February 12, 2020 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jurors return Thursday to resume deliberations for a third day in the case against the remaining defendant in the slayings of five people and an unborn baby at a western Pennsylvania cookout almost four years ago. The Allegheny County panel deliberated Wednesday without a verdict in the trial of 33-year-old Cheron Shelton, who is charged with first- and third-degree murder in the March 2016 slayings in Pittsburgh’s Wilkinsburg suburb. Charges were dismissed earlier against 31-year-old Robert Thomas. Defense attorneys say prosecutors lack evidence. Prosecutors vow to seek capital punishment in the event of a first-degree murder conviction.
February 12, 2020 2:39 am
Complaints about the Washington County Food Bank have been circulating for several months. Allegations of spoiled food, not giving away food and gift cards and nepotism have been nagging Executive Director Connie Burd (pictured). Burd called a meeting with the local news media to defend the food bank against these allegations. In her meeting with reporters, Burd stated that it is her contention that these allegations are being levied because of recent efforts by the food bank to consolidate locations. Burd countered complaints about spoiled food by pointing out that once the food arrives at a pantry, it is not uncommon for those pantry volunteers to leave perishable items out in the open without proper refrigeration. Allegations of not distributing gift cards were defended with a list of what gift cards were given out by each pantry and to whom those gift cards were given. Burd pointed out that the individual making the complaint about not receiving a gift card actually was given one and a proxy for that person picked up the gift card designated for that person. Allegations of nepotism were met with a defense of Burd’s husband. Burd states that her husband worked as a volunteer for a year and a half before the board approved his hiring. Rumors circulated about Burd’s son working there but Burd stated that she does not even have a son. Burd also addressed the issue of recent pantry consolidations, saying they have been necessary because of volunteer attrition and the closing of spaces that once housed pantries. Burd added that even though clients may need to travel further to get their food, the quality control for refrigeration and the variety of food available in the larger locations will far outweigh any inconvenience
February 12, 2020 2:32 am
(WPXI) – The man convicted of killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw was officially sentenced to death Wednesday. Rahmael Holt was found guilty in November and the jury unanimously decided to sentence him to death. The official sentence was handed down by a judge. Holt was convicted of shooting and killing Shaw while running from a traffic stop in November 2017. Holt is being taken to the State Correctional Institution at Rockview. That is where the judge has ordered his death by lethal injection. Defense attorneys said while Wednesday’s sentencing was procedural and expected, they will appeal.
February 11, 2020 3:28 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Samsung on Tuesday unveiled a new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip. It is the company’s second attempt to sell consumers on phones with bending screens and clamshell designs. The company unveiled the phone at the start of a product announcement event in San Francisco. The new phone can unfold from a small square upward into a traditional smartphone. The foldable phones represent manufacturers’ attempt to energize a market where sales have slowed, although they are likely to appeal for now mostly to tech enthusiasts. Samsung is also updating refreshing its flagship phones with better cameras. (Photo: CNN)
February 11, 2020 3:25 pm
LONDON (AP) – The World Health Organization announced an official name for the new disease caused by a new virus that emerged in China last year and has since sickened tens of thousands of people: COVID-19. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the director-general of the U.N. health agency said it was necessary to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, animal, individual or group of people but that was pronounceable and related to the disease. The new disease is caused by a coronavirus that was first identified in late 2019.
February 11, 2020 10:42 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Roads are flooding and rivers are rising across the Deep South after a day of heavy rains. The National Weather Service says minor to moderate flooding is expected from central Mississippi to north Georgia following downpours. Multiple roads are covered with water or washed out because of rainfall totals forecasters say could reach 6 inches. And schools are opening late or closed in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday because of the storms. In eastern Mississippi, officials in Starkville say a county lake where the dam was at risk of failing last month has once again reached critical levels.
February 11, 2020 6:16 am
It is back to class for students in the Ringgold School District. Extra security is in place after the district cancelled classes both Friday and again on Monday after safety concerns arose involving alleged threats against the Middle School. The district conducted so-called ‘flexible instruction’ days. District officials say the Washington County District Attorney’s office is now assisting Ringgold Police in their investigation. According to reports, six students have been questioned in connection with the threats. No other details are currently being released.
February 11, 2020 4:24 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lyle Mays, a jazz keyboardist whose work, chiefly with the Pat Metheny Group, won nearly a dozen Grammy Awards, has died at the age of 66. Metheny says Mays died Monday in Los Angeles after a long battle with a recurring illness. Beginning in the 1970s, Mays played, composed and arranged with Metheny. The fusion group incorporated everything from contemporary jazz to rock and world music. Mays also composed music for the movie “The Falcon and the Snowman.” Metheny calls Mays one of the greatest musicians he’s ever known.
February 11, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Michael Bloomberg is under fire for resurfaced comments in which he says the way to bring down murder rates is to “put a lot of cops” in minority neighborhoods because that’s where “all the crime is.” Bloomberg made the comments at a 2015 appearance at the Aspen Institute, as part of an overall defense of his support for the controversial “stop and frisk” policing tactic that has been found to disproportionately affect minorities. On Tuesday, after reports of the 2015 audio resurfaced, Bloomberg issued a statement saying his 2015 remarks “do not reflect my commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity.”
February 11, 2020 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The defense has rested its case in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial. Now the stage is set for closing arguments beginning Thursday and deliberations starting early next week. The jury heard on Tuesday from the last of three key defense witnesses called to try to cast doubt on testimony by Weinstein accusers. The 67-year-old Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex in 2006 on a different woman. He’s maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.
