March 26, 2024 4:51 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — A cargo ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, destroying the span in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people were missing and presumed dead. The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said. The ship struck one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to collapse like a toy. A section of the span came to rest on the bow of the vessel, which caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it. With the ship barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. “These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
March 26, 2024 2:37 am
Stewart Wilson, 48 of Hanover Township will receive a sentence of 30 days to six months in jail followed by a 5 year probationary sentence with the first 12 months on electronic home monitoring for pleading guilty to a DUI automobile accident that claimed the life of his wife Denise Pierce-Wilson on Easter Sunday 2022. The accident occurred on Stuebenville Pike near the intersection of Grant Lane. Wilson was formally sentenced on Monday after 5 victim impact statements were read. The most emotional was from Stewart’s daughter Allison who also was a victim of the crash that killed her mother. She stated that a 30 day jail sentence was not enough to provide justice for the accident that tore her family apart. She admonished Wilson for his continued drinking and never apologizing for the incident. She called him out for finding a new girlfriend and maintaining a lifestyle that does not indicate remorse over the accident. Wilson asked for an additional 7-10 days to arrange his affairs before he reported to jail. The judge said he had 24 hours and must report by noon on March 26.
March 26, 2024 5:37 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal court has dismissed an attempt by conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers to overturn automatic voter registration, along with lawmakers’ other challenges to actions designed to boost voter access. Pennsylvania U.S. District Judge Jennifer Wilson wrote in her decision Tuesday that the lawmakers did not have legal standing in their filing. The lawsuit, filed by 24 Republican state lawmakers, challenged the legality of a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden ordering federal agencies to consider ways to expand voter access. The lawsuit also challenged a state order regarding automatic voter registration and a directive that counties can’t reject registration if a driver’s license number or Social Security digits don’t match the government agency database.
March 25, 2024 4:48 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police investigating the killing a pregnant Amish woman in rural Pennsylvania say they seized six guns, a variety of ammunition and a pair of sneakers that may match tread marks left at the crime scene during searches of the suspect’s home and vehicle. Search warrant documents released over the weekend say 23-year-old Rebekah Byler suffered “multiple sharp force wounds” to her neck and was shot in the head during last month’s attack . Truck driver Shawn Cranston of Corry is charged with two counts of homicide. In a newly released search warrant affidavit, a state trooper says Rebekah Byler’s 3-year-old son told investigators that a man wearing sneakers killed his mother.
March 25, 2024 4:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has scheduled former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial to begin April 15. Judge Juan M. Merchan made the ruling Monday. The judge earlier had scolded the ex-president’s lawyers as he weighed when to reschedule the trial after a last-minute document dump caused a postponement of the original date. Merchan bristled at what he suggested were baseless defense claims of “prosecutorial misconduct,” appearing unpersuaded by Trump team arguments that prosecutors had until recently concealed tens of thousands of pages of records from a previous federal investigation. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee arrived in court Monday for the hearing scheduled in place of the long-planned start of jury selection.
March 26, 2024 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit Americans’ access to the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could have sweeping implications for how the federal government approves scores of medications. The justices asked detailed questions about the safety of mifepristone, one of the most common ways for women in America to end a pregnancy. But they also raised issues with the arguments made by plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion doctors, who want to see the drug’s availability severely restricted. Justices seemed concerned that the doctors were not reasonably impacted by how the drug is regulated.
March 26, 2024 4:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Israel’s minister of defense and discuss ways to address the Hamas threat other than conducting a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Tuesday’s meeting comes at a time of rising tensions between the two countries. The Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, tells reporters that Austin’s planned meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is still on, despite the fact that Israel abruptly canceled the visit of a high-level delegation to Washington this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the visit in protest over Monday’s U.N. Security Council decision calling for an immediate cease-fire.
March 25, 2024 2:22 am
The Penguins say that a shipment of Jaromir Jagr bobble-heads that was stolen earlier this month has been located and secured. As a result, officials say the bobble-heads will now be distributed at the team’s home game planned for April 6th. The team issued a statement saying that they were notified last week that a special cargo recovery team negotiated the return of the stolen property to a secure warehouse located in Ontario, California. They said the truckload arrived in Pittsburgh Monday and is expected to be delivered to PPG Paints Arena within the next week. Fans with a bobble-head voucher from the originally scheduled distribution will be able to redeem those vouchers on April 6th and 7th.
March 26, 2024 5:41 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has issued a gag order barring Donald Trump from making public statements about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush money criminal trial. Judge Juan M. Merchan on Tuesday cited Trump’s previous comments about him and others involved in the case, as well as a looming April 15 trial date, in granting the prosecution’s request for a gag order. Prosecutors had asked for the gag order citing what they called Trump’s “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people involved in his legal cases.
March 26, 2024 5:43 pm
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen Nicole Shanahan to be his vice presidential pick. Kennedy is mounting an independent White House bid that has spooked national Democrats. Shanahan is a California lawyer and philanthropist who’s never held elected office. Kennedy, a former Democrat, made the announcement in Oakland, California. Without the backing of a party, Kennedy faces an arduous task to get on the ballot, with varying rules across the 50 states. He’s picking a running mate now because about half of the states require him to designate one before he can apply for ballot access.
