September 19, 2023 2:56 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — A self-proclaimed white supremacist has pleaded guilty to charges that he made online threats toward the jury and witnesses at the trial of a man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The Justice Department says Hardy Carroll Lloyd entered the plea Tuesday in federal court in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Follansbee, West Virginia, resident was accused of sending threatening social media posts and emails along with comments on websites about the trial of Robert Bowers. Lloyd faces more than six years in prison if the plea agreement is accepted by the court. Bowers was sentenced to death in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
September 19, 2023 10:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Americans released by Iran after being detained for years have arrived back home and declared, “Freedom!” The former prisoners posed for a group photograph with their families at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, early Tuesday. The brother of one of the five freed Americans says “The nightmare is finally over.” The Americans were freed as part of a politically risky deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to the release of $5.9 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The successful negotiations for the Americans’ freedom brought Biden profuse thanks from their families but heat from Republicans for the monetary arrangement with one of America’s top adversaries.
September 19, 2023 6:28 am
Canonsburg Council held a public workshop on Monday evening to listen to proposals from two utility companies that are interested in purchasing the Canonsburg Houston Joint Authority. The boroughs of Canonsburg and Houston jointly own the CHJA. Ultimately, they will decide if a sale will be consummated. Proposals were presented by Aqua, a subsidiary of Essential Utilities and The Pennsylvania American Water Company. Monday’s meeting was the third such meeting that has discussed a possible sale of the sewerage treatment plant and the collector system infrastructure. The request for proposals from the were to include the purchase price, rate structure over the next 10 years and the company’s ability to close the deal. Offer prices were revealed at the meeting. Aqua offered $145 million to purchase the system. PAWC offered $140 million. Specific rate increases were not discussed at the presentation. Canonsburg Council Chairman Eric Chandler made it clear that no matter what decision is made, rates are going up, even if it is decided that the authority will not be sold, rates will be going up. Steve Lucas, Vice Chairman of the CHJA board of directors indicated that discussions began two years ago when PAWC approached them with the idea of selling the authority. Lucas said much more information is needed before a decision is made. It could be one to two years before a determination to sell or not is made.
September 19, 2023 5:16 am
DETROIT (AP) – The United Auto Workers union is preparing to expand its strike against Detroit’s Big Three unless it sees progress in contract negotiations. In a video statement late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain said workers at more factories will join those already on strike at noon Friday unless there is “serious progress” toward agreements. The UAW’s strike, which is limited to three plants, is now in its fifth day.
September 19, 2023 5:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani’s former lawyer has sued him, alleging the ex-New York City mayor has paid only a fraction of nearly $1.6 million in legal fees he’s racked up from investigations into his efforts to keep Donald Trump in the White House. Robert Costello and his law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, say Giuliani has paid them just $214,000 and still has a $1.36 million tab. Giuliani’s last payment, according to the lawsuit, was $10,000 on Sept. 14 — about a week after Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Giuliani at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Giuliani said Monday that he “can’t express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done.”
September 19, 2023 5:12 am
MIAMI (AP) — The classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump would seem, on paper at least, to be the most straightforward of the four criminal cases the former president is facing. But that doesn’t make the path to conviction easy, particularly with the case set for trial in a Florida courthouse expected to draw its jury pool from a conservative-leaning region of the state that supported Trump in the 2020 election. Those built-in demographics may be a challenge for prosecutors despite the apparent strength of evidence at their disposal, underscoring the impossibility of untangling the law from the politics in an election-year trial involving a former president and current White House hopeful.
September 19, 2023 5:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that while Americans generally view Israel as a partner or ally, many question whether its far-right government shares American values. These results come as President Joe Biden prepares to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week in New York. The poll results and the meeting come during a new period of tension between the Biden administration and Israel over Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul, which has sparked mass protests in major Israeli cities. The tensions also stem from ongoing disagreements over how to deal with Iran and how to approach the Palestinians.
September 19, 2023 5:08 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has returned home from a trip to Russia where he deepened a “comradely fellowship and friendly ties” with President Vladimir Putin. The state media report Tuesday didn’t give many specifics on the six-day trip that was Kim’s longest foreign travel as leader. Kim visited several military sites in Russia and said in live comments last week that his country offered full and unconditional support to Putin. His comments and itinerary raised concerns about possible arms deals in which North Korea could provide ammunition for Russia’s war in Ukraine in return for receiving Russian technologies to modernize his nuclear weapons arsenals.
September 19, 2023 5:07 am
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected has been located in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection. The debris field was discovered Monday in Williamsburg County, about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston. Residents were being asked to avoid the area while the recovery team works to secure it. Authorities had been searching for the jet since the pilot parachuted to safety into a North Charleston neighborhood about 2 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition.
September 19, 2023 5:03 am
(AP) – Norfolk Southern announced new details Monday about its plan to compensate East Palestine residents for lost home values since the fiery derailment disrupted life in the eastern Ohio town in February. The railroad’s program will no doubt be welcomed by some people who want to sell their homes and move away rather than deal with the lingering health worries. But some critics say the railroad should be doing more to address those health concerns instead of worrying so much about economic recovery in the area. The program will pay homeowners the difference between the appraised market values of their homes and the sale price. But accepting payment will force homeowners to forego any property claims they might eventually collect in a lawsuit.
