December 20, 2024 3:51 pm
BERLIN (AP) — The deputy mayor of the Germany city of Magdeburg says at least one person was killed and dozens were injured after a car plowed into a busy Christmas market in what authorities suspect was an attack. German news agency dpa reports that Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz said more than 50 people were injured when the car drove into the market. Authorities say the driver of the car was arrested. The suspected attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 13 people and injuring others.
December 20, 2024 9:21 am
Former Washington County Judge John Bell has died. Bell served on the bench for two terms from 1976-1995. He did work in the criminal, civil and juvenile divisions. Bell served as a senior judge from 1996 through 2013. Bell died on December 18 surrounded by family. Friends may visit Bell at the Warco-Falvo funeral home in Washington from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm and 6:00 pm -8:00 pm on December 27. His funeral will be on December 28 at 11:00 am at the Immaculate Conception Church, St. James Parish. Bell was 88 years old. (Photo: Legacy.com)
December 20, 2024 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veering toward a midnight government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson is proposing a new plan. It would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster relief for a few months, but punts President-elect Donald Trump demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. Johnson inaists there will be no government shutdown. Trump doubled-down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — and if not, he said in a morning post, let the closures “start now.” Johnson knows there won’t have enough support within the GOP majority to pass any package, since many Republicans prefer to slash federal government. He is talking with Democratic Leader Jeffries, who would be needed for passage.
December 20, 2024 4:12 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The man arrested in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is being held without bail after a New York federal court appearance on charges including a death-eligible murder count. Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York after a Thursday morning court appearance in Pennsylvania. He was arrested there last week in the Dec. 4 attack on Brian Thompson. Mangione’s Manhattan court appearance lasted 15 minutes. The federal complaint charges him with two counts of stalking and one count each of murder through use of a firearm and a firearms offense. Murder by firearm could bring the possibility of the death penalty.
December 20, 2024 4:09 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An official at the Wisconsin school where a student shot and killed a teacher and a fellow student says the 15-year-old was in her first semester there. Families of the two victims, meanwhile, made funeral arrangements public and describe them as people of deep faith. Funerals for 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara and 42-year-old Erin West were announced in obituaries published Wednesday and Thursday. Vergara’s funeral is set for Saturday and West’s is Monday. Police are investigating what motivated the shooter. Investigators say Abundant Life Christian School student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow killed herself at the school. Two injured students remain hospitalized.
December 20, 2024 4:07 am
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it deported more than 270,000 people over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade. Its report released Thursday illustrates some financial and operational challenges that President-elect Donald Trump will face to carry out his pledge of mass deportations. Deportations during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 nearly doubled from the same period a year earlier. In a separate report, U.S. authorities said arrests for crossing the border illegally from Mexico in November fell 18% from a month earlier to the lowest level since July 2020.
December 20, 2024 4:05 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A state appeals court has removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others. It’s the latest legal victory for the president-elect in criminal cases that once threatened his career and freedom. The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been stalled for months over an appeal related to a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to lead the case. Willis’ office filed a notice of intent Thursday to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision.
December 20, 2024 1:55 am
Washington County Commissioners formally adopted their County Buisiness Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy and Plan. The measure comes about to insure that county information and data are protected and that the proper preventive measures are in place so that if there is another cyber attack similar to the one in January 2024, the county will be able to recoup costs associated with recovery. According to Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman the plan dictates recovery responsibilities should another cyber attack occur. It also allows the county IT department to easily communicate with vendors to make sure up to date protections are in place. Sherman says that insurance companies are the drivers behind changes made by any enterprise’s IT department. The move was made to make sure county residents do not have to foot the cost of any recovery charges should another cyber attack occur. That cyber attack in January cost the county $400,000 in ransome monies. According to Sherman, a third party vendor was found to be deficient in their protections. He said that efforts to recoup the ransome money and associated costs are still in action.
December 20, 2024 3:58 am
(WPXI)-A plan to sell Big Lots to another management firm will not be completed as intended. Now the company will start going out of business sales at all remaining locations as it tries to find another buyer. Big Lots was still trying to find a company to buy the brand, hoping that a deal could be reached by the end of January, but it still plans on starting going-out-of-business sales in the coming days “in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate,” Bruce Thorn, the company’s president and CEO said in a news release. More than 400 locations already closed this year, Nexstar and The Hill reported. There were still 963 locations open. The company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, according to Bloomberg. If the company finds a buyer, Thorn told employees via email that the sales could be reversed. A “reduction in workforce” will begin next month, The Hill reported. The company currently has more than 27,000 employees, Bloomberg reported.
December 20, 2024 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- Pay up or leave. Those are the two options given in a recent lawsuit. Brookfield Properties, the current owners of Station Square, owe more than $140 million in outstanding loans that are past due and if they aren’t paid now, they will risk foreclosure. So what does that mean for the future of Station Square? We worked to get answers. “It used to be lively, years ago it even had a bakery – everything- anything you wanted you could find in there,” Rosecina Weadon said. Station Square was once a tourist destination with parking and easy public transit. When the History and Landmarks Foundation opened Station Square in 1976, it was an innovative mix of retail, office, dining and historic landmarks. “We generated about $4 million in revenue for the City of Pittsburgh in terms of real estate taxes. Station Square had about 3,000 employees and about 150 businesses,” Karamagi Rujumba, director of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, said. But now, the shopping hub is facing foreclosure. In November, a lawsuit was filed by lender Wilmington Trust demanding Brookfield Properties, the current owners of Station Square, pay off the remainder of its $403 million loan. The loan which was issued in 2018 helped Brookfield Properties acquire Station Square, but six years later, millions are still owed and, according to the lawsuit, the full sum was due in December 2023. This lawsuit comes following a steady flow of businesses that have left Station Square in recent months. Bucca di Beppo closed in June, Joe’s Crab Shack closed in September and Hard Rock Café is set to close in February 2025. We reached out to council member Theresa Kail-Smith, who represents the area. She has been in touch with Brookfield Properties about the future of Station Square. We asked Brookfield Properties about its plans to resolve the lawsuit. We did not hear back.
