July 26, 2019 4:16 am
TOKYO (AP) – North Korea says its latest missile test that included a new type of a tactical guided weapon was meant as a “solemn warning” to South Korea over its weapons development and plans to hold military exercises with the United States. The message Friday was carried on state media and released in the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It was directed to “South Korean military warmongers” and comes as U.S. and North Korean officials struggle to set up working-level talks after a recent meeting on the Korean border between Kim and President Donald Trump seemed to provide a breakthrough in stalled nuclear negotiations. North Korea is infuriated over U.S.-South Korean plans for drills that the North says are invasion rehearsals and proof of the allies’ hostility to Pyongyang.
July 26, 2019 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department’s announcement that it will begin executing federal death row inmates for the first time since 2003 raises the political stakes of an issue that has rarely been a strength for Democrats. The party is now unified in its opposition to capital punishment more than in years past. Only one of the two dozen candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination supports preserving capital punishment in some cases. But a majority of Americans continue to support the death penalty. And support is strongest among Republicans, who constitute President Donald Trump’s base heading into his reelection bid. So, while Democratic presidential hopefuls have already begun rushing to draw strong contrasts between themselves and Trump on capital punishment, the strategy may not resonate with many would-be voters.
July 26, 2019 4:14 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Military officials have arrested 16 Marines following an investigation into human smuggling. The Marine Corps said the arrests at Camp Pendleton, California, were carried out during a battalion formation Thursday morning at the base, north of San Diego. It is about 55 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Marine Corps said in a news release that information gained after two Marines were arrested on human smuggling charges earlier this summer led to the arrests. Officials say the Marines are charged with various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses. Another eight are being questioned about their alleged involvement in drug offenses as part of a separate investigation. The military says none of the Marines were involved in helping to enforce border security.
July 26, 2019 4:13 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles police say a gunman who killed two of his family members and an acquaintance has been linked to another killing. Police said Thursday they arrested 26-year-old Gerry Dean Zaragoza after he shot and killed a man on a bus in Van Nuys. Earlier in the day, police said Zaragoza killed the two members of his family and wounded a third person at an apartment complex in the Canoga Park area. Multiple media reports said Zaragoza fatally shot his father and brother and wounded his mother. Police would not immediately confirm that information. Police say Zaragoza also shot two people at a gas station in North Hollywood, killing a woman believed to be an acquaintance and critically wounding a man.
He also has been linked to an attempted robbery.
July 26, 2019 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania state official says a judge for years misclassified civil complaints about unpaid bills as theft. As a result, hundreds of people have undeserved criminal records. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale (pictured) said Thursday a review of the district judge office in Corry, Pennsylvania, found over 800 theft-of-services convictions for offenses that are not crimes under state law. They include failure to pay fines on overdue library books, bills for plumbing repairs and credit union fees. The auditor general says then-District Judge Brenda Williams Nichols misclassified cases from 2014 through 2017. She lost a bid for re-election in 2017. DePasquale is urging the court system to expunge the records at no cost to those involved. No phone listing could be found for Nichols, and a message left at a relative’s home seeking her comment was not returned.
July 26, 2019 4:07 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Model Janice Dickinson calls settling a defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby a “victory” that brings a “measure of justice” but says nothing can erase her assault by the now-imprisoned comedian. Dickinson spoke to reporters Thursday at the office of her attorney Lisa Bloom, who said the case was settled for an “epic” amount. She says the terms of the deal keep the exact figure confidential. Cosby insurer American International Group Inc. settled the case without his approval, as it has with at least eight other women who filed similar lawsuits. Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt says the comedian denies the assault and defamation allegations and has been robbed of a chance to prove it in court. Dickinson alleges that he drugged and raped her in 1982. Cosby was convicted and sent to prison for a 2004 sexual assault.
July 26, 2019 4:06 am
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) – A health insurance company analyst is admitting he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl after DNA evidence and new fingerprint technology helped solve the 1999 crime. Timothy D. Nelson Jr. pleaded guilty Thursday in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, federal courthouse and agreed to a deal that will likely result in a 30-year sentence. The 50-year-old from Cumberland, Maryland, is admitting he abducted the girl in Cairnbrook, Pennsylvania, took her to West Virginia and assaulted her before releasing the child. His lawyer says Nelson feels contrition and remorse and plans to express that when he’s sentenced in late August. FBI agent Robert Jones says the child was able to help investigators recover a discarded paper bag and napkins that eventually linked Nelson to the crime.
July 26, 2019 3:38 am
MT. LEBANON, Pa. (WPXI) – A car crashed over a hillside and slammed into a shed Thursday morning in Mt. Lebanon. The car went over the hillside about 10 a.m. in the area of Maydell Street and Carnahan Road. It missed hitting the guide rail and trees, but traveled through a wooded area before crashing into the shed. A fence and retaining wall were also damaged by the car. Crews were called to remove the car, which required workers to cut down trees.
July 25, 2019 4:53 pm
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) – A health insurance company analyst is admitting he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl after DNA evidence and new fingerprint technology helped solve the 1999 crime. Timothy D. Nelson Jr. pleaded guilty Thursday in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, federal courthouse and agreed to a deal that will likely result in a 30-year sentence. The 50-year-old from Cumberland, Maryland, is admitting he abducted the girl in Cairnbrook, Pennsylvania, took her to West Virginia and assaulted her before releasing the child. His lawyer says Nelson feels contrition and remorse and plans to express that when he’s sentenced in late August. FBI agent Robert Jones says the child was able to help investigators recover a discarded paper bag and napkins that eventually linked Nelson to the crime.
July 25, 2019 4:51 pm
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Military officials have arrested 16 Marines following an investigation into human smuggling. The Marine Corps said the arrests at Camp Pendleton, California, were carried out during a battalion formation Thursday morning at the base, north of San Diego. It is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Marine Corps said in a news release that information gained after two Marines were arrested on human smuggling charges earlier this summer led to the arrests. Officials say the Marines are charged with various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses. Another eight are being questioned about their alleged involvement in drug offenses as part of a separate investigation. The military says none of the Marines were involved in helping to enforce border security.
