July 23, 2019 4:19 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Trump administration is expanding the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without requiring them to appear before judges ahead of deportation. The Homeland Security Department said Monday that fast-track deportations will apply to anyone in the country illegally less than two years. Until now those deportations applied only to people caught crossing the U.S. border by land and not entering by boat or plane. The department says the expansion “expedited removal” authority will allow it to more efficiently pursue large numbers of people in the country illegally and promptly remove them. Omar Jawdat of the American Civil Liberties says his group and the American Immigration Council will challenge the measure in court. The announcement came a week after the administration adopted a major policy shift to limit asylum.
July 23, 2019 4:12 am
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – West Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert and are searching for Gracelynn June Scritchfield, 4. Police said she was last seen in Fairmont, West Virginia and is believed to be in extreme danger. Police said she was most likley abducted by her biological father, Arlie Edward Hetrick III. He’s described as 26-years-old, Caucasian, with brown hair, blue eyes, weighing about 140 pounds and standing 5-feet, 9 inches tall. Scritchfield is described as Caucasian with brown-blonde hair, blue eyes, weighing about 35 pounds and standing 3-feet tall. Authorities said she was last seen wearing summer clothes, but do not have a description of her clothing. Police said she and her biological father may be traveling in a gold 2001 Subaru Forester with West Virginia license plate 1TH163. If you have any information on her whereabouts, you’re asked to call 911 immediately.
July 23, 2019 3:58 am
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire Monday morning in Donora that left an elderly woman dead. Authorities say the blaze broke out around eight o’clock, in an apartment on the fifth floor of the Donora Towers, a high-rise at 685 Meldon Avenue. Emergency responders say 92-year-old Lenora Brownlee, who lived in the apartment, was taken to Mon Valley Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Authorities say the fire was essentially limited to the chair in which Brownlee was sitting at the time. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco says the cause and manner of Brownlee’s death is under investigation. Residents were evacuated from the building for a short time. (Photo: WPXI)
July 23, 2019 3:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A state court is upholding portions of Pennsylvania regulations for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling while also ruling in part on the side of an industry group. A seven-judge Commonwealth Court panel on Monday issued a 91-page decision in a lawsuit brought by the Marcellus Shale Coalition against the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Quality Board. The judges say state officials don’t have the authority to mandate restoration of sites to their original conditions within nine months of when drilling has ended. But they’re siding with the department and board in other respects, including rules for liquid impoundment ponds and how drillers must respond when nearby wells are affected by their activity.
July 22, 2019 5:39 pm
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic copies of a popular pill for nerve pain. The agency on Monday said it approved nine generic versions of Pfizer Inc.’s Lyrica. Lyrica, approved in 2004, is Pfizer’s second bestseller, with sales last year of $4.6 billion. While prices can vary widely, the heavily advertised drug costs about $460 to $720 per month without insurance, depending on the pharmacy. But, according to the drug price comparison website GoodRX, generic versions range from about $140 to $370 per month.
July 22, 2019 4:35 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police say a man has been charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer more than a week ago. Commander Victor Joseph of the major crimes unit said Monday the indictment against 30-year-old Christian Bey is sealed, so further details will not be provided. Officials said earlier that Bey was arrested last week on a parole violation. Thirty-five-year-old Officer Calvin Hall died Wednesday after being shot early July 14 during a street dispute as a party was going on. Officials have said the off-duty officer may have been “acting under the color of law.” The funeral of the slain officer is scheduled Tuesday. It was unclear whether Bey had an attorney; a number listed for him was out of service Monday.
July 22, 2019 9:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Equifax will pay up to $700 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission and others over a 2017 data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other private information of nearly 150 million people. The proposed settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if approved by the federal district court Northern District of Georgia, will provide up to $425 million in monetary relief to consumers, a $100 million civil money penalty, and other relief. The bureau coordinated its investigation with the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from across the U.S. The announcement Monday confirms a report by The Wall Street Journal that the credit reporting agency had reached a deal with the U.S.
July 22, 2019 9:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities say a dispute between a landlord and tenant in a Pittsburgh neighborhood ended in a shooting that left one man dead and another being questioned by police. The shooting occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. Monday. A preliminary investigation determined that a stun gun and a gun were used in the incident, but further details about the shooting were not disclosed. Authorities didn’t say what sparked the dispute. Authorities say a man found inside the house had been shot once in the chest and was pronounced dead there, but they didn’t say if he was the landlord or the tenant. His name also has not been released. It wasn’t clear if the other person was injured in the incident.
July 22, 2019 4:11 am
LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May will chair an emergency security session to discuss how to respond to Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting of security ministers and officials on Monday will discuss how to secure shipping in the sensitive region, which is vital to the world’s oil supply. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is also expected to brief Parliament on the Friday seizure of the Stena Impero tanker, now in a heavily guarded Iranian port. Britain is considering a number of options to raise the pressure on Iran but officials say military operations are not being considered at the moment. Britain is also seeking diplomatic and operational support from key European allies in an effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.
July 22, 2019 4:10 am
HONG KONG (AP) – China has harshly criticized a demonstration in which eggs were thrown at its office in Hong Kong and messages spray-painted on the exterior walls. The official People’s Daily newspaper said Monday in a front-page commentary that the protesters’ actions were “intolerable.” The article headlined “Central Authority Cannot be Challenged” expanded on a strong condemnation issued the previous night by the government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office. One group of protesters targeted China’s liaison office in Hong Kong on Sunday night after more than 100,000 people marched through the city to demand democracy and an investigation into the use of force by police to disperse crowds at earlier protests. Demonstrators fear an erosion of rights and freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
