July 25, 2019 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new asylum restrictions for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Wednesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco came hours after a judge in Washington decided to let the rules stand while lawsuits played out in court. The policy would prevent most migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they passed through another country first. It targets tens of thousands of Central Americans who cross Mexico every month to try to enter the U.S. It also would affect asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive regularly at the southern border. Legal groups argued the proposal was barred by federal law establishing how people can seek asylum.
July 25, 2019 4:19 am
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian police say the suspects in the murders of an American woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as the death of another man in northern British Columbia left a burnt-out vehicle two provinces over in Manitoba. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Julie Courchaine said Wednesday a burned vehicle they were travelling in was found in the remote northern town of Gillam. Police had said Monday they were searching for 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky, whose other burnt-out car had been discovered in northern British Columbia. During that investigation, they found the body of an unidentified man roughly a mile (about 2 kilometers) from the car. It’s about 300 miles (500 kilometers) from where 24-year-old American Chynna Deese and 23-year-old Australian Lucas Fowler were found shot dead.
July 25, 2019 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – In the wake of House hearings on the Mueller report, Democrats say they will continue to hold President Donald Trump to account. Democrats have multiple investigations of the president underway that don’t require cooperation from the White House or the Justice Department. In addition, the House Judiciary Committee says it’s filing lawsuit to obtain secret grand jury testimony and to challenge the White House claim of “absolute immunity” to block testimony from Trump’s aides. Apart from investigations, nearly 90 House Democrats have called for an impeachment inquiry, and more are certain to join the call after former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony. Democrats in both the House and the Senate want to move forward with legislation to make elections more secure after Mueller extensively detailed Russian interference.
July 25, 2019 4:16 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has announced he will resign Aug. 2, conceding power after nearly two weeks of furious protests and political upheaval touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers. A crowd of thousands outside the governor’s mansion erupted into cheers and singing after Rosselló’s announcement on Facebook just before midnight. The 40-year-old son of a former governor, Rosselló became the first chief executive to resign in the modern history of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory of more than 3 million American citizens without full representation in Congress or the right to vote for president. Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez will assume the post less than halfway through Rosselló’s four-year term, becoming Puerto Rico’s second female governor.
July 25, 2019 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Wolf Administration is hoping to make it easier for people to access state government services by consolidating ways for the public to contact agencies through what’s being called the Keystone Login. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced a “customer service transformation ” over the coming years that will include a single online portal for people to reach all state government services. The streamlining will also apply to telephone contacts or in-person visits to state agencies. The Keystone Login is currently an option for contacting Community and Economic Development, General Services, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Office of Administration. The administration also plans to roll out a single phone number for people seeking services.
July 25, 2019 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A woman has been sentenced to three to six years in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian in western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that 30-year-old Melinda Gregor tearfully apologized before an Allegheny County judge imposed the mandatory term Wednesday. She said “I know me saying ‘I’m sorry’ a million times won’t change anything, but I just want to say I’m so sorry to your family.” Defense attorney Phil DiLucente said his hadn’t committed “an intentional act to hurt or kill someone.” Common Pleas Court Judge Beth Lazzara, however, said Gregor knew she had struck something when she hit 50-year-old Michael Menner in December 2017, and jurors who convicted of her of failure to render aid didn’t believe her story that she thought she had struck a deer.
July 25, 2019 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A western Pennsylvania sports authority official has been charged with stealing more than $300,000 from an accounting firm for which she previously worked. The Tribune-Review reports that 43-year-old Sharon Mink, employed since February 2017 as controller for the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, is charged with nine counts of forgery as well as theft and receiving stolen property. Allegheny County prosecutors allege that she embezzled more than $319,000 from Forest Hills-based Research Underwriters and used the money for cruises, airline tickets and merchandise from Louis Vuitton, Coach, Gucci and Tiffany. Defense attorney Phil DiLucente said his client has been suspended from the authority without pay. He said it would be premature to comment but added that “I can tell you she is perplexed by these charges.”
July 25, 2019 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Jerry Sandusky isn’t getting a fresh chance to argue in state court he should get a new trial, seven years after the former Penn State assistant football coach was convicted of molesting 10 boys. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down the 75-year-old’s request it review a Superior Court decision earlier this year that rejected most of Sandusky’s arguments. His lawyer says he’s very disappointed and Sandusky may seek help from federal courts. Sandusky’s November 2011 arrest led to the firing of his longtime boss, head football coach Joe Paterno. Paterno died in 2012. Superior Court had also ordered Sandusky be resentenced because mandatory minimum guidelines were improperly applied. The resentencing has been on hold awaiting the high court decision. Sandusky was sentenced in 2012 to 30 to 60 years.
July 25, 2019 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A Syrian refugee accused of planning a terror attack at a Pittsburgh church pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday. Mustafa Alowemer, 21, who just graduated from Brashear High School in June, is charged in connection with alleged plans to carry out the attack in the name of ISIS, according to federal investigators. Alowemer allegedly purchased items to make bombs, which he said he planned to deliver to the Legacy International Worship Center in the Perry South neighborhood in July, authorities said.
July 24, 2019 5:59 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has passed a bill aimed at combating robocalls, the latest attempt to counter the wave of spam calls as complaints pile up. Federal agencies have also stepped up anti-robocall measures, allowing carriers to block unwanted calls by default and encouraging the wireless industry to roll out technology that guarantees the number showing up on your caller ID isn’t faked to fool you into answering a scammer. The Senate passed a bill similar to the House one, the Traced Act, in May, with near-unanimous support. The House version, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, goes further in attempting to stop companies from making telemarketing calls. Both bills have support from consumer groups and the telecom industry. The House has passed the robocall bill by a 429-3 vote.
