Latest News - WFMZ-TV 69News (2024)

The now Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to gain strength Sunday before slamming into the U.S. as a possible category one hurricane. Read moreTexas braces for Beryl

Loyalsock Township, Pa. — For over two decades, the BLaST IU17 has been holding a Fourth of July parade to celebrate America, and to bring the community together. This year's festivities saw 180 students and 90 staff members descend upon the track at Schick Elementary School in Loyalsock, as patriotic music played over the loudspeakers. Read moreBLaST's annual Fourth of July parade celebrates America, inclusion

Beryl is hurtling across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas. It is currently a tropical storm but is forecast to regain hurricane status before nearing the coast Sunday and making landfall the following morning. A hurricane warning has been declared for a large stretch of the state's coastline, from near Corpus Christi to an area south of Houston. State and local officials have urged coastal residents to prepare for possible storm surge flooding, heavy rain and high winds. Some cities have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding. Read moreBeryl bears down on Texas, where it's expected to hit Monday and regain hurricane strength

Franceis voting in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its nationalistic, anti-immigrant vision. Sunday’s snap elections could impact the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. And they’re almost certain to undercut President Emmanuel Macron for the remaining three years of his presidency. France could have its first far-right government since the Nazi occupation in World War II if the National Rally wins an absolute majority and its 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella becomes prime minister. Voting ends Sunday at 8 p.m. Initial polling projections are expected Sunday night, with early official results expected late Sunday and early Monday. Read moreThe Latest | France votes in pivotal runoff elections that could propel the far right to power

Voting is underway in mainland France on Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision — or produce a hung parliament and political deadlock. French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble in dissolving parliament and calling for the elections after his centrists were trounced in European elections on June 9. The snap elections in this nuclear-armed nation will influence the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability, and they’re almost certain to undercut Macron for the remaining three years of his presidency. Read moreFrance is voting in key elections that could force Macron to share power with the far right

President Joe Biden is attending a Black church and rallying with union members in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, trying to project enough strength for his reelection campaign to quell a growing clamor from within in his own party for him to abandon his candidacy. The pair of Sunday appearances come after Biden joined a Saturday call with campaign surrogates, and reiterated that he has no plans to step aside, while urging unity among top Democrats. But he also listened to concerns and feedback, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Read moreBiden campaigns in Pennsylvania, seeking to project strength and quiet Democratic jitters

Argentine President Javier Milei is in Brazil to headline a far-right convention after skipping a presidential summit to discuss regional trade policy. Milei on Sunday met with former President Javier Bolsonaro in Brazil’s southern city of Balneario Camboriu just days after federal police indicted the right-wing populist in a scheme to embezzle Saudi diamonds. Milei's appearance with Bolsonaro delivered another harsh rebuke to Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and escalated a risky feud with his country’s biggest trading partner. Milei has branded Lula a “communist” and refused to deal with him. Lula has given Milei the cold shoulder and demanded an apology. Read moreArgentine President Milei heads to CPAC in Brazil, snubbing Lula and escalating a political feud

Marking nine months since the war in Gaza started, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and pushing for a cease-fire that could bring back hostages held by Hamas. Sunday's “Day of Disruption” started at 6:29 AM, the moment that Hamas militants launched the first rockets toward Israel on Oct. 7. Meanwhile, fighting continued in Gaza with at least thirteen Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel and Hamas inched closer to a possible cease-fire deal after Hamas appeared to drop their demand that any deal include a complete end to the war, though both sides said significant gaps remain. Read moreIsraeli protesters block highways, call for cease-fire to return hostages 9 months into war in Gaza

Two months ago, before Israeli troops invaded Rafah, the city sheltered most of Gaza’s more than 2 million people. Today it is a dust-covered ghost town. Abandoned, bullet-ridden apartment buildings have blasted out walls and shattered windows. Bedrooms and kitchens are visible from roads dotted with rubble piles that tower over the Israeli military vehicles passing by. Very few civilians remain. Israel says Hamas forces in the group's last military stronghold are nearly destroyed. The Israeli military invited reporters into Rafah on Wednesday, the first time international media visited Gaza’s southernmost city since it was invaded May 6. Israel has banned international media from entering Gaza since the war erupted on Oct 7. Read moreRafah is a dusty, rubble-strewn ghost town 2 months after Israel invaded to root out Hamas

President Joe Biden and his Western counterparts are meeting in Washington this week to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO. The summit, which begins Tuesday, is taking place just as Russia presses its latest offensive in Ukraine. The leaders will focus on ways to reassure Ukraine of NATO’s enduring support and bring some hope to its war-weary citizens that their country might survive. Much of what NATO does, and can do, for Ukraine is misunderstood. The world's biggest security organization is focused on defending the territory of its 32 member countries and trying to keep the peace in Europe and North America. That also means not being dragged into a war with nuclear-armed Russia. Read moreWhat is the NATO military alliance and how is it helping Ukraine?

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says President Joe Biden could decide within days whether to remain a candidate for reelection. And Green told The Associated Press on Saturday that if Biden drops out, he expects Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden at the top of the ticket. Green says he thinks Biden will stay in the race unless he feels it's not winnable or he feels that other voices in his inner circle say he shouldn't run. He says ultimately Biden has to make the decision, and it shouldn't come from anyone but his closest advisers and his heart. Read moreHawaii governor says Biden could decide within days whether to remain in the presidential race

Amtrak rail service between New York and Boston has been restored after a lightning strike was believed to have caused a circuit breaker to malfunction. Service was restored late Saturday after the malfunction resulted in a power outage on all tracks between Penn Station in New York and Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut, beginning Saturday afternoon. The company says on its website that evening trains between Boston and Virginia were operating on schedule Saturday. Most trains are expected to be on schedule Sunday, although some Sunday train services have been cancelled and others are expected to operate on a modified schedule. Read moreAmtrak service between New York City and Boston restored after lightning causes malfunction

Every so often, a debate bubbles up around whether it makes sense for men to keep playing best-of-five-set matches at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments. Consider Novak Djokovic a staunch advocate for keeping the format — at least in the latter stages of majors. He would be OK with cutting back to best-of-three earlier. There have been 34 matches that went the distance at Wimbledon across the first three rounds, the most to that point at any Slam in the Open era. As the fourth of seven rounds began Sunday, all it was going to take was one more five-setter to equal the mark for the most at an entire major tournament. Read moreAfter so many Wimbledon 5-setters, Novak Djokovic would be OK with best-of-3 in early rounds

Vice President Kamala Harris is leading a parade of Black Democrats who warn that the threat of another Donald Trump presidency is the most important calculation ahead of November. But in her appearance Saturday at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Harris did not mention President Joe Biden's dismal debate performance or calls for the 81-year-old president to step down. It was a contrast to Congressional Black Caucus members who defended Biden forcefully. The dynamics reflect the difficult task for the White House and Biden's campaign to handle the debate fallout. It's especially tough for Harris. She's Biden's top lieutenant and defender. But if Biden steps aside, she is perhaps the favorite to replace him as Democratic nominee. Read moreAt Essence, Black Democrats rally behind Biden and talk up Kamala Harris

Ben Rice became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times in a game and drove in seven runs as New York snapped a four-game slide with a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Rice led off the game with a drive to right off Josh Winckowski and added a three-run shot off reliever Chase Anderson as part of a seven-run fifth inning. The 25-year-old first baseman capped his day with a second homer off Anderson in the seventh inning. Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer and D.J. LeMahieu also drove in a pair of runs as the Yankees won for the fifth time in 19 games. Aaron Judge added two hits. Rafael Devers had a long homer and two RBI for Boston, which had its five-game winning streak halted. Read moreBen Rice becomes 1st Yankees rookie to hit 3 homers in game in 14-4 rout of Red Sox

Dutch wheelchair tennis standout Esther Vergeer has been awarded this year’s ITF Philippe Chatrier Award for her contributions to the sport. The International Tennis Federation said the award will be presented Sunday at a ceremony at London’s Natural History Museum. The Philippe Chatrier Award is named after the ITF’s former president and has been given out since 1996 as the governing body’s highest award for services to tennis. Vergeer has won a total of seven Parlympic gold medals and 21 Grand Slam wheelchair singles titles. Read moreDutch wheelchair tennis standout Esther Vergeer awarded ITF Philippe Chatrier Award

Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier. Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a break. A measure to ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays has qualified for the Oct. 1 municipal ballot. It sets the stage for a debate about how much tourism is too much in a city experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change. The “ship-free Saturdays” initiative will go to voters unless the local Assembly enacts a similar measure by Aug. 15, which is seen as unlikely. Read moreAn Alaska tourist spot will vote whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break