July 29, 2019 4:22 am
MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) – Police in western Pennsylvania are asking for help from the public after a man was found shot to death in the garage of a home near Pittsburgh. Allegheny County police say paramedics were called shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday to a McKeesport home on a report of a female with shortness of breath, and she told them there was a body in her garage. Paramedics found a 22-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the victim didn’t live there but was known to one of the residents. Police said “at this time there are no suspects and the motive is unclear.” Anyone with information is asked to call county police or reach out on the department’s social media sites.
July 29, 2019 4:20 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges are planned against a 37-year-old man after four people were wounded in gunfire in two locations in a western Pennsylvania city over the weekend Uniontown police say one person was shot on a city street and three people were later shot at a party two blocks away shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday.
One person was reported in critical condition at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. Police say the three other victims had injuries not considered life-threatening. Details about the victims weren’t released but police said they were two men and two women. Police say a vehicle spotted traveling at high speed near one of the shooting scenes was stopped and a suspect arrested. The motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately known.
July 29, 2019 4:18 am
GILROY, Calif. (AP) – A gunman cut through a fence to avoid security and opened fire at Northern California’s popular Gilroy Garlic Festival, killing three and wounding at least 15 before police fatally shot him as terrified people and performers ran for cover. Those who died included a 6-year-old boy identified as Stephen Romero (pictured), a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s. There’s no immediate word on the other people who were either wounded or suffered injuries such as scrapes and bruises. Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee says the gunman was armed with a rifle and sneaked in through a fence that borders a parking lot next to a creek. He appeared to randomly target people when he opened fire just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the conclusion of the three-day festival that attracts more than 100,000 people to the city known as the “Garlic Capital of the World.” Smithee says police responded within a minute, engaged the suspect and killed him. A law enforcement official says the gunman has been identified as Santino William Legan. Legan was killed shortly after opening fire. Authorities say he used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid security measures, including metal detectors.
July 29, 2019 4:14 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – A western Pennsylvania fire chief is faulting a utility company’s response to a shopping center fire near Pittsburgh that destroyed several businesses and injured a number of firefighters. Chief Bill Jeffcoats of the Penn Hills fire department said Peoples Natural Gas didn’t get gas service shut off for about five hours after the blaze at Churchill Center was reported at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “There’s no amount of water we could put on the fire when it’s fed by natural gas.” Utility spokesman Barry Kukovich said two of the three lines were shut down quickly but the third was harder to locate and shutting it off was delayed due to the emergency equipment and the “significant amount of water” used to fight the fire. (Photo: WPXI)
July 28, 2019 8:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing to end an option that has allowed states to exceed federal eligibility thresholds for food stamps. Dozens of states have gotten around federal income or asset limits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by using federal welfare grants to produce brochures informing food stamp applicants about other available social services. As long as the brochures were paid for with federal welfare money, states could bypass income and asset restrictions for food stamps. The tactic had been promoted by former President Barack Obama’s administration as a way to allow low-income households to increase their savings and earnings before losing food stamps. But Trump’s administration describes it as a “loophole” to federal law.
July 28, 2019 8:13 am
VIENNA (AP) – A Royal Navy warship has arrived in the Persian Gulf to accompany British-flagged ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions after Iran seized a British tanker this month. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the HMS Duncan will join the Frigate HMS Montrose in the Gulf to defend freedom of navigation. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Royal Navy will escort U.K. vessels until a diplomatic resolution is found to secure the route again. The British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker was seized in the Strait of Hormuz a week ago. Some senior Iranian officials have suggested the ship was seized in retaliation for the British navy’s role in seizing an Iranian supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar for violations of EU sanctions on oil sales to Syria. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is a vital waterway for oil tankers.
July 28, 2019 8:12 am
HONG KONG (AP) – A group of protesters has used orange and white construction barricades to build a wall spanning a major Hong Kong road near the Chinese government’s Liaison Office for the city. They massed behind the barriers Sunday evening, with umbrellas pointed forward to shield their identities and ward off any police move to clear them from the street. Police in riot gear have gathered nearby, and some stores have shuttered early. Hong Kong has had a series of pro-democracy and anti-government rallies and marches this summer, many of which have ended in showdowns between police and protesters who occupy streets or throw eggs at and spray-paint slogans on government buildings.
July 28, 2019 8:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s much-maligned health care system is covering 9 out of 10 people. But that fact hasn’t stopped the 2020 presidential candidates from refighting battles about how to provide coverage, from Bernie Sanders’ calls for replacing private insurance with a government plan to President Donald Trump’s pledge to erase the Affordable Care Act and start over. They depict a system in meltdown. The numbers tell a different story, not as dire. Government surveys show about 90 percent of the population has coverage. And independent experts estimate that more than half of the roughly 30 million uninsured are eligible for health insurance through existing programs. Now the bigger issue seems to be that many people with health insurance struggle to pay their deductibles and copays. About 44 million are deemed underinsured.
July 28, 2019 8:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has denigrated a majority-black district represented by a congressional nemesis as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” broadening a campaign against prominent critics of his administration that has exacerbated racial tensions. Trump lashed out in tweets Saturday against Rep. Elijah Cummings, the powerful House Oversight Committee chairman, claiming his Baltimore-area district is “considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States.” It was the president’s latest assault on a prominent lawmaker, and the people he represents, two weeks after he sparked nationwide controversy with racist tweets directed at four congresswomen of color. His comments against Cummings, who leads multiple investigations of the president’s governmental dealings, drew swift condemnation from Democrats, including would-be presidential rivals.
July 28, 2019 8:07 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – City of Pittsburgh officials want the lawsuit filed against new gun legislation dropped and say the people who filed the suit have no case. Attorneys for the city of Pittsburgh said in court documents filed this week that a lawsuit challenging the gun control ordinances was rushed into court and should be dismissed. According to documents obtained by Channel 11, the “plaintiff’s case is premised on the erroneous assumption that the Ordinance prohibits the mere carrying of a firearm loaded with an LCM or large capacity magazine. It does not. Instead, the Ordinance much more narrowly prohibits only the use of an LCM or the use of a firearm loaded with an LCM in public places in Pittsburgh.” “This is all legal obfuscation by the city. They are grasping at straws, trying to think of a way to deny people their constitutional rights,” Val Finnell said. Finnell is the Pennsylvania director of Gun Owners of America and is involved with another gun rights organization that has also filed suit against the city, challenging the ordinances. “The law in Pennsylvania makes no distinction. Municipalities have absolutely no authority, zero authority, to enact any gun control legislation, whether that is use, carrying, bans – whatever it might be,” Finnell said. He said this new court filing won’t affect the other lawsuit filed by Firearms Owners Against Crime and Allegheny County Sportsmen. Finnell said he’s preparing for a hearing on the legality of the ordinances, which will likely happen sometime this fall.
