February 16, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI informant has been charged with lying to authorities about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme between President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company. The claim is central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Prosecutors say Alexander Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016. The allegations became a flashpoint in Congress over the summer as Republicans demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations as they pursued investigations of President Biden and his family. An attorney for Smirnov declined to comment on the allegations.
February 16, 2024 5:02 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Health officials say four patients died after their oxygen ran out in southern Gaza’s main hospital after Israel troops stormed and seized the facility. The Israeli military says its forces are searching the hospital for the possible remains of hostages abducted by Hamas. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the U.S. vision for after the war — particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept “international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”
February 16, 2024 5:00 am
Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. Orthodox leadership has unanimously opposed recognition of same-sex relationships within its own rites and in the civil realm. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. But there are some signs of change. Montenegro and Cyprus have authorized same-sex unions in recent years. Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. They remain off the table in Russia which has cracked down on LGBTQ+ expression, and its orbit.
February 16, 2024 4:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state courts agency says it never received a ransom demand as part of a cyberattack that briefly shut down some of its online services earlier this month and prompted a federal investigation. A courts agency spokesperson said Thursday that officials there never had any communication with the attackers and never paid anything. Officials say attack on the courts’ website disabled some online portals and systems that were all fully restored this week. Officials say the attack didn’t compromise any data or stop the courts from operating. The state Supreme Court’s chief justice, Debra Todd, says a federal investigation was continuing. Investigators haven’t identified the attacker.
February 16, 2024 1:45 am
A Canonsburg man who worked as a substitute teacher in Mt. Lebanon, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to multiple charges, including institutional sexual assault during a preliminary hearing before Mt. Lebanon District Judge Hilary Wheatley. Twenty-four-year-old Damon Gall was a substitute teacher at Seton LaSalle Catholic High School at the time of the incident in December 2023. In addition to a charge of institutional sexual assault, Gall is facing charges of corruption of minors and indecent assault. Gall will be formally arraigned in April in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. A criminal complaint filed against Gall said that he confessed to Mt. Lebanon police. Gall previously worked in the Ringgold School District in Washington County. (Photo: Allegheny County)
February 15, 2024 5:39 pm
(AP) – Fewer Americans filed for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to show resilience in the face of elevated interest rates. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 212,000 for the week ending Feb. 10, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In total, 1.9 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Feb. 3, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week. Weekly unemployment claims are seen as a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cool the economy.
February 15, 2024 3:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has publicly confirmed that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon, but says it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday that U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. U.S. officials are analyzing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the matter.
February 15, 2024 3:48 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say the shooting that left one person dead and nearly two dozen injured after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade appeared to stem from a dispute between several people. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the victims ranged between the ages of 8 and 47 years old, and half of the 22 injured people were under the age of 16. A mother of two was killed. Police said three people were detained and firearms were recovered. Investigators are calling for witnesses and victims to call a dedicated hotline. The shooting outside the city’s historic Union Station happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers. (Photo: AP)
February 15, 2024 12:30 pm
(WPXI) – A homicide suspect was taken into custody at Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday morning. Allegheny County police said they were dispatched to the parking garage at Pittsburgh International Airport just before 8 a.m. for reports of a man who jumped from the second floor. Officers weren’t able to locate the person until a short time later when they received a call for medical assistance from a stairwell in the parking garage. The man was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said. The man was identified as Joshua Leyo, 30, from Altoona.
Altoona police contacted Allegheny County police that afternoon looking for assistance in finding Joshua Leyo in connection with a homicide that happened earlier in the day. Officers in Altoona also said there was reason to believe Leyo’s last know location was Pittsburgh International Airport, police said. Allegheny County police detained Leyo at the hospital. He remains in custody while he’s being treated and Allegheny County police are working with Altoona police to extradite him back to Blair County when he’s released.
February 15, 2024 9:49 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said Thursday he made the decision after speaking with the judge in Trump’s now-delayed federal election interference case in the nation’s capital. In leaving the trial date intact, Merchan took advantage of a delay in a separate prosecution in Washington charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. That case has been effectively on hold pending the outcome of an appeal from Trump.
