April 4, 2024 5:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan deemed the former president’s request untimely, ruling that his lawyers had myriad opportunities to raise the immunity issue before they finally did so in a March 7 court filing. Lawyers for the presumptive Republican nominee had asked to adjourn the New York trial indefinitely until Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved.
April 4, 2024 5:22 am
HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers are searching for dozens of people still missing a day after Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century damaged buildings, caused multiple rockslides and killed nine people. In the eastern coastal city of Hualien near the epicenter, workers used an excavator to stabilize the base of a damaged building with construction materials, as some officers took samples of its exterior. Some of the damaged buildings tilted at precarious angles with their ground floors crushed. More than 1,000 people were injured in the quake Wednesday. Of the approximately 690 people said to be missing or stranded, most guests and workers at a hotel. Authorities said all of those were safe.
April 4, 2024 5:20 am
The Powerball jackpot continued to grow, as the fourth-largest grand prize in the promotion’s history ballooned to an estimated $1.23 billion after no one matched all of the numbers in Wednesday’s drawing. The winning numbers for the grand prize worth $1.09 billion were 11-38-41-62-65 and the Powerball was 15. The Power Play was 3X. If a player wins the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing, they can choose between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.23 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $595.1 million. There were nine second-tier winners on Wednesday, with each ticket winning $1 million. Two each were sold in California and Massachusetts, with solo winners sold in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Washington.
April 3, 2024 3:33 pm
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes have started the journey back to their home countries. They were transported Wednesday out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt. That’s according to Egyptian state television. The three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian and a Canadian American dual national worked for World Central Kitchen, an international charity. Their Palestinian driver was also killed. They were distributing food that had been brought into Gaza through a newly established maritime corridor late Monday when Israeli airstrikes targeted their three vehicles, killing everyone inside. Israel has acknowledged carrying out the strikes by mistake and says it has launched an independent investigation.
April 3, 2024 3:29 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are scolding the judge presiding over ex-President Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida. The prosecutors are trying to warn her off potential jury instructions they say rest on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.” The late Tuesday filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team responded to an unusual order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that asked prosecutors to file proposed jury instructions. The order asked them to respond to competing interpretations of the law that appeared to accept the Republican ex-president’s argument he’s entitled under the Presidential Records Act to keep sensitive documents he’s now charged with possessing. Trump’s lawyers are renewing their demand for the judge to dismiss the indictment.
April 3, 2024 3:23 pm
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Disney shareholders have rallied behind longtime CEO Robert Iger. They voted Wednesday to rebuff activist investor Nelson Peltz and his ally, former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, who had sought seats on the company’s board. The entertainment giant had recommended a slate of directors that did not include Peltz or Rasulo. The dissident shareholders had said in a preliminary proxy filing that they wanted to replace Iger at Disney and align management pay with performance. They declared a victory of sorts following the vote, noting that Disney shares have risen roughly 50% since they began pressuring the company.
April 3, 2024 2:47 pm
BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. —(WPXI)- The mayor of Bentleyville declared a state of emergency due to flooding. Several roads in the borough are unpassable and Mayor Timothy Jansante is urging drivers to not attempt to drive through them. The borough said the fire department has been working around the clock and asks for the community’s cooperation.
April 3, 2024 4:20 am
(AP) – Thousands of homes and businesses are without power as severe weather roars through several states, causing at least one death and spawning possible tornadoes. A strong weather system in northeastern Oklahoma with heavy rains produced three suspected tornadoes. The storms were blamed for the death of a 46-year-old homeless woman in Tulsa who died inside a drainage pipe. In Ohio, firefighters rescued two people who were trapped under a bridge when the waters of an Ohio river began rising. Meanwhile in Wisconsin, a spring snowstorm was expected to drop more than a foot of snow. (Photo: AP)
April 3, 2024 5:30 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century has damaged buildings and left at least seven people dead. Damage was reported around the island but tsunami threats in Taiwan and Japan were later lifted. Taiwan authorities said seven people died in Hualien County near the epicenter. A five-story building in Hualien appeared heavily damaged and residents were helped out of windows. Scattered minor damage was apparent in Taipei, the capital. Landslides and debris closed highways on the east coast. Schools evacuated students to sports fields, and train service was suspended. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency gave the magnitude as 7.2 while the U.S. put it at 7.4. Japan said a tsunami of about a foot was measured on one island.
April 3, 2024 4:34 am
(AP) – The largest fresh egg producer in the U.S. says it has stopped production at a plant in the Texas Panhandle after bird flu was found in the flock. Officials later saud the same infection was found at a poultry facility in Michigan. Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods said Tuesday it destroyed 1.6 million laying hens and 377,000 pullets at the Texas facility on the Texas-New Mexico border. Cal-Maine says there is no known risk with eggs in the market and no eggs have been recalled. In Michigan, the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the infection was found in a commercial poultry facility there.
