August 5, 2022 2:38 am
Canonsburg Town Park has added new fitness equipment to an already long list of activities to do in the area with the help of brothers and Canon-McMillan graduates Bill and Bob Schmidt. Bill, who was a bronze medalist javelin thrower in the 1972 Olympics for Team USA, was contacted by the Canonsburg Borough and Friends of the Park to help contribute a fitness cluster near the Yoney Pavilion. He along with his twin brother Bob were happy to help their hometown with the donation. Both of the brothers live out of state now, but visit the area frequently to see friends and family. After the dedication, members of the Canon-McMillan Track and Field Team took part in breaking in the new equipment. This is not the first donation from the Schmidt Family to Town Park, as Bill was a donor for the recently constructed pickle ball courts near the new fitness cluster.
August 4, 2022 5:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. has declared a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the outbreak of monkeypox that already has infected more than 6,600 Americans. The announcement Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services frees up federal funding and resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body. Xavier Becerra is the head of HHS. He says the agency is ready to take the U.S. response “to the next level.”
August 4, 2022 11:44 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The U.S. Justice Department has charged four Louisville police officers involved in the deadly Breonna Taylor raid with civil rights violations. Federal charges against former officers Joshua Jaynes, Brett Hankison and Kelly Goodlett, along with Louisville police Sgt. Kyle Meany were announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday. Garland says federal officials “share but cannot fully imagine the grief” felt by Taylor’s family. He said “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.” Taylor, a 26-year-old Black medical worker, was shot to death by Louisville officers who had knocked down her door while executing the search warrant.
August 4, 2022 9:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – More Americans applied for jobless benefits last week as the number of unemployed continues to rise modestly, though the labor market remains one of the strongest parts of the U.S. economy. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending July 30 rose by 6,000 to 260,000 from the previous week’s 254,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications generally reflect layoffs. The four-week average for claims, which evens out the weekly ups and downs, also rose from the previous week, to 254,750. The Labor Department’s jobs report for July, due out Friday, is expected to show that employers added 250,000 jobs last month.
August 4, 2022 4:22 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A Texas jury has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over the conspiracy theorist’s repeated public claims that the attack was a hoax. The jury’s decision Thursday marks the first time the Infowars host has been held financially liable for falsely claiming that the attack that killed 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged. It might not be the last such judgment against him, as a judge in Connecticut has already ruled against him in a similar lawsuit. The Texas jury must still decide how much to award in punitive damages.
August 4, 2022 4:20 am
KHIMKI, Russia (AP) – A judge in Russia has convicted and sentenced American basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling. Judge Anna áSotnikova said the time Griner has served in custody since her arrest in February would count toward the sentence. Griner reacted to the sentence with little emotion. Under Russian law, the 31-year-old Griner faced up to 10 years in prison, but judges have considerable latitude on sentencing. Attention now turns to the possibility of the U.S. and Russian agreeing to a high-stakes prisoner swap that would free the two-time Olympic gold medalist. (Photo: ABC News)
August 4, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials believe Russia is working to fabricate evidence concerning last week’s deadly strike on a facility housing prisoners of war in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia is looking to plant false evidence to make it appear that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the July 29 attack on Olenivka Prison that left 53 dead and wounded dozens more, a U.S. official familiar with the intelligence finding told The Associated Press. Russia has claimed that Ukraine’s military used U.S.-supplied rocket launchers to strike the prison in Olenivka, a settlement controlled by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian military denied making any rocket or artillery strikes in Olenivka.
August 4, 2022 4:18 am
BEIJING (AP) – China says it has conducted “precision missile strikes” in the Taiwan Strait as part of military exercises by its navy, air force and other departments in six zones surrounding the island. The drills were prompted by a visit to the island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week. They are intended to advertise China’s threat to attack the self-governing island republic in response to moves to solidify its de-facto independence from Chinese rule. China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the exercises were joint operations focused on “blockade, sea target assault, strike on ground targets, and airspace control.” Taiwan has put its military on alert and staged civil defense drills, while the U.S. has numerous naval assets in the area.
August 4, 2022 4:15 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Health officials said they are investigating after several people developed a flu-like illness after working closely with pigs that exhibited respiratory symptoms and fever at a county fair. The state Department of Health and Human Resources says the H3N2v strain of influenza A was confirmed on at least one human test Tuesday. The sample has been forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Confirmation. The illnesses occurred at the Jackson County Fair. Dr. Ayne Amjad, the state’s health officer, says symptoms such as fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough or congestion usually show up one to three days after exposure to infected animal livestock.
August 4, 2022 4:11 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Pittsburgh police are searching for a missing 13-year-old girl. According to a release, Ashlynn Southerland is 5’1″ and weighs 115 pounds. She has black hair and blue eyes, and has a scar under her right eye. She was last seen by her family on July 30. Her last known potential location was a movie theater in Bridgeville on Tuesday. Police said Ashlynn is known to spend time in Brookline, Beechview and Dormont. She could possibly be in Mt. Lebanon. According to police, her phone is turned off. She could be in the company of adult males. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at (412)323-7141 or (412)323-7800.
