December 8, 2024 5:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer has stretched into a fifth day — and beyond New York City. Police say it appears the man left the city on a bus soon after Wednesday’s shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The suspect is seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Police believe that words found written on ammunition at the shooting scene, including “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” suggest a motive driven by anger toward the healthcare company. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.
December 7, 2024 11:20 am
(WJPA/WPXI) – First responders continue to search for a plane that possibly crashed near the Monongahela River in Fayette County. Several departments began searching on and along the river near Masontown on Friday afternoon. They returned to the area on Saturday morning. The Adah Volunteer Fire Department says late into the search, a crew on the water identified an “area of interest” near where “the initial report was given of seeing the aircraft potentially go down.” That area of interest is on the Fayette County side of the Monongahela River in German Township, near Masontown. WJPA spoke with Fayette County 911 supervisors Saturday morning who said there is still a search for this possible plane. Fayette 911 did not have confirmation that the plane was located. Supervisors did confirm that crews are looking in the Monongahela River – not on land – and that dive crews were in the water Saturday.
December 7, 2024 7:19 am
(AP) – The Syrian army has withdrawn from much of southern Syria, leaving more areas of the country, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The redeployment away from the provinces of Daraa and Sweida came as Syria’s military sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The rapid advances by insurgents is a stunning reversal of fortunes for Syria’s President Bashar Assad, who appears to be largely on his own, with erstwhile allies preoccupied with other conflicts. A wide offensive led by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, began on Nov. 27.
December 7, 2024 3:57 am
(AP) – A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law – which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform. TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
December 7, 2024 3:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday’s killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. (Photo: AP)
December 7, 2024 3:51 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean lawmakers have begun meeting to vote on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, as protests grew nationwide calling for his removal. They gathered in the National Assembly on Saturday, hours after Yoon issued a public apology over the move, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. In a brief televised address, Yoon said he would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”
December 7, 2024 3:48 am
PARIS (AP) — France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral is formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The five-year restoration is widely seen as a boost for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline, and a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. World leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers will gather on Saturday evening for the celebrations under the cathedral’s soaring arches. First lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William and President-elect Donald Trump will join Macron and nearly 50 other heads of state and government — 1,500 guests in all — for the ceremony. (Photo: AP)
December 7, 2024 3:44 am
East Washington Borough will be holding its second annual Light Up Night on Saturday. The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Nicholas Cumer Park on Thayer Street. Attractions include a viewing of the movie “Elf”along with the Royal Princess Engagements. Children may visit with Santa Claus and decorate an ornament to take home. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be available to everyone. The Hogfather’s Food Truck and the “Coffin Bean” trailer pulled by a Christmas hearse will also be there. Visitors are asked to bring an ornament to decorate the community holiday tree. Donations may also be made to Toys for Tots. The tree lighting ceremony will begin at 8 p.m.
December 7, 2024 3:43 am
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) – Elizabeth Pollard, the woman who fell into a sinkhole while looking for her cat, has been found dead after a 4-day search, state police confirm. Crews returned to the abandoned coal mine in Unity Township Friday and drilled holes in the ground to send cameras and drones down into the mine. Pollard went missing around 5 p.m. on Monday while searching for her missing cat near Monday’s Union Restaurant. At around 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, troopers found her vehicle parked behind Monday’s Union Restaurant, where they found Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter inside. She was unharmed.
December 7, 2024 3:43 am
South Strabane Township Police responded to a two vehicle accident on East Beau Street on Thursday night. According to 9-1-1 dispatchers, two vehicles collided at the intersection of East Beau Street and Eastpointe Drive just after eight-thirty. One person was killed in the accident, a second person was transported to a hospital. According to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco, The victim who died is identified as 65-year-old James Johnson of Eighty Four. Warco said Johnson’s vehicle was traveling east on Beau Street when it collided with another vehicle travelling west. Johnson was not wearing a seat belt. The cause and manner of death are pending autopsy. The name of the other victim is unknown at this point. East Beau Street was closed for approximately two and a half hours.
