March 29, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says he’s not yet convinced that Russia’s announcement that it will scale back military operations near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv will lead to a fundamental shift in the war. Biden said during an appearance before reporters with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House on Tuesday that he was waiting to see what Russia offers in ongoing talks with Ukraine and how Moscow readjusts its troop presence. Biden says of the latest development, “We’ll see.” The Democratic president says he doesn’t read anything into it until he sees what Russia’s actions are. Lee says “the war in Ukraine has implications for the Asia Pacific” region.
March 29, 2022 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget for next year would trim federal deficits and boost taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Both could appeal to Sen. Joe Manchin. And Democrats are hoping that could help revive talks with Manchin over the party’s derailed social and environment plan. Before Christmas, the West Virginia Democrat sank a House-passed, $2 trillion social and environment bill that was a top party priority. Manchin said it would have fueled inflation and deepened deficits. Democrats are hoping the more moderate approach that Biden’s budget takes this year might help convince Manchin that there’s a deal to be had.
March 29, 2022 4:12 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock for slapping the comedian onstage at Sunday’s Oscars, writing in a statement that he was “out of line” and “wrong.” Smith sent the statement Monday on his Instagram page, saying he is embarrassed by his actions. Smith’s actions stunned audiences inside the ceremony and at home. The film academy condemned Smith’s behavior earlier Monday. Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith won the best actor award later in the ceremony. On Monday he apologized to the film academy, Oscar producers and viewers. Pinkett Smith responded Tuesday with a graphic on Instagram that said in part “this is a season of healing.” (Photo: AP)
March 29, 2022 4:09 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – An Allegheny County judge has barred a Pittsburgh police officer from any contact with a female officer who accused him of raping her. Our news partners at Channel 11 obtained a copy of that ruling after a female officer filed paperwork, asking the court to grant a permanent protective order against the officer. The judge in the case also made some very strong comments about the case. She said she found evidence that the female officer was the victim of sexual violence and that she is still in danger of harm. The judge issued the order after the male officer, whom WPXI is not naming because he has not been charged criminally, was ordered to appear at a protection hearing earlier this month. A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department told Target 11 that the city will abide by the court order, but the city offered no details and declined to discuss the matter further.
March 29, 2022 4:04 am
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) – An organizer of a group of truck drivers protesting COVID-19 mandates around the Washington, D.C., area says they will head to California next. The Herald-Mail reports that during a livestream of the People’s Convoy nightly rally on Sunday, organizer Mike Landis read a list of measures aimed at controlling COVID-19 in California. He said stopping those measures is more important than repealing other measures elsewhere. The group has stayed at the Hagerstown Speedway for the last three weeks, regularly traveling along the beltway and in downtown Washington to protest COVID-19 mandates. Landis didn’t say when they would leave, but he invited people to meet up Monday before a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before heading West.
March 29, 2022 4:03 am
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Tractor-trailers and other vehicles lost control and slammed into each other, people leapt away from careering trucks seconds before collision and at least three people were killed and more than a dozen others injured during a snow squall on a Pennsylvania highway. The crash Monday on Interstate 81 was captured in videos posted on social media that show drivers and passengers lining the snowy road and jumping out of the way as a cascade of crashes unfolds. Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan said three fatalities had been confirmed by late afternoon and that number could rise because fires were impeding rescuers.
March 28, 2022 2:36 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is releasing a budget blueprint that tries to tell voters what the diverse and at times fractured Democratic Party stands for. It calls for higher taxes on the wealthy, lower budget deficits, more money for police and greater funding for education, public health and housing. The 156-page plan also shows the splinters that persist in Biden’s coalition. And there are possible gaps between the promise of what is being offered and the realities of what ultimately emerges. The proposal includes a minimum 20% tax on the incomes of households worth $100 million or more.
March 28, 2022 2:33 pm
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The Republican governor signed the measure into law on Monday following a news conference at a charter school. DeSantis and others speaking in favor of the bill stood at a podium affixed with a placard reading Protect Children/Support Parents. Critics argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people and have labeled it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. It also has drawn intense scrutiny from LGBTQ advocates, students, national Democratic politicians, the White House and the entertainment industry. DeSantis and Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable.
March 28, 2022 2:30 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has asserted it is “more likely than not” that former President Donald Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election. The ruling ordered the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge David Carter marked a major legal win for the panel as it looks to correspondence from Eastman, the lawyer who was consulting with Trump as he attempted to overturn the presidential election.
March 28, 2022 2:25 pm
Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA has been selected to pilot a new teen dating violence prevention program called Coaching Girls Beyond the Game. DVSSP was one of only three domestic violence programs in Pennsylvania selected for the pilot by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. CGBG consists of a ten-session curriculum that helps high school athletic coaches utilize sports practices, team meetings, and travel time to promote safe and healthy relationships and connect athletes to vital resources if they are facing abuse in a relationship. DVSSP is now offering Coaching Girls Beyond the Game, as well as a similar program for male athletes called Coaching Boys into Men, to school districts in Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties. For more information, please call 724-223-5577 or email cbim@peacefromdv.org.
