May 6, 2024 5:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time. The fine Monday marks the second sanction for Trump for inflammatory comments about witnesses since the start of the trial last month. Trump was fined $9,000 last week for nine violations. Judge Juan M. Merchan warned Monday that additional gag order violations could potentially result in jail time, though he said that was “the last thing” he wants to do. Trump denies any wrongdoing related to the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
May 6, 2024 4:59 am
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is facing charges after Pennsylvania State Police say he tried to shoot a pastor who was giving a sermon at a church in North Braddock. Video taken at the church shows Pastor Glenn Germany preaching at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church on Lobinger Avenue at 1:09 p.m. on Sunday. A man then walks up and points a handgun directly at him. Police say the man tried to fire the gun but it did not go off. Pennsylvania State Police say the gunman was Bernard Junior Polite, 26, from Braddock. The small congregation had about 25 parishioners, including Germany’s daughter, when police say Polite walked from the back of the church to the front pew. The pastor quickly dives behind the pulpit and the gunman walks after him. That’s when Deacon Clarence McCallister, 63, quickly took Polite, who was still holding the gun, to the ground. McCallister was behind the camera taping the service a few feet away. Polite reportedly told the pastor voices in his head told him to shoot him. Polite is facing attempted homicide charges. County Police confirmed to Channel 11 that Polite lived with his uncle less than half a mile away from the church on Stokes Avenue. Detectives were called to the home at 8:15 p.m. for the shooting death of a man. The identity of that man hs not been released at this time.
May 6, 2024 5:02 am
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — One person was hospitalized after a vehicle rollover crash in Westmoreland County. The Rostraver Central Fire Department said they were called to the 1200 block of Rostraver Road in Rostraver Township just before midnight Saturday night. When they arrived, they found a vehicle on its roof. Firefighters say one person was taken to a hospital and another was able to remove themself from the vehicle. A pole was also damaged during the crash. Firefighters closed Rostraver Road between Indian Hill Road and Gaudio Drive until they cleared the scene at around 1:30 a.m.
May 6, 2024 5:05 am
PITTSBURGH — Two Americans clinched first place in the 2024 Pittsburgh Marathon. Andrew Bowman, of Detroit, won the men’s division with a time of 2:15:52. Jane Bareikis took the top spot in the women’s division with a time of 2:37:39. “Oh my god, well, if you can see, my eyes are kind of teary, that’s because that’s a high. I’m extremely grateful to be here and extremely grateful that I got the win today. I love this sport of ours; it hurts so much, and that’s why it feels so good to finally put it together,” Bowman told Channel 11 at the finish line. Bowman decided to run the Pittsburgh Marathon because his wife suggested he take on a race that is special to her. Sydney Bowman won the women’s division of the marathon in 2018. The 2023 men’s division winner, Tyler McCandless, took third place. He crossed the finish line over a minute after Bowman and eight seconds after second-place finisher Will Loevner. Damaris Areba, of Ethiopia, took second in the women’s division, crossing the finish line just under a minute after Bareikis. American Christina Murphy took third with a time of 2:43:55.
May 5, 2024 5:09 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army has told Palestinians to begin evacuating a part of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt, signaling that a ground invasion is imminent. That’s according to an Israeli Defense Force statement on Monday. People were told to move to Muwasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast. The army said it’s expanded assistance into the area, including field hospitals, tents, food and water. Israel has vowed to undertake a Rafah offensive for months to weed out remaining Hamas militants there. On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah.”
May 6, 2024 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden campaign and top Democrats are wrestling with how best to use artificial intelligence, exposing the party’s anxiety over falling behind Republicans in the race to deploy technology that could transform the future of elections. Democratic strategists say they are nevertheless treading carefully in embracing tools that disinformation experts warn could pose a threat to democracy. So far, they say, AI is primarily helping them find and motivate voters and to better identify and defeat disinformation.
May 6, 2024 5:12 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say relatives have positively identified three bodies found in a well as those of two Australian surfers and one American who went missing last weekend. Baja California state prosecutors said relatives from the two countries had viewed the corpses recovered from a remote well and recognized them as their loved ones. Thieves apparently killed the three, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Baja peninsula, to steal their truck because they wanted the tires. They then allegedly got rid of the bodies by dumping them in a well near the coast. Three suspects are being held in connection with the case.
May 5, 2024 11:26 am
(WPXI) – A man died in an ATV crash in Donegal Township overnight. Pennsylvania State Police say the crash happened on Chicora Fennelton Road in Donegal Township near the intersection with Geibel Road. Police say the ATV rolled over when the driver lost control while going around a bend. The man killed in the crash was identified as David Sibenac, 39, of Gibsonia.
May 5, 2024 6:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement authorities say a driver died after a vehicle crashed into a gate at the White House, but the fatal collision is being investigated “only as a traffic crash” and there was no threat to the president’s residence. The U.S. Secret Service says the driver was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department confirms the vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The male driver was not immediately identified.
May 5, 2024 6:10 am
HOUSTON (AP) — High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston following heavy rains that have resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others have prepared to evacuate their properties as a flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon with forecasters predicting additional rain. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says 178 people and 122 pets have been rescued so far in the county. She says the area is expecting more rain on Sunday, which could be problematic. For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground.
