January 17, 2022 4:06 am
ATLANTA (AP) – The annual Martin Luther King Jr. service is set to be held at his old congregation in Atlanta. Scheduled to attend are the city’s mayor, Georgia’s governor and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Monday’s service at Ebenezer Baptist Church and other events surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorate what would have been King’s 93rd birthday. In a news release, the King Center in Atlanta says the 10 a.m. service will be broadcast live on Atlanta’s Fox TV affiliate and on Facebook, YouTube and www.thekingcenter.org. The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday March and Rally is also planned for Monday afternoon in downtown Atlanta.
January 17, 2022 4:04 am
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) – Police in England say they have arrested two teenagers in their investigation into an armed British national holding four people hostage during a 10-hour standoff at a Texas synagogue. The Greater Manchester Police did not name the suspects Sunday or whether they faced any charges. They described them as teenagers who were in custody for questioning. Authorities have identified the hostage-taker as a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram. He was killed Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel near Fort Worth.
January 17, 2022 4:02 am
McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (AP) – An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania is being stopped just as it was about to get underway. The state Supreme Court on Friday granted a request by lawyers for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf over the Fulton County voting machine inspection. The effort was inspired by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about fraud in the 2020 election. The Supreme Court’s order says the request was granted on a temporary basis until the full court can consider it. A lawyer for the county says Senate Republicans want to determine whether the equipment used there was the same equipment certified by Pennsylvania for use in the 2020 election.
January 17, 2022 3:59 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The pilot of a medical helicopter that crash-landed without loss of life next to a church in a residential area of suburban Philadelphia last week has been released from a hospital. The pilot has been identified as Danial Moore. He said Sunday morning he didn’t remember much about the accident but was feeling fortunate. Moore expressed gratitude to other crew, first responders and medical personnel treating his injuries. The helicopter was transporting an infant girl when it came down Tuesday afternoon next to Drexel Hill United Methodist Church in Upper Darby.
January 17, 2022 3:58 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A woman died from injuries suffered after she was hit by a bus Tuesday morning in downtown Pittsburgh, officials said. The Medical Examiner’s office identified the woman 64-year-old Dal Rai. She died two days after the accident. Rai was hit shortly before 6:30 a.m. along Liberty Avenue. It was a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus that was involved. The front of the bus hit Rai, who then became caught between the front bumper and the street, a Port Authority spokesperson said. Paramedics took Dai to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition, officials said. The bus driver, who has worked for the Port Authority for 23 years, will be tested for drugs and alcohol, as per policy, the spokesperson said.
January 17, 2022 3:54 am
The region continues to feel the effects of Winter Storm Izzy that rolled through the region Sunday into Monday. Road crews are making progress but some area roads remain snow covered and motorists are advised to use caution and only travel if necessary. Washington County 9-1-1 says there have not been any major issues resulting from the storm so far. State Police in Washington report no problems on the Interstate highways. Many schools and businesses are closed on Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Washington School district and Canon McMillan school districts had flexible instruction days, while McGuffey went to remote learning. West Penn Power was reporting only a handful of power outages early Monday morning. Garbage collection in the City of Washington and Peters Township was stopped on Monday. Tune to WJPA 95.3FM/1450AM for the very latest information.
January 16, 2022 8:15 am
BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft said late Saturday that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware, a disclosure suggesting an attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites was a diversion. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. The attack comes as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms and diplomatic talks to resolve the tense stand-off appear stalled. Microsoft said in a short blog post that amounted to the clanging of an industry alarm that it first detected the malware on Thursday. That would coincide with the attack that simultaneously took some 70 government websites temporarily offline. The disclosure followed a Reuters report earlier in the day quoting a top Ukrainian security official as saying the defacement was indeed cover for a malicious attack.
January 16, 2022 8:13 am
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic left Australia on Sunday evening after losing his final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19. A court earlier unanimously dismissed the No. 1-ranked tennis player’s challenge to cancel his visa. Djokovic, a 34-year-old from Serbia, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the ruling but respected it. A masked Djokovic was photographed in an Melbourne airport lounge with two government officials in black uniforms. He left on an Emirates flight to Dubai, the same United Arab Emirates city he flew to Australia from. He has won a record nine Australian Open titles, including three in a row, but this time won’t even get the chance to try. “I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country,” he said in a statement.
January 16, 2022 8:12 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption began to recede Sunday, but the massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga prevented surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of the damage. Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption that took place Saturday evening, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the blue Pacific waters. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska. In Tonga it sent tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. The eruption cut the internet to Tonga, leaving friends and family members around the world anxiously trying to get in touch to figure out if there were any injuries. Even government websites and other official sources remained without updates on Sunday afternoon.
January 16, 2022 8:11 am
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — Four hostages are safe and their captor is dead after an hourslong standoff that began when the man took over services at a Texas synagogue where he could be heard ranting on a livestream and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. One hostage held Saturday at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville was released during the standoff; three others got out about 9 p.m. when an FBI SWAT team entered the building, authorities said. The hostage taker was killed and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said a team would investigate “the shooting incident.” Video from Dallas TV station WFAA shows people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later, before he turns around and closes the door. Moments later, several rounds of gunfire can be heard, followed by the sound of an explosion. FBI and police spokeswomen declined to answer questions about who shot the man. DeSarno said the hostage taker was specifically focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish community, and there was no immediate indication that the man was part of any broader plan. But DeSarno said the agency’s investigation “will have global reach.” It wasn’t clear why the attacker chose the synagogue.
