August 14, 2019 8:20 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand officials have admitted they made a big mistake by allowing the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques to send a hand-written letter from his prison cell. The six-page letter from Brenton Tarrant was posted this week on the website 4chan, which has become notorious as a place for white supremacists to post their views. And it comes at a sensitive time, with other alleged killers from El Paso to Norway citing Tarrant as an inspiration. The letter appears to be written in pencil on a small notepad and is addressed to “Alan” in Russia. Much of it appears to be relatively innocuous, discussing a one-month trip Tarrant says he took to Russia in 2015. But the letter also warns a “great conflict” is coming.
August 14, 2019 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – CBS and Viacom are set to reunite, bringing together their networks and the Paramount movie studio as traditional media giants challenge streaming companies like Netflix.
Viacom owns Paramount Pictures and pay TV channels such as Comedy Central, MTV and BET, while CBS has a broadcast network, television stations, Showtime and a stake in The CW network.
Analysts say the reunion will help both companies navigate an ever-competitive streaming landscape. CBS was one of the first media companies to launch its own streaming service, CBS All Access. It now has a new “Star Trek” series and a revival of “The Twilight Zone.” Now, Disney, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia are jumping in with their own streaming services to challenge Netflix, Amazon and other tech companies encroaching into entertainment.
August 14, 2019 4:20 am
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – A longtime friend of the Dayton gunman is due in court after authorities accused him of buying the body armor and helping assemble the weapon used in last week’s mass shooting. A judge scheduled a detention hearing for Ethan Kollie of Kettering in suburban Dayton on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say there’s no evidence that Kollie knew what gunman Connor Betts had planned. But they say Kollie lied on a federal firearms form while buying a pistol not used in the shooting. Kollie’s attorney says Kollie was shocked that Betts carried out the shooting. Authorities say they discovered that Kollie had lied on the form while investigating the Aug. 4 shooting in Dayton. Police say Betts killed nine people within 30 seconds before officers shot and killed him.
August 14, 2019 4:18 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Check-in counters have reopened at Hong Kong’s airport after being shut during protests the previous day. About three dozen protesters remained camped out in the arrivals area Wednesday morning. Flights appeared to be operating normally. The airport closed check-in for remaining flights late Tuesday afternoon as protesters swarmed the terminal and blocked access to immigration for departing passengers. More than 100 flights were cancelled on the fifth consecutive day protesters occupied the airport. Airlines had still been trying to clear a backlog of more than 200 flights from Monday. The airport disruptions escalated a summer of demonstrations aimed at what many Hong Kong residents see as an increasing erosion of the freedoms they were promised in 1997 when Communist Party-ruled mainland China took over what had been a British colony.
August 14, 2019 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A person familiar with the probe of Jeffrey Epstein’s death at a federal jail says guards are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates in his unit every half hour, when they actually weren’t. Epstein is believed to have killed himself early Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial in a sex trafficking case. Surveillance video reviewed after the death showed guards never made some of the checks noted in the log, according to the person familiar with the investigation.
August 14, 2019 4:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal appeals court says high tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike don’t violate the right of truckers and other motorists to travel between states, upholding a lower-court dismissal of their lawsuit against state agencies and officials. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Pennsylvania’s use of turnpike tolls to pay other costs was authorized by Congress and therefore doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The ruling upholds a federal judge’s decision in April to dismiss the lawsuit by the Missouri-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and others. A lawyer for the association says it’s considering options for further review of the decision. The state uses toll income to fund payments under a 2007 state law designed to pump money into highways and transit.
August 14, 2019 4:14 am
ERIE, Pa. (AP) – A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services says it does not regulate smoke detectors in state-licensed home day care facilities. Ali Fogarty said Tuesday that current regulations do not allow for citing a child care facility for compliance with fire safety codes including having working smoke detectors. A blaze ripped through a home day care center Sunday morning in Erie, killing five children. The youngest was 8 months old. Erie’s fire chief said there were not enough working smoke detectors at the Harris Family Daycare. State Sen. Daniel Laughlin said he plans to introduce a bill that would require the Department to include inspection of all smoke detectors in their annual inspection of child day care facilities. Fogarty said the department is committed to amending its existing regulations.
August 14, 2019 4:09 am
Nearly 150 North Franklin Township Residents attended a special meeting called by township supervisors to address concerns residents may have after a July 31 explosion leveled a township home. The mood was cautious as Columbia Gas Company Officials described how repairs are being handled. Michael Huwar, President of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania insisted that Columbia Gas will work hand in hand with township supervisors to “Make the Township whole” once again. The mood was subdued and cautious, but the most emotional statement came from Amberia Kaempf. She was renting a home near the explosion and now must move because her home has been condemned. She spoke of hoping to find housing so her daughter can begin school as normal. She described the stress she is experiencing with Columbia Gas when trying to have her problem rectified. Huwar intended to get started on a solution for her immediately as staff was on hand to handle all questions residents had. At the end of the meeting, Columbia Gas officials promised to work closely with township officials during the clean up and on all future work that will occur in the township. Supervisors lifted their cease and desist order allowing Columbia Gas to resume normal operations.
August 14, 2019 3:28 am
An Allegheny County church has canceled its annual festival because of a disturbing message. According to a news release from the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Our Lady of Grace parish in Scott Township received a handwritten letter in late July that read, in part: “Cancel August 14-17 Festival Security Problem is Huge.” Tuesday, the festival for the upcoming week was canceled, even though there was no direct threat. With recent mass shootings, organizers did not want to take the risk. The sender still hasn’t been identified.
August 14, 2019 3:01 am
MONACA, Pennsylvania (AP) – President Donald Trump is telling workers at Shell’s soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex that the largest investment in the state’s history would have never happened without me and us.” That’s despite the fact that Shell announced its plans to build the complex in 2012, when President Barack Obama was in office. Trump is speaking in Monaca to highlighting his support for manufacturing as he tries to hold support in the Rust Belt towns that helped him win in 2016, The plant is part of a growing effort to capitalize on western Pennsylvania’s natural gas deposits by turning gas into plastics But Trump told reporters earlier that he’s not worried about producing more plastics in the U.S. He says, “Plastics are fine” and the problem is what’s “floating across the ocean from other places, including China.”
