question: “Do you think the tax code should work for rich people or for the middle class?” The Democratic president is working to convince voters ahead of the November election he’s their best choice even as as inflation persists and Americans feel the sting in their pocketbooks. Biden usually releases his tax returns on or around Tax Day.
April 13, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is holding a rally in northeast Pennsylvania, his last before his criminal hush money trial begins next week. The presumptive Republican nominee and former president is scheduled to speak Saturday at the Schnecksville Fire Hall in Lehigh County. It will be Trump’s third visit this year to a vital swing state, one that could decide who wins this year’s presidential race. He also plans to attend a fundraiser in nearby Bucks County before the event. Pennsylvania is a critical battleground in the rematch between Trump and Biden, with both candidates expected to visit the state frequently through November.
April 13, 2024 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — U.S. Steel shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the firm’s sale to Nippon Steel of Japan for $14.1 billion in cash, voicing unequivocal support for a combination that has drawn opposition from the Biden administration on economic and national security grounds. More than 98% of the shares voted Friday at a special investor meeting approved the takeover, according to a preliminary count of ballots announced by U.S. Steel. The deal has raised concerns about what the sale could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security, and is opposed by President Joe Biden.
April 13, 2024 4:59 am
PennDOT says most roads that were closed because of flooding or debris issues after the recent storms have reopened. In their most recent update later Friday afternoon they listed just two road closures;
· Route 1010 (Georgetown Road) between Spring Avenue in Cecil Township and Buckeye Street in Peters Township.
· Route 2019 (Almond Road) between Route 917 (Main Street) in Ellsworth Borough and Wherry Road in Somerset Township.
April 12, 2024 3:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House has passed a bill to reauthorize and reform a key U.S. government surveillance tool without including broad restrictions on how the FBI uses this crucial program to search for Americans’ data. But despite passage with bipartisan support, opponents of the final proposal forced a vote on a procedural motion to be taken early next week, further delaying the legislation being sent to the Senate. It is the latest in a series of hurdles for Speaker Mike Johnson who has been negotiating with far-right detractors of the legislation for weeks. The program is set to expire on April 19 if Congress does not act in time.
April 12, 2024 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A dozen Manhattan residents are soon to become the first Americans ever to sit in judgment of a former president charged with a crime. Jury selection is set to start Monday in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. The presumptive Republican nominee has pleaded not guilty. The proceedings present a historic challenge for the court, the lawyers and the everyday citizens who find themselves in the jury pool. Those problems include finding people who can be impartial about one of the most polarizing figures in American life and detecting any bias among prospective jurors without invading the privacy of the ballot box.
