September 3, 2019 9:21 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Police say a man pulled a gun at a Popeyes restaurant in Houston after being told they were out of chicken sandwiches. Houston police Lt. Larry Crowson says officers were called to the restaurant Monday night after a group of people tried to order a chicken sandwich. Crowson says, “When the manager told them they were out, one of the males became upset and pulled a pistol and demanded a chicken sandwich. The manager again informed them they were out of sandwiches.” Crowson says the group then left and no one was injured. He says police are reviewing surveillance footage. Popeyes’ release of a crispy chicken sandwich caused a social media stir over who has the best chicken sandwich, with long lines forming at restaurants and some stores selling out.
September 3, 2019 4:32 am
A precautionary ‘boil water’ advisory is in effect for nearly 500 Pennsylvania American Water Company customers in South Strabane Township. Officials say a loss of water pressure occurred Sunday at a water storage tank in the township following a water main break. That break limited the ability to replenish the storage tank and such a loss of pressure presents conditions that could allow contamination to enter the system. As a result, There is an increased risk of disease-causing organisms in the water. A sampling of the water for testing was expected Monday evening and a second round is to occur Wednesday. Pending the results of those tests, the advisory could be lifted by Thursday. The ‘boil water’ advisory applies to customers on; Crestview Dr., East Beau St., Eastwood Lane, Emerald Dr., Floral Hill Dr., Green Crescent Dr., Hilltop Road, Lakeview Dr., McVehil Dr., Pleasant Hill Dr., Quarry Road, Stonehedge Dr., Scout Dr., Woodhill Dr., and Woodside Dr.
September 3, 2019 4:16 am
FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) – The center of Hurricane Dorian is finally moving away from Grand Bahama island but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says the island will continue getting dangerous winds and life-threatening storm surge through the evening. Dorian’s maximum sustained winds Tuesday afternoon remain at 110 mph (175 kph), making it a Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane is centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Freeport and is moving northwest near 5 mph (7 kph). Practically parking over the Bahamas for a day and a half, Dorian has been pounding the islands in a watery onslaught that devastated thousands of homes, trapped people in attics and crippled hospitals. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fernand has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting a tropical storm warning for Mexico’s northeast coast.
September 3, 2019 4:14 am
ODESSA, Texas (AP) – A law enforcement official says a gunman who killed seven people in West Texas had obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, evading a federal background check. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. Officials said Seth Aaron Ator had previously tried to obtain a gun but failed a federal background check. Obtaining the weapon through a private sale, as opposed to buying it through a licensed gun dealer, would’ve allowed Ator to skirt the background check. Authorities said Ator killed seven people and injured 22 others during his rampage on Saturday in Odessa, Texas.
September 3, 2019 4:13 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – An Afghan official says the death toll from a Taliban suicide attack in Kabul late Monday night has risen to 16 civilians, with another 119 people wounded. Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi on Tuesday says some 400 foreigners were rescued after the attack targeted the Green Village compound, which houses several international organizations and guesthouses. Smoke rose on Tuesday morning as angry Kabul residents set fire to part of the compound that has been a frequent target of attacks. Rahimi says five attackers were shot and killed by security forces. The blast occurred just hours after a U.S. envoy briefed the Afghan government on an agreement “in principle” with the Taliban that would see 5,000 U.S. troops leave the country within five months.
September 3, 2019 4:12 am
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) – Authorities are searching for the nine people who remain missing after a boat fire off the coast of southern California killed dozens who were left sleeping below decks with only one narrow stairway out. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll said Monday that 25 people had died, and the search would continue through the night for nine still unaccounted for. Authorities opened a family assistance center where counseling was being provided to relatives of those onboard the dive-boat Conception when it sank Monday. None of their names were immediately released. The missing and dead were among 39 passengers and crew who had departed Santa Barbara’s Channel Islands Harbor on Saturday aboard the boat Conception for a Labor Day weekend scuba-diving trip.
September 3, 2019 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – When Pennsylvania lawmakers were rushing to wrap up the session’s business in June, aides to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro asked them to expand the office’s authority to pursue gun trafficking crimes statewide. But it got put aside for the summer amid objections, apparently revolving around law-enforcement turf and gun politics. The request was to give the office statewide jurisdiction to prosecute illegal gun possession, sales and transfers. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rob Kauffman says the change was drawing too many objections to get done quickly. Calls to respond to gun violence in Pennsylvania have only grown since then, and it’s unclear whether the provision has any chance of becoming law.
Under current law, the state attorney general’s office cannot prosecute gun-trafficking cases without a referral from a district attorney.
September 3, 2019 4:08 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a head-on collision near Pittsburgh claimed the lives of two people and injured a third. Allegheny County emergency dispatchers say the crash was reported just after 5 p.m. Sunday in Penn Hills. Chief Howard Burton of the Penn Hills police department says one of the two vehicles was apparently trying to pass a third car in a no-passing area. Burton says two people in one car were killed and a third person in the other car had injuries not deemed life-threatening. He says the driver of the third car was uninjured and was a witness. The names of the victims weren’t immediately available. Police said it wasn’t immediately known if they were wearing seat belts or whether drugs or alcohol might have been involved.
September 3, 2019 4:04 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) At least 4 people were hurt early Monday after a head-on crash on the Liberty Bridge. A car crossed the median, hitting two cars, police said. Two people are in critical condition, the conditions of the other two victims have not been released. The bridge was shut down for a while but as since reopened. Police continue to investigate. (Photo: WPXI)
September 2, 2019 9:25 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Students in Hong Kong are planning to strike on the first day of classes following the summer holiday. The strike Monday was planned as a continuation of nearly three months of fiery anti-government protests in Hong Kong, where mass demonstrations have called for electoral reforms and an independent inquiry into police conduct. The youth-dominated movement will be tested as classes resume and many protesters are expected to go back to school. Some demonstrators disrupted the morning commute by blocking train doors in multiple public transit stations. They attempted to evade police by moving quickly between stations. Officers at Lok Fu station hit protesters with batons and arrested one person among them. Another three were arrested at Lai King station.