October 11, 2021 4:23 am
ALAMO, Ga. (AP) – Authorities say a man accused of gunning down a Georgia police officer during his first shift with the department ambushed him in retaliation for the officer’s arrest of an associate hours earlier. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said 43-year-old Damien Anthony Ferguson has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Officer Dylan Harrison outside the Alamo Police Department early Saturday. Harrison arrested a man associated with Ferguson on Friday afternoon. Authorities say they believe Ferguson shot Harrison in retaliation in what they called an “ambush-style attack.” Ferguson was arrested Sunday at his home after a large manhunt. It is not known if he has an attorney to speak on his behalf.
October 11, 2021 4:21 am
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) – Officials say a Southern California beach that had been closed since an undersea pipeline leaked crude into ocean waters last week is set to reopen Monday. City and state beaches in Huntington Beach will reopen after water quality tests revealed no detectable levels of oil associated toxins in the water. Huntington Beach had been reeling from the pipeline leak that spilled crude into the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. The spill of at least about 25,000 gallons and no more than 132,000 gallons of crude has kept the ocean off limits for a week to surfers, swimmers and people who want to walk along the shore.
October 11, 2021 4:19 am
BOSTON (AP) – Benson Kipruto won the pandemic-delayed Boston Marathon as the race returned from a 30-month absence and moved to the fall for the first time in its 125-year history. Diana Kipyogei won the women’s race to complete the eighth Kenyan sweep since 2000. Fall foliage replaced the spring daffodils and masks took the place of mylar from Hopkinton to Boston. A rolling start and shrunken field allowed for social distancing on the course, as organizers tried to manage amid a changing COVID-19 outbreak. Last year’s race was canceled for the first time since the event began in 1897.
October 11, 2021 4:08 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. — (WPXI)- A man is dead after he was thrown from an ATV he was riding in Penn Hills Sunday evening. According to police, at around 7:30 p.m., County 911 was notified of a vehicle versus ATV collision near the intersection of Rodi Road and Universal Road. First responders pronounced the man dead at the scene. Homicide detectives have started an investigation into the man’s death. It’s not clear if the man was riding the ATV on the road or off to the side of it. The man’s identity has not yet been released.
October 11, 2021 2:50 am
BEAVER FALLS — (WPXI) – Pennsylvania State Police have made an arrest in the killing of Sharon Benyo. Benyo, 46, was found dead in a field around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday by utility workers, investigators said. Chippewa Township police were quickly able to secure the area until forensics was able to process evidence. On Thursday, the Beaver County Coroner’s Office said Benyo died of gunshot wounds to her head. Chippewa Township’s police chief added that the gunshot wounds were to the back of her head. John Westley Johnson Jr., 68, of Beaver Falls was arrested at his home on Saturday after the state police found enough information in the case to charge him. He will be held at the Beaver County Jail pending his court dates. Johnson is facing charges of homicide.
October 10, 2021 8:02 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the former foes since America withdrew from the country in August. Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are meeting this weekend in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban have signaled flexibility on evacuations. However, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press there would be no cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State group in Afghanistan. IS has taken responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing Friday that killed 46 minority Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens as they prayed in a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz.
October 10, 2021 8:00 am
LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s foreign minister has warned that British demands risk a “further breakdown in relations” with the European Union ahead of talks this week aimed at resolving the impasse over the Brexit agreement. Simon Coveney posted the remarks on Twitter after the U.K.’s Brexit minister reiterated his insistence that the European Court of Justice must not be allowed to oversee implementation of the deal. Coveney described this as a new “red line” that will impede progress in the negotiations. “Does (the U.K. government) actually want an agreed way forward or a further breakdown in relations?” he wrote. The European Commission is expected this week to publish its proposals for breaking the deadlock over trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, the only part of the U.K. that has a land border with the 27-nation bloc. The British government has sought to renegotiate part of its divorce deal with the EU that requires customs and border checks on some goods moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.
October 10, 2021 7:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the frantic bid to avert a default on the nation’s debt, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell held a position of unusual power — as the one who orchestrated both the problem and the solution. McConnell is no longer the majority leader, but he is exerting his minority status in convoluted and uncharted ways, all in an effort to stop President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda and even if doing so pushes the country toward grave economic uncertainty. That said, the outcome of this debt crisis leaves zero confidence there won’t be a next one. In fact, McConnell engineered an end to the standoff that ensures Congress will be in the same spot in December when funding to pay America’s bills next runs out. That means another potentially devastating debt showdown, all as the COVID-19 crisis lingers and the economy struggles to recover.
October 10, 2021 7:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Raymond T. Odierno, a retired Army general who commanded American and coalition forces in Iraq at the height of the war and capped a 39-year career by serving as the Army’s chief of staff, has died, his family said Saturday. He was 67. “The general died after a brave battle with cancer; his death was not related to COVID,” a family statement said. “There are no other details to share at this time. His family is grateful for the concern and asks for privacy.” Odierno died Friday; the family declined to say where. It said funeral and interment information was not yet available. President Joe Biden lauded Odierno as a “hero of great integrity and honor.” In a joint statement, the president and First Lady Jill Biden recalled that Odierno spoke at the funeral of their son Beau, who served under Odierno in Iraq and died of brain cancer in 2015.
October 10, 2021 7:53 am
FINDLAY TWP., Pa. — Transportation Security Administration agents caught another loaded handgun in a passenger’s bag at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday. The loaded 9mm handgun was found around 6:36 a.m. in the passenger’s purse, according to Allegheny County Police. Police were able to determine that the 39-year-old woman possessed a valid concealed carry permit. At this time, charges are not expected to be filed by County Police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified. The firearm is in the possession of County Police. Passengers who bring firearms into an airport checkpoint can face federal civil fines from the Transportation Security Administration of up to $10,000. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $13,910. This is the 29th gun found this year, and comes after a Beaver Falls man was found with a gun on Friday.
