December 15, 2021 4:19 am
DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. (AP) – President Joe Biden saw firsthand the striking devastation in two Kentucky towns rendered unrecognizable by deadly tornadoes as he offered prayers and comfort Wednesday to residents left homeless. In Dawson Springs, Biden walked through piles of debris. Shattered Christmas decorations were tangled up with shards of furniture and strewn clothing. Trees were uprooted among homes reduced to rubble. Earlier, in Mayfield, among the dozens of communities pummeled by the storm, the president held hands in prayer with a county official and a pastor. More than 30 tornadoes tore through Kentucky and seven other states over the weekend, killing at least 88 people. Thousands of residents have lost their houses or are without power. (Photo: AP)
December 15, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has voted to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. It is the first time the House has voted to hold a former member in contempt since the 1830s. The House vote sends the matter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, where it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether to present the case against the former Republican congressman to a grand jury for possible criminal charges.
December 15, 2021 4:14 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal appeals court panel has lifted a nationwide ban against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health workers, creating the potential for patchwork enforcement across the country. Wednesday’s decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals keeps an injunction in place only for 14 states that sued in its circuit. A separate preliminary injunction pending before the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies to 10 additional states. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had previously said it would not enforce the vaccine rule while injunctions were in place.
December 15, 2021 4:12 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin has pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin’s plea Wednesday means he will not face a federal trial in January, though he could end up spending more years behind bars. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe during a May 25, 2020, arrest. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in that case. Three other former officers – Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao – were indicted on federal charges alongside Chauvin earlier this year. They are still on course for trial early next year on those charges, with a state trial still to come.
December 15, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress has approved a $2.5 trillion debt limit hike, sending legislation to avert a catastrophic default to President Joe Biden for his signature. The flurry of action, which stretched into Wednesday’s early morning hours, came just shy of a deadline set by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for avoiding a national default. The debt limit must be raised to cover the cost of spending decisions that have already been made by Congress under both Republican and Democratic majorities. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says this is about “paying debt accumulated by both parties.” The bill drew only one Republican vote in the House.
December 15, 2021 4:09 am
A man who led city police on a car chase through the city faced a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. A hearing was held for Deshawn Dean-Mitchell of Penn Hills, but when asked to identify himself on video from the Washington County Jail, the defendant stated his name was Devontae Dean-Mitchell of Washington. Prior to the hearing, a lady who did not wish to be identified or comment, indicated that she was the mother of Deshawn Dean-Mitchell and pointed to a man seated next to her and identified that man as Deshawn. When the hearing started, both were present when the jailed defendant identified himself as Devontae Dean-Mitchell. During the hearing three city police officers testified to an original call for occupants of a vehicle brandishing a weapon in Lincoln Terrace. When approached by officers the vehicle took off on a car chase involving three police cars reaching speeds of nearly 60 mph according to testimony. Dean-Mitchell hit an embankment and rolled his vehicle causing him and another occupant to have to be extricated through the rear window. During interviews at the scene and at the police station Dean-Mitchell identified himself as Deshawn. At the scene of the accident police found an electronic scale that was ejected from the car. They also found suspected crack cocaine and several baggies on Dean-Mitchell’s person. Dean-Mitchell will face 12 felony and misdemeanor charges of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person and drug possession. He will also face a charge of providing false information to a police officer. Dean-Mitchell will be positively identified in the coming weeks once finger prints have been processed.
December 15, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is again aiming to put its presidential primary in position to determine the winner, rather than let other states play that role. The state Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill to move up Pennsylvania’s primary elections in presidential election years by five weeks to the third Tuesday in March. Critics of Pennsylvania’s current date – the fourth Tuesday of April – say its presidential primary clout is diminished by its late vote. The bill goes to the House. A spokesperson for the House Republican majority said it hasn’t been discussed in the caucus. The Senate passed an identical bill last year, but it died in the House.
December 15, 2021 4:05 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors are heading into the end of the year with good news for residents. Supervisors are putting the final touches on the 2022 budget and there will be no tax increase for township residents. The tax rate will remain at the 1.53 mils that was adopted last year. The spending plan is a $36 million dollar plan. That is an increase of $5.7 million dollars over last year. The largest item leading to the increase in spending is in the Building Construction Fund. Supervisors will adopt the budget next week. In other township business, supervisors plan to advertise for a second time the sale of two plots of surplus property. The property is located along Boone Avenue and at the corner of Anderson and McGregor Drives. Supervisors will meet again on December 21.
December 14, 2021 1:23 pm
DOVER, Del. (AP) – Attorneys in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case have reached a tentative settlement under which one of the organization’s largest insurers would contribute $800 million into a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. The agreement announced Monday calls for Century Indemnity Co. and affiliated companies to contribute $800 million into the fund in return for being released from further liability for abuse claims. The payment would bring the amount of money in the proposed trust to more than $2.6 billion. The settlement comes as more than 82,000 men who filed claims face a Dec. 28 deadline to vote on a previously announced Boy Scouts reorganization plan. (Photo: AP)
December 14, 2021 8:52 am
CALIFORNIA, Pa. — (WPXI) – A hockey player for California University of Pennsylvania died unexpectedly over the weekend. According to university officials, Branson King was 23-years old and had just finished the fall semester of his junior year. It’s not clear what led to his death. Here is what the university put out about King: “Branson was the heart and soul of the team; he approached hockey like everything in his life with passion and 100% commitment,” Vulcans head coach Jason Greenway said. “He was a true leader who was selfless and would sacrifice anything he had to do for our team’s success. He epitomized our team culture with passion, hard work, and a huge heart; he was a coach’s dream.” King, had just finished the fall semester of his junior year for the Vulcans, where he served as an assistant captain. He was majoring in education with a concentration in social studies. A native of Hamburg, PA, King previously played for the Philadelphia Revolution. Visitation and funeral details have not yet been determined. (PHOTO; WPXI)
