February 21, 2021 2:00 am
Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski will remain in the Washington County Jail for the foreseeable future, following his arrest on Wednesday for a probation violation. Staniszewski’s attorney, Sean Logue, tells WJPA News that the legal proceedings regarding Staniszewski’s case have begun. Logue says a probation hearing was held on Wednesday and Staniszewski at that time, admitted there was a probation violation and he was held over for a second hearing next month. Logue says it is likely that until that hearing, Staniszewski will remain in jail. As for what the violation was, Logue said that at this time, he was not at liberty to say. Logue did say that the arrest did not take place at Staniszewski’s home. Staniszewski was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a bench warrant for a probation violation and authorities at the jail say the 44 year old was highly intoxicated and resistant at the time of his arrest. Logue has denied that, saying Staniszewski “self-reported’ his parole violation. As for what he “self-reported,” Logue did not offer an explanation. Last year, Staniszewski entered an open plea and was sentenced to six-months probation and a fine after pleading guilty to a first-offense driving under the influence charge. At that time, he was given credit for 31 days spent at an inpatient treatment facility. That arrest was actually his fourth DUI arrest since 2004, but was considered a first-offense, because, under Pennsylvania law, it had been ten years since his last conviction. Staniszewski is up for reelection to city council this year. Washington Mayor Scott Putnam told WJPA News that “At this time they are gathering information on the incident and other than that, I have no comment.”
February 20, 2021 4:16 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Detectives say they are investigating allegations of domestic violence against rocker Marilyn Manson involving incidents that occurred about a decade ago in West Hollywood. Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Adams says Friday that the Special Victims Bureau opened the investigation after a woman approached authorities to report the allegations. Word of the investigation came less than three weeks after actor Evan Rachel Wood publicly accused Manson, her ex-fiancé, of sexual and other physical abuse, alleging she was “manipulated into submission” during their relationship. The 52-year-old Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, has denied Wood’s allegations as “horrible distortions of reality.” áHis lawyer could not be reached for further comment Friday.
February 20, 2021 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A Manhattan judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes brought against CNN. The lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages was rejected Friday by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain. The California Republican had alleged the cable news company intentionally published a false news article and engaged in a conspiracy to defame him. The lawsuit said CNN in November 2019 published a report containing false claims that Nunes was involved in efforts to get “dirt” on then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. In court papers, CNN lawyers said Nunes never denied the report before it was published nor requested a timely retraction.
February 20, 2021 4:13 am
DENVER (AP) – The inspector general for the Department of Defense is investigating the Trump administration’s last-minute decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. President Donald Trump initially placed the command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. It was seen as a coup by Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who was up for reelection. But Gardner lost in November, and Colorado overwhelmingly rejected Trump. The Trump administration then announced on Jan. 13 that the command would move to Alabama, a decisively pro-Trump state. The inspector general’s office will see if it complied with government policies.
February 20, 2021 4:13 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – An activist who participated in protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha has been charged with a felony for allegedly kicking in a door at the public safety building and making a comment about breaking a police officer’s fingers. Sixty-two-year-old Clyde McLemore of Zion, Illinois, was charged Friday with attempted battery to a law enforcement officer. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. McLemore was active in many of the Black Lives Matter protests after Blake’s shooting. He told the Kenosha News on Friday that he had just learned of the charges, saying the county charged him, but refused to charge the officer who shot Blake.
February 20, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States has returned to the Paris climate accord. President Joe Biden told a virtual gathering of European leaders Friday that the world “can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change.” Global leaders applauded the United States’ formal return to the mostly voluntary 2015 agreement. They say they expect the U.S. to show leadership in the fight against warming by setting strong targets for carbon pollution cuts by 2030. Trump said soon after he took office that he would start the process of pulling the U.S. from the Paris accord, but it didn’t take effect until Nov. 4, 2020.
February 20, 2021 4:07 am
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (WPXI) — You might soon have to pay a toll to cross some bridges in Pennsylvania, including one in Bridgeville on I-79. This comes as reconstruction and rehabilitation of bridges in Pennsylvania can be accelerated after a new program was approved, according to the state’s Department of Transportation. Thursday, PennDOT announced the nine bridges in Pennsylvania that they are suggesting tolls be added to in order to help with transportation funding in the state. In a news release, PennDOT officials called the new tolling program “a viable near-term solution” and stated that the bridges under consideration are fairly large. They would require “significant funds to rehabilitate or replace.” PennDOT said the tolling would be entirely electronic, using E-ZPass or license plate billing. The money collected at each bridge would be used only for the construction, maintenance and operation of that bridge. The tolling would be installed for both directions of travel and cost between $1.00 and $2.00. The current budget for highway and bridge maintenance in Pennsylvania is about $6.9 billion per year, which PennDOT said is less than half of what’s needed to keep the roads and bridges in good condition. In Pennsylvania, the average bridge is over 50 years old. These bridge projects and the associated tolling will be looked at over the next year before any final decisions are made.
February 20, 2021 2:36 am
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (AP) – Authorities have charged a western Pennsylvania man with killing his brother and the brother’s girlfriend. Allegheny County Police arrested 60-year-old Timothy Gumm of Stowe Township on Thursday night. Earlier in the day, police had found the decomposed bodies of his 55-year-old brother, Christopher, and his brother’s girlfriend, 47-year-old Sally Sines. Authorities determined the pair had been shot earlier in the week. Timothy Gumm is held in the Allegheny County Jail while awaiting arraignment. (Photo: WPXI)
February 20, 2021 1:59 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kim Kardashian West has filed for divorce from Kanye West after 6 1/2 years of marriage. Kardashian filed the papers Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The impending end of “Kimye” brings a close to one of the most famous celebrity unions of the 21st century, between a reality TV superstar and a hip hop and fashion mega-mogul. They have four young children: North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm. The two married in Italy in 2014. It was the first marriage for the 43-year-old West, and the third for the 40-year-old Kardashian.
February 19, 2021 4:18 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida man accused of trying to organize an armed response to supporters of former President Donald Trump when they were expected at the state Capitol last month has been indicted on federal charges. Court records show a federal grand jury in Tallahassee on Thursday formally charged Daniel Baker. Authorities say Baker was using social media to recruit people in a plot to create an armed circle around protesters and trap them in the Capitol. Court document describes a series of threats of violence Baker made on social media. Baker is described as anti-Trump, anti-government, anti-white supremacists and anti-police.
