June 18, 2023 7:53 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Taylor Swift broke a Pittsburgh record Saturday, amassing the largest attendance by any event in Acrisure Stadium history. Swift’s second night of performance reached a total attendance of 73,117. The stadium has hosted large concerts since it first opened in 2001. The first event hosted at Acrisure Stadium was a concert by ‘NSYNC, bringing in a total of 48,188 fans of the boy band. Since then, fans ranging from Kenny Chesney to Beyoncé have made their way to the stadium. Following the release of her tenth studio album, “Midnights”, Swift embarked on her “The Eras” tour. It quickly became a popular commodity, with 2.5 million tickets sold upon release.
June 18, 2023 3:35 am
Washington’s NAACP branch hosted a Juneteenth celebration and parade Saturday. The parade started at Friendship Baptist Church on East Walnut Street. The festivities at the Lemoyne Community Center included live music, food trucks, vendors, games, prizes, local history, and family activities. According to the Associated Press, since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. But how should people mark the holiday on June 19? Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. Today, there are many events like street fairs and celebrations. Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.
June 18, 2023 1:17 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A truck driver who spewed hatred of Jews has been convicted of barging into a Pittsburgh synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath and fatally shooting 11 congregants in an act of antisemitic terror for which he could be sentenced to die. The guilty verdict Friday against Robert Bowers was a foregone conclusion. Bowers’ lawyers conceded at the trial’s outset that he attacked and killed worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Jurors must now decide whether the 50-year-old should be sent to death row or sentenced to life in prison without parole. The trial will shift to the penalty phase starting June 26.
June 17, 2023 4:14 am
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian police say a bus carrying seniors to a casino that collided with a semi-trailer truck that killed 15 people did not have the right of way. Police say they obtained video of the accident. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Supt. Rob Lasson says police also obtained witness statements from passing motorists that corroborate what investigators saw on the dash cam video from the semi truck. Six of 10 seniors who survived a bus crash in Canada that killed 15 others were listed in critical condition in hospital. hey were among a group of seniors from rural Dauphin, Manitoba on a day-trip to a casino when their minibus crashed with a semi while crossing the Trans-Canada Highway.
June 17, 2023 4:13 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — With leader Kim Jong Un in attendance, North Korea has opened a key political conference to discuss improving its struggling economy and reviewing defense strategies in the face of growing tensions with rivals. That’s according to state media reports Saturday. The enlarged plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee came as the United States sent a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea. It’s the allies’ latest show of force against the North, which has ramped up its testing of nuclear-capable missiles to a record pace in recent months.
June 17, 2023 4:11 am
PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — Residents of the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton are digging out of the rubble after a deadly tornado struck the town, shredding mobile homes and ripping apart brick buildings along main street. Cleanup efforts continued Friday, a day after severe storms swept across Southern states, killing at least five people. The tornado in Perryton killed three people, destroyed hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles into buildings and knocked out power. One person died in the Florida Panhandle when at least one confirmed tornado cut through Escambia County. In Mississippi, a man died after a tree fell on him during stormy weather early Friday.
June 17, 2023 4:08 am
There are still more questions than answers about what led up to one of the worst shipwrecks in recent Mediterranean history, in which some 500 people are feared dead. The Greek Coast Guard said that the overcrowded fishing trawler was moving steadily toward Italy, refusing almost all assistance, until minutes before it sank. This is in part supported by the account of a merchant vessel that was nearby. But activists said that people on board were in danger and made repeated pleas for help more than 15 hours before the vessel sank. Much of these accounts could not immediately be independently verified, and still missing is the testimony of survivors, who have been transferred to a closed camp and kept away from journalists.
June 17, 2023 4:07 am
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan police say at least 25 people have been killed in a suspected rebel attack on a school near the Congo border. Police said in a statement Saturday that the Allied Democratic Forces carried out the attack late Friday night on a school in the border town of Mpondwe. The school is located about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Congo border. “A dormitory was burnt and a food store looted. So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital,” the statement said, adding that eight others are in critical condition. It also added that Ugandan troops are tracking the attackers into Congolese territory.
June 17, 2023 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will tout his pro-labor bona fides on Saturday at his first major political rally since he formalized his reelection campaign, appearing alongside union members to make his case that his economic agenda is boosting the middle class. His campaign says Biden will “lay out the core principles of his economic message” in his remarks. Biden also plans to talk about how a sweeping climate, tax and health care package he signed into law last year has cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums. Ahead of the event, several of the nation’s most powerful unions officially endorsed Biden’s campaign. (Photo: AP)
June 17, 2023 3:46 am
The Center For Coalfield Justice held a gathering in North Strabane Township Thursday to help introduce a program for people in the region who have concerns about rare cancers in children and adults who feel that the oil and gas industry plays a large roll in the cause for those cancers. Mad Facts, Mothers and Dads-Family Awareness of Cancer Threat Spike is a grass root effort developed by Jodi Borello, Washington County Community Organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice whose family developed breathing problems and rashes related to fracking operations near their home in South Franklin Township, and Janice Blanok of Cecil Township who lost her 19 year old son Luke to the rare cancer Ewing Sarcoma. The meeting broke out into four separate discussion groups before coming back together to discuss the group’s ideas about driving attention to the rare cancer issues throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The groups discussed lack of media coverage, gas and oil company influence on local governments, schools and hospital systems. They also discussed how fracking companies place their well pads and explain how safe they are. The group will hold several additional meetings to gather support for one another and support for the overall community. Gatherings are scheduled for July 26 and August 23 where author Kristina Marusic will discuss her book “The New War On Cancer”. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Center For Coalfield Justice.
