May 29, 2025 12:56 pm
CALICO ROCK, Ark. — (AP) — Arkansas authorities are looking at whether a job in the prison kitchen played a role in the weekend escape of a convicted former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”Grant Hardin, 56, was housed in a maximum-security wing of the medium-security Calico Rock prison, where he also held a job in the kitchen, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion said Thursday. Authorities have said Hardin escaped Sunday by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. “His job assignment was in the kitchen, so just looking to see if that played a part in it as well,” Champion told The Associated Press. The kitchen is divided into two shifts of about 25 workers each, according to a 2021 accreditation report that involved an extensive review of the prison. In the kitchen, “tools and utensils were stored on shadow boards with proper controls for sign out/in of all tools,” the report states. “A check of the inventory control sheets found them to be accurate and up to date.” The kitchen is in one of 16 buildings on over 700 acres (280 hectares) of prison land. The sprawling grounds include a garden, two greenhouses, and extensive pasture lands where a herd of more than 100 horses is raised and trained by staff and inmates. Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
May 29, 2025 12:52 pm
(WPXI) INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police say scammers are impersonating the DMV in text messages. Troopers said several Indiana County residents reported receiving suspicious texts from someone claiming to be the “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Motor Vehicles (DMV).” The texts allege they are a “final notice” before “enforcement penalties begin on May 31.” A link is included in the email that is alleged to lead people who open it to a place where they can make a payment on an “outstanding traffic ticket” to avoid penalties. Police say the entire message is a scam and say no one should click on any links in the message. They encourage people to report these messages to their service providers and to delete the message. Troopers are not aware of any financial losses caused by the scam at this time. To prevent the scam from spreading, residents are asked to spread the word and discuss scam risks with family members and friends. Police said a good rule of thumb is to ignore calls, emails or texts that seem suspicious and to contact a family member or local police for more guidance.
May 29, 2025 12:32 pm
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. — (AP) — A 19-year-old has been taken into custody in Illinois and authorities said they plan to charge him in a shooting that hurt 11 people after a party boat cruise in South Carolina. The shooting happened Sunday night on a dock in Little River after a fight on the boat during the three-hour cruise, Horry County Police said. The suspect is expected to be charged with several counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and then officials will seek to extradite him from Lake County, Illinois, back to South Carolina, police said. The investigation into the shooting continues and more people could be charged, authorities said. Officials said 120 people partied on the boat over the holiday weekend and were leaving on the dock when the shooting happened. Ten people were wounded by gunfire, mostly on the lower parts of their body, and one person was hurt by a falling speaker, authorities said. Investigators think only one person fired shots. They didn’t say what started the dispute on the boat and how it led to the shooting on the dock and also would not say what kind of weapon was used. About 3 miles (5 kilometers) down the Intracoastal Waterway, a North Myrtle Beach police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg as he tried to get a boat into the water to respond to the shooting scene, officials said. Little River is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Myrtle Beach. The fishing village is known for its docks and marinas where fishing expeditions, casino boats and several dolphin cruises leave daily.
May 29, 2025 12:29 pm
(WPXI) BUTLER, Pa. — Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Butler County. Butler City Police Chief Bob O’Neill says police did a welfare check at 3:44 p.m. on Wednesday in the 100 block of Cottage Hill Avenue. Inside, they found two deceased people: A 66-year-old white woman and a 66-year-old white man, both from Butler. Detectives believe this was a murder-suicide, based on preliminary investigations. The individuals’ next of kin have not yet been located, O’Neill says. The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as deemed prudent.
May 29, 2025 11:32 am
(WPXI) WASHINGTON — (AP) — The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles number, the newspaper reported. It is unclear how the person gained access to Wiles’ phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers. Last year, Iran hacked into Trump’s campaign and sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump’s running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump’s campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts. Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles.
May 29, 2025 11:30 am
SAO PAULO — (AP) — Videos featuring emotional moments with hyper-realistic baby dolls have sparked both online fascination and political debate in Brazil, with lawmakers even bringing the lifelike dolls into legislatures. Influencers have staged situations such as birth simulations and strolls in shopping malls with the hand-crafted baby figures, known as “reborn” dolls, creating videos that have gone viral. In Rio de Janeiro, the city council has passed a bill honoring those who make the lifelike dolls, pending Mayor Eduardo Paes’ signature. Meanwhile, legislators elsewhere across the country have debated fines for those seeking medical help for such dolls, following a video allegedly showing a woman taking one to a hospital. Lawmakers have brought the dolls into legislative chambers. On Tuesday, Joao Luiz, a state lawmaker from Amazonas, appeared with a doll at the State House to announce plans to ban reborn dolls from receiving care in the state’s public health system. However, local media reported that health authorities had never recorded any such cases.
May 29, 2025 11:27 am
(WPXI) NEW YORK — (AP) — New York City police are investigating two detectives who worked security at an upscale Manhattan townhouse where a man says he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks by two crypto investors who wanted to steal his Bitcoin, a city official said Thursday. One of the detectives serves on Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail and is believed to have picked up the victim from a local airport and brought him to the townhouse, the official said. It’s not immediately clear if the other detective, who is a narcotics officer, has any connection to the incident. The detectives have been placed on modified leave pending the outcome of the inquiry, according to the official, who was briefed on the case and spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to discuss the internal investigation. It is not uncommon for members of the NYPD to do private security work outside of their city jobs but they need to receive prior approval. At this point, the official said, the department is looking into whether the officers received that approval. Adams’ office confirmed one of the detectives provides security detail for the Democrat, but said the mayor has no knowledge of what the officer does on his personal time. “Every city employee is expected to follow the law, including our officers, both on and off duty,” the mayor’s office said in an emailed statement. “We are disturbed by these allegations.” In response to an emailed inquiry, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed two members were placed on modified duty Wednesday. A spokesperson for the labor union representing NYPD detectives didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. Crypto investors John Woeltz and William Duplessie have been charged in the case. Their lawyers have declined to comment. Authorities allege that on May 6, the two men lured the victim, who they knew personally, to a posh townhouse in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood by threatening to kill his family. The man, a 28-year-old Italian national who has not been named by officials, said he was then held captive for 17 days, as the two investors tormented him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high. He eventually agreed to hand over his computer password Friday morning, then managed to flee the home as his captors went to retrieve the device. The investigation into the officers began, incidentally, on the same day Adams headlined a crypto convention in Las Vegas, where he described New York as the Bitcoin capital of the country.
May 29, 2025 5:54 am
Uniontown, PA – Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 12 is announcing the closure of Route 3026 (Enon Church Road) between Jackson Road and the Consol Bailey Prep Plant in West Finley Township, Washington County, will be extended from today until late June. Detour:
· Route 3037 (West Finley Road)
· Route 3035/3029 (Burnsville Ridge Road)
· Route 231 (East Finley Drive)
The Washington County maintenance department is conducting slide repairs – an infrastructure investment of $120,000. All work depends on weather and operational conditions. Remain alert and follow the posted signs and speed limits. Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
May 29, 2025 4:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” His announcement Wednesday adds to the uncertainty for America’s international students, who have faced intensifying scrutiny from President Donald Trump’s administration. China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the U.S. On Tuesday, Rubio halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for international students.
May 29, 2025 4:52 am
(AP) – The White House says Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump submitted a ceasefire proposal that Israel has “backed and supported.” Hamas officials gave the Israeli-approved draft a cool response, but said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.
