October 20, 2019 8:16 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong authorities are beefing up security ahead of an unauthorized rally by pro-democracy protesters. Water-filled plastic security barriers went up around a rail terminal where Sunday’s protest march will finish. It’s the latest rally in the 5-month-old unrest rocking the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The city’s subway operator has restricted passenger access to the West Kowloon train station. Organizers say the march will go ahead despite police refusing to approve the procession, citing risks to public safety. Supporters of the movement gathered at the rally’s starting point on a waterfront promenade. Many wore masks in defiance of a government ban on face coverings at public gatherings, and volunteers handed more out to the crowd. Police on Saturday arrested a man on suspicion of stabbing an activist distributing leaflets.
October 20, 2019 8:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Responding to stinging criticism, President Donald Trump has abruptly reversed his plan to hold the next Group of Seven world leaders’ meeting at his Doral, Florida, golf resort next year. Trump announced a rare backtrack Saturday night after facing accusations that he was using the presidency to enrich himself by hosting the international summit at a private resort owned by his family. He said his administration “will begin the search for another site, including the possibility of Camp David, immediately.” He tweeted that he blamed Democrats and the media for the strong criticism on his plan
October 20, 2019 8:14 am
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) – Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence. Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time. He left Washington Saturday. His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like.
October 20, 2019 8:11 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Leaders of a Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 worshippers were fatally shot last year say they want to renovate the building into what they hope will be a “center for Jewish life in the United States” and a symbol against hatred. Plans unveiled Friday for the Tree of Life synagogue include places for worship; memorial, education and social events; classrooms and exhibitions. Tree of Life’s Executive Director Barb Feige says returning to the building will honor those killed on Oct. 27, 2018. Federal prosecutors have charged 47-year-old Robert Bowers in the massacre. They are seeking the death penalty. His lawyers say the case would be over by now if prosecutors had accepted his guilty plea in return for a life term without parole.
October 20, 2019 8:10 am
DUQUESNE, Pa. (WPXI) – Four people were shot during a drive-by in a Duquesne neighborhood, according to police. Duquesne police confirmed four people were shot in the 600 block of Priscilla Avenue around 5 p.m. Saturday. According to a release from Allegheny County officials, three of the victims were found on the front porch of a home in the 600 block of Priscilla Avenue. Police said a fourth person was shot farther down the street. Three of the victims were men – ages 25, 27, and 30 – and the fourth was a 27-year-old woman. Investigators said all four people were taken to the hospital in stable condition, but the 30-year-old man is currently in surgery. After an initial investigation, police determined that three men inside a blue Ford Fusion drove down Priscilla Avenue and began shooting at the people on the porch. A fourth man was also struck by gunfire. Evidence markers could be seen scattered on the pavement, along with multiple bullet holes in at least one car. Detectives are still trying to identify the suspected shooters, and the motive is unknown at this point. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to call police.
October 20, 2019 8:07 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – A man wanted on charges out of Florida was arrested and taken to the Allegheny County Jail following a standoff with the SWAT team overnight. Police said during regular patrols on the North Side in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, officers spotted a stolen vehicle outside a home on Lecky Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. When police went up to home to ask about the car, the suspect started threatening officers, forced the homeowner out and barricaded himself inside.The man, in his early 60s, was wanted on a felony warrant out of Florida, police discovered. After more than two hours, SWAT officers shot flash bang grenades and gas canisters into the home. The man surrendered just before 1:30 a.m. Police said the man will be extradited to Florida.
October 20, 2019 8:04 am
CANONSBURG — The Canon-McMillan School District and the North Strabane Police Department have investigated videos of alleged high school students using racial slurs. North Strabane Police say they were made aware of the two videos Friday. One shows a boy using a racial slur, the other a girl using the same slur. A police investigation found one of the videos could have been recorded at Canon-McMillan High School. No charges will be filed, but the school district continues its investigation, according to a tweet from the district’s account Saturday morning. North Strabane Police say they have finished their investigation unless more videos surface. They say it will be up to parents and the school to implement any discipline.
October 19, 2019 11:27 am
LONDON (AP) – The British government looks set to try again next week to get Parliament to back its divorce deal with the European Union, after lawmakers voted to delay the decision.
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg says the government will seek a debate Monday on its Brexit-implementing legislation that would effectively be a vote to approve the deal.
It’s unclear whether that would be allowed under House of Commons rules against holding repeated votes on the same question. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said he would make a ruling Monday. Lawmakers voted Saturday to withhold their approval for the Brexit deal until all legislation to implement it has been passed. In the meantime, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is required to ask the EU to delay Britain’s departure, currently scheduled for Oct. 31. Johnson is still aiming to get the deal approved by Oct. 31 so no delay is necessary.
October 19, 2019 9:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Bernie Sanders isn’t going anywhere. Less than three weeks after suffering a heart attack, the Democratic presidential contender is beginning what he’s calling a “vigorous” return to the campaign trail with a rally expected to draw thousands of supporters in New York City on Saturday afternoon. One of them will be New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders’ latest high-profile endorsement. She’ll share the stage with Sanders and give his stagnant White House bid an instant dose of energy. The event marks a coming-out party of sorts for the 78-year-old Vermont senator, who left the campaign trail earlier this month after he underwent emergency heart surgery. He insists that he’s more committed than ever to his 2020 White House bid.
Saturday’s rally will take place in Queens.
October 19, 2019 9:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The State Department has completed its internal investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s use of private email and found violations by 38 people, some of whom may face disciplinary action. The department determined that those 38 people were “culpable” in 91 cases of sending classified information in messages that ended up in Clinton’s personal email. The 38 are current and former State Department officials but were not identified in the report that was sent to Congress this week. The investigation covered 33,000 emails that Clinton turned over for review after her use of the private email account became public. The department said it found a total of 588 violations involving information then or now deemed to be classified, but could not assign fault in 497 cases.
