November 16, 2023 10:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Congressman George Santos of New York says he won’t run for reelection in 2024 after a scathing House Ethics Committee report on his conduct cited “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking. The Ethics panel says it has referred its findings about Santos to the Justice Department. Shortly after the panel’s report was released, Santos blasted it in a tweet on X as a “politicized smear” but said he would not be seeking reelection to a second term. A renewed effort to expel him has been launched. The committee said Thursday that Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.
November 16, 2023 7:51 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Workers at more than 200 U.S. Starbucks stores walked off the job Thursday. Organizers say it’s the largest strike yet in the 2-year-old effort to unionize the company’s stores. The Workers United union chose Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day to stage the walkout since it’s usually one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks expects to give away thousands of reusable cups Thursday to customers who order holiday drinks. The union says it’s expecting more than 5,000 workers to take part in its “Red Cup Rebellion.” Around 30 stores also staged walkouts on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)
November 16, 2023 5:09 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is signaling that China will send new pandas to the United States. He calls the animals “envoys of friendship” between the Chinese and American peoples. During a speech before business leaders, Xi said that China was ready to continue its cooperation with the U.S. on panda conservation. The comment came at the end of a day in which Xi and President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face meeting in a year and pledged to try to reduce tensions. Xi did not share details on when or where pandas might be provided. There are only four pandas left in the United States, in the Atlanta Zo
November 16, 2023 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has ended the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays. The Senate gave final approval to a temporary government funding package Wednesday night and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill sets up a final confrontation on the government budget in the new year. The Senate worked into the night to pass the bill with days to spare before government funding expires Saturday. The spending package keeps government funding levels at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is negotiated.
November 16, 2023 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Police and protesters have clashed outside Democratic National Committee headquarters during a demonstration for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Scores of Democratic representatives and candidates, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were inside the building for a campaign reception when it was interrupted by chanting outside. Protesters said they wanted to block entrances and exits to force politicians to encounter their candlelight vigil Wednesday night. However, the situation swiftly devolved. U.S. Capitol Police said about 150 people were “illegally and violently protesting,” but protesters blamed police for the violence. Capitol Police said six officers were treated for minor injuries and one protester was arrested for assaulting an officer.
November 16, 2023 4:58 am
(AP) – Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza say they received evacuation notices. The signal that fighting is about to expand in the south comes a day after Israeli forces began searching a north Gaza hospital where they claimed Hamas militants operate — a claim that Hamas and hospital staff deny. The Israeli military displayed what it said were Hamas weapons and military equipment it uncovered in Shifa Hospital. But so far, its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command center. Saudi Arabia condemned the raid on Shifa Hospital. The World Health Organization says only a quarter of Gaza’s hospitals are still functioning, either because they have been damaged or because they ran out of fuel.
November 16, 2023 4:56 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Perhaps just shaking hands and sitting down together can be enough sometimes. At their meeting Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping didn’t resolve any of the major geopolitical issues dividing the world’s two largest economies and chief rivals for influence, particularly among developing nations. But it did seem to put a floor beneath a relationship that had been in free-fall over issues from trade to investment to U.S. support for Taiwan, along with human rights in regions from Tibet to Sichuan and the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong, which China administers as a semi-autonomous region while gutting its civil liberties handed over from the former British administration.
November 16, 2023 2:49 am
Jury deliberations are underway in the trial of 40 year old Jerome Stewart of Elco. He is accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile beginning at age 8 and continuing the assaults for more than a decade. Testimony began Wednesday as it ended on day one. The other half sister of the victim testified to the relationship that the victim had with Jerome Stewart. Both relatives described sexual acts between Stewart and his underage victim. They described their experiences when the victim miscarried in her first pregnancy at age 13. Much of the day’s testimony came from hospital professionals and nurses that tended to the victim when she miscarried and several years later delivering a son via c-section at age 15. The chief Washington County Detective detailed the chain of evidence possession that verified DNA and paternity results of the victim’s pregnancy. The most revealing testimony came from Mark Lind. He is a friend of Jerome Stewart who came across the jar in which Stewart sealed the fetus from the victim’s first pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Lind stated that when asked by Stewart if he found the jar he stated that he did and threw it in the trash. Lind stated During the conversation that Stewart told him it was a fetus of the victim and he was the father. The jury received the case and began deliberations late Thursday morning.
November 15, 2023 5:39 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year and fourth time overall. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced Kimmel’s return on Wednesday. ABC is returning to its late-night host a year after bringing Kimmel back for a 2023 ceremony that drew 18.7 million viewers, the most since 2020’s pre-pandemic broadcast. In the wake of Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, Kimmel led a cautious ceremony that helped stabilize the Academy Awards after years of turmoil. The 96th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 10 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
November 15, 2023 5:37 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans cut back on retail spending in October, ending six straight months of gains, though the decline was partly driven by falling prices for both gasoline and cars. Retail sales declined 0.1% last month after jumping a strong 0.9% in September, according to a report released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. September’s figure was revised higher from an initial report of a 0.7% gain. Excluding sales of gas and autos, retail sales ticked up 0.1%.
