April 19, 2021 4:19 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s largest coal miners’ union says it would accept President Joe Biden’s plan to move away from coal and other fossil fuels in exchange for a “true energy transition” that includes thousands of jobs in renewable energy and spending on technology to make coal cleaner. Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, says ensuring jobs for displaced coal workers is crucial to any infrastructure bill taken up by Congress. At least 7,000 coal workers lost their jobs last year amid continued declines in the industry. Roberts says Congress needs “to provide a future for anybody that loses their job because of a transition in this country.”
April 19, 2021 4:22 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A suspect was arrested Monday after three people were killed in a shooting in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. The suspect was arrested Monday morning outside Austin after two people spotted him and notified authorities, police said in a statement. Police identified the suspect as Stephen Broderick, 41. He is a former deputy for the sheriff’s office in Travis County, which includes Austin, interim Police Chief Joe Chacon said at a press conference Sunday afternoon. Police responded to a call of a shooting around 11:45 a.m. CT Sunday and found two women and one man injured, Chacon said. They later died. The preliminary indication was that the suspect knew the victims.
April 19, 2021 4:19 am
DETROIT (AP) – Federal safety regulators have sent a team to investigate the fatal crash of a Tesla near Houston in which local authorities say no one was behind the wheel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it has sent a Special Crash Investigation team to Spring, Texas, to look into the fiery Saturday night crash that killed two men. Harris County Precinct Four Constable Mark Herman says investigators are “100% sure” that no one was driving the Tesla that ran off a residential road, hit a tree and burst into flames. But they’re still trying to determine whether the electric car was in full self-driving mode.
April 19, 2021 4:18 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Police say the former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis legally purchased the two rifles used in the attack despite red flag laws designed to prevent that. The Indianapolis police say a trace of the two guns found at the scene revealed that suspect Brandon Scott Hole legally bought the rifles last July and September. Indiana has a “red flag law” intended to prevent people from possessing a firearm if they are found by a judge to present “an imminent risk.” Officials have not said whether a ruling was made in Hole’s case that would have prevented him from purchasing a firearm after police seized a shotgun from his home last year.
April 19, 2021 4:17 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The murder case against former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has gone to the jury. Twelve jurors are beginning deliberations in a city on edge against another round of unrest. During closing arguments, prosecutors argued that Chauvin squeezed the life out of Floyd by pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck last May, ignoring bystanders and common sense. The defense argued that the now-fired white officer acted reasonably and that the 46-year-old Black man died of an underlying heart condition and illegal drug use.
April 19, 2021 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – One person has died after a fatal shooting took place on Moore Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville Neighborhood, according to police. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert for 19 rounds being fired at approximately 8:45 p.m. When officers arrived at the home, they found one man dead inside and one man outside with a gunshot in the back. Additionally, one person walked into a local hospital with gunshot injuries. Police explained that there was some form of a party taking place at the home. Police are looking at video surveillance in the neighborhood and talking with people who were at the party, as well as neighbors.
April 19, 2021 4:10 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — (WPXI)- West Virginia University Police have confirmed Benjamin Pravecek, a 20-year-old business major from Harpers Ferry, died April 16. Officers are continuing their investigation, but early indications suggest no foul play was involved. “We are grieving today,” Dean of Students Corey Farris said. “This tragedy reminds us how important the love, care and compassion we share with others can be. We have been in touch with Benjamin’s family and friends to offer our support during this difficult time, and we will continue to provide whatever resources and help are necessary.” “I want our students to know that we are here for you,” T. Anne Hawkins, director of the Carruth Center, said. “If you need to talk, if you just want someone to be with you or if you know someone who may need support, please know that you are not alone.” UPD responded to University Place just after 12:30 p.m. Friday after reports that a person either fell or jumped from the parking garage and landed on the sidewalk below. A Community Notice was issued. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to contact University Police at 304-293-3136.
April 19, 2021 4:07 am
GLEN ROCK, Pa. (AP) – A school board in southern Pennsylvania voted to keep the name of the Susquehannock High School mascot the “Warriors,” but will drop an image meant to portray a Native American fighter. The York Dispatch reports the school board for the Southern York County School District made the decision in a 7-2 vote on Thursday. It followed a review by the board’s diversity committee, a hearing with testimony from Native American advocates and a petition against removing the mascot that garnered 3,800 signatures. Students will design the new logo. Superintendent Sandra Lemmon said the board will get an update about it next month.
April 18, 2021 7:49 am
PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — Divers returned Saturday to the murky, roiling waters of the Gulf of Mexico in search of lost crew members aboard a capsized lift boat off Louisiana, the Coast Guard said. Michelli said an update on the search progress would be released later Saturday. Late Friday, divers recovered two more unresponsive crew members, the Coast Guard said. Commercial divers on the capsized Seacor Power lift boat found them, the Coast Guard statement said. But the Coast Guard said it was not releasing the names of any of those rescued, recovered or still missing out of respect for the privacy of their families.
April 18, 2021 7:47 am
BOSTON (AP) — The sprawling hacking campaign deemed a grave threat to U.S. national security came to be known as SolarWinds, for the company whose software update was seeded by Russian intelligence agents with malware to penetrate sensitive government and private networks. Yet it was Microsoft whose code the cyber spies persistently abused in the campaign’s second stage, rifling through emails and other files of such high-value targets as then-acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf — and hopping undetected among victim networks. This has put the world’s third-most valuable company in the hot seat. Because its products are a de facto monoculture in government and industry — with more than 85% market share — federal lawmakers are insisting that Microsoft swiftly upgrade security to what they say it should have provided in the first place, and without fleecing taxpayers. Seeking to assuage concerns, Microsoft this past week offered all federal agencies a year of “advanced” security features at no extra charge. But it also seeks to deflect blame, saying it is customers who do not always make security a priority.
