September 18, 2024 3:58 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s defense minister declares a “new phase” of war as Hezbollah officials and Lebanon’s state media say explosions went off in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon in an apparent second wave of detonations of electronic devices. The Hezbollah officials and state media said Wednesday that walkie-talkies and even solar equipment detonated a day after hundreds of pagers blew up. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 14 people were killed and 450 were wounded. Israel’s defense minister made no mention of the mysterious waves of exploding devices in his remarks.
September 17, 2024 5:03 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — Despite the nice weather on Monday, it was a quiet afternoon walking up and down the streets of Charleroi. But, the small river town is anything but quiet after it was thrust into the national spotlight over the weekend when former President Donald Trump made comments about the town’s Haitian immigrant population. Speaking at a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, Trump mentioned the influx of immigrants to the borough. “The small 4,000-person town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Charleroi. What a beautiful name. It’s not so beautiful now. Has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris,” Trump said. “This is a small town, all of a sudden they’ve got thousands of people.” The comments, amplified by Republican Senate Candidate Dave McCormick this weekend, were not well received by Kristin Hopkins-Calcek, the borough council president “I don’t look kindly at anyone using our town for political gain unless they are willing to offer help,” Hopkins-Cakcek told Channel 11’s Havranek. Hopkins-Calcek said Charleroi’s problems are not because of immigrants. She was out of town Monday attending meetings to try to keep the Anchor Hocking glass plant in town after the company announced plans to close it for good by the end of the year. With the new national attention, she’s calling for elected leaders to send funds to Charleroi to help. One of the things they need help with is students in the school district — many of whom don’t speak English. Channel 11 told you in the spring the district was working to support a growing number of English-as-a-Second-Language students, there are now 225 students in the program — up from 172 in March. “We are one of the only small towns in Pennsylvania that have a population increase and an upturn in our economy,” Hopkins-Calcek. I don’t want anyone’s comments on either side of the aisle to take us back.” Donald Trump won 61% of the vote in Washington County in both 2016 and 2020, and he’s hoping to get more out of the county this November.
September 17, 2024 4:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the battleground state’s ballot for the November election. The courts sided Monday with the secretary of state’s office in rejecting West’s candidacy paperwork. The decision sets in motion the process for counties to issue mail-in ballots to voters who requested one ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The court case had been among a raft of partisan legal maneuvering around third-party candidates. Now, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris will appear on Pennsylvania’s ballot with the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver.
September 17, 2024 4:56 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia voters are filling two vacant seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In both cases the Democratic candidates are the only ones on the ballot. Tuesday’s special elections are for positions vacated this summer when state Reps. Donna Bullock and Stephen Kinsey resigned. Keith Harris is seeking Bullock’s seat, and Andre Carroll is in line to succeed Kinsey. Harris and Carroll also face no opposition on the ballot in November for full two-year terms. The state House has a 102-101 Democratic majority, counting the Bullock and Kinsey seats. Polls are open from 7 in the morning until 8 at night.
September 17, 2024 4:57 am
Despite claims from some pundits and politicians, experts say noncitizens do not appear to be illegally voting in U.S. elections in large numbers. Federal law bans noncitizens from voting in federal elections, including races for president. Those who do can face fines, imprisonment or both. Noncitizens who are caught casting a ballot may also face deportation. Pennsylvania is among states that also prohibit noncitizens from voting in state and local elections. The Pennsylvania Department of State says noncitizens who attempt to vote in these races are also subject to severe penalties, but it’s unaware of this happening in any recent elections.
September 17, 2024 4:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is blaming rhetoric from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the apparent assassination attempt on him in Florida despite his own history of going after rivals. This year’s presidential campaign was among the most turbulent in American history even before Sunday’s incident in Florida. Trump was safe after the incident in Florida and praised the Secret Service for protecting him, but didn’t shy away from quickly blaming his opponents. By contrast, Biden steered clear of politics. He said Monday that “thank God” Trump is OK and said the Secret Service “needs more help.”
September 16, 2024 5:09 am
The FBI says former President Donald was the target of what appeared to be “an attempted assassination” at his West Palm Beach golf club in Florida. U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire Sunday after seeing a man with a firearm while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing. Officials say the man was apprehended after fleeing in an SUV. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was charged Monday with federal gun crimes. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.
September 17, 2024 5:11 am
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a Florida golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours. That’s according to court documents filed Monday. The papers indicated that the suspect was lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire. Officials said Ryan Wesley Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after being shot at by an agent who spotted him. He was arrested in a neighboring county. The 58-year-old Routh appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach to face federal firearms charges. (Photo: AP)
September 17, 2024 5:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs has been ordered held without bail in his federal sex trafficking case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky made the decision Tuesday after hearing lengthy arguments from prosecutors and Combs’ lawyers. Prosecutors wanted the music mogul held without bail. His attorneys proposed that he be released on a $50 million bond to home detention with electronic monitoring. Combs pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. An indictment accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line. (Photo: AP)
September 17, 2024 4:51 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously in parts of Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people — including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a young girl. Officials in Lebanon say more than 2,700 were wounded on Tuesday, 200 critically. Hezbollah officials tell The Associated Press that the explosions affected a new brand of pagers used by the militant group. The explosions occurred in the suburbs of Beirut and in other areas that are Hezbollah strongholds. Hezbollah blamed the explosions on Israel. AP has reached out to the Israeli military, which declined to comment.
