May 26, 2021 12:43 pm
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – An employee opened fire at a California rail yard serving Silicon Valley, killing eight people before ending his own life. Authorities say the shooting took place Wednesday in San Jose at a transit control center that stores trains and has a maintenance yard. Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Russell Davis said the suspect was an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority, which provides bus, light rail and other transit services throughout Santa Clara County, the largest county in the Bay Area. He said the attack also resulted in “multiple major injuries.” The attacker was identified as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, according to two law enforcement officials.
May 26, 2021 12:39 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A judge has upheld the jail sentence of the former Penn State president who was forced out as the school’s top administrator after Jerry Sandusky was arrested nearly a decade ago. The judge says Graham Spanier must report to jail on July 9 to begin serving at least two months for endangering the welfare of children, followed by two months of house arrest. Spanier had stayed out of jail during appeals. A Penn State spokesperson says Spanier remains a tenured faculty member on administrative leave who is not teaching classes.
May 26, 2021 4:57 am
A Carmichaels man was pronounced dead at Washington Health System-Greene Tuesday afternoon following a standoff with police. The Greene County Coroner says a cause and manner of death for 59 year old Jeffry Christopher are pending. No other details are being released. State Police say they were initially called to do a welfare check on the man late Monday night. He refused to come out and when officers returned with a mental health warrant they say he fired two shots at police from inside his home in a mobile home park along Route 88 in Cumberland Township. Police say they made entry into the home just after 9 a.m. Tuesday and Christopher was transported by ambulance to the hospital. State Police continue to investigate.
May 26, 2021 4:23 am
ROME (AP) – Police in northern Italy have made three arrests in the cable car disaster that killed 14 people. Police made the arrests after an investigation showed a clamp was placed on the brake as a patchwork repair effort and prevented the brake from engaging after the lead cable snapped. Carabinieri Lt. Col. Alberto Cicognani told Sky TG24 on Wednesday that the three people admitted to their involvement during questioning overnight. áHe said the fork-shaped clamp was placed on the brake as a temporary solution to prevent further interruptions in the funicular service.After the lead cable snapped Sunday, the cabin reeled back down the line until it pulled off, crashed to the ground and rolled over.
May 26, 2021 4:21 am
LEESBURG, Fla. (AP) – Officials say a firefighting helicopter with four people on board has crashed near an airport in central Florida, killing at least one person. The Federal Aviation Administration says the helicopter crashed into a marsh near Leesburg International Airport during a training exercise around 4 p.m. Tuesday. Leesburg Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post that one body was recovered and that the crash appears to be a “total loss.” No survivors have been found. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Officials did not immediately release additional information.
May 26, 2021 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republicans are reviving negotiations over President Joe Biden’s sweeping investment plan. On Tuesday, they prepared a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal that would be funded with COVID-19 relief money as a counteroffer to the White House ahead of a Memorial Day deadline toward a bipartisan deal. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said a week of progress was expected. Talks over the infrastructure investment are at a crossroads as Biden reaches for a top legislative priority. The White House is assessing whether Biden can strike a deal with Republicans or whether he will go it alone with Democrats.
May 26, 2021 4:20 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business dealings. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The development signals that the Manhattan district attorney’s office was moving toward seeking charges as a result of its two-year investigation, which included a lengthy legal battle to obtain Trump’s tax records. In a statement, Trump called the investigation a “witch hunt,” saying it’s “purely political” and “driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors.” The district attorney’s office declined to comment.
May 26, 2021 4:19 am
NEW DELHI (AP) – Heavy winds and a high tide are lashing parts of India’s eastern coast as a cyclone moves ashore where more than 1.1 million people have evacuated. Sustained winds up to 87 miles per hour were blowing, but the storm was forecast to weaken through the day. Television images showed knee-deep water in a beach resort town and wind whipping palm trees. Cyclone Yaas caused two deaths and damage to homes on Tuesday before it began making landfall around midday Wednesday. The cyclone comes amid a coronavirus surge, with both complicating the disaster response efforts.
May 26, 2021 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – StarKist Co. has announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Pittsburgh to Virginia next year. StarKist, known for cartoon mascot Charlie the Tuna, said in a statement that the headquarters on Pittsburgh’s North Shore will close at the end of March 2022 “but the company will maintain a presence in the region.” The new headquarters will be in the Washington D.C. area. StarKist, originally the French Sardine Co., was founded in California in 1917 and became StarKist Foods in 1953. The connection with landlocked Pittsburgh came in a 1963 sale to H.J. Heinz Co. Its current parent company is Dongwon Industries of South Korea.
May 26, 2021 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature are advancing hot-button bills to restrict abortion rights and expand gun rights, although the bills faced opposition by Democratic lawmakers and certain veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. In the House Health Committee on Tuesday, Republicans passed two bills to further restrict abortion rights. One would restrict abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The other bill would prohibit an abortion on the basis of a Down syndrome diagnosis. In the House Judiciary Committee, Republicans passed a bill to allow people to carry a loaded firearm openly or concealed, without a permit, and revived legislation to make it easier to sue municipalities over gun ordinances that are stricter than state law.
