July 29, 2019 4:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing growing accusations of racism for his incendiary tweets, President Donald Trump is seeking to deflect the criticism by labeling a leading black congressman as himself racist. In the latest rhetorical shot at non-white lawmakers, Trump said Sunday that his weekend comments referring to Rep. Elijah Cummings’ majority-black Baltimore district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live” were not racist. Instead, Trump argued, “if racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess.” His comments capped a weekend of attacks on Cummings, the son of former sharecroppers who rose to become the powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
July 29, 2019 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is leaving his job next month, ending a two-year tenure marked by President Donald Trump’s clashes with intelligence officials.
Trump tweeted Sunday that the nation’s top intelligence official would step aside on Aug. 15, and that he would nominate a Texas congressman, Republican John Ratcliffe, to the post. Coats frequently appeared out of step with Trump and disclosed to prosecutors how he was urged by the president to publicly deny any link between Russia and the Trump campaign. The frayed relationship reflected broader divisions between the president and the government’s intelligence agencies. Ratcliffe is a frequent Trump defender who questioned special counsel Robert Mueller last week during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
July 29, 2019 4:24 am
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a 10-year-old boy was found with a gunshot wound after he collapsed on the field at an eastern Pennsylvania baseball park shortly before the start of a game. Allentown police say the boy was in right field at Coca-Cola Park at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday for a promotional event for the IronPigs’ Harry Potter Night when he fell to the ground. Police say an X-ray at a hospital revealed that he had a bullet lodged in the back of the knee. He was taken to the trauma unit with an injury not considered life-threatening. Police say no gunshots were heard in the area and there’s no indication the shot came from within the park. A spokesman for the team declined comment.
July 29, 2019 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The past year has been a difficult one for U.S. charities affiliated with the Catholic Church. Even as many donors reacted in dismay to the church’s sex-abuse scandals, the charities faced new challenges due to the immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. For the biggest agencies – Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services – it’s too early to gauge the overall financial impact of recent sex-abuse developments. But several local Catholic Charities affiliates report a drop in donations due at least in part to the scandals. Those included abuse allegations that led to former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s ouster from the priesthood and a Pennsylvania grand jury report asserting that about 300 Roman Catholic priests had abused children at six of the state’s dioceses over seven decades.
July 29, 2019 4:22 am
MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) – Police in western Pennsylvania are asking for help from the public after a man was found shot to death in the garage of a home near Pittsburgh. Allegheny County police say paramedics were called shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday to a McKeesport home on a report of a female with shortness of breath, and she told them there was a body in her garage. Paramedics found a 22-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the victim didn’t live there but was known to one of the residents. Police said “at this time there are no suspects and the motive is unclear.” Anyone with information is asked to call county police or reach out on the department’s social media sites.
July 29, 2019 4:20 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges are planned against a 37-year-old man after four people were wounded in gunfire in two locations in a western Pennsylvania city over the weekend Uniontown police say one person was shot on a city street and three people were later shot at a party two blocks away shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday.
One person was reported in critical condition at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. Police say the three other victims had injuries not considered life-threatening. Details about the victims weren’t released but police said they were two men and two women. Police say a vehicle spotted traveling at high speed near one of the shooting scenes was stopped and a suspect arrested. The motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately known.
July 29, 2019 4:18 am
GILROY, Calif. (AP) – A gunman cut through a fence to avoid security and opened fire at Northern California’s popular Gilroy Garlic Festival, killing three and wounding at least 15 before police fatally shot him as terrified people and performers ran for cover. Those who died included a 6-year-old boy identified as Stephen Romero (pictured), a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s. There’s no immediate word on the other people who were either wounded or suffered injuries such as scrapes and bruises. Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee says the gunman was armed with a rifle and sneaked in through a fence that borders a parking lot next to a creek. He appeared to randomly target people when he opened fire just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the conclusion of the three-day festival that attracts more than 100,000 people to the city known as the “Garlic Capital of the World.” Smithee says police responded within a minute, engaged the suspect and killed him. A law enforcement official says the gunman has been identified as Santino William Legan. Legan was killed shortly after opening fire. Authorities say he used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid security measures, including metal detectors.
July 29, 2019 4:14 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania fire chief is faulting a utility company’s response to a shopping center fire near Pittsburgh that destroyed several businesses and injured a number of firefighters. Chief Bill Jeffcoats of the Penn Hills fire department said Peoples Natural Gas didn’t get gas service shut off for about five hours after the blaze at Churchill Center was reported at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “There’s no amount of water we could put on the fire when it’s fed by natural gas.” Utility spokesman Barry Kukovich said two of the three lines were shut down quickly but the third was harder to locate and shutting it off was delayed due to the emergency equipment and the “significant amount of water” used to fight the fire. (Photo: WPXI)
July 28, 2019 8:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing to end an option that has allowed states to exceed federal eligibility thresholds for food stamps. Dozens of states have gotten around federal income or asset limits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by using federal welfare grants to produce brochures informing food stamp applicants about other available social services. As long as the brochures were paid for with federal welfare money, states could bypass income and asset restrictions for food stamps. The tactic had been promoted by former President Barack Obama’s administration as a way to allow low-income households to increase their savings and earnings before losing food stamps. But Trump’s administration describes it as a “loophole” to federal law.
July 28, 2019 8:13 am
VIENNA (AP) – A Royal Navy warship has arrived in the Persian Gulf to accompany British-flagged ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions after Iran seized a British tanker this month. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the HMS Duncan will join the Frigate HMS Montrose in the Gulf to defend freedom of navigation. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Royal Navy will escort U.K. vessels until a diplomatic resolution is found to secure the route again. The British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker was seized in the Strait of Hormuz a week ago. Some senior Iranian officials have suggested the ship was seized in retaliation for the British navy’s role in seizing an Iranian supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar for violations of EU sanctions on oil sales to Syria. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is a vital waterway for oil tankers.
