June 17, 2021 4:03 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice has slammed a new West Virginia law that bans transgender athletes from competing in female sports. The department asserted in a court filing Thursday that it violates federal law. The department filed what is known as a statement of interest in a lawsuit challenging the ban. The DOJ says the law violates Title IX as well as the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The lawsuit was filed last month by the American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and Lambda Legal on behalf of an 11-year-old transgender girl. She had hoped to compete in cross country in middle school.
June 17, 2021 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A western Pennsylvania judge will mediate a dispute over a statue of explorer Christopher Columbus in a Pittsburgh park. The Tribune-Review reports that Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay declared an impasse in the dispute between the city of Pittsburgh and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America over the Columbus statue in Schenley Park. McVay issued an order last week telling the parties to identify who will participate from each side during the mediation, which hasn’t yet been scheduled. City crews last fall covered the 13-foot statue, which was erected in 1955, in advance of Columbus Day.
June 17, 2021 3:22 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are working to assemble a budget plan that would use billions in federal aid and surplus cash to help prop up existing programs, boost aid to public schools and inject cash into sectors hard-hit by the pandemic. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Pat Browne said the state will still have a deficit in three years even if it uses all of the $7.3 billion in federal aid and $3 billion in surplus state dollars to maintain current programs. While Republicans are considering which hard-hit sectors to help, Democratic lawmakers have rolled out expansive plans. Gov. Tom Wolf’s top priority is to boost aid to schools.
June 16, 2021 1:49 pm
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Delegates at the Southern Baptist’s annual meeting have decided to consider an investigation of the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse cases. More than two-thirds of them voted Wednesday to debate a proposal to investigate leaders’ handling of sex abuse claims. The convention’s business committee had planned to refer the proposal to its Executive Committee, the same entity alleged to have failed in its response to abuse cases. More than 15,000 voting delegates are attending the two-day meeting in Nashville, the highest number in decades.
June 16, 2021 7:42 am
GENEVA (AP) – President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded their high-stake summit in Geneva. The pair met for nearly four hours on Wednesday, first in a smaller session and later in a larger meeting that was expanded to include more officials from both sides and which lasted about 65 minutes. Putin and then Biden are scheduled to hold press conferences before departing the summit site.
June 16, 2021 5:57 am
The Washington County District Attorney is speaking out about that recent State Auditor General’s report that criticized the county’s Common Pleas Court process of allowing criminal defendants to perform community service in place of paying costs, fines and other monetary assessments. Gene Vittone says the report “extrapolated a small sample of reviewed cases” over a four year period and “incorrectly concluded that this failure deprived the state and county” of more than $1.5 million dollars. In a written statement released Tuesday afternoon, Vittone went on to say “Auditor General Defoor’s conclusion that the process in Washington County is flawed and that a hearing in court is necessary is legally incorrect”. The District Attorney says community service is routinely offered as part of plea offers for first time offenders and, in return, many municipalities and non-profits in the county receive the benefit of free labor. He also says it would be unfortunate if the program were to suffer solely due to an incorrect legal interpretation reached by the Auditor General.
June 16, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has passed a bill that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. The bill would lead to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday and is expected to easily pass the House. Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. Union soldiers brought them the news two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York says making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a “major step forward to recognize the wrongs of the past.” The vast majority of states already recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance.
June 16, 2021 4:14 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered an end to the Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water. The judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit by Louisiana’s attorney general and officials in 12 other states. Those states say the administration bypassed bureaucratic steps required before such delays can be undertaken. The decision is a blow to Democratic President Joe Biden’s efforts to rapidly transition the nation away from fossil fuels and thereby stave off the worst effects of climate change, including catastrophic droughts, floods and wildfires. Louisiana’s Republican attorney general hailed the decision as a victory for energy workers.
June 16, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic leaders are laying the groundwork for a go-it-alone approach on President Joe Biden’s big jobs and families infrastructure plan even as the White House continues negotiating with Republicans on a scaled-back $1 trillion proposal. A top White House adviser assured House Democrats during a closed-door session Tuesday that there would be a fresh assessment by next week on where talks stand with the Republicans. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he is moving ahead. He is set to huddle privately Wednesday with the Senate Budget Committee to prepare for July votes on a majority-rules approach to pass the $1.7 billion American Jobs Plan and $1.8 billion American Families Plan.
June 16, 2021 4:09 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A 15-year-old boy died at a hospital after he was found shot and not breathing on a sidewalk in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood late Monday night, police said. Multiple shots were reported to have been fired about 11 p.m. along Creedmoor Avenue. When police responded to the area, they found Christian Redinger on the sidewalk, officials said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. No arrests have been made. Redinger’s mother says paramedics took her son to the hospital, where they told her he was shot more than 20 times. Police have not released much information about the shooting and the investigation continues.
