December 23, 2021 2:49 pm
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Jurors have convicted a suburban Minneapolis police officer of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright. The jury deliberated for about four days before finding Kim Potter guilty of both counts on Thursday. Potter, who is white, was a Brooklyn Center police officer when she shot and killed the 20-year-old Wright during an April 11 traffic stop. Potter has said she mistook her handgun for a Taser while she and other officers were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge. She faces about seven years in prison on the most serious count under the state’s sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they’d seek a longer term.
December 23, 2021 8:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years as a surge in inflation battered Americans as the holiday shopping season was getting under way. The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in October and kept up a trend of annual price gains running well above the 2% inflation target set by the Federal Reserve. Thursday’s report showed that consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, rose 0.6% in November, a solid gain but below the 1.4X% surge in October. Personal incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending increases, rose 0.4% in November, slightly lower than the 0.5% increase in October.
December 23, 2021 4:25 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – A California woman who punched a flight attendant in the face and broke her teeth during a flight has pleaded guilty to a federal charge. Prosecutors say 28-year-old Vyvianna Quinonez of Sacramento entered a plea Wednesday to interfering with a flight attendant. Quinonez was on a Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to San Diego in May when an attendant asked her to buckle her seatbelt, stow her tray table and wear her mask properly during the descent. Authorities say Quinonez punched the woman in the face and grabbed her hair before other passengers intervened. The attendant suffered three chipped teeth, bruises and a cut that needed stitches.
December 23, 2021 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is extending a student loan moratorium that has allowed tens of millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action Wednesday, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through May 1. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Those measures have been in place since early in the pandemic but were set to expire Jan. 31. This is the second extension from the administration. President Joe Biden says the administration understands that borrowers are still coping with the impact of the pandemic.
December 23, 2021 4:24 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Sally Ann Howes, who played as a child actor before she later starred in the 1968 film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” with Dick Van Dyke, has died. She was 91. Her son Andrew Hart Adler confirmed his mother’s death in an interview with the Press Association on Wednesday. The English actor began her career on the big screen at the age of 12. In five decades, Howes made appearances in more than 140 films, musicals, plays and television projects. She made her biggest splash as the character Truly Scrumptious in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” which became a holiday favorite.
December 23, 2021 4:21 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The jury at the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright was to return Thursday for a fourth day of deliberations as the Christmas holiday loomed. The jury weighing Kim Potter’s fate has been out 2 1/2 days, or about 23 hours, since getting the case Monday following closing arguments. Potter is charged with two counts of manslaughter in the killing of Wright during an April 11 traffic stop. She has said she meant to use her Taser on Wright but used her gun instead. The judge has given no indication of how she’ll handle the Christmas holiday.
December 23, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to hear arguments on the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing requirement for large employers and a separate vaccine requirement for health care workers. The announcement comes amid rising coronavirus cases. The high court announced late Wednesday that it would hear arguments in the cases on Jan. 7. The court had not been scheduled to hear cases again until Jan. 10.
December 23, 2021 4:16 am
The State Police Fire Marshall is investigating an overnight fire at Thomas Campbell Apartments in South Strabane Twp. Washington County 9-1-1 tells WJPA News the call came in just after midnight. The initial report was for a kitchen fire in a sixth floor apartment. Arthur Keys, the Chairman of the Board for the complex tells WJPA that six people were transported to area hospitals. He says two were flown by medical helicopter to Pittsburgh hospitals but there is no word on their identities or conditions. Keys says some 35 other residents have been displaced are are at the Suburban Inn at Jessop Place and are being assisted by the Red Cross. Keys says two apartments suffered major fire damage while others below have water damage. According to 9-1-1, eight fire departments responded along with some 19 ambulance services. South Strabane Township Fire Chief Scott Reese says numerous residents had to be rescued and assisted from the building. Tune to 95.3FM/1450AM for the very latest.
December 23, 2021 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is using his veto on a bill that would have required school districts to post information about textbooks, course material and state academic standards online. The Democratic governor said Wednesday the legislation “politicizes what is being taught in our schools” and that state regulations already require public schools to provide similar material upon request. It áwould have required links or titles for every textbook and course summaries to be posted on district websites, starting with the next academic year. Both legislative chambers were split nearly along party lines in votes on the measure. Republicans supported the bill and Democrats were opposed.
December 23, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s top state election official is warning that delays in drawing new legislative districts boundaries may require pushing back next year’s spring primary election. That’s as a group of voters asked Pennsylvania’s highest court to pick a new map of congressional districts if Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers fail to agree on one soon. Pennsylvania must redraw state legislative districts and congressional districts to account for a decade of demographic shifts, but partisan disagreements are threatening to delay both processes. Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid told the Legislative Reapportionment Commission in a letter Tuesday that its current schedule will not work with the current primary deadlines.
