March 17, 2022 4:23 am
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – A Florida couple has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Court records show Amber Bruey pleaded guilty Wednesday in Fort Myers federal court to multiple fraud charges. Her husband, Anthony Bruey, pleaded guilty to the same charges last month. According to court documents, the Brueys conspired to submit a total of 26 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to the Small Business Administration, as well as approved lenders and loan processing companies, between April 2020 and June 2020. The documents say lenders and the SBA approved 12 of the loans, allowing the Brueys to collect about $881,000.
March 17, 2022 4:22 am
HOBBS, N.M. (AP) – A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman says a 13-year-old was driving the pickup truck that struck a van in West Texas in a fiery collision that killed nine people. NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said Thursday the truck’s left front tire, which was a spare tire, also blew out before impact. One must be 14 in Texas to start taking classroom courses for a learner’s license and 15 to receive that provisional license to drive with an instructor or licensed adult in the vehicle. The pickup crossed into the opposite lane on a darkened, two-lane highway before colliding head-on with a van, killing the boy, a man traveling with him, six New Mexico college students and a golf coach.
March 17, 2022 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the U.S. back into the accord and return Iran to compliance with limits on its nuclear program. After 11 months of on-and-off talks in Vienna, U.S. and Iranian officials say only a very small number of issues remain to be resolved. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have backed down on a threat to crater an agreement over Ukraine-related sanctions that had dampened prospects for a quick deal.
March 17, 2022 4:19 am
New data released by the Census Bureau shows the U.S. grew wealthier, better educated and poverty declined during the second half of the last decade. Estimates released Thursday from the American Community Survey shows ámedian household income that had been almost $54,000 from 2011 to 2015 rose to almost $65,000 during the 2016 to 2020 period. Those were the final years of the longest expansion in the history of U.S. business cycles. The nation’s poverty rate also dropped significantly during this timeframe, going from 15.5% in the 2011 to 2015 period to 12.8% in the 2016 to 2020 period. Poverty decreased in 49 states.
March 17, 2022 4:18 am
DETROIT (AP) – Drivers of bigger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs are more likely to hit pedestrians while making turns than drivers of cars. That’s according to a new study released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It points to the increasing popularity of larger vehicles as a possible factor in rising pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads. The authors also questioned whether wider pillars holding up roofs of the larger vehicles make it harder for drivers to spot people. In 2020, the last year for which complete statistics are available, 6,519 pedestrians were killed in the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that’s up 59% since 2009, and a 4% increase from 2019.
March 17, 2022 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An American man was killed in a Russian attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, where he was seeking medical treatment for his partner. The death of Jim Hill, of Diggs, Idaho, was reported Thursday by his sister. In a post on Facebook, she said he was waiting in a bread line with several other people when they were gunned down by Russian military snipers. Ukrainian officials reported that 10 people were killed Wednesday in Chernihiv while standing in the bread line. Chernihiv police and the U.S. State Department confirmed the death of an American but did not identify him. Hill was at least the second U.S. citizen to be killed in the conflict.
March 17, 2022 4:02 am
MONROEVILLE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police say a man lied his way into Ramsey Elementary School in Monroeville and recorded a child in a bathroom. According to the criminal complaint, Brian Mintmier, 26, approached the school’s main entrance Tuesday afternoon. There he was met by a district employee who is responsible for screening visitors. Mintmier asked the employee to use the restroom, and when he was permitted, he gained access to a hallway restroom unaccompanied. A 10-year-old girl reported she was in a restroom stall when she looked down to see someone holding a cellular phone under the stall and recording her, according to the criminal complaint. School staff members eventually were able to get Mintmier out of the restroom and hold him in the school office until police arrived. A box cutter was also found on Mintmier, police said. According to reports, a letter sent to parents by Gateway School District superintendent William Short, Mintmier was in the bathroom for nearly 40 minutes. In the letter Short said, “This egregious error in judgment is against school district policy and procedures.” The employee who granted access to Mintmier has been placed on leave pending an investigation. Mintmier now faces many charges including invasion of privacy. According to court documents, he was denied bail. (Photo: WPXI)
March 17, 2022 3:56 am
Student violence and bullying has plagued Ringgold School District buildings in the last several months. At Wednesday’s school board meeting Superintendent Randall Skrinjorich announced that the district is having success with the issue. Skrinjorich spoke about a Parent Advisory Board that was created and had its first meeting the day before. Skrinjorich was pleased with the outcome and addressed parents’ concerns about student safety. He indicated that parents were pleased with the ongoing efforts as well. Skrinjorich also turned the meeting over to middle school principal Timothy McKay to allow him to update the board on his efforts in working with middle school students, reminding them of the rules in buildings and that there will be consequences if students get out of line. He also described ways that students can have input for their safety. Finally, the board voted unanimously to update their health and safety plan to eliminate the requirement for masks on buses. This goes against CDC guidance for public transportation but Skrinjorich and the district’s legal advisors studied communications that indicated that they are within their rights to drop a mask requirement on buses.
March 17, 2022 3:14 am
State Senator and President Pro Tempore Jake Corman stopped by in Washington and Canonsburg to push his plan to help Pennsylvania drivers save some money by cutting the state’s gas tax. Corman’s proposal would slice about half of the gas tax if it were implemented. His idea has State Police funding being removed from the gas tax funds, having PennDot float a $650 million bond and using $500 million of pandemic relief funds to achieve that goal. Corman states that this is a temporary solution that would last until the end of the year but it would bring some relief to Pennsylvania motorists. On the subject of tolling nine bridges across Pennsylvania, Corman calls that decision wrong and hopes to have legislation proposed by the end of the month to block any proposal to toll those bridges.
March 16, 2022 1:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones to Ukraine to assist in its defense against Russia. The president’s comments came as he formally announced his administration was sending an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine. About $1 billion in military aid has been sent in just the last week. Biden spoke hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to members of U.S. Congress in which he made an impassioned plea for the U.S. and West to provide more help to save his young democracy.
