June 9, 2022 4:17 am
BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian authorities say that workers have pulled scores of bodies from smashed buildings in the devastated city of Mariupol in an “endless caravan of death.” At the same time, fears of a global food crisis are escalating over Ukraine’s inability to export millions of tons of grain through its blockaded ports. Ukrainian and Russian forces are also continuing to battle for control of a key eastern city in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas. An analyst said that the Kremlin’s continued advances could eventually open up the possibility of a negotiated settlement between the two nations.
June 9, 2022 4:16 am
A helicopter carrying six people has crashed in a lava field in Hawaii. Cyrus Johnasen, a public information office for Hawaii County, says it was a tour helicopter with a pilot and five passengers. He says the initial report of a crash came in about 5 p.m. Wednesday near the southern most tip of the Big Island. Johnasen says the site was inaccessible by vehicle so the Hawaii Fire Department sent two helicopters to take victims to ambulances waiting at nearby roads. He says the pilot had been trapped but was later extracted. Johnasen says the pilot is a man in his 50s and was in serious but stable condition. An 18-year-old woman was reported in serious and worsening condition. Four people were reported as ambulatory. All have been safely evacuated from the site.
June 9, 2022 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Members of the House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 will hold their first prime-time hearing Thursday to share what they have uncovered about former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Those efforts culminated in the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol. Part of their mission has been to determine the former president’s actions that day. Much is already known about where Trump was, what he said, and how he reacted. But large gaps remain.
June 9, 2022 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania House is advancing legislation to erase the word “homosexuality” from the definition of prohibited sexual acts in the state Crimes Code. The 198-to-0 vote on Wednesday was on a bill to clean up language that supporters said does not belong there because homosexuality is not a crime. Under “prostitution,” state law currently defines sexual activity so that it “includes homosexual and other deviate sexual relations.” Democrats say the Legislature should also act to expand nondiscrimination law to LGBTQ people.
June 9, 2022 4:10 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Officials say two men are facing murder charges and have been arrested in Virginia in the deaths of two bystanders in last weekend’s shooting in a busy entertainment district in Philadelphia. City officials said at a news conference Thursday that the men will be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia and will not be given bail in Saturday night’s shooting on South Street. Three people died overall and several others were injured. Authorities have said no charges are planned in the case of the third death because it is considered self-defense. Authorities earlier announced two arrests not connected with any of the deaths.
June 9, 2022 4:07 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Romanian nationals accused of planting skimming devices at Sam’s Club stores in both Allegheny and Butler counties are now accused of targeting a store in Washington County as well. South Strabane police have filed charges against Constatin Colceag and Raul Cojocaru, after a report of a skimmer found on a self-checkout register at the Sam’s Club in Trinity Point Shopping Plaza. According to the criminal complaint, the skimmer went undetected for nearly four days. The criminal complaint also said that police tracked down the men using surveillance images and license plate readers. Investigators also uncovered several electronic devices, including a laptop, passports, and fake IDs. Police are now warning customers who frequented any of the locations targeted to check their bank and credit card accounts for any irregular activity. (PHOTO: WPXI)
June 8, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has acknowledged that she and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell “could have used a better word” than transitory when describing the expected run of inflation in the U.S. economy. Yellen says she remains hopeful it will decline. But she told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that “I do expect inflation to remain high although I very much hope that it will be coming down now.” Yellen added that “bringing inflation down” should be the number one priority. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have been increasingly blamed by legislators and the public for allowing inflation to reach record highs.
June 8, 2022 4:19 am
DETROIT (AP) – Federal investigators say Goodyear knew that some of its recreational vehicle tires could fail and cause severe crashes, yet it failed to recall them for as long as 20 years. Goodyear wouldn’t do a recall even though investigators found that their failure caused crashes that killed eight people and injured 69 others from 1998 through 2009. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the allegations against Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear in a Feb. 22 letter sent to the tire maker seeking a recall of the 22.5-inch G159 tires. Goodyear refused a recall in a letter March 8, but later agreed to do one. The company maintains that the tires were fully tested and are not defective.
June 8, 2022 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An 11-year-old girl who survived the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas has told members of Congress how she covered herself in her dead classmate’s blood and played dead to avoid being shot. Miah Cerrillo, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School, told lawmakers in a pre-recorded video Wednesday that she watched a teacher get shot in the head before looking for a place to hide. Using the deceased teacher’s phone, she called 911 and pleaded for help. Her testimony to a House Oversight Committee was the second day of testimony from families of the victims and survivors of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde.
June 8, 2022 4:16 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Migration has taken center stage at an assembly of Western Hemisphere leaders in Los Angeles. Leaders are expected to agree on a call to action that supporters hope will guide countries as they host people fleeing violence and persecution and searching for more economic stability. The United States has been the most popular destination for asylum-seekers since 2017, but it is far from alone in facing more migrants at its borders. While leaders of Mexico and several Central American countries are skipping the Summit of the Americas, the migration accord has been in the works for nearly a year.
