December 5, 2022 4:25 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Raphael Warnock is the first Black U.S. senator from Georgia, having broken the color barrier with a special election victory in January 2021. Now Warnock can add another distinction by winning a full six-year term in a Tuesday runoff. Standing in the way is another Black man, Republican challenger Herschel Walker. The two men have cut different paths and offer clearly opposing visions for the country, including on race and racism, despite their common upbringings in the wake of the civil rights movement and the guarantee of a historical first from their Senate matchup. Black voters in this Deep South state say the choice is stark.
December 5, 2022 4:23 am
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) – Throughout the war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have been accused of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories to raise them as their own. At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia’s eight-month occupation of the area, their whereabouts still unknown. But locals say even more orphans would have been taken had it not been for the efforts of some in the community who tried to hide as many as they could. Analysts say Russian officials are conducting a deliberate depopulation campaign in occupied parts of Ukraine and deporting children under the guise of medical rehabilitation schemes and adoption programs.
December 5, 2022 4:19 am
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two people were killed in a car crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County late Friday. According to our news partners at WPXI, Pennsylvania State police were investigating the crash that happened in Jefferson Township near the border of Westmoreland and Somerset counties just after 9 p.m. Dustin Brant, 27, from Latrobe, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to reports, Brant was driving in a pickup truck that was found on the eastbound side of the turnpike. Brant’s cause of death appeared to be accidental, according to Somerset County Chief Deputy Coroner Lexi Lichty. A Berks County man was flown to a hospital from the crash, but he died from his injuries.
December 5, 2022 4:17 am
GERMAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – One person was flown to a hospital after a vehicle and pedestrian accident in Fayette County, investigators said. Fayette County dispatchers say police, firefighters and medics were called to Sixth Street in German Township at around 5:42 pm. Saturday. A member of the Adah Volunteer Fire Department said the victim was a juvenile girl. The girl’s status is unknown at this time. State police are also helping with the investigation.
December 5, 2022 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – It was a very emotional night as family and friends came together to remember a 4-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Pittsburgh. Kaari Thompson was with her mother Thursday night when the two were shot on Lincoln Avenue. Thompson later died at a hospital. On Sunday, family members and friends came to the spot where she was shot to remember the young girl they all loved and hold a balloon release in her honor. The people impacted by Thompson’s death are asking many questions as police continue to investigate the shooting and Kaari’s mother remains in the hospital in critical condition. “Our whole family is devastated. Her family, our family. Her mother’s in the hospital fighting for her life,” Heather Thompson said. Our news partners at Channel 11 learned that Thompson’s mother was out on bond awaiting trial on attempted homicide charges. She is accused of shooting two teenagers in Homewood last August. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, police released an update but did not release a motive for the shooting. Authorities urged parents to get involved with their children and to monitor their social media accounts. With no suspects arrested at this point, family members are asking anyone with information to come forward. The family has set up a GoFundMe to cover expenses related to the tragedy.
December 5, 2022 4:09 am
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a sanitation worker has died almost three months after he was struck in the head by a street sign during an accident in eastern Pennsylvania. The Lehigh County coroner’s office said 36-year-old Kerry Spiess was working on a sanitation truck that backed into the standing street sign in Pottsville on Sept. 6. Officials said he stepped off the back of the truck onto the sidewalk and was struck in the head by the falling sign, causing him to fall to the ground. The coroner’s office said Spiess was pronounced dead Dec. 2 at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest. The death was ruled accidental and due to blunt force trauma to the head. Pottsville police are investigating along with the coroner’s office.
December 4, 2022 8:19 am
BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts have landed in a northern desert after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of the country’s ambitious space program. State TV reported Sunday that a capsule carrying commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe touched down at a landing site in the Gobi Desert in northern China at approximately 8:10 p.m. The three astronauts were part of the Shenzhou-14 mission, which launched in June. The Tiangong is part of official Chinese plans for a permanent human presence in orbit. Last week, a crew of three Chinese astronauts blasted off for Tiangong’s final construction stage. The station’s third and final module docked with the station this month.
December 4, 2022 8:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is being warned about the potentially dire consequences of a case next week involving a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for same-sex couples. Liberal groups say ruling for the designer will expose not only same-sex couples but also Black people, immigrants, Jews, Muslims and others to discrimination. Conservative groups argue that ruling against her will force artists to do work that is against their faith. Both sides have described for the court what lawyers sometimes call “a parade of horribles” that could result if the ruling doesn’t go their way. The case marks the second time in five years that the Supreme Court has confronted a similar issue.
December 4, 2022 8:17 am
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global norms in the 21st century. Austin’s speech Saturday caps a week in which the Pentagon has been squarely focused on China’s rise, with the release of a dire report warning of China’s growing nuclear arsenal, and the rollout of the U.S.’ newest strategic bomber. Austin says China “is the only country with both the will and, increasingly, the power to reshape its region and the international order to suit its authoritarian preferences.” He says the U.S. “will not let that happen.”
December 4, 2022 8:15 am
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC oil cartel and allied producers including Russia aren’t changing their targets for shipping oil to the global economy. The decision Sunday comes amid uncertainty about the impact of new Western sanctions against Russia that could take significant amounts of oil off the market. Starting Monday, a European Union boycott of most Russian oil and a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian exports by the EU and the Group of Seven democracies take effect. On the other side, oil has been trading at lower prices on fears of a slowing economy reducing demand. OPEC said in October that’s why it was a slashing production by 2 million barrels per day starting in November. That remains in effect.
