March 4, 2024 4:10 pm
(AP) – JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are ending their proposed $3.8 billion merger after a federal judge blocked the deal, ruling it would hurt competition. JetBlue said Monday that even though both companies still believe in the benefits of a combination, they felt they were unlikely to meet the required closing conditions before a July 24 deadline. The airlines say they are mutually agreeing that terminating the deal is the best decision for both. A merger would have eliminated Spirit, the nation’s biggest discount airline. The Justice Department sued to block the deal and won in court.
March 3, 2024 8:20 am
STINNETT, Texas (AP) — Firefighters battling the largest wildfire in Texas history face increasingly difficult weather conditions and are focused on containing the northern and eastern perimeter of the fire while protecting life and property. Spokesperson Jason Nedlo with the team of firefighters said Saturday 15% of the 1,700 square mile fire is contained. The National Weather Service that says warm temperatures, strong winds and low humidity are expected Saturday and Sunday. The Smokehouse Creek Fire that began Monday in the Texas Panhandle has killed at least two people, left a charred landscape, dead cattle and destroyed as many as 500 structures, including burned-out homes. The fire has also crossed the state line into western Oklahoma.
March 3, 2024 8:05 am
(WPXI) – One person was taken to a hospital after a fire in Fayette County. Firefighters say they were called to Brashear Street in Brownsville at around 8:35 p.m. on Saturday. Fire Chief Richard Black said one person was rescued from the building. They were taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. State police are investigating the cause of the fire.
March 3, 2024 7:00 am
CALIFORNIA, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man was flown to a local hospital after jumping from a window when a fire broke out in California Borough. Crews responded to California Manor along Second Street around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Fire officials told Channel 11 that firefighters were in the room when the man jumped out, but the smoke was too thick and they couldn’t hear him. A firefighter was taken to a nearby hospital with breathing trouble. In total, 30 residents are displaced after the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
March 2, 2024 7:00 am
An Elco man has been sentenced on his conviction on several child sexual assault crimes. Jerome Stewart, 40 will spend the next 69-138 years in prison. Stewart was convicted of child rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated assault felonies and other charges that dated back to 2009. It took a jury 90 minutes to deliver the verdict back in November of 2023. Stewart has 5 other outstanding cases waiting to be settled.
March 3, 2024 7:00 am
A Fredericktown man was sentenced for his conviction on several child sexual assault charges. Russell Jolliffe, 33 will spend the next 45-90 years in prison. Jolliffe was convicted in August of 2023 on child rape, aggravated indecent assault of a child, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child charges. The assaults on the child dated back to 2018 and continued for three years.
March 3, 2024 8:24 am
SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man was arrested Saturday and charged in the slaying of a pregnant Amish woman whose body was found last week. Pennsylvania State Police say 52-year-old Shawn C. Cranston of Corry has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass. He was denied bail at a preliminary arraignment early Saturday morning and is being held at the Crawford County jail. Online court records don’t list a defense attorney. Cranston’s arrest comes less than a week after authorities found the body of 23-year-old Rebekah A. Byler in the living room of her home a few miles from Spartansburg in northwestern Pennsylvania.
March 3, 2024 8:23 am
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say three trains were involved in a derailment in eastern Pennsylvania that left some railroad cars along a riverbank and at least one partially in the river, but caused no reported injuries or hazardous materials concerns. Dispatchers in Northampton County say the derailment was reported at about 7:15 a.m. Saturday in Lower Saucon Township. The National Transportation Safety Board says preliminary information indicates an eastbound Norfolk Southern train struck a stopped train on the same track, derailing some cars, and wreckage from the striking train spilled onto an adjacent track and was struck by a westbound Norfolk Southern train.
March 2, 2024 5:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man has been exonerated and released after spending nearly 30 years on death row in connection with a fatal arson fire at a Philadelphia apartment building. Daniel Gwynn was released Wednesday from the state prison in Montgomery County after a judge dismissed first-degree murder, arson and aggravated assault charges against Gwynn. The city District Attorney’s Office supported the move, ending a yearslong push by Gwynn’s lawyers. They have long said he gave a faulty confession to Philadelphia police while addicted to drugs. And they say he’s not pictured in a photo array once used to link him to the crime.
March 2, 2024 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shortages of ammo and supplies are quickly resulting in Ukraine losing ground, U.S. congressional leaders warn. Yet the Republican-controlled House has shown little hurry to resupply Kyiv with military aid. Across Washington, officials see the drop-off in ammunition shipments with increasing alarm. Defense officials are now considering tapping the Pentagon’s ammunition reserves even before Congress approves the funding to replenish them. But House Speaker Mike Johnson appears determined to chart his own course on a foreign aid package, which could leave Congress stalled for weeks longer.
