November 18, 2021 12:53 pm
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) – A jail guard was shot and killed at a Pennsylvania courthouse by what appears to be friendly fire during a struggle with an inmate who had grabbed her weapon, and authorities said Thursday they were investigating how it happened. The inmate had been taken from the Blair County jail to Central Court in Altoona for a hearing Wednesday when he disarmed corrections officer Rhonda Jean Russell, state police said. Authorities said a law enforcement officer in the building opened fire on the inmate to stop him from harming Russell, who was struck by the bullet.
Russell, 47, of Altoona, was pronounced dead at UPMC Altoona, according to state police. State police did not identify the officer who opened fire, but Altoona Police Sgt. Matt Plummer said an Altoona police officer was involved. State police said the inmate was being charged with criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide, kidnapping and related charges. State police and the Blair County prosecutor’s office are investigating.
November 18, 2021 8:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low 268,000. U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and their steady decline this year – after topping 900,000 one week in early January – reflects the labor market’s strong recovery from last year’s brief but intense coronavirus recession. The four-week average of claims, which smooths week-to-week volatility, also fell to a pandemic low just below 273,000. áJobless claims have been edging lower, toward their pre-pandemic level of around 220,000 a week.
November 18, 2021 4:15 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The judge at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial banned MSNBC from the courthouse Thursday after police said they briefly detained a man who had followed the jury bus and may have tried to photograph jurors. Judge Bruce Schroeder said the man had claimed to be working for MSNBC. NBC News said the man was a freelancer who never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations and never intended to photograph them. The jurors are anonymous by order of the court. Schroeder said they were riding in a bus whose windows had been covered over to keep them from seeing any signs about the case. Schroeder said the matter is under further investigation.
November 18, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has voted to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword. It was an extraordinary rebuke on Wednesday that highlighted the political strains testing Washington and the country. The resolution will also remove Gosar from his two House committees including one on which Ocasio-Cortez also serves. Democratic lawmakers said Gosar’s actions amounted to threatening another member’s life. Gosar said, “I do not espouse violence toward anyone. I never have.” Then he retweeted the video after the vote.
November 18, 2021 4:12 am
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) – Defense attorneys for the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery rested Thursday after calling a total of seven witnesses. The people who testified in the men’s defense included the man who fatally shot Arbery, Travis McMichael. Six neighbors testified about their concerns regarding crime in the neighborhood. McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man in a pickup truck after he ran past their home from the house under construction. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cellphone video. All of the defendants are white.
November 18, 2021 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – North America’s leaders are reviving three-way summitry after a Trump-era break. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres López Obrador will resume the tradition of the North America Leaders Summit on Thursday in Washington. Such meetings were dropped during the Trump administration. The three North American allies find themselves facing deep differences on migration, climate and trade as they meet this time. The North American summit tradition started with George W. Bush hosting Mexico’s Vicente Fox and Canada’s Paul Martin in 2005 for talks at his Texas ranch.
November 18, 2021 4:07 am
NEW YORK (AP) – One of the men exonerated decades after the 1965 killing of Malcolm X says that “I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system.” The convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam were dismissed Thursday by a Manhattan judge. Prosecutors and the men’s lawyers say a renewed investigation found new evidence that undermined the case against the men and determined that authorities withheld some of what they knew. The two maintained their innocence from the start in the killing at Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom. Both were paroled in the 1980s. Islam died in 2009.
November 18, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Inflation will drive a big salary increase for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2022. For many of the positions, it is the biggest increase in three decades. Salaries will rise 5.6%, a figure tied by state law to the year-over-year change in the consumer price index for the mid-Atlantic region. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says it’s the largest year-over-year increase since 1991. The increase applies to more than 1,000 positions, including governor, Cabinet members, three statewide elected officers, all 253 lawmakers and state and county judges. It takes effect Dec. 1 for lawmakers and Jan. 1 for judicial and executive branch officials.
November 18, 2021 4:02 am
A Chicago man learned his fate on Wednesday afternoon as he was sentenced on felony possession with the intent to deliver charges. Charles Richards, 39 was arrested in April of 2019 following a months-long investigation by the Washington County Drug Task Force. A raid of the residences of Richards and Ronald Thomas of Washington found seven ounces of crack cocaine, a brick of stamp bags of heroin and several hundred dollars. Richards was sentenced to 6-12 years on the cocaine possession charge and 2-4 years on the heroin possession charge, all to be served in state prison. Those prison sentences will be served concurrently. Richards requested that he turn himself in after the Christmas holiday but Judge Valarie Costanzo denied that request. Richards was remanded to sheriff’s deputies and taken to county jail where he will be held until he is transported to state prison.
November 18, 2021 3:37 am
State Police are investigating a possible murder/suicide in Washington County. Authorities were called out Thursday afternoon to a home on Skylark Drive in Canton Township for reports of gunshots. Officials say two people, identified as 89-year-old Samuel Mayberry and 93-year-old Dolores Mayberry, were found dead inside the home from apparent gunshot wounds. Authorities say there was no sign of anyone outside the home being involved in the incident.
