May 17, 2020 8:09 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – An explosion Saturday at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles injured 11 firefighters. Three were listed as critical but all were expected to survive. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said “one significant explosion” shook the neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters inside the building and on the roof ran for their lives as flames shot out the building and scorched a fire truck across the street. Some firefighters tore off their protective coats after they caught fire. Scott described the business where the explosion occurred as a maker of “butane honey oil.” Butane, an odorless gas that easily ignites, is used to extractáthe chemical THC from cannabis to create a highly potent oil.
May 17, 2020 8:08 am
BEIJING (AP) – China is reporting five new cases of the coronavirus, as the commercial hub of Shanghai announced the restart of some classes and airlines revive domestic flights. Of the new cases, two were imported and three came from the northeastern province of Jilin that has seen a small spike in infections of unknown origin. In Shanghai, students retain the option of continuing to follow classes online rather than facing virus testing and social distancing measures at schools. Australian opera singer Jane Ede will perform Monday for 450 guests in government-ordered hotel quarantine. Sri Lanka this weekend reimposed a 24-hour curfew to stem people’s movements. South Korea reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus, raising hopes that a new outbreak linked to nightclubs in Seoul may be ending.
May 17, 2020 8:05 am
HARMAR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man had to be airlifted to the hospital after he smashed his vehicle into a 90-foot power transmission tower, trapping him inside. The accident happened Saturday afternoon on Russellton Road in Harmar Township, according to reports. The crash caused the Duquesne Light tower to fall onto a set of power lines owned by West Penn Power, knocking out electricity for over 8,000 customers in the area for a few hours. When police arrived, they found the wrecked Volkswagen wedged inside the fallen tower with the driver trapped inside. Crews had to wait for utility workers to “de-energize” the power lines before attempting the rescue. After getting the man – who has not been identified – out of the car, crews loaded him onto a helicopter. The victim’s status wasn’t provided by officials.
May 17, 2020 7:58 am
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania are asking for help from the public in identifying a suspect wanted in the slaying of a teenager gunned down on a street near Pittsburgh. Allegheny County detectives say 16-year-old Marcus Wells Jr. of Pittsburgh was shot several times near an intersection in Wilkinsburg. First responders tried to save him, but the county medical examiner’s office said he died of a gunshot wound to the chest. County police on Friday released surveillance images of a man wearing a dark-colored hoodie and dark shoes and armed with a black handgun. Anyone with information is asked to call county police.
May 16, 2020 7:27 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – China is going after the United States over more than $1 billion that the Trump administration owes the United Nations in unpaid dues for its regular operating budget and arrears for its separate budget for peacekeeping operations. The unusual singling out of the U.S. by China’s U.N. mission comes as President Donald Trump continues to accuse Beijing of not being open about the coronavirus when cases were initially reported in December and early January. A U.S. Mission spokesperson said Friday that China “is eager to distract attention from its cover-up and mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis.”
May 16, 2020 7:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s emergency powers are worrying senators and legal experts. Dozens of special authorities become available to any president during national emergencies. They are rarely used, but Trump last month stunned legal experts and others when he mistakenly claimed that he had “total” authority over governors in easing COVID-19 guidelines. That prompted 10 senators to probe how sweeping Trump believes his emergency powers are. They want to see this administration’s Presidential Emergency Action Documents. These little-known, classified documents don’t give a president authority beyond what’s in the Constitution, but they outline what powers a president believes the Constitution allows him to exercise during national emergencies.
May 16, 2020 7:21 am
BOSTON (AP) – The U.S. government is imposing new restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei by limiting its ability to use American technology to produce semiconductors abroad. The Commerce Department said Friday the move aims to prevent Huawei from making a run around existing U.S. sanctions. The U.S. government blacklisted the Chinese tech company a year ago, deeming it a national security risk. But numerous loopholes exist. China reacted angrily.
May 16, 2020 7:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has fired the State Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of alleged political bias in the agency’s management. The ouster is the latest in a series of moves against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with the Trump administration. A senior department official says Trump removed Steve Linick from his job Friday but gave no reason for his removal. In a letter to Congress, Trump said Linick no longer had his full confidence. Democrats in Congress immediately cried foul, with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee suggesting that Linick was fired in part in retaliation for opening an unspecified investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
May 16, 2020 7:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus response bill through the House, over Republican opposition. The 1,815-page measure is aimed at propping up a U.S. economy in free fall and a health care system overwhelmed by a pandemic that’s still ravaging the country. It’s also an election-year statement of priorities by Democrats. The measure has no chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate and has already drawn a White House veto threat. Passage sets up difficult negotiation with the White House and Senate Republicans over what’s likely to be the last major COVID-19 response bill before November’s presidential and congressional elections.
May 16, 2020 4:42 am
Over 500 families in the Mon Valley have fresh food thanks to a large “Truck to Trunk” pull-up food drive that took place Friday afternoon at the Mon Valley Career and Technology Center in Speers. According to event organizer, Michele Schwerha, volunteers from Fourth Street Foods, Mon Valley CTC, Charleroi Fire & Regional Police, and Charleroi Council loaded people’s trunks with boxes of fresh meats, vegetables, pasta, milk, frozen goods, cleaning supplies, and homemade masks. The line of cars stretched from the parking lot all the way to Interstate 70. Mon Valley CTC Director, Neil Henehan, said the event seemed to bring the Mon Valley together, something he was proud of his students and staff for helping to accomplish.
