October 8, 2021 2:11 pm
KITTANNING, Pa. (AP) – A former Pennsylvania police chief has pleaded guilty to failing to properly register as a sex offender. Ex-Leechburg Police Chief Michael Diebold entered the plea Wednesday. The 44-year-old was charged with failing to provide accurate information when he registered as a sex offender. Diebold was previously arrested in a child predator sting for soliciting sex online from a state trooper who posed as a 14-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty in December 2018. Diebold was sentenced to nine to 23 months in jail and three years probation. The former police chief also was required to register as a sex offender and refrain from using the internet for anything other than work.
October 8, 2021 1:14 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf joined governors of three other northeastern states, agreeing to share information about firearms purchases to help detect and investigate straw buyers and other gun crimes. Governors in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania signed an agreement Thursday to exchange gun crime data for use only by law enforcement. The agreement includes provisions governing security and mandated notice if the information is misused. The four Democratic governors say the initiative will help target gun networks that cross state lines. The states plan to share details they get from federal government reports that show who first bought and sold guns recovered during criminal investigations.
October 8, 2021 9:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers added just 194,000 jobs in September, a second straight tepid gain and evidence that the pandemic still has a grip on the economy with many companies struggling to fill millions of open jobs. Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.8% from 5.2% in August.
October 8, 2021 4:15 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Abortions have resumed in at least six Texas clinics after a federal judge halted the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. Amy Hagstrom Miller is the president of Whole Woman’s Health, which has four clinics in Texas. She said Thursday that her clinics are performing abortions again and scheduling more for the coming days. But it was not a rush to resume normal operations in clinics across Texas. Some providers worry that an appeals court could soon reinstate the law known as Senate Bill 8. The law bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks when many women don’t even know they are pregnant. Texas officials have already said they will appeal.
October 8, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has dodged a U.S. debt disaster by approving legislation to lift the federal limit on new borrowing by nearly a half-trillion dollars. The bill, likely to be approved by the House as well, should temporarily avert an unprecedented U.S. default that experts say would have devastated the economy and harmed millions of Americans. Approved Thursday night by the Senate, it will extend the government’s authority to borrow into December. However, that will provide only a temporary reprieve. The same battle will be revived as Democrats argue before year-end with Republicans, who say Democrats must lift the cap without their help.
October 8, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Nearly all Americans agree that the rampant spread of misinformation is a problem. Most also think individual users, along with social media companies, bear a good deal of blame for the situation. But relatively few are very concerned that they themselves might be responsible. That’s according to a new poll from The Pearson Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Ninety-five percent of Americans identified misinformation as a problem. About half put a great deal of blame on the U.S. government, and about three-quarters point to social media users and tech companies. Only 2 in 10 Americans say they’re very concerned that they have personally spread misinformation, though about 3 in 10 say they’re somewhat concerned.
October 8, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump intends to assert executive privilege in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. That’s according to a letter sent by lawyers for the former president. The move could prevent the testimony of onetime aides. The letter went to at least some witnesses who were subpoenaed, and it makes clear that Trump plans to invoke privileges meant to protect presidential communications from being shared with Congress. The substance of the letter was described by a person who has seen it. That person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the letter was not yet public.
October 8, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The governors of four northeastern states are agreeing to share information about firearms purchases to help detect and investigate straw buyers and other gun crimes. Governors in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania signed an agreement Thursday to exchange gun crime data for use only by law enforcement. The agreement includes provisions governing security and mandated notice if the information is misused. The four Democratic governors say the initiative will help target gun networks that cross state lines. The states plan to share details they get from federal government reports that show who first bought and sold guns recovered during criminal investigations.
October 8, 2021 2:56 am
Authorities are investigating the cause of an accident in Smith Township that left a home delivery propane truck on its side, leaking fuel. Washington County Emergency Management spokesperson Ryan Frazee tells WJPA that the truck rolled over onto its side on Bavington Road Thursday afternoon, before three o’clock. Frazee says Hazmat crews were called to the scene to stop the leak and they have secured the area, closing down Bavington Road. The road was closed from Route 18 to Route 22 for several hours. Frazee says the driver was injured and flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital but he did not know the extent of those injuries.
October 8, 2021 2:21 am
Authorities have arrested a Pittsburgh man and charged him with murder in the shooting death of a United States Postal worker. Officials say 53-year-old Eric Kortz is believed to have shot and killed Louis Vignone, who was in his postal vehicle in Collier Township. He was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities say that shortly after the shooting, Kortz arrived at the Carnegie Borough Police Department and turned himself in for the shooting. During a subsequent interview, Kortz informed Investigators that he shot Vignone because Kortz believed that Vignone and Vignone’s family had poisoned Kortz and Kortz’s family with cyanide when Vignone and Kortz were previously neighbors. Kortz informed Investigators that Kortz was aware of where Vignone worked. Kortz said he located Vignone on his mail route, drove his vehicle toward Vignone’s USPS vehicle, and stopped in front of the vehicle to stop Vignone. Kortz then stated that he “went to put some bullets in him”, referring to shooting Vignone. Kortz said that he then dropped the firearm at the scene, got into his van, and drove to the Carnegie Borough Police Department. Kort was expected to be arraigned Thursday evening.
