February 18, 2024 7:19 am
HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston megachurch is set to have a special service a week after a woman opened fire in one of its hallways before being gunned down by security officers. Lakewood Church, run by celebrity pastor Joel Osteen, has not had services since the Feb. 11 shooting that sent worshippers scrambling for safety. Osteen said Sunday’s service was being held to celebrate a “time of healing and restoration.” Police say Genesse Moreno entered the church with her 7-year-old son and opened fire. Two people were injured, including her son, who was shot in the head. The boy remains hospitalized. Questions about the shooting remained unanswered, including Moreno’s motive.
February 18, 2024 7:18 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed at least 18 people as the United States says it would veto another draft U.N. cease-fire resolution. The U.S., Israel’s top ally, instead hopes to broker a cease-fire agreement and hostage release with Hamas and envisions a wider resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back, calling Hamas’ demands “delusional” and rejecting U.S. and international calls for Palestinian statehood. He has vowed to continue the offensive until “total victory” over Hamas and to expand it to Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah, where more than half the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has sought refuge.
February 18, 2024 7:16 am
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — Just blocks from the shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant, the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley was bustling on a recent day with scores of older people eating lunch. Downstairs, out of sight, a constant stream of visitors was shopping in its massive food pantry. Over the past seven months, the number visitors to the pantry has risen by more than a third. The center’s executive director, Raymond Santiago, sees that as a stark sign of something he has felt over the past couple years: Many in the area’s Latino community are struggling to meet their basic needs. Northampton County, which includes Bethlehem, is a traditional bellwether for Pennsylvania, one of the most important presidential swing states, and Latinos are a key part of the coalition that President Joe Biden is trying rebuild as he embarks on his campaign for a second term. In doing so, the Democrat might have challenges selling a crucial part of his reelection strategy. One of the messages he has delivered in previous visits to Pennsylvania is that former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, is a danger to American democracy. Biden is hoping that message energizes the same voters who turned out four years ago, when Northampton County narrowly flipped to him after supporting Trump by a thin margin in 2016. Based on his interactions with visitors to the Hispanic center, Santiago isn’t so sure. It’s the price of groceries and lack of affordable housing that dominate conversations there.
February 18, 2024 7:10 am
(WPXI) – The Pittsburgh St. Patrick Day Parade Committee said the 2024 celebration will be held on March 16th. The parade will run down Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh and begin at 10 a.m. The committee also announced Robert Tierney as this year’s grand marshal. Tierney was born in Lucan County, Dublin and moved to Pittsburgh in 1997. He has worked with the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh and the Gaelic Athletic Association. He has helped young Irish people and helped them find work and internships The parade will feature Irish step dancers, marching bands, military members, community organizations and Punxsutawney Phil.
February 18, 2024 7:07 am
(WPXI) – A person was hurt in an early morning fire Saturday in Fayette County. Authorities say the fire broke out at a home on Vance Street in Uniontown after 3 a.m. “The fire was on the first floor, and it was spreading pretty quick to the second floor, spread up through the stairwell and concealed spaces – so it made it challenging to fight,” said Chief Scott Conn of the Uniontown Fire Department. But that wasn’t the only obstacle. Firefighters encountered icy conditions surrounding the house, which sits on a slope. “The snow – it was already starting to subside, but it had already laid down a couple inches. Of course, with that slope, it makes it challenging,” Conn said. Chief Conn said one person escaped through a window. Another ran through the flames and out the front door. He was checked out at the scene after getting burned but did not go to the hospital. Firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading to neighboring houses. The cause is still being investigated, but Conn does not believe it to be suspicious.
February 17, 2024 10:32 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. – A person was injured in an early morning fire in Fayette County. Dispatchers tell our news partners at WPXI the fire broke out at a home on Vance Street in Uniontown after 3 a.m. Dispatchers say one person suffered minor burn injuries. There is no word on the cause of the fire.
February 17, 2024 5:11 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A witness has refused to answer most questions from defense attorneys trying to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump. The attorneys had expected Terrence Bradley to testify that Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade began dating before Wade was hired for the Trump case. But Bradley repeatedly refused to answer questions about Wade and Willis on Friday, citing attorney-client privilege. The attorneys for Trump and some other defendants in the election case argue that the relationship started before Willis hired Wade and that she benefited from his earnings for the work, creating a conflict of interest.
February 17, 2024 5:10 am
Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson has confirmed that the Russian opposition leader died at a remote Arctic penal colony and says he was “murdered.” Kira Yarmysh said on Saturday that an official note handed to Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17 p.m. Friday but that it’s unclear where his body is. Another ally says prison officials told his mother when she arrived at the penal colony Saturday that her son had perished due to “sudden death syndrome.” But Navalny’s team says the late politician’s body was not being returned to his family until official tests were done. Meanwhile, Russian authorities arrested people who came to lay flowers at memorials to victims of Soviet-era purges.
February 17, 2024 5:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has ordered Donald Trump and his companies to pay $355 million in penalties. The judge found they engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth. Trump won’t have to pay out the money immediately as an appeals process plays out, but the verdict still is a stunning setback for the former president. He also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years or from getting a loan from banks registered in the state. Trump calls the verdict a “Complete and Total sham.” Trump Organization Executive Vice Presidents Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump each were ordered to pay $4 million.
February 17, 2024 5:07 am
NORTH FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A truck carrying thousands of gallons of floor wax crashed on Interstate 70 last week, creating a mess in a creek. Some residents in North Franklin Township say they have concerns. Bill Campo took photos of the creek outside his home just after a tractor-trailer overturned on I-70, spilling almost its entire load. The truck was carrying 5,000 gallons of white floor wax which spilled onto the road and into the creek. Township officials say hazmat crews have already pumped out half a million gallons of wastewater from the creek and will continue to pump it out until the DEP gives them the all-clear. The DEP told our news partners at Channel 11 the substance is nonhazardous and nonflammable. Campo says he’s concerned for the long-term effects the spill will have on wildlife in the area, but happy to see that eight days later the creek outside his home is running clear.
