December 8, 2021 5:25 pm
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Nearly 17 years after being sentenced to die, Scott Peterson was re-sentenced to life without parole Wednesday during an emotional hearing in which family members of his slain pregnant wife, Laci, called him out for the killing in 2002 and his apparent lack of remorse. The California Supreme Court ruled a year ago that his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty in a case that gripped the world then and since. Prosecutors opted to settle this time for life without parole. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2021 5:22 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett on charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it. The jury began deliberations Wednesday for the former “Empire” star after a roughly weeklong trial. Two brothers testified that Smollett orchestrated the hoax to get publicity. They say he paid them to fake the January 2019 attack in downtown Chicago. Smollett testified “there was no hoax” and says he was the victim of a hate crime. He says the brothers are “liars.” His attorneys say the brothers wanted $1 million not to testify against Smollett. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2021 2:44 pm
(WPXI) – Two people are dead after a crash in Fayette County at approximately 7:05 Wednesday morning. The crash happened on U.S. 119 in the southbound lane near Bullskin Township. One driver was in the northbound lane when he crossed over the grass median and hit another car head-on. State police believe the cause of the crash was because of winter weather conditions. State police will be continuing the investigation.
December 8, 2021 2:41 pm
The ownership of Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County is changing hands. Seven Springs has been owned by Bob Nutting, who also owns the Pittsburgh Pirates, since 2006, but, according to a news release issued Wednesday, it will be sold to Vail Resorts which is based in Broomfield, Colorado. In addition to Seven Springs, Vail Resorts also will acquire Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain Ski Area, in Boswell. The financial details of the sale were not released, but according to the statement, “the company will continue to own and operate the Sporting Clays at Seven Springs, Seven Springs Golf Course and Hidden Valley Golf Club, Highlands Market, Highlands Resort Realty, and retain certain real estate for potential future development.” The sale is expected to be finalized at some point during the current winter season.
December 8, 2021 9:58 am
Pfizer says a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine appears to offer important protection against the new omicron variant. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech tested how well vaccine-produced antibodies could neutralize omicron in lab dishes. They found significant weakening after the standard two doses. But a booster dose increased antibody levels by 25-fold. The companies said two doses still may protect against severe illness, but they are working to develop an omicon-specific vaccine in case it’s needed. They announced the findings Wednesday in a press release. The data is preliminary and hasn’t undergone scientific review.
December 8, 2021 9:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The legality of an order by Pennsylvania’s acting state health secretary requiring masks in K-12 schools and child care facilities is before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The two sides are set to argue their respective positions before the justices Wednesday in Philadelphia. The high court just last week ordered that the directive remain in place while they consider a legal challenge from the state Senate’s highest ranking leader and others. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam’s mandate took effect in early September. A lower court has ruled Beam lacked authority to require masks, didn’t follow state laws about enacting regulations and acted without a required existing disaster emergency.
December 8, 2021 9:52 am
A Washington County fugitive has been apprehended. The Sheriff’s Office says Darel Barbour was taken into custody Wednesday at a home in Canonsburg. The Washington County Drug Task Force charged Barbour with distribution of crack cocaine back in June of 2020. He was to stand trial on those charges but never appeared for any pre-trial proceedings and a warrant for his arrest was issued. The Fugitive Warrant Unit then developed information on his whereabout and executed a search warrant at that home. Barbour was taken into custody without incident. (PHOTO; Washington County Sheriff’s Office Facebook)
December 8, 2021 9:47 am
No injuries were reported following a crash Wednesday morning in South Strabane Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 6:45 a.m along N. Main Street near Patten Ave. A vehicle struck a utility pole. The pole and wires came down and it’s believed a second vehicle then struck the downed pole. N. Main St. was closed but reopened before 8 a.m. No other details have been released.
December 8, 2021 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – More than 40 cases of the omicron variant have been reported in the U.S. so far, with most of them people who were vaccinated and nearly all of them suffering only mild illness, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. In an interview with the Associated Press, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said data is very limited and new cases are coming in daily. The agency is working on a more detailed analysis, she said. But “the disease is mild” in the cases reported so far, she said, with reported symptoms mainly cough, congestion, and fatigue.
December 8, 2021 4:19 am
PARIS (AP) – A suspect in the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been arrested in France. A French judicial official said the suspect was being held Tuesday on the basis of a Turkish arrest warrant. He requested not being named in accordance with the French justice system’s customary practices. French radio RTL said the Saudi national, Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi, was arrested at the Roissy airport near Paris as he was trying to board a flight to Riyadh. Al-Otaibi was one of over a dozen Saudi officials sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 over Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
