February 3, 2024 4:53 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — State courts in Pennsylvania must allow people on probation to take medication for opioid withdrawal as part of a Justice Department settlement announced Thursday. Several plaintiffs say they suffered withdrawal rather than test positive and be sent back to prison. Lawyer Sally Friedman represented them as senior vice president of legal advocacy at the Legal Action Center in New York. She says the loss of the medication can be life-threatening. The settlement mandates training for judges and court personnel involved in court-ordered supervision. The plaintiffs will also share in a $100,000 settlement.
February 3, 2024 4:49 am
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — A district judge in Pennsylvania says prosecutors have sufficient grounds to continue to press escape and other charges against a convicted murderer captured last year after two weeks on the run. The judge in Chester County on Friday determined there’s enough evidence to forward to county court for trial all of the charges against 34-year-old Danilo Cavalcante. That also includes car theft, burglary and trespassing. Cavalcante’s escape from the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 was captured on video and involved scaling a wall, climbing over razor wire and jumping from a roof. A message seeking comment was left with the Chester County public defender’s office, listed on the court docket as representing Cavalcante.
February 3, 2024 4:46 am
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania prosecutor says the man accused of shooting and decapitating his father in their home northeast of Philadelphia and posting a video of the severed head purchased a gun the previous day. Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said Friday that 32-year-old Justin D. Mohn was “acting with clear mind” when he allegedly killed his father, Michael F. Mohn, at their home in Levittown on Tuesday. Mohn’s mother discovered her husband’s body. Justin Mohn faces charges of first-degree murder, abusing a corpse and possession of instruments of crime. The public defenders representing him are declining comment.
February 3, 2024 2:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, has died. He was 76. His other major roles were facing-off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore.” Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as “Arrested Development,” Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone. (Photo: ABC)
February 2, 2024 5:14 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has formally postponed Donald Trump’s March trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as a key legal appeal from the former president continues to work its way through the courts. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday vacated the March 4 trial date but did not immediately set a new date. The postponement comes as a federal appeals court has yet to resolve a pending appeal from Trump arguing that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took in the White House.
February 2, 2024 4:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say the U.S. military is launching an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend. The initial strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft were hitting command and control headquarters, ammunition storage and other facilities. The U.S. had bolstered defenses in place to protect troops at the base in Jordan. President Joe Biden and other top U.S. leaders have warned for days that the U.S. would strike back at the militias in a “tiered response.”
February 2, 2024 4:13 pm
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania prosecutor says the man accused of shooting and decapitating his father in their home northeast of Philadelphia and posting a video of the severed head purchased a gun the previous day. Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said Friday that 32-year-old Justin D. Mohn was “acting with clear mind” when he allegedly killed his father, Michael F. Mohn, at their home in Levittown on Tuesday. Mohn’s mother discovered her husband’s body. Justin Mohn faces charges of first-degree murder, abusing a corpse and possession of instruments of crime. The public defenders representing him are declining comment.
February 2, 2024 8:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers delivered a stunning burst of hiring to begin 2024, adding 353,000 jobs in January in the latest sign of the economy’s continuing ability to shrug off the highest interest rates in two decades. Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that last month’s job gain topped the 333,000 that were added in December, a figure that was itself revised sharply higher. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, just off a half-century low. The latest gains far exceeded expectations and showcased employers’ willingness to keep hiring to meet steady consumer spending. It comes as the intensifying presidential campaign is pivoting in no small part on views of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship.
February 2, 2024 4:56 am
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base on Friday for the dignified transfer of the three American service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan last weekend. The solemn ritual that took place in Delaware has become relatively uncommon in recent years as the U.S. has withdrawn from conflicts abroad. The deaths were the first U.S. fatalities blamed on Iran-backed militia groups in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began. The service members killed Sunday were from Georgia. Biden vowed Thursday to never forget their sacrifice to the nation and said they “risked it all.” (Photo: AP)
February 2, 2024 4:53 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley’s path to the Republican presidential nomination is rapidly shrinking. But she’s vowing to stay in the race indefinitely. And the harder she fights, the more Republican officials fear she may be hurting Donald Trump’s long-term prospects in the all-but certain general election against Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump allies describe Haley’s continued presence as a distraction, a drain on resources and a source of frustration. They also worry that Trump’s preoccupation with Haley, whom he frequently calls “birdbrain,” might further alienate moderate voters and suburban women. In practical terms, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential primary season has barely begun. But after decisive wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump’s grip on the nomination has never been stronger.
