July 29, 2022 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration likes to say Russia is now isolated internationally because of its invasion of Ukraine. Yet its top officials are hardly cloistered in the Kremlin, and now the U.S. wants to talk. President Vladimir Putin has been meeting with world leaders recently, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is a NATO member. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is jetting around the world and posing for photos with foreign leaders. This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wants to end months of top-level U.S. diplomatic estrangement with Lavrov to discuss the release of American detainees in Russia as well as issues related to Ukraine.
July 29, 2022 4:20 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A $1.1 billion lottery prize will be on the line as numbers are drawn for the Mega Millions game. The giant jackpot is the nation’s third-largest prize and is the result of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game’s six numbers. Before rushing out to spend $2 on a ticket ahead of Friday night’s drawing, keep in mind that the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are a staggering 1 in 302.5 million. The $1.1 billion prize is for players who get their winnings through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Friday’s drawing is an estimated $648.2 million.
July 29, 2022 4:19 am
DETROIT (AP) – The surprise deal by Senate Democrats on a pared-down bill to support families, boost infrastructure and fight climate change is likely to jump-start sales of electric vehicles. The measure agreed to by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and holdout Sen. Joe Manchin would give EV buyers a $7,500 tax credit starting next year, through the end of 2032. There’s also a new $4,000 credit for those buying used EVs. The vehicles have to be assembled in North America, and there are limits on annual income for buyers. There also are caps on the sticker prices of new EVs and a $25,000 cap on the price that can be paid for used electric vehicles.
July 29, 2022 4:18 am
JACKSON, Ky. (AP) – Trapped homeowners swam to safety and others were rescued by boat as record flash flooding killed at least 16 people in eastern Kentucky. The deluge swamped entire Appalachian towns and prompted a frenzied search for survivors through some of the poorest communities in America. Heavy rain continued Friday and authorities warned the death toll would likely grow sharply. Entire towns that hug creeks and streams in narrow valleys were swallowed up. It’s the latest in a string of catastrophic deluges that have hammered parts of the U.S. this summer, including St. Louis this week. Scientists warn that climate change is making weather disasters more common. (ABC News)
July 29, 2022 4:16 am
BEIJING (AP) – President Xi JInping warned against meddling in China’s dealings with Taiwan during a phone call with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, that gave no indication of progress on trade, technology or other irritants. Those include Beijing’s opposition to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to the island the mainland claims as its own. There was no indication Xi mentioned Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, which the ruling Communist Party says has no right to conduct foreign relations. But Xi rejected “interference by external forces” that might encourage Taiwan to try to make its decades-old de facto independence permanent.
July 29, 2022 4:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge was urged by state lawyers Thursday to order three counties to add some 800 mail-in ballots to their May primary election results, but the local election officials insisted their decisions are firmly rooted in unambiguous state law. A six-hour hearing in Harrisburg was the latest in a string of recent court proceedings about the rules for absentee and mail-in ballots, a running battle that pits Democrats who embraced mail-in voting under a 2019 law against Republicans who see inconsistent practices and widespread confusion about what is legal. The acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, sued the three counties after they declined to follow her guidance in response to a federal appeals court decision that handwritten dates on a mail-in ballot’s exterior envelope — required by law — are not mandatory. The votes, including some from Fayette County, are not expected to change the results of the state’s marquee primary races this year for governor and U.S. Senate, but the judge’s decision could clarify whether inaccurate or missing dates on those envelopes can form the basis for future vote-counting challenges.
July 29, 2022 4:06 am
FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – The two people killed in a head-on crash in Fayette County that also left three others injured Thursday evening have been identified by Pennsylvania State Police. According to Fayette County 911, the crash happened at 5:23 p.m. in the 600 block of Walnut Hill Road in Georges Township. State police said one vehicle was traveling eastbound on Walnut Hill and collided head-on with the second vehicle that was traveling westbound. State police said the driver, Tyler Durst, 29, of Point Marion, and Mercedes Mecozzi, 27, of Uniontown, the passenger in that same vehicle, were pronounced dead at the scene. Three people in the second vehicle were injured and flown from the scene by medical helicopters. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating.
July 29, 2022 2:55 am
Detectives with the City of Washington Police Department with the assistance of Chartiers Township Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Warrant Squad and Washington County Detectives, have arrested 23-year-old Jamil “Milly” Carr. Authorities say he was picked up Thursday in the parking lot of a Chartiers Township hotel. Police say Carr’s arrest came as result of a tip received by city detectives regarding the whereabouts of 26-year-old Russell Porter, formerly of Washington. Carr was wanted by police for his role in the July 15th killing of 19-year-old Antonio Martinez of Clarksville, Tennessee at Jollick Manor in the city of Washington. Porter was wanted by police on allegations of attempted homicide and aggravated assault after he allegedly fired a handgun into an occupied vehicle near the intersection of Wylie Avenue and Allison Avenue on July 26th. Both men were taken into custody without incident. Detectives say they are continuing to investigate both incidents and ask that anyone with information regarding either investigation contact them at (724) 223-4226.
July 28, 2022 5:23 pm
JACKSON, Ky. (AP) – Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Gov. Andy Beshear says at least three people have died from flooding in Kentucky. He says property damage has been massive, with hundreds losing their homes. Water rescues continue across the region. In eastern Kentucky’s Perry County, the emergency management director calls the damage “catastrophic.” More than 30,000 customers are without power in parts of Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. The city of Hazard, Kentucky is urging people to “pray for a break in the rain.” (Photo: ABC)
July 28, 2022 1:25 pm
DENVER (AP) – A wealthy dentist accused of shooting and killing his wife in their cabin at the end of an African safari trip has denied that he killed her. Larry Rudolph took the stand Wednesday at his murder trial in Denver federal court. He said an unfamiliar shotgun they brought with them accidentally went off, wounding Bianca Rudolph as she packed in a hurry to leave and return home. Prosecutors allege Rudolph killed his wife of 34 years to be with his girlfriend. But Rudolph testified that he and his wife had an open marriage and he didn’t face pressure to leave his wife.
