UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon are in the crosshairs of Israel’s war on Hezbollah
BEIRUT — As the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group escalates, a United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon is increasingly in the crosshairs, with Israeli troops firing at the peacekeepers’ headquarters and positions several times in the past week. The peacekeepers belong to the 10,000-strong United Nations Interim Force...
Historic Jersey Shore amusement park closes after generations of family thrills
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean City, the towering “Giant Wheel” was the first thing they saw from miles away. The sight of the 140-foot-tall ride let them know they were getting close to the Jersey Shore town that calls itself “America’s Greatest Family Resort,”...
Man with loaded gun arrested at checkpoint near Donald Trump’s weekend rally in Southern California
LOS ANGELES — A Nevada man with a shotgun, loaded handgun, ammunition and several fake passports in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside Donald Trump’s rally Saturday night in the Southern California desert, authorities said. He was released the same day on $5,000 bail. The suspect, a...
Former President Bill Clinton travels to Georgia to rally rural Black voters to the polls
ALBANY, Ga. — Former President Bill Clinton urged churchgoers in Albany, Georgia, on Sunday to rally behind the upbeat campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris for the office he once held. “Uniting people and building, being repairers of the breach, as Isaiah says, those are the things that work,” Clinton...
UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon are in the crosshairs of Israel’s war on Hezbollah
BEIRUT — The U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said Israeli tanks “forcibly entered” one of its positions on Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded it leave the area. International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on U.N. peacekeepers since the start of its ground...
Not exactly smooth sailing at the 52nd Albuquerque balloon fiesta after 4 incidents
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A drone show and a flawless mass ascension ended Sunday’s last day of the 52nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for this year’s hot air balloon event. One balloon partially caught fire Saturday after hitting power lines and landing at a construction...
U.S. will send a missile defense system and troops to run it to Israel to aid defense against Iran
WASHINGTON — The United States will send a T erminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel, along with the troops needed to operate it, the Pentagon said Sunday, even as Iran warned Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said in...
Drone strike in Israel wounds more than 60 as Hezbollah claims responsibility
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A drone strike hit central Israel on Sunday, wounding more than 60 people, some of them critically, rescue services said, in one of the bloodiest attacks in Israel in a year of war. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group claimed responsibility, saying it targeted a military...
From the pulpit, Harris calls out Trump for hurricane misinformation. Biden surveys Florida’s damage
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Kamala Harris used an appearance Sunday before a largely Black church audience in battleground North Carolina to call out Donald Trump for spreading misinformation about the government’s hurricane response. President Joe Biden visited Florida for the second time this month to survey storm damage. Harris, the Democratic...
Volunteers bring solar power to Hurricane Helene’s disaster zone
BAKERSVILLE, N.C. — Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene downed power lines and washed out roads all over North Carolina’s mountains, the constant din of a gas-powered generator is getting to be too much for Bobby Renfro. It’s difficult to hear the nurses, neighbors and volunteers flowing through the community...
Florida neighbors band together to recover after one-two punch from hurricanes Helene and MiltonVideo
VENICE, Fla. — When ankle-deep floodwaters from Hurricane Helene bubbled up through the floors of their home, Kat Robinson-Malone and her husband sent a late-night text message to their neighbors two doors down: “Hey, we’re coming.” The couple waded through the flooded street to the elevated front porch of Chris...
In an engineering feat, mechanical SpaceX arms catch Starship rocket booster back at the launch pad
SpaceX pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket on Sunday, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with mechanical arms. A jubilant Elon Musk called it “science fiction without the fiction part.” Towering almost 400 feet (121 meters), the empty Starship blasted off...
Decision 2024: How Pittsburgh became the center of the political universe
Forget spotted lanternflies, controversial restaurant visits or even an assassination attempt. Whatever peculiar problems the Pittsburgh region might pose, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump just can’t stay away. With 19 precious Electoral College votes at stake in Pennsylvania, the world’s two most-watched politicians have crisscrossed our area over the past...
Penn Township church aims to raise $10K to fight food insecurity
Daniel Stones has participated in Penn Township’s annual fundraiser to fight food insecurity since before he could walk. The CROP Walk, hosted by First United Church of Christ in Harrison City, used to draw 75 walkers raising money to fight hunger locally and worldwide. Since the pandemic, attendance has dropped...
McCormick narrows gap with Casey in Pennsylvania, new poll shows
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s nationally watched U.S. Senate race is tightening, with Republican Dave McCormick now just 4 percentage points behind Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, according to a new poll by The Inquirer, The New York Times, and Siena College. About 48% of respondents said they supported Casey, who is...
Floridians cleaning up from Hurricane Milton are hampered by a widespread fuel shortage
CORTEZ, Fla. — Floridians recovering from Hurricane Milton, many of whom were journeying home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state. In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had...
Heavy Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza as UN peacekeepers in Lebanon are hit again
BEIRUT — Palestinians in northern Gaza described heavy Israeli bombardment Saturday in the hours after airstrikes killed at least 22 people, as Israel continued to tell people there and in southern Lebanon to get out of the way of its offensives against the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups. In Lebanon,...
Far from where Hurricane Milton hit, tornadoes wrought unexpected damage
WELLINGTON, Fla. — Tony Brazzale, a diving boat captain who has lived for 10 years in his Wellington home in southeastern Florida, wasn’t worried about Hurricane Milton. The storm’s center was forecast to make landfall on the opposite side of the peninsula and then cross the state well to the...
Harris’ doctor reports she’s in ‘excellent health.’ Her campaign wants to draw a contrast with Trump
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president, her doctor said in a letter released Saturday that summarizes her medical history and status. Dr. Joshua Simmons, a U.S. Army colonel and physician to the vice president,...
Children and adults transported to Pa. hospital after ingesting ‘toxic mushrooms’
PEACH BOTTOM TOWNSHIP — Children and adults were transported to a hospital in Pennsylvania Friday night after being sickened by mushrooms, authorities said. Emergency medical personnel responded to a report around 9:30 p.m. of 11 people becoming ill after ingesting the mushrooms in Peach Bottom Township, the Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Company...
Why is Donald Trump campaigning in California, a state he’s almost certain to lose?
LOS ANGELES — With the presidency on the line in battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, why would Donald Trump venture into California, one of the most solidly Democratic states, just weeks before Election Day? Trump is almost certain to lose California, and that won’t change after his scheduled Saturday stop...
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will scour Jupiter moon for the ingredients for life
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft is ready to set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth. Europa Clipper will peer beneath the moon’s icy crust where an ocean is thought to be sloshing fairly close to the surface....
Ukrainian recruiters descend on Kyiv’s nightlife in search of men not registered for conscription
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian military recruitment officers raided restaurants, bars and a concert hall in Kyiv, checking military registration documents and detaining men who were not in compliance, local media reported Saturday. Officers reportedly descended on Kyiv’s Palace of Sports venue after a concert Friday night by Ukrainian rock band...
Bethany Beach firefly could be 1st on endangered species list
The Bethany Beach firefly could be added to the Endangered Species Act list, the Washington Post reported. If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal goes through to classify it as threatened, it would be the first time a firefly is added to the list. The Bethany Beach fireflies emerge...
Westmoreland, Allegheny community colleges aim to increase graduation rates with national program
Andrew Barnette wants to spend more time reading names while standing on the stage at Westmoreland County Community College’s graduation ceremony. “I am privileged to be asked every year to read names at graduation,” said Barnette, dean of the School of Art, Humanities, Social Sciences and Public Service. “It’s the...
