August 18, 2019 8:31 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Federal weather experts say Alaska just went through its warmest month ever. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Alaska’s average temperature in July was 58.1 degrees (14.5 Celsius). That’s 5.4 degrees (3 Celsius) above average and 0.8 degrees (0.4 Celsius) higher than the previous warmest month of July 2004. Climate experts say such unusual weather events likely will become more commonplace as climate warming continues. Brian Brettschneider of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ International Arctic Research Center says Alaska has seen “multiple decades-long increases” in temperature. He says it becomes easier to have unusual weather conditions on top of the setting of a warming climate. Effects of the warm month were seen throughout the state, with sea ice disappearing north of Alaska and drought conditions on the southeast Panhandle.
August 18, 2019 8:30 am
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) – Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are in Georgia making election appeals to thousands of black millennial Christians. The senators are competing to be the leading progressive alternative in the 2020 contest to former Vice President Joe Biden, and younger black voters could offer an important source of support. Biden remains atop primary polls partly because of his standing with older black votes. Younger African Americans are more divided on their opinions about the large field of candidates. Sanders and Warren will have back-to-back question-and-answer sessions Saturday with black pastors at the Young Leaders Conference. The gathering includes about 5,000 black millennials of faith. Sanders struggled to get enough black support early in his 2016 presidential bid and lost key states to Hillary Clinton because of it.
August 18, 2019 8:28 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Doctors and public health experts warn of poor health outcomes and rising costs they say will come from sweeping changes that would deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps or other public assistance. President Donald Trump’s administration trumpeted its aggressive approach as a way to keep only self-sufficient immigrants in the country. Some advocates say they’re already seeing the fallout even before the complex 837-page rule takes effect in October. Health experts argue it could force millions of low-income migrants to choose between needed services and their bid to stay legally in the U.S. The result could be across-the-board poorer health outcomes. Medical experts say there are signs it’s already happening in cities including Chicago, Detroit and New York.
August 18, 2019 8:26 am
ERIE, Pa. (AP) – Residents of a Pennsylvania city gathered to mourn and remember four of the five children who died when fire swept through a home child care center. A funeral service was held Saturday in Erie for 8-year-old La’Myhia Jones, 6-year-old Luther Jones Jr., 4-year-old Ava Jones and 9-month-old Jaydan Augustyniak. All are siblings. The funeral for 2-year-old Dalvin Pacley will be held Monday. Three of the victims were the children of a volunteer firefighter, Luther Jones. Their mother, Shevona Overton, is also the mother of Jaydan. An adult and two adolescent boys were able to escape. Fire officials suspect Sunday’s blaze was accidental. Mayor Joe Schember told those attending that some things that happen in life take years to understand – but other things happen “that we will never understand.”
August 18, 2019 8:25 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The man accused of barricading himself inside a Philadelphia row house and shooting six police officers in an hours long standoff has been charged with attempted murder. Court documents show that 36-year-old Maurice Hill also faces assault charges. He was denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5. Hill is accused of shooting at officers who were serving a drug warrant Wednesday, then keeping police at bay while he fired repeatedly from inside a building. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that at Saturday’s video arraignment, Hill sat with arms crossed and head down, responding “I guess” when asked whether he understood the charges. Hill’s extensive criminal record includes drug and weapons charges. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney. The six officers struck by gunfire were released from hospitals Wednesday night.
August 18, 2019 8:23 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – Crews battled a massive apartment fire on De Raud Street in West Oakland on Saturday. The initial call for the fire came in around 2:30 p.m. Officials tell our news partners at Channel 11 that 74 people were displaced by this fire. Fire crews brought in a ladder truck to help pour water on the flames from above. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital. One was treated for smoke inhalation. Both are expected to be fine. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire chief said everyone in the building was accounted for. (Photo: WPXI)
August 18, 2019 8:19 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa (WPXI) – The National Weather Service has confirmed that a microburst moved through the Lawrenceville area Saturday evening. At last check around 11 p.m., over 400 people are without power in the neighborhood, according to Duquesne Light’s website. There are also a large amount of outages in Millvale, Reserve and Shaler. Two buildings also partially collapsed, shutting down a portion of Butler Street. Pittsburgh officials said it’s a miracle nobody was hurt given the nature of the damage. “We have two building collapses – lots of debris and trees uprooted in Allegheny cemetery and one tree on a car about 4 blocks down from here,” Pittsburgh Public Information Officer Cara Cruz said. (Photo: WPXI)
August 17, 2019 10:38 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City police say they’ve apprehended a man suspected of placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a subway station. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday morning that a man seen holding one of the rice cookers in surveillance video was taken into custody. The discovery of the cookers Friday led to an evacuation and roiled the morning commute. Police said cameras near the World Trade Center captured a man with a cart putting cookers in two locations in the subway station. A third cooker of the same type was later discovered 2 miles (3 kilometers) away on a sidewalk. Authorities determined they were not explosives. Pressure cookers can be turned into bombs. Police say they didn’t have details on the man’s apprehension. No charges have been announced.
August 17, 2019 10:35 am
The Washington County District Attorney is seeking a court-order allowing his office to delay a move planned for later this month. The District Attorney is requesting additional security measures to be added to the building. A hearing on the request is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Monday before common pleas judge Michael J. Lucas. District Attorney Gene Vittone was given a date of August 24 to relocate.
August 17, 2019 9:40 am
DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska (AP) – Three hundred tourists are stranded in a national park in Alaska after heavy rains triggered mudslides and caused excess water from a culvert to damage a road. The superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve closed Denali Park Road to all traffic at mile 30 on Friday. The road is the only one inside the vast park. The National Park Service said in a news release it anticipates reopening the road Saturday. The park service says officials are working to ensure the safety and comfort of those effected. Shuttle buses are gathering people at the Toklat Rest Area temporarily while road crews continue to address hazard areas. Similar debris flows led to daylong traffic restrictions last week. Continued heavy rains since kept the road and surrounding tundra saturated with water.
