September 18, 2022 8:16 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has rewritten Virginia’s model policies for the treatment of transgender students in public schools. A document released Friday contains guidance for school districts that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements. The new policies will be subject to a public comment period. The Department of Education says local school divisions then must adopt policies consistent with the new guidance. Conservatives welcomed the changes, saying they would preserve parental rights. Democrats criticized them, saying they would harm vulnerable children. The revisions mark a sharp departure to guidance that was first issued during Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration.
September 18, 2022 8:13 am
HAVANA (AP) — Puerto Ricans are bracing for severe wind and extreme rain as Tropical Storm Fiona bears down amid expectations it will grow into a hurricane before striking the U.S. territory’s southern coast Sunday afternoon. Forecasters say “historic” levels of rain are expected to produce landslides and heavy flooding, with up to 20 inches forecast in isolated areas. Fiona will be lashing cities and towns in a part of Puerto Rico that is still recovering from a string of strong earthquakes that hit starting in late 2019, with several schools still shuttered and debris to be removed. Fiona is also coming just two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that caused deaths and destruction across the island in 2017.
September 18, 2022 8:12 am
TOKYO (AP) — A powerful typhoon has slammed ashore in southern Japan and is pounding the region with strong winds and heavy rain, causing blackouts, paralyzing ground and air transportation and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people. The Japan Meteorological Agency says Typhoon Nanmadol is heading north after making landfall in Kagoshima city on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu. It’s packing maximum winds of 101 miles per hour and is forecast to reach Tokyo on Tuesday. The weather agency predicted as much as 20 inches of rainfall by Monday evening and warned of flooding and landslides. It also warned of “unprecedented” levels of powerful winds and waves. Residents in hard-hit Kagoshima are told to stay inside stable buildings on second floor or higher.
September 18, 2022 8:11 am
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of police, hundreds of troops and an army of officials are making final preparations for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The funeral Monday will be a spectacular display of national mourning, and the biggest gathering of world leaders for years. U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders are arriving in London for the funeral. Thousands of people continued to line up Sunday to file past the queen’s coffin as it lies in state at Parliament’s Westminster Hall. The queen’s eight grandchildren led by Prince William circled the coffin in a silent vigil on Saturday evening.
September 18, 2022 8:09 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Investigators say much of the sex crimes Eric Jefferson is accused of happened in his Polish Hill home. He’s now facing federal sex trafficking charges and sex crimes against minors charges. He’s accused of forcing several women into sex acts, plus accused of producing child porn. According to the federal indictment, investigators say Jefferson admitted to detectives that he “pays women with drugs for sex, if he goes without sex, something bad could happen, like a mass shooting. Plus, if he goes to jail and loses everything, he would come out of jail ‘a savage’.” A lot of that has to do with the fears survivors face.
September 18, 2022 8:04 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The parents of a 1-year-old western Pennsylvania boy who authorities said died after he was intentionally “dosed with methadone” have pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. The Tribune-Review reports that Tracy Humphreys and Thomas Snelsire, both 47-year-old Baldwin residents, face prison terms of 16 to 20 years when they are sentenced in Allegheny County court on Jan. 11. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Carey told a judge last week that Tommy Snelsire’s death wasn’t caused by accidental contact with the methadone, fentanyl and cocaine found in his system. Carey said investigators found a syringe and a pill bottle used to mix liquid Tylenol and methadone together. Both defendants wept as they apologized in court.
September 18, 2022 8:03 am
MUNHALL, Pa. (WPXI) — A man was hospitalized after he was shot in Munhall overnight. According to Allegheny County police, 911 was notified of a possible shooting in the 4000 block of Center Avenue around 2:17 a.m. Responding units found a man with a gunshot wound to the leg. The victim was taken to an area hospital and is expected to survive, police said. ACPD detectives are initiating the investigation. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
September 18, 2022 1:42 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Republican Gov. Jim Justice has signed into law a ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy. West Virginia is now the second state to enact a law prohibiting the procedure since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling to end the constitutional protection of the procedure. Justice described the legislation in a tweet as “a bill that protects life.” The ban has exemptions for medical emergencies and for rape and incest victims until eight weeks of pregnancy for adults and 14 weeks for children. Victims must report their assault to law enforcement 48 hours before the procedure. Minors can report to the police or a doctor, who then must tell police.
September 17, 2022 9:25 am
MUNICH (AP) – The beer is flowing at Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest for the first time since 2019. With three knocks of a hammer and the traditional cry of “O’zapft is” – “It’s tapped” – the city’s mayor inserted the tap in the first keg at noon on Saturday to open the festivities. Oktoberfest has typically drawn about 6 million visitors every year to packed festival grounds in Bavaria’s capital. But the event didn’t take place in 2020 and 2021 as authorities grappled with the unpredictable development of COVID-19 infections and restrictions. The mayor says he thinks the city made the right decision to allow the festival to take place this year. It runs through Oct. 3.
September 17, 2022 9:23 am
HAVANA (AP) – Tropical Storm Fiona is threatening to dump up to 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain in parts of Puerto Rico as forecasters have placed the U.S. territory under a hurricane watch and people are bracing for potential landslides, severe flooding and power outages. The storm was located 135 miles (215 kilometers) southeast of St. Croix early Saturday, moving west at 13 miles (20 kilometers) on a path forecast to pass near Puerto Rico. Forecasters warned Fiona could be near hurricane strength when it passes through Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
