February 15, 2022 4:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The accounting firm that prepared former President Donald Trump’s annual financial statements says the documents, used to secure lucrative loans and burnish Trump’s image as a wealthy businessman, “should no longer be relied upon” after investigators said they found evidence he and his company regularly misstated the value of assets. Mazars USA LLP disclosed its findings and cut ties with the Trump Organization in a letter on Feb. 9, just weeks after New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office uncovered evidence Trump and the company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its golf clubs, skyscrapers and other property to get loans and tax benefits. The firm says it is also cutting ties with Trump.
February 15, 2022 4:06 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Federal prosecutors have rested their case against three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights. The prosecution rested Monday after nearly three weeks of testimony from bystanders, doctors, police officers and others. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are accused of depriving Floyd of medical care while the Black man was handcuffed, facedown as Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck. Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene to stop the May 2020 killing that triggered protests worldwide. Thao and Kueng told the judge Monday that they plan to testify. An attorney for Lane said earlier that his client would testify, but now says they’ll discuss it further.
February 15, 2022 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine’s independence while stopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia. Senators are eager to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression but deferential to the White House’s strategy to avert a crisis in Europe. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed Senate leadership Monday afternoon. President Joe Biden and Western leaders are working to persuade Putin not to invade Ukraine. Senators say the Biden administration is able to impose devastating sanctions on Russia with or without congressional action.
February 15, 2022 4:03 am
MOSCOW (AP) – Russia says that some units participating in military exercises will begin returning to their bases. That adds to glimmers of hope that the Kremlin may not be planning to invade Ukraine imminently. But officials gave no details on the pullback. The announcement Tuesday came after Russia’s foreign minister indicated the country was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that led to the Ukraine crisis. That changed the tenor after weeks of rising tensions. Still, Western officials continued to warn that an invasion could come at any moment and said some forces and military hardware were moving toward the border. It wasn’t immediately clear where exactly the troops that the Russian Defense Ministry said were pulling back were deployed or how many were leaving.
February 15, 2022 4:00 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A state court is stopping a Philadelphia ordinance that requires gun owners to tell police when a firearm has been lost or stolen. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel on Monday issued a permanent injunction, saying the Uniform Firearms Act preempts city ordinances. One of the judges says the decision is legally correct but warns it also puts people’s lives at risk. Philadelphia Police had sought a $2,000 fine against a man charged with violating the reporting mandate. The judges cited a 1996 state Supreme Court decision that said assault weapons restrictions in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh weren’t allowed, saying the Legislature alone can regulate guns. A city spokesman said the decision will be appealed.
February 15, 2022 2:47 am
A contempt of court hearing for Washington County Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis has been scheduled for Monday, February 28th. The office of Washington County President Judge John DiSalle says it will begin at 9:30 a.m and will be held in Courtroom #2. It comes after Commonwealth Court rejected several appeals that were filed by Davis to block orders from Judge DiSalle, including an emergency stay of a contempt hearing originally scheduled for December 6. It followed an incident in late November when Davis attempted to stop sheriff’s deputies from transferring juvenile files from her office. Davis has been at odds with the Judge and County Commissioner’s over staffing and duty issues in her office. Davis also claims she was assaulted by deputies during that November 24 incident. Judge DiSalle has said that the contempt proceedings are important to get a full account of what happened that day.
February 15, 2022 2:14 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY — (WPXI)- Sources close to our news partners at Channel 11 say detectives are trying to find and comb through videos in Monroeville and Pitcairn to learn more about Christi Spicuzza’s death. County detectives are still trying to learn who is responsible in the death of Spicuzza, who went missing Thursday while driving for Uber. Police say they found her car in Pitcairn Saturday morning. Four hours later, Spicuzza’s body was found, shot once, in the woods in Monroeville. Channel 11 sources say investigators are now going through video to help in the investigation. There are at least 15 crime cameras in Pitcairn and 25 in Monroeville. Investigators say Spicuzza was working as a driver Thursday when she gave rides to multiple people and her dash cam was removed from the car.
February 14, 2022 5:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Whoopi Goldberg returned to “The View” on Monday following her two-week suspension for remarks about the Holocaust. She expressed surprise at some of the people who had reached out to her while she was away, although she didn’t specify who, but said she was thankful to all who had done so. Jewish leaders had criticized Goldberg for saying that the Holocaust during World War II was not about race, but rather about man’s inhumanity. Jewish leaders pointed out that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler considered the Jews to be an inferior race. Goldberg says the hosts of “The View” won’t shy away from difficult conversations.
February 14, 2022 5:22 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican state senator from south central Pennsylvania is bowing out of the governor’s race, saying that a broken leg he suffered last month in a fall on ice is more severe than originally believed. In a statement Friday, Republican Sen. Scott Martin of Lancaster County said he’ll need to spend more time rehabilitating his leg than he initially thought. He says continuing to campaign would endanger his ability to fully recover and it leaves him unable to campaign effectively. Martin exits a Republican primary field that’s still double-digits deep as GOP rivals vie for the nomination to take on the presumed Democratic nominee, two-term state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
February 14, 2022 5:20 pm
No one was hurt in a train derailment Monday morning in Greene County. According to authorities, bad weather and rail conditions may have caused the coal train to derail in a remote area of Morris Township. Officials say the train was carrying coal and some of the load spilled
