August 13, 2019 4:13 pm
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Police investigating the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, say the gunman’s sister was among the first people he shot, but investigators are divided on whether he intentionally killed her. Chief Richard Biehl says evidence is so far inconclusive on whether 24-year-old Connor Betts targeted his 22-year-old sister Megan two hours after they arrived at the city’s Oregon entertainment district together with a male companion. Biehl says Betts was very familiar with the district and its night spots and had been there the night before. He says it’s apparent he had a plan for the mass shooting, although why he chose that place at that time is still be investigated. The FBI is probing the influence of violent ideology on Betts, who police say was obsessed with violence and fixated on mass shootings. Video made public Tuesday shows him in the Ned Peppers bar, likely casing it. A bouncer is credited with helping keep him out when he returned as a shooter.
August 13, 2019 3:25 pm
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – A South Carolina woman is recovering after being bitten by an alligator near her home in Hilton Head Island. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources spokesman David Lucas tells news outlets that it happened in the Sun City retirement community on Monday night. Lucas says a 68-year-old woman was walking her dog about 10 p.m. near her house, which is also near several ponds. He says the 8-to-9-foot-long (2.4-to-2.7-meter-long) gator bit the woman on the wrist and leg. She was treated at the scene and later transported to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. The dog ran way during the attack and was not harmed. An alligator control agent was called in and the gator was captured and euthanized.
August 13, 2019 3:18 pm
HONG KONG (AP) – President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that U.S. intelligence believes that the Chinese government is moving troops to its border with Hong Kong. Trump also tweeted that “Everyone should be calm and safe!” He provided no additional details. Riot police briefly clashed with pro-democracy protesters outside the Hong Kong Airport for the second day on Tuesday though calm returned to the airport in the early hours of Wednesday. The airport disruptions are an escalation of a summer of demonstrations against what some in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of freedoms. The protests have in recent weeks turned to focus on police brutality against demonstrators. Earlier Tuesday, Trump called the Hong Kong protests a “very tricky situation,” saying he hopes no one is injured or killed.
August 13, 2019 1:51 pm
Students in the Bethlehem-Center School District will get a few extra days of summer vacation. School officials say they have postponed the start of classes for one week because of ongoing renovation projects. District officials say a more than ten-million-dollar heating, ventilation and air-conditioning project began in April and there is still work that needs to be finished before classes can start. Classes were supposed to start on August 21st, but will instead start on August 28th. The project included new roofs on school buildings, better security systems and doors and air conditioning in the middle and high schools. Officials say the air conditioning system is mostly completed at the middle school but is not finished at all at the high school.
August 13, 2019 12:30 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia suspension bridge has reopened more than a month after it was closed when a charter bus weighing well over the weight limit crossed the span. The state Division of Highways says in a news release the Wheeling Suspension Bridge was opened to traffic Tuesday. A charter bus weighing more than the bridge’s 2-ton (1.8-metric ton) limit crossed the bridge in late June, leading to the bridge’s closure. The driver of the bus was cited for the overweight vehicle and failing to obey a traffic control device. The statement says vertical barriers of 7 feet, 6 inches (2.3 meters) have been installed at the entrances. Motorists also must maintain a minimum 50-foot (15.2 meters) distance between vehicles.
August 13, 2019 4:56 am
(AP) – Numerous women have told The Associated Press that celebrated opera superstar Placido Domingo tried to pressure them into sexual relationships by dangling jobs and in some cases punishing them when they refused his advances. A half-dozen other women said suggestive overtures by Domingo made them uncomfortable. And almost three dozen more people in the opera world said they witnessed inappropriate sexually-tinged behavior by Domingo and that he pursued younger women with impunity. Domingo called the allegations “deeply troubling and, as presented inaccurate,” adding “I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual.” Seven of Domingo’s nine accusers told the AP they feel their careers were adversely impacted after they rejected his advances, with some saying that roles he promised never materialized.
August 13, 2019 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new report shows child care providers charge more than federal subsidies provided to low-income parents in most states across the U.S. The report, released Tuesday by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, focuses on the Child Care Development Fund, an $8.2 billion block grant. The federal recommendation is that states provide payment rates at the 75th percentile, which allows eligible families to access 3 out of 4 providers without paying more out of pocket. But the report shows most states set their rates much lower. The Administration for Children and Families says it has placed 33 states on a corrective action plan to ensure they’re complying with equal access requirements. ACF says it will provide states with training and guidance.
August 13, 2019 4:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Justice Department says two guards assigned to watch Jeffrey Epstein when he killed himself in jail have been placed on administrative leave. The department says in a statement Tuesday that the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center has also been temporarily reassigned to an office post pending the outcome of two investigations. Both the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general are investigating Epstein’s death.
August 13, 2019 4:06 am
ERIE, Pa. (AP) – A fire chief says there weren’t enough working smoke detectors at a Pennsylvania home day care center where a fire killed five children. Fire Chief Guy Santone told a Tuesday news conference that state officials who inspect home day care centers do not check for smoke detectors. City authorities and state legislators are working on legislation that would make home day care centers register with the city, so it can deploy inspectors. A message seeking comment was left with the Department of Human Services. Santone said fire officials suspect the blaze that broke out Sunday morning at Harris Family Daycare was accidental. An adult and two adolescent boys were able to escape the fire. Five children ranging in age from 8 months to 7 years died.
August 13, 2019 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania appeals court questioned why Bill Cosby’s legal team never got a supposed non-prosecution agreement in writing as his latest lawyers fought Monday to have his sexual assault conviction overturned. The 82-year-old actor was not in court Monday as his lawyers attacked the trial judge’s decision to send Cosby to trial and to let five other accusers testify. The three-judge Superior Court panel asked why Cosby’s lawyers never got the supposed agreement in writing or approved by a judge in 2005. He was arrested by another prosecutor a decade later after dozens of other accusers came forward. Cosby was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era. He is serving a three-to 10-year prison term.
The court typically takes several months to rule.
