August 29, 2020 7:19 am
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) – President Donald Trump says he is heading to Louisiana and Texas after Hurricane Laura tore through parts of the states. Trump’s Saturday visit comes two days after the Category 4 storm smashed into Lake Charles, Louisiana. The mayor of the city of 80,000 warns it could be weeks before water service is restored. Electricity is also out and it could take crews weeks to put up new poles and restring power lines. The hurricane has killed 14 people in the U.S., more than half by carbon monoxide poisoning due to unsafe operation of generators.
August 29, 2020 7:15 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors in the case against four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd say they will seek stiff sentences if the men are convicted. In documents filed Friday, prosecutors noted that Floyd was vulnerable and treated with particular cruelty. Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. A judge has discretion to order up to 15 years on the murder counts under the state’s sentencing guidelines. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years.
August 29, 2020 7:13 am
(AP)-Mark Ruffalo, Jordan Peele and Denzel Washington were among many expressing shock, grief and gratitude in the wake of the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday at age 43. Boseman’s “Avengers” co-star Ruffalo said he was “an immense talent” whose “greatness was only beginning.” Peele called Boseman’s death “a crushing blow.” Washington said Boseman “was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist.” “Black Panther” co-star Angela Bassett said his “dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal.” Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who like Boseman is a graduate of Howard University, said he “left too early but his life made a difference.”
August 29, 2020 4:09 am
Harrisburg-The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission awarded a grant to the Intermediate Unit I in Washington County to engage students in alternative education and students with special needs. The $11,016 grant was announced by Pennsylvania Representative Bud Cook (R-49). The grant supports 14 education projects and is part of an effort to recruit new anglers and boaters and to retain those that already participate. Funds awarded through the program will be used to purchase equipment, supplies and educational resources to cover costs to develop the program.
August 29, 2020 3:18 am
A Monaca woman convicted of felony statutory sexual assault and intimidation of a witness was sentenced to 4-8 years in a state correctional facility. Tonya Palmer, 41 pled guilty in an open plea for sexually assaulting a 14 year old boy with emotional disabilities. Palmer’s public defender asked for leniency in sentencing given testimony that Palmer provided in her allocution statement to the court. In that statement Palmer expressed remorse and regret and outlined her own personal battles with depression, anxiety and PTSD. She also revealed that she too was sexually assaulted as a teenager. Palmer never graduated from high school and blamed her emotional issues for assaulting the victim. The victim’s mother testified that her son who was once outgoing and friendly now lives in fear and is no longer trusting of other people. Judge Valerie Costanzo levied a sentence of 1-2 years for statutory sexual assault and 3-6 years for intimidation of a witness with those sentences running consecutively. A 1-3 month sentence for indecent assault will be served concurrently. Palmer will be eligible for parole and must register as a sex offender. Palmer was led away by sheriff’s deputies at the conclusion of the hearing.
August 29, 2020 3:15 am
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen today announced that the department’s order to stem the spread of coronavirus cases in the county has been amended to increase the limit on outdoor events and gatherings to 100. All other requirements of the July 17, 2020 order remain in effect. The newly amended order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2020. The step was taken due to the decrease in the county’s positivity rate and rolling daily average of case counts over the past month. All provisions of the Order of the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Directing Targeted Mitigation Measures, dated July 15, 2020, also remain in effect. The following provisions remain in effect in Allegheny County:
· Indoor and outdoor seating areas for sit-down, dine-in service at bars, restaurants, and private catered events shall be closed to patrons by 11:00 p.m. Take-out sales continue to be permitted after 11:00 p.m., consistent with applicable Pennsylvania law.
· The use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited at all indoor and outdoor dining facilities and indoors at casinos.
· Events and gatherings other than those in businesses in the retail food services industry are limited to indoor events and gatherings of more than 25 persons are prohibited; and outdoor events and gatherings of more than 100 persons are prohibited.
August 28, 2020 1:32 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Civil rights advocates have begun gathering to highlight the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Thousands gathered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans. And turnout has been lighter than initially intended due to city-imposed coronavirus pandemic restrictions that limit out-of-state visitors to the nation’s capital. Satellite march events have been planned in a handful of states, including South Carolina, Florida and Nevada. (Photo: CNN)
August 28, 2020 4:25 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – More than 50,000 people forced to flee their homes are being allowed to return after firefighters made progress in putting out massive and deadly wildfires in Northern California. Cooler weather, higher humidity and an influx of equipment and firefighters helped hard-pressed crews battling some of the largest fires in recent state history. Evacuation orders for more than 20,000 people in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties were lifted Wednesday and Thursday, and orders for another 35,000 people in the wine country also were downgraded. The fires burning in and around the San Francisco Bay Area have killed seven people.
August 28, 2020 4:25 am
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) – The remnants of Hurricane Laura are unleashing heavy rain hundreds of miles inland from a path of death and destruction left along the northwest Gulf Coast. Forecasters say an eastern turn by Laura, which is now a tropical depression, could make it a looming threat to the Mid-Atlantic states over the weekend. Laura crashed ashore Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane near the Louisiana line with Texas. It was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., packing 150-mph winds. Laura destroyed buildings, toppled trees and killed at least six people in the U.S. Forecasters say it could still pack a punch en route to the East Coast.
August 28, 2020 4:24 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Prosecutors have charged a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the wounding of a third. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley filed five felony charges against Kyle Rittenhouse Thursday afternoon. He could face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, the most serious crime in Wisconsin. The shootings late Tuesday followed the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black father of six who was left paralyzed from the waist down. Blake’s shooting has made Kenosha the latest focal point in the fight against racial injustice that has gripped the country.
