April 30, 2021 4:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Rudy Giuliani sought to discredit the federal investigation into his dealings in Ukraine a day after agents raided his home and office. Giuliani said the 6 a.m. search was unnecessary because he offered for two years to provide federal prosecutors his electronic devices and to “talk it over with them.” The federal probe is examining Giuliani’s ties to Ukraine and whether he violated a federal law that governs lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined comment.
April 30, 2021 4:22 am
JERUSALEM (AP) – An Israeli rescue service says nearly 40 people have been killed in a stampede at a popular religious festival in northern Israel. The disaster occurred at celebrations for Lag BaOmer, a holiday when tens of thousands of people gather to honor a 2nd century rabbi buried at Israel’s Mount Meron. The holiday is popular primarily with ultra-Orthodox Jews. Eli Beer, director of the Hatzalah ambulance service, said the event was overcrowded. “Close to 40 people died as a result of this tragedy,” he told Army Radio. Israel’s main rescue service, Magen David Adom, says 150 people were hospitalized, and various media say the death toll has climbed to 44. The cause of the stampede was not immediately clear. But witnesses described a terrifying site, with people crushed in a small area.
April 30, 2021 4:20 am
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two men were arrested in Robinson Township in connection with an undercover investigation into online child exploitation and human trafficking. According to Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office, John Carter, 58, and Simon Whaby, 55, were arrested and charged in connection with the investigation. Investigators said on April 22, Carter was arrested for trying to “solicit sexual services from an agent posting as a minor boy.” The next day, Whaby was arrested for trying to do the same thing. “When any individual is involved in or benefits from selling a minor for sex, that is considered human trafficking under state and federal laws,” a news release from Shapiro’s office said. Both Carter and Whaby are scheduled to appear in court on May 11. (Photo; Office Of Attorney General)
April 30, 2021 4:15 am
CENTER, Pa. (AP) – The former longtime tax collector for a western Pennsylvania town has admitted stealing more than $1 million in funds dating back to 2011. Jeanne Bowser, of Center Township, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and filing a false tax report after waiving indictment by grand jury. She faces a lengthy prison term when she’s sentenced Sept. 28 and will also have to pay $1,028,000 in restitution and $275,000 for the taxes she didn’t pay on the stolen funds. Bowser had collected taxes for Center and the Central Valley School District for several decades before resigning in 2019 after an audit.
April 30, 2021 2:40 am
MEDIA, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania man who illegally voted for Donald Trump on behalf of his long-dead mother in last year’s presidential election has been sentenced to five years of probation. Bruce Bartman pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of perjury and one count of unlawful voting. Besides his probation term, the 70-year-old Marple man will not be allowed to vote in an election for four years and is no longer eligible to serve on a jury. Bartman apologized for his actions, telling the judge: “I was isolated last year in lockdown. I listened to too much propaganda and made a stupid mistake.”
April 29, 2021 1:57 pm
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – Prosecutors say eight people have been indicted in the alcohol-related death of an Ohio college student found unconscious after a fraternity party. Six of those indicted Thursday are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They range in age from 19 to 23. Twenty-year-old Bowling Green State University sophomore Stone Foltz was found by roommates and taken to a hospital in early March. He died three days later. An investigation found that fraternity members had forced pledges to each drink an entire bottle of alcohol during an off-campus event. The other charges against some of the eight include reckless homicide, felonious assault, hazing and violating underage alcohol laws.
April 29, 2021 9:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 13,000 last week to 553,000, the lowest level since the pandemic hit last March and another sign the economy is recovering from the coronavirus recession. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were down from 566,000 a week earlier. They have fallen sharply over the past year but remain well above the 230,000 weekly figure typical before the pandemic struck the economy in March 2020.
April 29, 2021 9:25 am
BOONE, N.C. (AP) – Authorities say two North Carolina sheriff’s deputies were killed and three other people including a suspected gunman were found dead after a lengthy standoff. The Watauga County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the home in the Boone area Wednesday after the homeowner and his family didn’t appear at work or answer telephone calls. Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Officer Logan Fox were shot when they entered the home. Ward was extracted from the scene and died at a hospital. Fox died at the scene. A sheriff’s statement says the individual suspected of killing the two officers also is suspected of killing two other people inside the home.
April 29, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says 12 years of education is no longer enough to compete in the 21st century. But he’s also saying a college degree is unnecessary for nearly 90% of the jobs that would be created through his proposal to boost the country’s roads, bridges and other public works. Biden is using his first speech to Congress to promote his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan and his newly announced $1.8 trillion proposal that includes universal preschool, two years of free community college and $225 billion for child care. When it comes to education, Biden said the “world is catching up.”
April 29, 2021 4:17 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is edging closer to becoming the largest state in the country to allow people to carry handguns without a license. The push in the Republican-controlled Legislature has alarmed law enforcement and gutted El Paso lawmakers whose hometown is still recovering from the trauma of one of the worst mass shootings in the nation’s history. A special committee hastily created by the state Senate is set to advance the measure on Thursday, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says he supports the measure and will sign it into law if it gets to his desk.
