July 23, 2019 12:47 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – Pope Francis named Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark Brennan to lead West Virginia’s Catholics on Tuesday following a scandal over the former bishop’s sexual harassment of adults and lavish spending of church money. The 72-year-old Brennan replaces Bishop Michael Bransfield, who resigned in September after a preliminary investigation into allegations of sexual and financial misconduct. Last week, Francis barred Bransfield from public ministry and prohibited him from living in the diocese, while also warning that he will be forced to make amends “for some of the harm he caused.” The full investigation, first reported by The Washington Post, determined that Bransfield spent church funds on dining out, liquor, personal travel and luxury items, as well as personal gifts to fellow bishops and cardinals in the U.S. and Vatican. Bransfield had been investigated for an alleged groping incident in 2007 and was implicated in court testimony in 2012 in an infamous Philadelphia priestly sex abuse case. He strongly denied ever abusing anyone and the diocese said it had disproved the claims. He continued with his ministry until he offered to retire, as required, when he turned 75 last year. He has disputed the findings of Lori’s investigation, telling The Post “none of it is true.” The Wheeling-Charleston diocese includes nearly 75,000 Catholics and 95 parishes and encompasses the entire state of West Virginia.
July 23, 2019 9:26 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pittsburgh TV reporter has sued over injuries he says he suffered during a promotional stunt in which he plunged 22 feet into the Allegheny River in a homemade flying machine. The lawsuit by KDKA reporter Dave Crawley names EQT Three Rivers Regatta, Red Bull and a marketing agency. It stems from an August 2017 media piece before the Red Bull Flugtag event, in which teams in homemade devices “fly” from a pier into a river. The suit contends Crawley was left with spleen and diaphragm injuries and a traumatic brain injury. The regatta declined to comment, saying officials were still “gathering information and reviewing the details” of the lawsuit. Red Bull says “the safety of spectators and participants is always our primary concern.” (Photo; KDKA YouTube)
July 23, 2019 9:21 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Funeral services for an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer who was shot to death in a street confrontation more than a week ago were held Tuesday morning. Thirty-five-year-old Officer Calvin Hall died Wednesday, three days after he was shot three times in the back during a street dispute in the Homewood neighborhood as a party was going on. Police announced a criminal homicide charge against 30-year-old Christian Bey on Monday afternoon as a viewing for the slain officer was being held. Officials said the indictment is sealed so further details weren’t being released. Officials have said the off-duty officer may have been “acting under the color of law” at the time of his death. It was unclear whether Bey had an attorney. A number listed for him was out of service Monday. Funeral services were held at Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland. Burial will follow at Homewood Cemetery. (Photo: WPXI)
July 23, 2019 4:26 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – The political crisis in Puerto Rico has escalated to a point where many wonder how Gov. Ricardo Rosselló will be able to govern the U.S. territory in the coming days and possibly weeks amid the massive protests to oust him. Rosselló dug his heels in late Monday after what seems to have been the biggest protest the island has seen in nearly two decades, telling Fox News that he has already apologized and made amends following the leak of an offensive, obscenity-laden online chat between him and his advisers that triggered the crisis. But Puerto Ricans remained unsatisfied and vowed to keep protesting until he steps down, no matter how long it takes. Tuesday marked the 11th consecutive day of protests as government officials around Rosselló kept resigning.
July 23, 2019 4:24 am
LONDON (AP) – Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson has won the race to lead Britain’s governing Conservative Party, and will become the country’s next prime minister. He defeated his rival Jeremy Hunt overwhelmingly in a vote of Conservative Party members. He will be installed as prime minister in a formal handover from Theresa May on Wednesday. The victory is a triumph for the 55-year-old Johnson, an ambitious but erratic politician whose political career has veered between periods in high office and spells on the sidelines. Johnson has vowed that Britain will quit the European Union, “come what may,” on the scheduled Brexit departure date of Oct. 31 even if it means leaving without a divorce deal. He faces a rocky ride from a Parliament determined to prevent him from taking the U.K. out of the bloc without a withdrawal agreement.
July 23, 2019 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is promising the Senate will vote on the budget deal agreed to by congressional leaders and the White House before senators leave town for the August recess. The Republican leader said Monday he’s “very encouraged” by the agreement reached by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. McConnell says the “reality of divided government means this is not exactly the deal Republicans would have written on our own.” But he says all sides have made “enormous strides” funding national defense recently and the deal “is what we need to keep building on that progress.” The deal sets federal funding levels for the next two years and allows continued borrowing. The House is expected to vote first, with the Senate voting before recessing next week.
July 23, 2019 4:19 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Trump administration is expanding the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without requiring them to appear before judges ahead of deportation. The Homeland Security Department said Monday that fast-track deportations will apply to anyone in the country illegally less than two years. Until now those deportations applied only to people caught crossing the U.S. border by land and not entering by boat or plane. The department says the expansion “expedited removal” authority will allow it to more efficiently pursue large numbers of people in the country illegally and promptly remove them. Omar Jawdat of the American Civil Liberties says his group and the American Immigration Council will challenge the measure in court. The announcement came a week after the administration adopted a major policy shift to limit asylum.
July 23, 2019 4:12 am
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – West Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert and are searching for Gracelynn June Scritchfield, 4. Police said she was last seen in Fairmont, West Virginia and is believed to be in extreme danger. Police said she was most likley abducted by her biological father, Arlie Edward Hetrick III. He’s described as 26-years-old, Caucasian, with brown hair, blue eyes, weighing about 140 pounds and standing 5-feet, 9 inches tall. Scritchfield is described as Caucasian with brown-blonde hair, blue eyes, weighing about 35 pounds and standing 3-feet tall. Authorities said she was last seen wearing summer clothes, but do not have a description of her clothing. Police said she and her biological father may be traveling in a gold 2001 Subaru Forester with West Virginia license plate 1TH163. If you have any information on her whereabouts, you’re asked to call 911 immediately.
July 23, 2019 3:58 am
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire Monday morning in Donora that left an elderly woman dead. Authorities say the blaze broke out around eight o’clock, in an apartment on the fifth floor of the Donora Towers, a high-rise at 685 Meldon Avenue. Emergency responders say 92-year-old Lenora Brownlee, who lived in the apartment, was taken to Mon Valley Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Authorities say the fire was essentially limited to the chair in which Brownlee was sitting at the time. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says the cause and manner of Brownlee’s death is under investigation. Residents were evacuated from the building for a short time. (Photo: WPXI)
July 23, 2019 3:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A state court is upholding portions of Pennsylvania regulations for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling while also ruling in part on the side of an industry group. A seven-judge Commonwealth Court panel on Monday issued a 91-page decision in a lawsuit brought by the Marcellus Shale Coalition against the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Quality Board. The judges say state officials don’t have the authority to mandate restoration of sites to their original conditions within nine months of when drilling has ended. But they’re siding with the department and board in other respects, including rules for liquid impoundment ponds and how drillers must respond when nearby wells are affected by their activity.
