May 11, 2021 12:59 pm
The trial for a Greene County man charged with attacking a group of teenagers inside the Washington Crown Center’s movie theater in North Franklin Township is underway. Fifty-five-year-old Chris Williams is charged with pulling out a gun and firing a single shot that struck 17-year-old Anthony Ward in the leg. Authorities contend that Ward, who was with a group of teenagers, were talking loudly and that upset Williams and he allegedly then punched one of the teens, which eventually led to the altercation and shooting. Williams is facing two felony counts of aggravated assault, along with several lesser charges. The shooting occurred on March 23, 2019. A jury of eight women and four men were seated Monday afternoon.
May 11, 2021 4:14 am
The U.S. is expanding use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12. The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that the shot is safe and offers strong protection for younger teens based on testing of more than 2,000 U.S. volunteers. Shots could begin soon once a federal vaccine panel issues recommendations for using the vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds. Most vaccines rolling out worldwide have been authorized for adults. The latest news is welcome for U.S. families struggling to decide what activities are safe to resume when the youngest family members remain unvaccinated.
May 11, 2021 4:12 am
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – The Israeli city of Tel Aviv is under fire from a barrage of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. The volleys killed a 50-year-old woman who was the third Israeli citizen killed on Tuesday. The attack set off air raid sirens across the city and closed the main international airport. Hamas said it launched a total of 130 rockets, its most intense strike so far, in response to Israel’s destruction of a high-rise building in Gaza earlier in the evening. The sound of the outgoing rockets could be heard in Gaza. As the rockets made their way up in the skies, mosques across Gaza blared with chants of “God is great,” “victory to Islam” and “resistance.”
May 11, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans are preparing an all-out assault on a sweeping voting rights bill from Democrats. They plan to force dozens of politically difficult votes during a hearing Tuesday that will spotlight an increasingly charged national debate over access to the ballot. The bill as written would bring about the largest overhaul of U.S. elections in a generation. Democrats say the changes are even more important now as Republican-controlled states impose new voting restrictions. Yet it’s a motivating issue for Republicans as well. They plan to argue against public financing for congressional campaigns and an overhaul of the federal agency that polices elections.
May 11, 2021 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials are seeking to soothe concerns about price spikes or damage to the economy from last week’s cyberattack on a major fuel pipeline. Officials stress that the fuel supply has so far not experienced widespread disruptions, and the pipeline company says it’s working toward “substantially restoring operational service” by this coming weekend. The White House says it is monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast, and that President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to bring their resources to bear. Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.
May 11, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has set a Wednesday vote for removing Rep. Liz Cheney from her No. 3 Republican leadership post. The California Republican sent a letter Monday to GOP lawmakers saying it was clear that he and his fellow Republicans “need to make a change.” McCarthy’s letter did not mention Cheney or former President Donald Trump by name. But the move comes after Cheney repeatedly challenged Trump’s false assertions pinning his November reelection defeat on widespread voting fraud and criticized Trump’s role in encouraging supporters’ Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Cheney seems all but certain to be tossed from her leadership job.
May 11, 2021 4:07 am
(AP) – Fewer renters than expected are applying for pandemic assistance in Pennsylvania. That’s alarming state officials who urged tenants behind on rent to submit their applications now in light of a judge’s recent decision striking down a national eviction moratorium. The judge’s ruling has been put on hold while the Biden administration appeals. But the uncertainty around the moratorium prompted the Department of Human Services, which runs the state’s rental assistance program, to plead with renters to take advantage of the program. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is allowing more people at indoor and outdoor events starting Monday.
May 11, 2021 3:56 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A former nursing assistant has been sentenced to seven consecutive terms of life in prison for injecting seven elderly veterans with fatal doses of insulin. Reta Mays was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Mays didn’t say why she did it before being sentenced on seven counts of second-degree murder. She pleaded guilty to giving the unprescribed insulin injections at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. Mays worked overnight shifts at the northern West Virginia hospital between 2017 and 2018. Mays has a history of mental health issues, but Judge Thomas Kleeh told Mays she knew what she was doing and called her a monster.
May 10, 2021 9:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration says the government will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care., reversing a Trump-era policy. It’s the latest step by President Joe Biden to advance the rights of gay and transgender people across society, from military service, to housing, to employment opportunities. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says LGBTQ people should have the same access to health care as everyone else. The Trump administration had defined “sex” to mean gender assigned at birth, thereby excluding transgender people from the umbrella of legal protection against sex discrimination. Both sides say litigation is likely.
May 10, 2021 5:25 am
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) – We haven’t learned what caused the death of Tawny Kitaen. The red-haired actor who appeared in movies and in rock music videos during MTV’s heyday is dead at 59. The Orange County coroner’s office says she died at her home in Newport Beach, California on Friday. No cause of death was given. Aside from her being in music videos, she played Tom Hanks’ finance in the comedy “Bachelor Party” and was Jerry Seinfeld’s girlfriend in a 1991 “Seinfeld” episode.
