May 28, 2024 2:40 am
Preliminary hearings were held for a Monessen man charged in two separate incidents that occurred in Charleroi in September and December of last year. Samuel Valle, 20 is accused of burglary and assault in one case and attempted homicide and aggravated assault in the second. Neither Valle or his attorney appeared for the hearing, so the prosecution held a hearing without them. Braylon Brite was the victim in the burglary case and she testified to how Valle kicked down the door of her residence and came in and pulled her hair and slapped her face causing bruises. Brite also testified against Valle in the second case. She stated that Valle and two other men pressured Lance Brooks, who was attending a party at her home, to hand over his gun. Brooks refused and left. She testified that Valle, Trevian Thompson and a juvenile followed Brooks out of the home and she heard shots fired. Police testimony centered on an interview with Lance Brooks and his involvement in the shooting. No injuries were reported but property damage did occur. The judge held all charges for court in both cases. Valle is free on $10,000 bond in each case. A warrant for Valle’s arrest was also issued.
May 28, 2024 2:39 am
(WPXI) – A state trooper is out on bail, after he allegedly beat a man unconscious during a confrontation. James Stevenson, 29, is facing charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Stevenson was off-duty when he arrived at a house in Connellsville on May 26 and charged past a man who lived in the same house on the porch to get inside. He went into an upstairs bedroom, where he found a man and woman, both without their pants on, the criminal complaint said. Stevenson jumped on the man and began “beating” his face to the point where he got knocked out, the complaint said. He also grabbed the woman, shook her and told her they were leaving. The pair went downstairs together and the woman ran to her car and left. The man who was outside during the attack passed Stevenson on his way out, while he was heading upstairs to check on the man, who was unconscious on the bed. The man went after Stevenson and reached through the driver’s side window to grab him. Stevenson opened the door, which pushed him to the ground and broke his glasses, and left the scene, the complaint said. The man who Stevenson allegedly beat up was taken to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with several facial injuries. Stevenson, who enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in June 2020, is suspended without pay.
May 29, 2024 4:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has ended its first day of deliberations without a verdict. The panel asked Wednesday to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged hush money scheme at the heart of the history-making case. Jurors also asked to rehear at least part of the judge’s legal instructions. The notes sent to the judge were the first burst of communication with the court after the jury of seven men and five women was sent to a private room just before 11:30 a.m. to begin weighing a verdict. The 12-person jury was sent home around 4 p.m. after about 4 1/2 hours of deliberations. The process is to resume Thursday.
May 29, 2024 5:16 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is congratulating Justice Samuel Alito for rejecting calls to step aside from Supreme Court cases involving Trump and Jan. 6 defendants because of the controversy over flags that flew over Alito’s homes. Alito says in letters to members of Congress on Wednesday that his wife was responsible for flying an upside-down flag over his Virginia home in 2021 and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his New Jersey beach house last year. Both flags were like those carried by rioters who violently stormed the Capitol in January 2021 while echoing Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Alito says neither incident at his homes merits his recusal.
May 28, 2024 4:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington Post says it reported on a story about a controversial flag being flown outside the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito years ago, but chose not to write about it. The story broke in The New York Times earlier this month about an upside-down U.S. flag outside of the Alito house shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection — a symbol that had been used by some supporters of former President Donald Trump that day. The Post said it had accepted the explanation that Alito’s wife was responsible for the flag, and it wasn’t sure the dispute was political.
May 29, 2024 4:55 am
HOUSTON (AP) — Storm-weary Texas has been hammered again by powerful storms bearing forceful winds that left one person dead, collapsed homes under construction and uprooted trees. In Dallas, where some homes were damaged by trees, the city has opened respite centers where people can get shelter and air conditioning. The high winds were blamed for the collapse of a house under construction Tuesday in the Houston suburb of Magnolia. A 16-year-old construction worker was killed in the collapse. The storms were a continuation of deadly storms over the Memorial Day weekend, when 24 people were killed in seven states.
May 29, 2024 4:56 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Renewed Israeli shelling and strikes have killed at least 37 people, most of them sheltering in tents, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah. That’s according to witnesses, first responders and hospital officials. The bombardment overnight and into Tuesday pummeled the same area where Israeli strikes triggered a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians days earlier, killing 45 people. The tent camp inferno has drawn widespread international outrage over Israel’s expanding offensive into Rafah. The U.N. says more than a million people have fled the city in recent weeks. And in a sign of Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday.
May 29, 2024 5:21 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Nissan is urging the owners of about 84,000 older vehicles to stop driving them because their Takata air bag inflators are at high risk of exploding in a crash and hurling metal fragments. The urgent request comes after one person in a Nissan was killed by an exploding inflator and 58 others have claimed they were hurt. Nissan said the “do not drive” warning covers certain 2002 through 2006 Sentra small cars, as well as some 2002 through 2004 Pathfinder SUVs, and 2002 and 2003 Infiniti QX4 SUVs. The company says owners should contact their dealer to set up an appointment to have inflators replaced for free. (Photo: AP)
May 29, 2024 5:20 pm
(AP) – T-Mobile is buying U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry. T-Mobile will get U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and about 30% of spectrum assets across several spectrum bands. T-Mobile will also enter into a new master license agreement on more than 2,000 towers and extend the lease term for the approximately 600 towers where T-Mobile is already a tenant.
May 29, 2024 5:18 pm
(AP) – ConocoPhillips is buying Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $17.1 billion as energy prices soar and big oil companies reap massive profits. The deal announced Wednesday is valued at $22.5 billion when including $5.4 billion in debt. Marathon Oil shareholders will receive 0.2550 shares of ConocoPhillips common stock for each share of Marathon Oil common stock that they own. ConocoPhillips said Wednesday that the transaction will add highly desired acreage to its existing U.S. onshore portfolio.
