April 21, 2023 9:40 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings this year. In the last week, four people were fatally shot at a Sweet 16 party in Alabama, and a man shot and killed another four people in Maine. Data maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University shows 88 people have died in 17 mass killings since Jan. 1. Fred Guttenberg’s daughter died in a mass shooting at a Florida high school in 2018. He says he’s outraged that more families are suffering. On average the data shows at least four people have died in mass killings once every 6 and 1/2 days this year. The numbers exclude perpetrator deaths.
April 21, 2023 4:23 am
Pittsburgh PA —- (WPXI) – A Bridgeville man charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Washington County has been taken into custody. Earlier this month, Allegheny County Police filed a number of charges against 27-year-old Zachary Kelly, including indecent assault and corruption of minors, in connection with an assault that the victim told police took place in March 2022 while she was in a parked car with Kelly in Carnegie. Detectives developed information that Kelly might be in Washington County. On Thursday, he was found inside of an abandoned house in Canton Township. Kelly initially attempted to resist the action of the detectives but was quickly taken into custody. In addition to the charges connected to the assault, Kelly also has an active warrant out of Upshur County West Virginia for grand larceny and destruction of property and after being transported back to the Allegheny County Jail, he was also charged with being a fugitive from justice in connection with those charges.
April 21, 2023 4:17 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Twitter has been a way for people to keep track of tornado watches, train delays, news alerts or the latest crime warnings from their local police department. But when the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification check marks this week from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee, it left public agencies and other organizations around the world scrambling to figure out a way to be trusted. High-profile users who lost their blue checks Thursday included Beyoncé, Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey and former President Donald Trump. But it also included accounts for major transit systems from San Francisco to Paris, national parks like Yosemite and official weather trackers.
April 21, 2023 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is facing a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women’s access to a widely used abortion pill will stay unchanged until a legal challenge to its Food and Drug Administration approval is resolved. The justices are weighing arguments that allowing restrictions contained in lower-court rulings to take effect would severely disrupt the availability of the drug, mifepristone, which is used in the most common abortion method in the United States. It has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective, and has been used by more than 5 million women in the U.S. since the FDA approved it in 2000.
April 21, 2023 4:13 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge refused Friday to recuse himself from the New Orleans Roman Catholic bankruptcy after an Associated Press report that he donated tens of thousands of dollars to archdiocese charities and consistently ruled in favor of the church in the contentious case involving nearly 500 clergy sex abuse victims. U.S. District Judge Greg Guidry told attorneys that a panel of federal judges he asked to review the possible conflict determined no “reasonable person” would question his impartiality despite his contributions and longstanding ties to the archdiocese. The announcement came hours after AP published its report and more than a week after it confronted Guidry with its findings.
April 21, 2023 4:11 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors have formally dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “Rust,” citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate. Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis filed the notice to dismiss the only charge against Baldwin in state District Court in Santa Fe on Friday. It says the investigation is ongoing. An involuntary manslaughter charge against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the film, is unchanged.
April 21, 2023 4:02 am
The Canon-McMillan School Board met Thursday for their voting meeting and adopted two measures to save taxpayers money. Directors approved the refinancing of two bonds that were used for various construction projects in the district. One bond was for $7.2 million and the second bond was for $20.5 million. Directors also approved two contracts for construction and upgrades. The first contract was awarded to Phoenix Roofing to repair the roof on South Central Elementary School. The contract is worth $687,200. Funds will come from the capital improvement budget and the Muse Elementary Capital Projects Fund. Secondly, new weight room equipment will be purchased for the high school. All the equipment is to be replaced and the $154,000 cost will come from budgetary reserve. All four measures passed unanimously.
April 21, 2023 2:37 am
An Allegheny County Judge on Wednesday, sentenced a Peters Township man to two years probation for causing the death of his three-month-old son by leaving him in a hot car. Thirty-three-year-old Khang Nguyen received the sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Nguyen told authorities that he forgot his toddler, Kayden, was in his car on June 16th of 2022 when he stopped in his place of business, the Envy Nail Salon in Upper St. Clair. He told police he had meant to stop for just a short period of time, but got distracted and forgot about the baby until he returned home several hours later. Authorities say the daytime high on that day was 91 degrees.
April 20, 2023 3:53 pm
(ABC) – Actor Alec Baldwin has been cleared of criminal charges in the 2021 deadly movie set shooting. The actor was the one holding the gun. Prosecutors in New Mexico dropped the charges agaisnt Alec Baldwin who had been facing two counts on involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. In a statement provided to ABC News, Baldwin’s attorneys said we are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident. (Photo: ABC)
April 20, 2023 10:12 am
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company was aiming Thursday to send Starship on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX said multiple engines were not firing as the rocket ascended, causing it to lose altitude. The rocket was intentionally destroyed by its self-destruct system, exploding and plummeting into the water. SpaceX plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, ultimately, Mars. Throngs of spectators watched from several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits.
