December 9, 2021 9:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Two lawsuits seeking $100 million each have been filed against a Michigan school district, its superintendent and others after four students were fatally shot and others wounded at Oxford High School. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger says the lawsuits were filed in Detroit federal by Jeffrey and Brandi Franz on behalf of their daughters, Riley, a 17-year-old senior who was shot in the neck Nov. 30, and her sister Bella, a 14-year-old ninth grader who was next to her. Named in the suits are the Oxford Community School District, Superintendent Timothy Throne, Oxford High’s principal and others. The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment from the district. Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old sophomore, was arrested and is charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes.
December 9, 2021 4:17 am
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) – A U.S. Coast Guard diver was lowered from a hovering helicopter to pull a body from a partly submerged vehicle stuck in the frigid rapids above Niagara Falls. Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea, a Detroit-based rescue swimmer, spent about two minutes recovering the body from the car, as water surged past, then over the falls about 50 yards downstream. Authorities said Wednesday the lone occupant was a woman in her 60s who lived in the area. It was unclear how the car got into the river. New York’s State Park Police said rescuers have never been called to a vehicle so close to the edge.
December 9, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has ruled against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The three-judge panel said Thursday there was a “unique legislative need” for documents that the committee has requested but whose release Trump has sought to block through executive privilege. The appeals court ruled that the injunction that has prevented the National Archives from turning over the documents will expire in two weeks, or when the Supreme Court rules on an expected appeal from Trump, whichever is later.
December 9, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has narrowly approved a resolution to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take it up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote has given senators a chance to come out against a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents worried about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.
December 9, 2021 4:10 am
A growing effort to unionize Starbucks stores is facing its first major test. The National Labor Relations Board is scheduled to count ballots Thursday from union elections held at three separate Starbucks stores in the Buffalo, New York, area. Around 111 Starbucks workers from the three stores were eligible to vote. Starbucks has never had unionized U.S. stores in its 50-year history, and has fought off previous unionization attempts. The company says its stores function best when it works directly with employees. But union backers say they want more input in store operations and pay.
December 9, 2021 2:51 am
The Peters Township Police Department is investigating the death of a Pittsburgh man Thursday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 68-year-old Larry Haney of Pittsburgh was traveling west on Waterdam Road in McMurray shortly before two o’clock, when he lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a utility pole. He was taken to Canonsburg Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is pending.
December 9, 2021 2:43 am
It was a record year for the 2000 Turkeys campaign. The official, final total was announced Wednesday morning. Board member Karen Mansfield says $231,500 was raised. That is the highest total ever collected. All of the money goes towards providing a Thanksgiving dinner for needy families in Washington County. That includes 13 community food pantries and a dozen senior high-rises that work in partnership with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Mansfield, along with fellow board members Laurel Ziemba and Dave Rhome thanked the Washington County community for coming together to make this years event such a success.
December 9, 2021 2:42 am
A surge in COVID-19 cases across Pennsylvania and in Washington County is causing concern for officials with the Washington Health System. Larry Pantuso is a registered nurse and vice president of strategy and clinical services for the hospital and he says the network is seeing a near-record number of COVID admissions, with most of those individuals being unvaccinated. Pantuso says the increase in COVID-19 cases is cause for concern since it has a trickle down effect for those individuals who may need critical care for an illness other than COVID. Other health care providers are echoing that sentiment and continue to urge individuals to get their COVID vaccine and booster shot if eligible.
December 8, 2021 5:25 pm
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Nearly 17 years after being sentenced to die, Scott Peterson was re-sentenced to life without parole Wednesday during an emotional hearing in which family members of his slain pregnant wife, Laci, called him out for the killing in 2002 and his apparent lack of remorse. The California Supreme Court ruled a year ago that his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty in a case that gripped the world then and since. Prosecutors opted to settle this time for life without parole. (Photo: AP)
December 8, 2021 5:22 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett on charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it. The jury began deliberations Wednesday for the former “Empire” star after a roughly weeklong trial. Two brothers testified that Smollett orchestrated the hoax to get publicity. They say he paid them to fake the January 2019 attack in downtown Chicago. Smollett testified “there was no hoax” and says he was the victim of a hate crime. He says the brothers are “liars.” His attorneys say the brothers wanted $1 million not to testify against Smollett. (Photo: AP)
