SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Strong winds are fanning new wild fires in California, burning homes and forcing residents to flee in a repeat of a frightening scenario faced by thousands of people for days. The latest blazes erupted early Thursday in the inland region east of Los Angeles as gusty Santa Ana winds continued to buffet the region. Homes have burned in the city of San Bernardino and the nearby city of Jurupa Valley.

NOVATO, Calif. (AP) — Senior residents of a San Francisco Bay Area housing complex say they were abandoned by property management during a pre-emptive two-day power outage aimed at warding off wildfires. Residents of the Villas at Hamilton in Novato, north of San Francisco, say they encountered pitch-black stairwells and hallways and elevators that shut down. One woman in her 80s tripped over another resident who had fallen on the landing of a steep stairwell.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group is mourning the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and has announced a successor in a new audio release. The group identified the new leader as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in the audio released Thursday by the IS central media arm, al-Furqan Foundation.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities are looking for the owner of a car that was left unoccupied at the back gate of the FBI’s office in Pittsburgh. Guards saw the vehicle pull up around 5 a.m. Thursday and the driver left. FBI spokeswoman Catherine Policicchio says the city’s bomb squad was called in. They examined the vehicle, which had non-threatening words painted on it, with a K-9 and robot. The spokeswoman says at no time was the public in any danger.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Pete Buttigieg is turning to his fellow mayors as he works to prove the mayor of a city of roughly 100,000 people is ready to assume the American presidency. The Democratic presidential contender has a list of roughly 60 “Mayors for Pete” who are pushing for his underdog bid. They include mayors from former industrial cities undergoing revitalization and metros experiencing demographic shifts.

AN ALIQUIPPA MAN HAS PLED GUILTY TO PARTICIPATING IN A TWO-YEAR DRUG RING OPERATION. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

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Ambride borough has announced a deadline to pay for outstanding parking tickets. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

For many, Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year, giving them the perfect excuse to hide behind their sofas as they “watch” their favorite horror film. But which films give which states the biggest frights? The firm Comparitech compiled a list of the most popular movies by state to see what people are finding most spooktacular. There were a few states whose favorite movies were made in their own backyard. This includes: Texas for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rhode Island for The Conjuring and Colorado for The Shining. So which Halloween movie is the most popular in Pennsylvania? You guess it – Night of the Living Dead, of course, which was filmed in Evans City.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Votes in a referendum on enshrining victims’ rights in Pennsylvania’s constitution aren’t going to be tallied or certified while a legal challenge to the amendment is pending. Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday. The amendment would enshrine in the state constitution a set of rights for victims, including to be notified about, attend and weigh in during plea hearings, sentencings and parole proceedings.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers are marking the first anniversary of the shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue by introducing legislation dealing with hate crimes in the state. Don Rooney has details…