December 18, 2024 5:02 am
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The suspect charged with shooting to death a health insurance company chief executive on a Manhattan street is being taken to hearings on related Pennsylvania criminal charges and efforts to extradite him to New York. Luigi Mangione faces a preliminary hearing on forgery and firearms charges and consideration of a fugitive from justice complaint on Thursday. Court officials say Mangione will attend the early morning proceedings at the courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He’s accused of the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
December 18, 2024 4:54 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court is reversing lower court decisions that had blocked Pennsylvania from siphoning cash from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday against the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association. It says state government created the insurer and holds the only interest in it. The decision came seven years after the underwriting association first sued the state. For three years, from 2017 to 2019, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Tom Wolf had sought at least $200 million from the association to help plug a deficit in the state’s operating budget. The association can appeal.
December 18, 2024 2:44 am
Peter Adamo, MBA, President of the Southwest Region, will depart Penn Highlands Healthcare for a leadership position in Eastern Pennsylvania where his family still resides. Adamo joined the health system in October 2022 as the Southwest Region President with the dual role as president of Penn Highlands Connellsville and Penn Highlands Mon Valley. During his tenure, Peter oversaw the completion of the CNX Foundation Substance Recovery Unit at Penn Highlands Mon Valley and reintroduced the Innovations in Medicine community education programming. “An opportunity arose that is a great fit for my family’s needs,” said Adamo. “It has been a privilege to work with our dedicated employees in the Southwest Region and I value the friendships that I made at Penn Highlands Connellsville and Penn Highlands Mon Valley.” It’s anticipated that Adamo will remain in his current role until late January 2025. A national search for a new Regional President will begin immediately. Mark Norman, System COO, will assume interim leadership in the Southwest Region during the transition.
December 18, 2024 2:40 am
The second person charged in a July 2023 driveby shooting in Canonsburg has entered a guilty plea. Jessica Chatman-Carroll, 35 of Houston, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge. Chatman-Carroll received a two year probation sentence in exchange for the guity plea. She faced conspiracy to commit homicide and aggravated assault charges that were dropped. She was accused of driving the vehicle that carried Dillon Britt and Brett Carroll as they allegedly fired shots into a home in East End Canonsburg. Earlier this month, Brett Carroll, 31 of Washington, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. He had a previous probationary sentence revoked and he was resentenced to 18 months to 4 years in prison on both cases. He will then serve five years probation. Dillon Britt is still facing attempted homicide and other charges relating to the incident. He is scheduled for a plea court hearing on January 25th.
December 18, 2024 2:17 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors unanimously voted to adopt their budget for 2025. The good news for residents is that there will be no tax increase associated with the spending plan. The last tax increase came in 2021 to better fund the fire department and parks and recreation. The $22.9 million spending plan is balanced. Some of the bigger spending items will be the completion of the public safety building and the renovation of the former Lighthouse Electric building to become the township’s new municipal building. In other business, a measure to advertise changes to the township’s zoning ordinance that defines a personal warehouse failed due to a 2-2 tie. Supervisors Marcus Staley and Emily Holmes were in favor of the changes, Bob Ross and Neil Kelly were against them. Harold Close was absent from the meeting. A motion to table the item did pass unanimously. At issue were changes in parking restrictions suggested by the applicant CC Realty Advisors. The matter will be addressed again in January.
December 17, 2024 3:45 pm
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Investigators in Wisconsin are trying to determine a motive in a school shooting that left a teacher and a student dead and two other children in critical condition. Shon Barnes, the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin, says it appears to be a “combination of factors.” He’s urging anyone who knew the 15-year-old girl’s feelings to reach out. The shooting occurred Monday at Abundant Life Christian School. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Six people were wounded.
December 17, 2024 3:43 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism. Prosecutors disclosed the indictment Tuesday as they worked to bring Luigi Mangione to a New York court from a Pennsylvania jail. The 26-year-old Mangione already had been charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson. But the terror allegation is new. Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping.” Mangione’s New York lawyer hasn’t commented. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2024 12:51 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Starting in September of 2027, all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. will have to sound a warning if rear-seat passengers don’t buckle up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it finalized the rule, which also requires enhanced warnings when front seat belts aren’t fastened. The agency estimates that the new rule will save 50 lives per year and prevent 500 injuries when fully in effect. The new rule will apply to passenger cars, trucks, buses except for school buses, and multipurpose vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds.
December 17, 2024 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk’s attachment to President-elect Donald Trump has created an unprecedented alliance between America’s most powerful politician and its richest businessman. Roughly the same percentages of Americans have favorable views of both of them, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Experts are split on whether that overlap in public opinion is a good or bad thing for Musk’s businesses or for Trump’s politics. But it could have far-reaching effects in both realms. Musk, whose net worth tops $400 billion, oversees six businesses while continuing to work closely with Trump. And for Trump, Musk is an important validator with his conservative base. (Photo: AP)
December 17, 2024 5:08 am
After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer toward a ceasefire to end their 14-month war. Top officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts in recent weeks and reported greater willingness by the warring sides to wrap up a deal. In a key concession, Hamas officials say they are prepared to show more “flexibility” on the timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that a deal is closer than ever. The agreement is expected to take place in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of captive Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to Gaza.
