August 31, 2020 4:04 am
GREENSBURG, Pa. – (WPXI) – A portion of a Westmoreland County road was closed off as police hunted for a prisoner who escaped while en route to the prison. A part of Route 711 in Fairfield Township was blocked off after the man ran off from St. Clair Township police. Investigators said the man claimed he was sick and when he was let out of the vehicle he ran off. The man had a warrant out for his arrest, but it’s not clear exactly why he was wanted. Search crews were looking for the man near Pennsylvania Game Commission land and Route 711. The man was described as having blonde hair, and was wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants. Police said he was also handcuffed when he took off.
August 29, 2020 9:55 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot early Saturday after fires were set at a police union building that’s a frequent site for protests. Officers extinguished the fire at the door of the Portland Police Association building and arrested several protesters. Witnesses also say a car drove by near the demonstration and someone inside fired several gunshots into the air. Video posted online showed shell casings in the street. No injuries were reported. Demonstrators had earlier staged a sit-in at the Portland mayor’s condo lobby Friday night. Portland has been gripped by nightly demonstrations for over three months since the police killing of George Floyd.
August 29, 2020 8:27 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The ruler of the United Arab Emirates has issued a decree formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries. The state-run WAM news agency reported the decree on Saturday, saying it was on the orders of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the Emirates’ leader. WAM said the new decree allows Israelis and Israeli firms to do business in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.
August 29, 2020 7:22 am
UNDATED (AP) – South Korea has reported 323 new cases of the coronavirus, marking its 16th consecutive day of triple-digit daily jumps, as health officials prepare to tighten social distancing restrictions in the greater capital area. The numbers released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Saturday brought the national caseload to 19,400. Fatalities reached 321 after the country added five more deaths. The KCDC said 249 of the new cases came from the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the country’s 51 million people live, where health workers have struggled to track infections linked to various places, including churches, restaurants, schools and apartment buildings.
August 29, 2020 7:19 am
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) – President Donald Trump says he is heading to Louisiana and Texas after Hurricane Laura tore through parts of the states. Trump’s Saturday visit comes two days after the Category 4 storm smashed into Lake Charles, Louisiana. The mayor of the city of 80,000 warns it could be weeks before water service is restored. Electricity is also out and it could take crews weeks to put up new poles and restring power lines. The hurricane has killed 14 people in the U.S., more than half by carbon monoxide poisoning due to unsafe operation of generators.
August 29, 2020 7:15 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors in the case against four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd say they will seek stiff sentences if the men are convicted. In documents filed Friday, prosecutors noted that Floyd was vulnerable and treated with particular cruelty. Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. A judge has discretion to order up to 15 years on the murder counts under the state’s sentencing guidelines. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years.
August 29, 2020 7:13 am
(AP)-Mark Ruffalo, Jordan Peele and Denzel Washington were among many expressing shock, grief and gratitude in the wake of the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday at age 43. Boseman’s “Avengers” co-star Ruffalo said he was “an immense talent” whose “greatness was only beginning.” Peele called Boseman’s death “a crushing blow.” Washington said Boseman “was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist.” “Black Panther” co-star Angela Bassett said his “dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal.” Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who like Boseman is a graduate of Howard University, said he “left too early but his life made a difference.”
August 29, 2020 4:09 am
Harrisburg-The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission awarded a grant to the Intermediate Unit I in Washington County to engage students in alternative education and students with special needs. The $11,016 grant was announced by Pennsylvania Representative Bud Cook (R-49). The grant supports 14 education projects and is part of an effort to recruit new anglers and boaters and to retain those that already participate. Funds awarded through the program will be used to purchase equipment, supplies and educational resources to cover costs to develop the program.
August 29, 2020 3:18 am
A Monaca woman convicted of felony statutory sexual assault and intimidation of a witness was sentenced to 4-8 years in a state correctional facility. Tonya Palmer, 41 pled guilty in an open plea for sexually assaulting a 14 year old boy with emotional disabilities. Palmer’s public defender asked for leniency in sentencing given testimony that Palmer provided in her allocution statement to the court. In that statement Palmer expressed remorse and regret and outlined her own personal battles with depression, anxiety and PTSD. She also revealed that she too was sexually assaulted as a teenager. Palmer never graduated from high school and blamed her emotional issues for assaulting the victim. The victim’s mother testified that her son who was once outgoing and friendly now lives in fear and is no longer trusting of other people. Judge Valerie Costanzo levied a sentence of 1-2 years for statutory sexual assault and 3-6 years for intimidation of a witness with those sentences running consecutively. A 1-3 month sentence for indecent assault will be served concurrently. Palmer will be eligible for parole and must register as a sex offender. Palmer was led away by sheriff’s deputies at the conclusion of the hearing.
August 29, 2020 3:15 am
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen today announced that the department’s order to stem the spread of coronavirus cases in the county has been amended to increase the limit on outdoor events and gatherings to 100. All other requirements of the July 17, 2020 order remain in effect. The newly amended order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2020. The step was taken due to the decrease in the county’s positivity rate and rolling daily average of case counts over the past month. All provisions of the Order of the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Directing Targeted Mitigation Measures, dated July 15, 2020, also remain in effect. The following provisions remain in effect in Allegheny County:
· Indoor and outdoor seating areas for sit-down, dine-in service at bars, restaurants, and private catered events shall be closed to patrons by 11:00 p.m. Take-out sales continue to be permitted after 11:00 p.m., consistent with applicable Pennsylvania law.
· The use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited at all indoor and outdoor dining facilities and indoors at casinos.
· Events and gatherings other than those in businesses in the retail food services industry are limited to indoor events and gatherings of more than 25 persons are prohibited; and outdoor events and gatherings of more than 100 persons are prohibited.
