August 31, 2023 5:25 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for spearheading the U.S. Capitol attack to try to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election. Zachary Rehl got the sentence Thursday in Washington, D.C. Rehl was a Proud Boys chapter leader from Philadelphia. Prosecutors say Rehl helped lead group members and associates on Jan. 6, 2021, before they joined the mob’s Capitol assault. The judge who sentenced Rehl also sentenced Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs to 17 years in prison. Defense attorneys say prosecutors unfairly hold their clients responsible for the violent actions of other Trump supporters.
August 31, 2023 4:58 am
PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia is barreling through the Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean after leaving a trail of flooding and devastation throughout the Southeast. Idalia was a hurricane when it made landfall Wednesday in a remote area of Florida, where it shredded homes and submerged streets. It weakened to a tropical storm but still packed 60-mph winds as it raced into Georgia and then into South Carolina. In Charleston, a surge from Idalia topped the seawall that protects the downtown, sending ankle-deep ocean water into wealthy and famous neighborhoods. There’s no immediate word on the full extent of damage and injuries but authorities say at least one person died in Georgia when a tree fell on him.
August 31, 2023 4:56 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says its latest missile launches were a simulation of “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea. The North’s state media said Thursday it’s also conducted a command post drill to rehearse occupying its rival’s territory in a conflict. South Korea and Japan had detected the two short-range ballistic missiles launches Wednesday night. North Korea has been increasing its protests of ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. It has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in its war plans to intimidate its rivals. But the repetition is likely a warning that the country can use nuclear weapons preemptively in times of war.
August 31, 2023 4:51 am
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — The country’s largest locomotive manufacturer and its striking union workers have reached a tentative agreement that could end a two-month strike that saw about 1,400 people walk off the job at its Pennsylvania plant. Pittsburgh-based Wabtec announced the agreement with Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America on Wednesday. The company said it calls for wage increases, improves the grievance process and provides other benefits, but it didn’t disclose specific details. The tentative agreement also maintains a two-tier wage system at the Erie plant that allows the company to pay new hires less money. The company says a vote on ratification is expected Thursday.
August 31, 2023 4:49 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate returned for an unusual August session mired in a two-month budget stalemate with the Democratic-controlled House. Two budget-related bills passed Wednesday, primarily on party lines, as Senate Republicans advanced provisions that have bipartisan support and others that do not. Neither bill has the agreement of House Democratic leaders. The House is not scheduled to reconvene until after a Sept. 19 special election that is expected to restore the chamber’s one-seat Democratic majority. Some programs were left without legislation on how to distribute funds after a fight over creating a $100 million program to send students to private schools.
August 31, 2023 2:30 am
A Bentleyville man is behind bars after a year-long investigation into drug trafficking at his home. On Tuesday, Bentleyville officers executed a search warrant on the home of Ronald David Jr., 49, at 240 Beallsville Road. They seized a large amount of suspected heroin/fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, scales, packaging material and guns, according to the complaint. David is facing a list of charges including manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver; possession of a controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia; and criminal use of a communication facility. He was placed in the Washington County Jail on $350,000 bond and is due in court in September. (Photo: Bentleyville Police)
August 31, 2023 2:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday. He had a similar episode weeks ago in Washington. According to video from a local news station, the 81-year-old McConnell was asked whether he’d run for reelection in 2026. The senator asked the reporter to repeat the question before trailing off and staring straight ahead. His office said afterward that McConnell was feeling “momentarily lightheaded” and would see a physician before his next event.
August 30, 2023 3:57 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has held Rudy Giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of fraud. The court ruling says the former New York city mayor gave “only lip service” to complying with his legal obligations while trying to portray himself as the victim in the case. The judge says Giuliani ignored his duty as a defendant to turn over information requested in the case. An adviser to Giuliani says the ruling “is a prime example of the weaponization of our justice system.” The election workers say they’ve endured a “living nightmare” and an unimaginable “wave of hatred and threats” because of Giuliani’s comments.
August 30, 2023 5:09 am
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a University of North Carolina graduate student walked into a classroom building, shot his faculty adviser and then left. Thirty-four-year-old Tailei Qi was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in Monday’s killing of Zijie Yan inside of a science building at the state’s flagship public university. UNC Police Chief Brian James said at a news conference that Chapel Hill police arrested Qi in a residential neighborhood near campus. He says investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attack and are still searching for the gun used to kill Yan. The attack led to a roughly three-hour lockdown on the UNC campus. No one else was hurt in the attack.
August 30, 2023 5:08 am
HONOLULU (AP) — Crews in Hawaii have all but finished searching for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and it is unclear how many people perished. Authorities said Tuesday the count of the dead stands at 115 three weeks after the fire devastated Maui’s historic seaside community of Lahaina. An unknown number of people are still missing. Officials suggested that responders likely have already recovered any remains that are recognizable as such, and they are shifting the response to focus on removing hazardous waste and making the area safe for residents to begin returning.
