November 29, 2022 4:24 am
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian authorities are investigating sites where torture allegedly took place in the city of Kherson. More than two weeks after Russians retreated from the southern city, investigators say five torture rooms have been found in the city and at least four more in the wider Kherson region. Ukrainians allege that they were confined, beaten, shocked with electricity, interrogated and threatened with death. Human rights experts warn that the allegations made so far are only the beginning. The Ukrainian national police say more than 460 war crimes have been committed by Russian soldiers in recently occupied areas of Kherson.
November 29, 2022 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is taking up a dispute over a blocked Biden administration policy that would prioritize deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk. Republican-led states sued and won a nationwide court order that is meant to limit immigration officers’ discretion in deciding whom to deport. The justices are hearing arguments in the case Tuesday. At the center of the legal fight is a September 2021 directive from the Homeland Security Department that paused deportation unless individuals had committed acts of terrorism, espionage or “egregious threats to public safety.”
November 29, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year. They are planning to take particular focus on the business dealings of presidential son Hunter Biden, illegal immigration at the U.S-Mexico border and the originations of COVID-19. The House members expected to lead those investigations include Ohio’s Jim Jordan (pictured), a favorite of former President Donald Trump. Jordan is likely to lead the House Judiciary Committee. Another is Kentucky’s James Comer, who is expected to lead the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
November 29, 2022 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron will be the guest for the first state visit of Joe Biden’s presidency. The event this week is a revival of diplomatic pageantry that had been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden-Macron relationship has turned around from its choppy start. Macron briefly recalled France’s ambassador to the United States last year after the White House announced a deal to sell nuclear submarines to Australia that undermined a contract that France had to sell diesel-powered submarines. Today, Macron has become one of Biden’s most forward-facing European allies in the Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
November 29, 2022 4:17 am
BEIJING (AP) – Chinese universities are sending students home as the ruling Communist Party tightens anti-virus controls and tries to prevent more protests after crowds angered by its severe “zero COVID” restrictions called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. With police out in force, there was no word of new protests in Beijing, Shanghai or other major cities. Some anti-virus restrictions were eased in a possible effort to defuse public anger following weekend protests in at least eight cities. But the ruling party affirmed its “zero COVID” strategy, which has confined millions to their homes. Universities cited the need to protect students from COVID-19. But dispersing them to far-flung hometowns also reduces the likelihood of more activism.
November 29, 2022 4:14 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. — (WPXI) – It was an accident that stole the life of a young paramedic whose community is already feeling his loss. “He’s probably the youngest old man I’ve ever met,” said Mame Saltzman. At just 23 years old, Nick Theofilis left a mark.“Wherever he went, he made friends. That’s how he was — old, young, always looking out for everyone. If you ever needed anyone, he was there for you,” Dani Scott said. “I don’t know if you’d find one person in the area that has ever met Nick that didn’t love Nick,” Saltzman said. On Sunday night, Nick was driving a Penn Hills ambulance when it struck another vehicle in Shadyside. When Pittsburgh police got there, Nick was in cardiac arrest and died at the hospital. “I think if Nick had to pick a way for him to go, this would be the scenario he wanted because that was his motto — giving in to others,” said Mary Chirdon. There were two other people injured in the accident. Both are expected to survive.
November 29, 2022 4:02 am
Peters Township Council held a public hearing to present the proposed 2023 budget. In a presentation from Township Manager Paul Lauer, the budget contains $23 million in revenues and $27.5 million in expenditures. Budget shortfalls will be made up from the use of the federal American Rescue Plan funds and from bonds purchased previously. Projects included in next year’s budget include the total re-engineering and paving of Longvue Drive and a storm sewer project along Marlboro Drive. Fire station number 3 and a new fire truck will also be included in the 2023 budget. Council also addressed several traffic issues. One concern on Druid Drive is lack of sight distance on a steep hill and safety issues created when landscape trucks and delivery vehicles are parked on the hill causing drivers to blindly navigate the parked vehicles and the crest of the hill. Staff will be doing traffic counts to determine the amount of speeding going on and if the road qualifies for traffic calming measures. Additionally, council gave the green light for pavement markings to be installed at the intersection of Valleybrook Road and Rt. 19. Those markings will hopefully make clear the path for drivers to take to continue on Valleybrook Road heading into Lawrence.
November 29, 2022 3:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A woman was thrown from a vehicle along a highway ramp in Pittsburgh after she was shot, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to the intersection of I-579 and the Boulevard of the Allies around 1:30 p.m. When they arrived, they found the woman who had been shot in the leg. She was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition. The ramp was shut down as detectives processed the scene. Police said the driver of the vehicle fled. Pittsburgh police are continuing to investigate.
November 28, 2022 1:51 pm
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. (AP) – Authorities say they rescued two people from a small plane that crashed into a Maryland electricity tower. Officials say the crash Sunday evening in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Montgomery Village temporarily knocked out power to about 120,000 customers and left the plane dangling 10 stories above the ground. Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein says responders were able to safely remove the pilot and passenger early Monday after electricity crews made it safe to attempt a rescue. He says both suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospitals. Authorities say the plane departed from White Plains, New York, and that the pilot is from Washington and the passenger is from Marrero, Louisiana. (Photo: ABC)
November 28, 2022 12:41 pm
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The white gunman who massacred 10 Black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket has pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges. Payton Gendron entered the plea Monday in an Erie County courtroom. The charges carry an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. The 19-year-old used a legally-purchased semiautomatic rifle to gun down victims at the Tops Friendly Market in May. He said in writings posted online that his goal was to terrify Black people and preserve white power. His own lawyer said Monday’s plea “represents a condemnation of the racist ideology that fueled his horrific actions.” Gendron has pleaded not guilty to separate federal hate crime charges that could carry the death penalty.
