June 14, 2020 8:00 am
WEST POINT. N.Y. (AP) – President Donald Trump has urged West Point’s graduating class to “never forget” the legacy of soldiers before them who fought a bloody war to end slavery. Trump’s appeal to remember history came as his own relationship with the military is under strain over the response to protests after George Floyd’s death by police in Minneapolis. It also came hours after Trump made a rare concession and rescheduled a campaign rally that had been set for Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday – the anniversary of the end of slavery. Tulsa also was the scene of a fiery white-on-black attack in 1921.
June 14, 2020 7:57 am
TOKYO (AP) – Holding handmade signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” hundreds of people marched peacefully at a Tokyo park, highlighting the outrage over the death of George Floyd even in a country often perceived as homogeneous and untouched by racial issues. Sunday’s turnout underlined how Japan, historically reticent in dealing with diversity, is trying to understand the Black Lives Matter movement and grapple with its own history of discrimination. Thousands turned up in Black Lives Matter protests in New Zealand, where they said addressing discrimination in their own country was critical.
June 14, 2020 7:56 am
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) – A federal appeals court has cleared the way for a Texas man to be executed next week for the 1998 fatal stabbing of an 85-year-old woman, though his lawyer says he’ll appeal. Ruben Gutierrez is scheduled to die Tuesday for the killing of Escolastica Harrison at her home in Brownsville, which is in Texas’ southern tip along the border with Mexico. Prosecutors say the killing was part of an attempt to steal more than $600,000 that the woman had hidden in her home. A panel of three judges on the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court on Friday overturned a lower court’s decision to stay the 43-year-old’s execution.
June 14, 2020 7:55 am
MIAMI (AP) – Venezuela is demanding the release of a government-connected businessman who was detained in Cape Verde on U.S. corruption charges. In a statement issued Saturday night, it called his arrest an illegal act of aggression by the Trump administration aimed at piling new hardships on the crisis-wracked oil nation. Alex Saab was arrested Friday in connection to U.S. money laundering charges in Miami. Saab is a Colombian businessman who came onto the radar of U.S. authorities a few years ago after amassing contracts with Maduro’s government. Maduro’s aides say Saab was traveling on a Venezuelan passport on an official mission to secure food and medicine.
June 14, 2020 7:54 am
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) – Authorities in the Southern California city of Palmdale are investigating the death of a 24-year-old black man found hanging from a tree, which they originally described as an apparent suicide, prompting outrage in the community. More than 100,000 people signed an online petition demanding a full investigation and community members confronted city officials on Friday. Los Angeles County coroner’s officials said a decision on the cause of death is deferred pending an investigation. Fuller’s death has brought to light the death of another black man found hanging from a tree on May 31 in Victorville, a desert city 45 miles east of Palmdale.
June 14, 2020 7:53 am
ATLANTA (AP) – An Atlanta police officer has been fired following the fatal shooting of a black man and a second officer was placed on administrative duty. The move announced by police early Sunday comes on the heels of the resignation of Atlanta’s police chief following the killing of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks. Police identified the fired officer as Garrett Rolfe. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she doesn’t believe the shooting was justified. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation say Brooks resisted arrest after he failed a field sobriety test and a struggle ensued over a Taser. Police say 36 people were arrested at Saturday night protests. Police have released body camera and dash camera footage.
June 14, 2020 7:49 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Police are investigating after three people were injured from a shooting during a backyard party in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood. The shooting happened around 7 p.m. Saturday in the area of Sedgwick Street and Liverpool Street, investigators said. According to investigators, there about 20 gunshots while a backyard party was happening in the area. It’s unclear how many people were there at the time. Three people, including a woman and a girl, were hospitalized after being grazed by bullets. A third victim walked into Allegheny General Hospital after also being struck. The girl was grazed in the head, while the woman was shot in the arm. They are both in stable condition. Police said none of the victims have life-threatening injuries, and the details of what led to the shooting are under investigation. No information regarding a suspected shooter has been released yet. Witnesses told police they think the shooter was in a car driving by the party.
June 14, 2020 7:46 am
JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa. (WPXI) — A police officer has died days after being seriously hurt in a head-on crash in Allegheny County. A Jefferson Hills police cruiser and the pickup truck collided just after 8:15 a.m. on June 3 on Old Clairton Road in Jefferson Hills. When emergency crews got there, both the officer and the pickup truck driver were trapped inside their vehicles. Once freed, they were flown to hospital. The officer and the pickup driver were the only people hurt. On Saturday, the Jefferson Hills Police Department announced that the officer who was hurt — Officer Dale Provins — died “due to extensive injuries” from that accident. Provins was a 15-year veteran of the department. Investigators believe that Provins was traveling northbound on Old Clairton Road and the pickup truck was traveling southbound when the two collided head-on on the northbound side of the road. Old Clairton Road was closed from Coal Valley Road to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for several hours for road reconstruction and investigation.
June 14, 2020 7:42 am
NATRONA HEIGHTS, Pa. (AP) – Stainless steel may be resistant to rust and the ravages of time, but the tangible history of Allegheny Ludlum may not be as resilient. That’s the fear of longtime employee Todd Barbiaux. He worries the company’s legacy, and a source of community pride, will fade with the loss of four cars that have stainless steel bodies. They were produced by Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp., in partnership with Ford. Allegheny Ludlum has since morphed into today’s Allegheny Technologies Inc.
June 13, 2020 9:57 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Authorities in Georgia say a DUI suspect who resisted being taken into custody by Atlanta police has been shot and killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the shooting that happened at a Wendy’s restaurant late Friday. Officers were responding to a complaint of a male sleeping in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru. The officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. The GBI said he resisted and a struggle ensued, leading the officer to deploy a Taser. The GBI said witnesses saw the male grab the Taser away from the officer. The male was subsequently shot.
