February 12, 2023 8:11 am
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that on his order a U.S. fighter jet has shot down an “unidentified object” flying high over northern Canada. The shootdown came a day after U.S. planes took similar action over Alaska. Shortly before Trudeau’s announcement Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it had detected an object flying at high altitude over Canada. It did not say when the object was first spotted or what it is. Hours later in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration and NORAD temporarily closed airspace in Montana while fighter aircraft investigated “a radar anomaly” and then reopened the airspace when the fighters did not identify any object.
February 12, 2023 8:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in his administration, President Joe Biden hosted the dinner for members of the National Governors Association at the White House. The dinner was held last year at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia estate, and virtually in 2021 because of COVID-19. There was a palpable sense of, well, togetherness and not just because the room was tightly packed with governors, spouses and Cabinet members. Biden and both associations’ leaders, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, spoke about the need to put aside the increasingly rancorous political differences to work together to better the nation.
February 12, 2023 8:09 am
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish officials have detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings in southeast Turkey and northern Syria six days ago. Turkish authorities have vowed to punish anyone responsible and prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence on materials used in construction. The death toll from Monday’s quakes stands at 28,191 as of Sunday morning. Rescuers are recovering scores of bodies but also rejoicing when they discover the living. One 6-year-old boy was removed from the debris of his home in Adiyaman city 151 hours after the quake.
February 12, 2023 8:05 am
It was an emotional scene outside Geibel High School in Fayette County Saturday. “I said ‘I love you. I’ll see you when you get home.’ She walked out the door and never came back,” Bailey’s father Bobby Veitch said. “She was just getting started. Just 16. She didn’t even get her license yet. Just so unfair,” her mother Danielle Mullen said. Police say Bailey had just visited her girlfriend at Dairy Queen when she was hit while walking along East Crawford Avenue in Connellsville. She later died at a nearby hospital. Loved ones said Bailey loved animals and never met a stranger. Police say 42-year-old Mark Lucic is responsible. The Ontario, Canada man was in town on a work ski trip when he hit Bailey. Police say he was drunk and fled the scene. He faces several charges including vehicular homicide. “Just for one night. Just for somebody to be selfish. Took her away forever,” her mother said. “I hope you know what you did. I hope you rot. I hope you never see the sun again,” her father said. Lucic has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 15th.
February 12, 2023 8:01 am
Crews were battling a fire that broke out at Elizabeth Forward High School in Elizabeth Township early Sunday morning. According to Allegheny County 911, the fire broke out at around 5:30 a.m. Smoke can be seen billowing from a section of the school’s roof. There is no word on what started this fire.
February 12, 2023 7:58 am
COKEBURG, Pa. (WPXI)— A man accused of assaulting a 4-year-old girl was arrested in Washington County. Pennsylvania State Police say they went to a house on Washington Street in Cokeburg Borough at around 8:25 p.m. on Saturday to arrest 33-year-old Matthew Mance. Authorities say Mance was wanted for assaulting the child. 26-year-old Shalee Schnore answered the door when police arrived. Police say when they asked if they could search the home but say Schnore told them Mance was not there. When troopers were able to search the house they found Mance’s phone in a bed in the upstairs bedroom. They say they took the phone to Schnore and told her she needed to tell them where Mance was hiding but she continued to tell them he was not there. Eventually, troopers said they found Mance hiding inside a small closet. He was allegedly covered under boxes and clothing. Troopers said Mance refused to come out of the closet when they told him to so an officer tased him. Mance and Schnore were both arrested. Schnore was taken into custody for hindering the arrest and Mance faces multiple charges of aggravated assault.
February 12, 2023 4:20 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. (WPXI) — A man and woman are facing a combined 50 felony charges after police say they were allegedly handing out guns to known gang members illegally. Micha Craig, 22, and Asia Dezarn, 23, are facing a laundry list of gun charges after an investigation that started with a traffic stop in September 2021. According to the criminal complaint, Charleroi police found two guns on a man that they say were bought by Asia Dezarn. The complaint goes on to say Dezarn was interviewed by police and she gave them multiple stories including not remembering buying the guns and later saying she lost them. Months later, in May 2022, police searched a home on Third Street in Charleroi. According to the complaint, police found “neatly stacked manufacturers’ firearm boxes” that were empty in a bedroom closet. Dezarn told police all were lost or stolen and added there is a hole in her front door that people know about and they can reach through and open the door. That’s when police said they were given information the pair had been buying parts and building so called “ghost guns” that have no serial numbers. They were also told Dezarn had been buying guns at a number of locations and the pair had been giving or selling the guns to known gang members in Monessen. Both are waiting on preliminary hearings.
February 11, 2023 4:38 am
ISKENDERUN, Turkey (AP) — More than a dozen additional earthquake survivors have been pulled from the rubble alive in Turkey. They include six relatives who huddled in a small air pocket and a desperate teenager who grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine. Two frightened sisters were comforted by a pop song as they waited for rescuers. The unlikely rescues come more than four days after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake brought down thousands of buildings in southern Turkey and northern Syria. The survival stories offered fleeting moments of joy amid a catastrophe that has killed nearly 24,000 people, injured at least 80,000 others and left millions homeless.
February 11, 2023 4:37 am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Years before a Memphis police officer pulled Tyre Nichols from his car on Jan. 7, the officer was accused of taking part in the savage beating of an inmate at a county prison. The 2015 assault of the inmate was so disturbing, 34 other prisoners signed a letter to the corrections director. The warning is the clearest indication yet that one of the five officers involved in the beating of Nichols had an event in his past that should have raised concerns before he was hired as a police officer. Nichols died three days after the beating.
February 11, 2023 4:36 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have met at the White House and reflected on how their nations were tested in their respective battles to preserve democracy. The meeting Friday featured Biden declaring that democracy ultimately “prevailed” over the far-right mobs that stormed their governments’ halls of power in an attempt to overturn election victories. Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump in a fraught 2020 race. In Brazil’s recent election, Lula, the leftist leader of the Workers’ Party, squeaked out a win against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who earned the nickname “Trump of the Tropics.” Both victories were later tested by mob attacks.
