December 11, 2023 5:15 am
Yekaterina Duntsova is a little-known journalist and mom-of-three from a small town in western Russia. She hopes to force President Vladimir Putin into a run-off in Russia’s next presidential vote scheduled for March, despite her political inexperience and analysts’ assessments that the Kremlin leader’s reelection is all but assured. Duntsova intends to run as an independent and tells The Associated Press that she hopes to energize voters disillusioned with politics with her message of peace in Ukraine, freedom for jailed government critics and a “humane” Russia respectful of its citizens and international partners. She admits to being afraid amid the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent, but vows she and her campaign team will fight on.
December 11, 2023 5:11 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Students, lawmakers and religious leaders have joined forces at a temple in Philadelphia to strongly denounce antisemitism on college campuses and in their communities. The gathering Sunday at Congregation Rodeph Shalom comes one day after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (pictured) resigned amid criticism over her testimony at a congressional hearing. Magill was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. Harvard President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth also took part in the congressional hearing. They have also drawn criticism for their lawyerly answers.
December 11, 2023 5:08 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Central Tennessee residents and emergency workers are digging out from devastating weekend storms that killed six people, toppled houses and cut power to tens of thousands. Government officials confirmed that three people died after a tornado struck Montgomery County north of Nashville near the Kentucky state line on Saturday afternoon. The Nashville Emergency Operation Center confirmed that three others were killed as a result of tornadoes in a neighborhood near downtown. Dozens more were hospitalized. Communities worked to begin repairing damaged houses with strewn debris. Other harrowing scenes included a tractor-trailer flipped on its side and insulation ripped out of building walls.
December 11, 2023 5:06 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israel says it’s prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers, as its ground offense intensifies with more airstrikes and artillery fire. Qatar, which has played a key mediating role, says efforts to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but a willingness to discuss a cease-fire is fading. Israel is facing international outrage after its military offensive killed more than 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, and U.N. agencies say there is no safe place to flee. Israel says 97 of its soldiers have died in its military offensive after Hamas raided Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
December 11, 2023 5:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (ABC) – President Joe Biden made a stop Monday at the newly reopened Ladder 1 firehouse in Philadelphia to hand out 22 million dollars in federal funds to the city’s Fire Department. President Biden in Philadelphia today announced a $22.4 million grant for the city s fire department that the White House says will fund the reopening of three fire companies and pay the salaries and benefits for 72 firefighters over 3 years. The president thanked the firefighters at the newly reopened Ladder 1 for their service. VERBATIM: When the worst happens, when those alarms go off, when everything and everyone is in danger. There’s no better sight in the world than a firefighter ready to go to work. Later the president attended a campaign reception in Philadelphia, part of his December fundraising blitz ahead of the year end filing deadline.
December 11, 2023 5:01 am
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — State Police say two teens who escaped Saturday have been found and are in custody. Few details on their capture are currently available. Police had been looking for a truck they say may have been stolen by two teens who escaped from a juvenile detention center in Westmoreland County. State police say the vehicle may have been stolen by Robert Cogdell, 14, and Braedon Dickinson, 16. Police say the pair took off from the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center on foot at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
December 11, 2023 4:58 am
Fire crews were called out late Sunday night in West Brownsville. Washington County 9-1-1 says the fire was at a mobile home in the 200-block of Wilson Road and was called in around 11:30 p.m. One person in the home was transported to the hospital. That person has not been identified and there is no word on their conditon. It’s also unclear, at this time, what may have caused the fire.
December 10, 2023 8:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of people dressed as jolly Old St. Nick have descended on New York City for the annual SantaCon charity pub crawl. The booze-fueled stroll through Manhattan kicked off Saturday morning in bars in midtown. Revelers were expected to make their way downtown where the festivities end in local watering holes in the Village. The organizers encouraged participants to donate $15 to enter participating venues, which they have said will go to charitable causes. Similar Christmas-themed bacchanals were slated in cities across the U.S. and Europe, from San Francisco and Cincinnati to London and Berlin, on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
December 10, 2023 8:15 am
(AP) – Elon Musk has restored the X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. It comes after Musk posted a poll this weekend on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that came out 70% in favor of the Infowars host, who repeatedly has called the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax. The move poses new uncertainty for advertisers, who have fled X over concerns about hate speech appearing alongside their ads. Musk says the move is about protecting free speech rights. Jones and his Infowars show had been permanently banned in 2018 for abusive behavior.
December 10, 2023 8:14 am
LUKEVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Border Patrol says it is overwhelmed by a shift in human smuggling routes, with hundreds of migrants from faraway countries like Senegal, Bangladesh and China being dropped in a remote desert area in Arizona. The area around Lukeville is hours away by car to U.S. hospitals and migrant shelters. The U.S. government responded last week by indefinitely closing the crossing between Lukeville and Sonoyta, Mexico, to free officers assigned to the port to instead help agents apprehend migrants. Federal air marshals who provide security on commercial flights and even Federal Protective Service officers who guard U.S. government buildings also are being called on.
