Safeway Gunman Described As ‘Angry’

August 30, 2022 4:07 am

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The 20-year-old who opened fire in a Bend, Oregon, supermarket, killing two before he turned the gun on himself, was a loner who was known for getting into fights at the high school where he graduated in 2020. A former classmate says shooting suspect Ethan Blair Miller “tried to fight quite literally everybody” at Mountain View High School and once threatened to shoot a student after a school fight. Police say they are investigating reports that the gunman posted his plans on social media before Sunday’s shooting and wanted to attack his alma mater next week but grew impatient.

Heavy Gunfire Rocks Iraq’s Green Zone Amid Protests

August 30, 2022 4:04 am

BAGHDAD (AP) – Supporters of a prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric are firing rocket-propelled grenades into Iraq’s Green Zone as machine gun fire crackled overhead, deepening the political chaos gripping the Mideast nation. Those backing influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired into the Green Zone on Tuesday, where it appeared Iraqi security forces were firing back at them. Live television footage showed the chaos, with at least one wounded man being taken away in a three-wheel rickshaw, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry visible behind them. The death toll rose to 22 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest erupted the previous day

City Council Gets Updates On Programs

August 30, 2022 3:53 am

Washington City Council got departmental reports for their agenda meeting on Monday night. Parks and Recreation Director DeAnna Martin reported that the summer is winding down and Labor Day will be the last day that the pool will be open. She did report that on September 10, the pool will put on a Bark In The Park where residents will be able to bring their dogs for a swim at a cost of five dollars per dog. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the completion of the Dog Park. Martin reported that the park is about 65% complete and hopes to get closer to completion later this fall. Police Chief Dan Rush stated that the department’s demonstration period for four police body cameras is coming to a close. He and his officers are happy with the performance. Rush indicated that on three occasions a review of body cam footage found complaints against officers to be unfounded. Rush went on to say that residents should find comfort in the fact that the police force is out doing the right thing and acting in the best interest of the community. Council will meet on Thursday night to consider increases of fines for failure to file mercantile taxes and business privilege taxes. They will also look to limit parking on the east side of Forrest Avenue from East Walnut Street to Central Avenue.

Monessen Man Dies In Westmoreland Car Crash

August 30, 2022 2:46 am

(WPXI) –  A man was killed in a wrong-way car crash in Westmoreland County.  The 911 call for the crash along Route 31 between Renaissance Festival Lane and Nichols Road came in around 5:55 a.m., officials told Channel 11. Pennsylvania State Police said the crash happened in the area of Hughes Lane and Mount Pleasant Road.  According to Pennsylvania State Police, a Chrysler was driving south in a northbound lane and hit a Ford head-on.  The driver of the Chrysler, identified as 37-year-old Nathan Dzimiera from Monessen, died at the scene. His car also had heavy damage.  The Ford also had major damage but the driver did not have any apparent injuries, police said.  The investigation is ongoing.

Canonsburg Couple Charged In Death Of Their Baby

August 30, 2022 2:42 am

The Washington County District Attorney announced on Monday that a mother and father from Canonsburg are now facing homicide charges, stemming from the death of their three-month-old baby, from fentanyl toxicity. Thirty-one-year-old James May and 23-year-old Shannon McKnight were arrested on August 19th after officers found the couple hiding in the rafters of an attic.  On August 11th, police were called for reports of a three-month-old girl not breathing at a home on First Street. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital. District Attorney Jason Walsh said toxicology results showed positive results for fentanyl. The couple’s other child, a 16-month-old boy, was taken to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, where cocaine and fentanyl were found in his system. Police said they found fentanyl and cocaine, along with other drug paraphernalia, in the house. A preliminary hearing date has not yet been set. Both May and McKnight were already facing charges of felony child endangerment and misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cheney In ’24? Skepticism Emerges In Key States

August 29, 2022 4:30 am

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Liz Cheney is openly considering a presidential run. But in the days since she lost her Wyoming congressional primary, would-be supporters have expressed skepticism about a White House bid. That includes Republican voters and local officials in three of the states that matter most in presidential politics – Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. They believe the soon-to-be-unemployed congresswoman has little path to relevancy in a 2024 presidential primary, never mind a path to victory. Some sympathizers fear she would actually help former President Donald Trump if she runs.

Pakistan Flooding Death Pass 1,000

August 29, 2022 4:28 am

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Officials in Pakistan say deaths from widespread flooding have topped 1,000 since mid-June and the country’s climate minister called the deadly monsoon season “a serious climate catastrophe.” Flash flooding from the heavy rains has washed away villages and crops as soldiers and rescue workers evacuated stranded residents to the safety of relief camps and provided food to thousands of displaced Pakistanis. The country’s National Disaster Management Authority reported Sunday the death toll since the monsoon season began earlier than normal this year in mid-June. Deaths reached 1,061 people after new fatalities were reported in several different provinces.

Engine Problem Leads NASA To Scrub Launch

August 29, 2022 4:25 am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A fuel leak and then an engine problem has forced NASA to scrub the launch of its new moon rocket on a no-crew test flight. The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket was set to lift off Monday morning with three test dummies aboard on its first flight, a mission to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon. The shakedown flight, when it happens, will be a big step forward in America’s quest to put astronauts back on the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago. NASA hopes to send four astronauts around the moon in 2024 and land humans there as early as 2025.

Mission To Ukraine Nuclear Plant Underway

August 29, 2022 4:24 am

KYIV (AP) – The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says that the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s long-awaited expert mission to the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine “is now on its way.” IAEA director general Rafael Grossi has for months sought access to the Zaporizhzhia plant – Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest – which Russian forces have controlled since soon after the war began. Grossi wrote on Twitter that “the day has come.” He said the mission will arrive later this week. Russia and Ukraine have traded claims of strikes at or near the plant in recent days, intensifying fears that the fighting could cause a massive radiation leak.

Soldier Dies After Collapsing During Training

August 29, 2022 4:22 am

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) — A 17-year-old soldier in the Pennsylvania National Guard has died several days after she collapsed during training in South Carolina. Pvt. Alyssa Cahoon died Thursday with her family around her, the 1st Battalion, 34th Regiment — a basic combat training battalion at Fort Jackson — said on its Facebook page Friday. Officials at the base in South Carolina said she had collapsed during physical training on Aug. 20, news agencies report. She had been training there with her twin sister, Brianna Cahoon, news outlets reported. Volleyball and basketball team rosters indicate Cahoon was a rising high school senior in Forest City, a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania near Scranton, The Post and Courier reported. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family members and teammates of the deceased soldier,” said Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Michaelis. A battalion post on Saturday said Cahoon’s family is asking people to collect pull tabs and give them to local Ronald McDonald houses as a fundraiser in her memory. Cahoon’s death is being investigated, according to a statement released by Fort Jackson.