January 24, 2023 9:42 am
HELSINKI (AP) – Finland’s foreign minister has suggested that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance. The minister later backpedaled, but his comments were the first time a leading government official in either Nordic country appeared to raise doubts about becoming NATO members together. That comes at a time that the alliance is seeking to present a united front in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO needs the approval of all existing members, including Turkey. It has so far blocked the expansion, saying Sweden in particular needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathizers.
January 24, 2023 9:40 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The sci-fi indie hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once” leads nominations to the 95th Academy Awards with 11 nominations. A year after a streaming service won Hollywood’s top honor for the first time, big-screen spectacles dominated Tuesday’s nominations to the 95th Academy Awards with the “Avatar” and “Top Gun” sequels getting best picture nods.. The nominees for best supporting actress are: Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”; Hong Chau, “The Whale”; Kerry Condon, Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”; Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The Oscars will be presented March 12 in Los Angeles.
January 24, 2023 8:26 am
A Monessen man has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for traveling from his home to have sex with a child from Brigeport, West Virginia. Mark Sassak Jr, age 38, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Clarksburg, West Virginia. According to court documents, Sassak began talking with whom he believed to be a 15-year old female through a social media app. That conversation continued through text messages for several weeks. Sassak then asked for an in-person meeting to have sex. He then drove to a location in Bridgeport in October of 2020 where he was arrested. A search of his cell phone found multiple chats with suspected minors and child pornographic videos. He was found guilty following a three-day trial in December of 2021.
January 24, 2023 5:55 am
West Virginia University advised students and employees to seek shelter after a person was shot in Morgantown Monday night. An all-clear was issued by university police shortly after 12:30 a.m. The shooting victim suffered a non-life-threatening injury, according to a report. Police advised avoiding Grant Avenue as they responded to a shooting around 11:45 p.m. in the 500 block area. Police were looking for a white Mercedes with tinted windows, possibility with a tail light out, and a man wearing a red hoodie, blue jeans and tennis shoes, according to a report. Police continue to investigate.
January 24, 2023 4:26 am
JERUSALEM (AP) – An Israeli group raising funds for Jewish extremists convicted in some of the country’s most notorious hate crimes is collecting tax-exempt donations from Americans. That is according to an investigation by The Associated Press and Israeli investigative platform Shomrim. The findings give a sign that Israel’s radical right is gaining a new foothold in the United States. The amount of money raised through the U.S. nonprofit is not known. But the money trail runs from New Jersey to imprisoned Israeli radicals who include the assassin of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as well as people convicted in deadly attacks on Palestinians.
January 24, 2023 4:25 am
ATLANTA (AP) – A judge is set to hear arguments on whether to release a report by a special grand jury tasked with investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they sought to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney will hear arguments Tuesday from the district attorney’s office, news outlets and potentially other parties before making his decision. The report is expected to include recommendations for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on possible criminal prosecution, though it’s unclear just how specific those recommendations will be. It will be up to Willis to seek indictments.
January 24, 2023 4:24 am
(AP) – A five-hour police delay in alerting the public that the California dance hall killer was on the run is throwing a spotlight on the nation’s flawed, patchwork system for warnings of mass shooters at large. Experts say an alert should have been sent out immediately after police responded to the shooting in Monterey Park that left 11 dead on Saturday. During the delay, the gunman walked into another nearby dance club brandishing his weapon, but was disarmed. A proposed law last year creating an Amber alert-like system was passed by the U.S. House, but died in the Senate.
January 24, 2023 4:23 am
LYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office has quit, after the president pledged a staff shake-up amid high-level corruption allegations during the war with Russia. Kyrylo Tymoshenko asked to be relieved of his duties, according to an online copy of a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Tymoshenko’s own social media posts. Neither gave a reason for the resignation. Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov also resigned, local media reported, alleging his departure was linked to a scandal involving the purchase of food for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko also quit.
January 24, 2023 4:22 am
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) – The suspect in two shootings at Northern California farms that left seven dead was an employee at one of the locations, authorities said. San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said Tuesday that 67-year-old Chunli Zhao was an employee at Mountain Mushroom Farm. She says the only known connection between the shooter and his victims is that “they may have been coworkers.” Four people were found dead at the farm, and three at another farm nearby. The sheriff’s office says seven of the victims were men and one was a woman. Some were Asian and others were Hispanic, and some were migrant workers.
January 24, 2023 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The refusal thus far of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to disclose who paid for his inaugural party has exposed the gap in state law that lets governors in Pennsylvania escape the kind of transparency sometimes required elsewhere. Presidential inaugural committees are required by federal law to disclose donors who give over $200 to inaugural celebrations. States like Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey have such laws, as does Philadelphia. Many other states have no such disclosure laws, and millions of dollars can be given secretly by donors who seek favorable treatment under state regulations. Critics say that raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest.
