September 19, 2019 4:50 pm
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Gunmaker Colt says it is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15. Colt’s chief executive officer, Dennis Veilleux, says it is not permanently ending production but believes there is already an adequate supply of sporting rifles on the market. He said in a statement Thursday the company will concentrate on fulfilling military and law enforcement contracts with its rifle manufacturing. The West Hartford, Connecticut-based company has received some criticism from gun rights advocates for moving away from the civilian market. Veilleux said in the statement the company remains committed to the Second Amendment and is adapting to consumer demand. A national gun control debate has focused on access to AR-15s and other assault-style rifles because of their use in mass shootings.
September 19, 2019 8:37 am
SHANDON, Calif. (AP) – Authorities in central California say a passenger bus has crashed while carrying the road crew for country and gospel singer Josh Turner, leaving one dead and seven injured.
Turner and his band were not on the bus. The bus was traveling eastbound on Highway 46 in San Luis Obispo County when it crashed in Shandon late Wednesday night. The trip followed a Turner concert at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, according to media reports.
September 19, 2019 7:40 am
Emergency crews were called to a one-vehicle accident in Peters Township Thursday morning. 9-1-1 dispatchers tell WJPA news that the vehicle struck a utility pole and brought down wire at 112 Thomas Road. One person was injured and transported from the scene. The is no word on the identity or condition of that individual. The roadway was closed and forced Peters Township school buses to detour around the area. No other information is currently available.
September 19, 2019 7:36 am
At least four people have been injured in a house fire in Smith Township Thursday morning. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say one adult and one child were transported to a Weirton, West Virginia hospital. In all, two adults and two children, ages eleven and one, were reportedly transported from the scene. Fire crews were called to the 500 block of 5th Avenue just before 6 a.m. Two adults and five children were inside at the time. The family was renting the home, which is believed to be a total loss, and did not have renter’s insurance, officials said. According to a fire marshal, the fire appears to have started on the front porch, but it is not considered suspicious.
September 19, 2019 4:13 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Officials in Houston and surrounding communities say so far there have been no severe consequences as Tropical Depression Imelda deluged parts of Southeast Texas with rain.
The storm’s remnants spawned several weak tornadoes in the Baytown area, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Houston, causing minor damage to some homes and vehicles. Forecasters say the Houston area could still face some heavy rainfall on Thursday. Coastal counties, including Brazoria, Matagorda and Galveston, got the most rainfall since Imelda formed on Tuesday. Some parts of the Houston area had received nearly 8 inches (203 millimeters) of rain, while the city of Galveston had received nearly 9 inches (229 millimeters). Sargent, a town of about 2,700 residents in Matagorda County, had received nearly 20 inches (508 millimeters) of rain since Tuesday.
September 19, 2019 4:12 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The Pentagon says the U.S. military is working with Saudi Arabia to find ways to provide more protection for the northern part of the country in the wake of the drone and cruise missile attack on the kingdom’s oil industry. Air Force Col. Pat Ryder, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters Thursday that U.S. Central Command is talking with the Saudis about ways to mitigate future attacks. He would not speculate on what types of support could be provided. Other U.S. officials have said adding Patriot missile batteries could be one option, but no decisions have been made. Ryder says a forensic team from Central Command is still in Saudi Arabia, where it’s been examining debris from the strikes. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman says the department is providing the President Donald Trump with military options for any U.S. response, but no decisions have been made. He says the U.S. has a high level of confidence that officials will be able to accurately determine exactly who launched the attacks. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim Saturday’s attack was in response to the yearslong Saudi led war there, but U.S. and Saudi officials say it was launched from the north. Iran and Iraq lie to the north across the Persian Gulf, while Yemen is in the south.
September 19, 2019 4:11 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – An Afghan official says a powerful suicide truck bombing outside a hospital in the capital of southern Zabul province has killed at least 20 and injured as many as 90 others. The head of the Zabul provincial council, Atta Jan Haqbayan, says the powerful bomb exploded shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday. The provincial governor’s spokesman Gul Islam Seyal, meanwhile, put the death toll at 12. The hospital in Qalat was badly damaged. The Taliban who have been carrying out nearly daily attacks since peace talks with the United States collapsed earlier this month claimed responsibility saying a nearby government intelligence department building was the target. Haqbayan said the wall of the National Security Department (NDS) building was damaged. He couldn’t say whether any personnel were among the casualties.
September 19, 2019 4:10 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – President Donald Trump is capping a three-day trip to the West with a visit to the border wall in San Diego, where he is showing reporters details of the ongoing construction.
Trump calls it “an amazing project.” Trump is riding a string of wins on the wall and on immigration. Arrests on the Mexican border arrests plunged well beyond the usual summer dip in August. Last week, the Supreme Court gave Trump a green light to deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. border with Mexico without having sought protection in that third country. At the same site last year Trump saw wall prototypes, which were destroyed to make way for 14 miles (22.4 kilometers) of steel bollards currently under construction.
September 19, 2019 4:07 am
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s wary of being definitive about how many times he’s worn brown or blackface because he didn’t recall the recent pictures that have surfaced. Trudeau at first did not answer repeated questions about how many times he wore blackface or brownface. He later said he didn’t recall the pictures that surfaced over the last day. Trudeau’s campaign moved to contain a growing furor Thursday after a yearbook photo surfaced of him in brownface at a 2001 “Arabian Nights” costume party and two other similar incidents came to light. With his bid for re-election just a month away, the 47-year-old Trudeau begged Canadians to forgive him. Trudeau says he’s hurt people that thought he was an ally. He says he is an ally to visible minorities and it is something he deeply regrets and shouldn’t have done. He says it does not represent the person or leader he has become. He says he never talked about it publicly because he’s embarrassed. He says he comes from a place of privilege.
September 19, 2019 4:02 am
WILKINSBURG, Pa. – (WPXI) – A bank robbery suspect has been shot and killed by police who were serving an arrest warrant Wednesday night in Wilkinsburg. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, a task force including members of Pittsburgh police, Allegheny County Police and the FBI were serving the warrant around 9:15 p.m. in the 900 block of Center Street. The suspect allegedly grabbed a woman and held a knife to her neck when he encountered the officers. Police told our news partners at Channel 11 that two law enforcement officials opened fire and shot the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was not injured, but a Pittsburgh police detective was taken to the hospital with what is described as a “minor leg injury.” The suspected bank robber who was killed has not been identified at this time.
