June 21, 2022 7:37 am
LONDON (AP) — Tens of thousands of railway workers have walked off the job in Britain, bringing the train network to a crawl in the country’s biggest transit strike in three decades. About 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff are holding a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, with two more planned for Thursday and Saturday. Major stations are largely deserted, with only about 20% of passenger trains scheduled to run. The strike is upending the plans of employees trying to get to work, students during exam season and music-lovers headed for the Glastonbury Festival, which starts Wednesday in southwest England. The dispute centers on pay, working conditions and job security as Britain’s railways struggle to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
June 21, 2022 7:35 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Washington County man had his gun confiscated after he attempted to take it through a security checkpoint at the Pittsburgh International Airport. TSA officials released information about the incident that took place on Saturday, saying the Avella man was carrying a loaded 9-millimeter handgun with 8 bullets, including one in the chamber. Once the gun was detected, TSA notified the Allegheny County Police who confiscated the weapon. Officials say the man, who was not identified, could face thousands of dollars in fines for the incident. That is the 12th weapon found going through Pittsburgh International Airport security so far in 2022.
June 21, 2022 3:48 am
HOUSTON (AP) – An attorney says Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has reached an agreement to settle 20 of the 24 civil lawsuits that had been filed by women who had accused him of sexual assault and harassment. Houston attorney Tony Buzbee is representing all 24 women. He says in a statement that settled lawsuits will be dismissed once the paperwork is done. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments when he was with the Houston Texans. The quarterback has denied any wrongdoing. Watson’s lead attorney did not immediately return an email or a text message seeking comment. Two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints. (Photo: AP)
June 21, 2022 3:47 am
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Ukraine’s leader has told the African Union that the continent has been “taken hostage” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid catastrophically rising food prices. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s closed-door speech Monday followed weeks of requests for him to address African nations. Many of them retain close ties to Russia and failed to support a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion. Ukraine and the West hope to weaken those ties by emphasizing that Russia’s actions are to blame for dramatic shortages of wheat and edible oils and skyrocketing food and fuel prices across Africa.
June 21, 2022 3:46 am
UVALDE, Texas (AP) – Documents examined by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV show armed police officers stood in a Uvalde elementary school hallway with at least one ballistic shield within 19 minutes of a gunman arriving at the school, where he killed 21 people, 19 of them children. The outlets’ report, which did not indicate the source of the documents, nevertheless intensifies the anguish and questions over why police didn’t act sooner to stop the May 24 slaughter in the Robb Elementary School classroom. The outlets reported that gunfire could be heard as much as 29 minutes before officers entered the classroom and killed the gunman.
June 21, 2022 3:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Jan. 6 committee has opened, hearing from local officials who fended off Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The panel investigating the U.S. Capitol attack resumes Tuesday with testimony from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about Trump’s call asking him to “find 11,780” votes to prevent Joe Biden’s election victory. His deputy Gabe Sterling and Arizona’s Republican state leader Rusty Bowers are also key witnesses. The panel will focus on how Trump pressured battleground state officials with schemes to reject state tallies and electors, all fueled by his false claims of election fraud.
June 21, 2022 3:39 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A local State Representative has been appointed to serve as a member of the House Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee. The announcement was released by Rep. Bud Cook’s office via news release late Monday. Cook says it is an honor to have been appointed to the group that does such important work for the agriculture community and calls agriculture the top industry in Pennsylvania. The representative already serves as a member of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee as well as serving as the secretary of the House Insurance Committee and House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee.
June 21, 2022 3:18 am
PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Orange air quality action day for ozone in our area. According to a release from the DEP, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties will be in the Code Orange range on Tuesday, effective at 12 a.m. and ending at 11:59 p.m. An Air Quality Action day has also been declared for Indiana County with respect to ozone. Sunny skies and high temperatures will contribute to the expected eight hour average concentrations of ozone. Code Orange ozone levels represent unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people.
June 21, 2022 3:13 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Drivers could be looking at 75 cents off per gallon if the federal and state gas tax is put on hold in southwestern Pennsylvania. President Biden says he’s considering a federal gas tax holiday and could make a decision by the end of the week. A pause would lower the cost per gallon 18 cents or less, but it requires action by Congress. However, on the state level, Republican state Rep. Aaron Bernstine says he sponsored bills that would offer a one-month holiday from the state’s 57 cent gas tax. It would drop the price from $5.02 to $4.45 a gallon. He says that the legislation is stuck in different committees. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s office says the Republican majority controls the legislative agenda, claiming his office has long called for a phase-out of the state gas tax and enacting a federal gas tax holiday. The governor says that lawmakers can reconvene this summer to pass a state gas tax holiday if they don’t get it done before the summer break.
June 21, 2022 3:08 am
MONONGAHELA, Pa. (WPXI) — Monongahela City Police say a man repeatedly resisted arrest by using his head. 35-year-old Shawn Greenough was arrested on felony aggravated assault charges after a 911 call for a domestic violence situation. It happened just before 5 a.m. Saturday at a Monongahela apartment, where a woman says Greenough assaulted her. The responding officer reportedly had one of Greenough’s hands cuffed when the suspect turned around and head-butted him twice, in the ear and the forehead. Police say Greenough also hit his head on the wall, and then the police cruiser window, smashing it open. Greenough was taken to Monongahela Valley Hospital for his facial injuries, where police say he lashed out at medical teams and security guards. Greenough is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on this incident on June 29th in front of District Judge Mark Wilson.
