June 17, 2021 4:10 am
PHOENIX (AP) – An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave has brought more triple-digit temperatures to a large swath of the U.S. West. It’s raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought. Phoenix is seeing some of the highest temperatures this week, expecting to hit 115 degrees Wednesday and 117 the next two days. Scientists who study drought and climate change say that people living in the American West can expect more of the same in the coming years. Cooling centers opened in the San Francisco Bay Area, people flocked to a lake in Denver amid expected triple-digit heat, and hot weather made it tougher to fight wildfires in Montana.
June 17, 2021 4:08 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas will now let people carry handguns without first getting a background check and training. It’s the latest and largest on a growing list of states to roll back permitting requirements for carrying guns in public. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott held a ceremonial bill signing at the Alamo in San Antonio on Thursday. He signed the bill over the objections of law enforcement groups who say the change will endanger the public and police. It’s backed by gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association. Tennessee, Utah and Iowa have passed similar bills this year, and GOP-controlled legislatures in Pennsylvania and Ohio are considering similar measures.
June 17, 2021 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president. Biden signed into law a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal holiday. The U.S. government announced Thursday that most federal government employees will observe the new holiday Friday because June 19 falls on Saturday this year. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas – two months after the Confederacy had surrendered.
June 17, 2021 4:06 am
(AP) – Frank Bonner, the actor who played the plaid-suited sales manager Herb Tarlek on the CBS comedy WKRP in Cincinnati, died Wednesday of complications from Lewy body dementia at his home in Laguna Niguel, CA. He was 79. His death was announced on Facebook by daughter Desiree Boers-Kort.
June 17, 2021 4:03 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice has slammed a new West Virginia law that bans transgender athletes from competing in female sports. The department asserted in a court filing Thursday that it violates federal law. The department filed what is known as a statement of interest in a lawsuit challenging the ban. The DOJ says the law violates Title IX as well as the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The lawsuit was filed last month by the American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and Lambda Legal on behalf of an 11-year-old transgender girl. She had hoped to compete in cross country in middle school.
June 17, 2021 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A western Pennsylvania judge will mediate a dispute over a statue of explorer Christopher Columbus in a Pittsburgh park. The Tribune-Review reports that Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay declared an impasse in the dispute between the city of Pittsburgh and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America over the Columbus statue in Schenley Park. McVay issued an order last week telling the parties to identify who will participate from each side during the mediation, which hasn’t yet been scheduled. City crews last fall covered the 13-foot statue, which was erected in 1955, in advance of Columbus Day.
June 17, 2021 3:22 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are working to assemble a budget plan that would use billions in federal aid and surplus cash to help prop up existing programs, boost aid to public schools and inject cash into sectors hard-hit by the pandemic. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Pat Browne said the state will still have a deficit in three years even if it uses all of the $7.3 billion in federal aid and $3 billion in surplus state dollars to maintain current programs. While Republicans are considering which hard-hit sectors to help, Democratic lawmakers have rolled out expansive plans. Gov. Tom Wolf’s top priority is to boost aid to schools.
June 16, 2021 1:49 pm
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Delegates at the Southern Baptist’s annual meeting have decided to consider an investigation of the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse cases. More than two-thirds of them voted Wednesday to debate a proposal to investigate leaders’ handling of sex abuse claims. The convention’s business committee had planned to refer the proposal to its Executive Committee, the same entity alleged to have failed in its response to abuse cases. More than 15,000 voting delegates are attending the two-day meeting in Nashville, the highest number in decades.
June 16, 2021 7:42 am
GENEVA (AP) – President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded their high-stake summit in Geneva. The pair met for nearly four hours on Wednesday, first in a smaller session and later in a larger meeting that was expanded to include more officials from both sides and which lasted about 65 minutes. Putin and then Biden are scheduled to hold press conferences before departing the summit site.
June 16, 2021 5:57 am
The Washington County District Attorney is speaking out about that recent State Auditor General’s report that criticized the county’s Common Pleas Court process of allowing criminal defendants to perform community service in place of paying costs, fines and other monetary assessments. Gene Vittone says the report “extrapolated a small sample of reviewed cases” over a four year period and “incorrectly concluded that this failure deprived the state and county” of more than $1.5 million dollars. In a written statement released Tuesday afternoon, Vittone went on to say “Auditor General Defoor’s conclusion that the process in Washington County is flawed and that a hearing in court is necessary is legally incorrect”. The District Attorney says community service is routinely offered as part of plea offers for first time offenders and, in return, many municipalities and non-profits in the county receive the benefit of free labor. He also says it would be unfortunate if the program were to suffer solely due to an incorrect legal interpretation reached by the Auditor General.
