August 3, 2022 3:15 am
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has indicted a Fayette County used car dealer and one of his employees. Authorities say they defrauded the federal government by filing bogus COVID-19 loan and benefits applications. Thirty-six-year-old Joshua DeWitt, the owner of RC Auto Sales in Connellsville, and 45-year-old Terrence Newmeyer Jr., a salesman for DeWitt, were named in a five-count indictment handed up Tuesday charging them with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud. The men, both Connellsville residents, are accused of filing a series of fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of the dealership’s customers, misrepresenting the nature of the applications, and in some cases, telling them the application was for money to buy a car from RC. When customers received debit cards in the mail loaded with pandemic relief funds, DeWitt and Newmeyer told them to bring them to the dealership and turn the cards over to the two of them for their control.
August 2, 2022 3:16 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Bestselling author Stephen King has testified in a federal antitrust trial in Washington. Tracing his own history beginning as an unknown author in the 1970s, King laid out a portrait of a publishing industry that has become increasingly concentrated over the years. He testified as a witness for the U.S. Justice Department. The government is trying to convince a federal judge that the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and rival Simon & Schuster, two of the world’s biggest publishers, would thwart competition. In his testimony Tuesday, King described himself as “a freelance writer.” He said publisher “consolidation is bad for competition.” (Photo: ABC News)
August 2, 2022 3:14 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – American employers posted fewer job openings in June as the economy contends with raging inflation and rising interest rates. The Labor Department said Tuesday job openings fell to a still-high 10.7 million in June from 11.3 million in May. In its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, the Labor Department said that the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell slightly in June while layoffs fell. The job market has been resilient so far this year: Employers have added an average of 457,000 a jobs a month in 2022; and unemployment is near a 50-year low.
August 2, 2022 12:18 pm
(WPXI) – A ride-share driver was carjacked when he was called to pick up passengers in Pittsburgh’s Elliot neighborhood early Tuesday, according to police. Officers responded to the 1200 block of Chartiers Avenue around 3 a.m. The ride-share driver told police that when he arrived to pick up the passengers, he got out of his car, and four armed men wearing masks approached him. Police said they proceeded to hold a gun to his head and rob him of his cash. The victim was otherwise not injured. Police said the suspects got into his white 2019 Ford Focus and drove away. Pittsburgh police are still looking for the vehicle and continue to investigate.
August 2, 2022 10:55 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has landed in Taiwan, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit in 25 years. Pelosi’s visit has triggered increased tensions between China and the United States. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island’s sovereignty. China had warned of “resolute and strong measures” if Pelosi went ahead with the trip. The Biden administration did not explicitly urge her to call it off, while seeking to assure Beijing it would not signal any change in U.S. policy on Taiwan.
August 2, 2022 5:48 am
DENVER — A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife at the end of an African safari has been found guilty of murder and mail fraud. The verdict reached Monday for Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph’ came from a jury in a Denver federal court following a trial that lasted three weeks. Rudolph was charged with murder in the death of Bianca Rudolph as well as mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime. Rudolph maintained his innocence. His attorney suggested his wife of 34 years shot herself while trying to pack a shotgun in a hurry as they prepared to return to the United States in 2016.
August 2, 2022 4:58 am
BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Three people had to be taken to a hospital after an apartment building caught fire in Washington County early Tuesday. The fire happened in the 100 block of Church Street in Bentleyville around 12:52 a.m. Falon O’Regan, 17, jumped into action to help people living inside, grabbing a trampoline from the yard to catch residents as they jumped from their apartment window. “Me and Robert, my neighbor downstairs, had to move the trampoline from the side of the house to the three bedrooms on the last part of the house because they would’ve gotten hurt if we didn’t,” O’Regan said. The three people taken to the hospital are being treated for smoke inhalation. The fire marshal is working to determine how this fire got started, and how much damage was caused. The fire chief said the roof of the building partially collapsed. The fire chief also said twelve adults and six kids were displaced and will be helped by the Red Cross.
August 2, 2022 4:25 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s governor has declared a state of emergency to speed efforts to combat the monkeypox outbreak. It makes California the second state in three days to take the step. Nearly 800 cases have been reported in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom said his declaration Monday will help California coordinate a government-wide response. He says the state will continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization. áThe move came after a similar declaration in New York state on Saturday, and in San Francisco on Thursday.
August 2, 2022 4:24 am
PHOENIX (AP) – The Republican Party’s embrace of Donald Trump’s election lies will be tested in Arizona. Voters on Tuesday are choosing between candidates who say they wouldn’t have certified the results of the 2020 campaign and those who argue it’s time to move on. The Arizona races are poised to provide important clues about the GOP’s direction as the midterm primary season enters its final stretch this month. Other closely watched contests include the Republican contests for Michigan governor and Missouri senator. Voters in Kansas will be the first to decide on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the right to terminate a pregnancy.
August 2, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul. Biden is hailing the operation as delivering “justice” while expressing hope that it brings “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The president said in a Monday evening address from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday. Al-Zawahri and Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks.
