January 20, 2024 4:34 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. company’s failed moonshot has ended with a fiery plunge over the South Pacific. Astrobotic Technology said Friday that it had confirmation that its lunar lander broke apart as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday. A fuel leak shortly after liftoff from Florida last week had nixed any chance of a moon touchdown. The company took steps to destroy its crippled lander to protect other spacecraft. It was the first U.S. lunar lander in more than a half-century. The next one from a U.S. business is set to blast off next month.
January 20, 2024 3:44 am
A Washington County man will face trial on more than 280 felony charges relating to child pornography and child pornography dissemination. Zachary Gentile, 23 of Claysville faced his preliminary hearing Friday and waived 288 criminal charges to court. According to the criminal complaint, the CyberTip line was alerted to child pornography activity in March of 2022 on Gentile’s Kik messaging app. They stated that there were 75 child pornography images linked to his account in his college apartment. Facebook and Snapchat reported to the tipline in September and October. In December of 2022, Gentile told University of Pittsburgh Greensburg Police investigators that he destroyed his laptop and threw it away. Gentile left Pitt Greensburg and moved to Washington County where investigators say Gentile told them he last saved child pornography four or five years ago. Gentile was arrested in November of 2023, he remains in the Washington County Jail on $250,000 bond. His formal arraignment date is pending.
January 19, 2024 5:36 pm
(AP) – Thousands of opponents of abortion rights went marching in Washington Friday after speakers urged the impassioned crowd to capitalize on the movement’s major victory in the Supreme Court and keep fighting until abortion is eliminated. The event though, was much smaller than in past years – as ice and snow complicated travel plans.
January 19, 2024 5:24 pm
(AP) – The jobs of people who produce Sports Illustrated were in limbo after the company that paid to maintain the iconic brand’s print and digital products told staff that its license was revoked. In an email to employees Friday morning, the Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated and related properties, said that because of the revocation, “we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand.” Authentic later said in a statement it intends to keep Sports Illustrated going. The company is negotiating with Arena and other publishing entities to determine who will do that, according to a person with knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about them.
January 19, 2024 5:22 pm
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge Friday in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the actor. Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in Santa Fe this week, months after receiving a new analysis of the gun that was used. Defense attorneys for Baldwin indicated they’ll fight the charge. Baldwin, lead actor and co-producer on the Western movie “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. (Photo: AP)
January 19, 2024 5:20 pm
DULLES, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a small passenger plane made an emergency landing on a northern Virginia highway after taking off from nearby Washington Dulles International Airport. Virginia State Police say they received a call just before 1 p.m. Friday about a small aircraft making an emergency landing on Loudoun County Parkway. A Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesperson says Dulles Airport received reports of a departed aircraft that landed off airport property on a nearby roadway. The spokesperson says the airport remains open for takeoffs and landings. No injuries were reported. The Southern Airways Express plane was scheduled to travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, according to FlightAware.
January 19, 2024 1:17 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Layoffs are hitting the world of retail especially hard this week. Online furniture seller Wayfair is cutting about 1,650 jobs, or 13% of its global workforce. And Macy’s is laying off about 3.5% of its total headcount, which amounts to roughly 2,350 employees, while the iconic department giant closes five stores. Job cuts have taken a toll on workers across various industries — including retail, tech, media and hospitality — over the last few years. In recent months, layoffs have been announced at Google, Amazon, Hasbro, LinkedIn and more. Macy’s stock was down about 3% as of 11 a.m. ET Friday. Meanwhile, Wayfair shares were up more than 7%.
January 19, 2024 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has agreed to appear before House Republicans for a private deposition next month, ending months of defiance from the president’s son, who had insisted on testifying publicly. The House Oversight Committee announced Thursday that the two parties have come to an agreement for Hunter Biden to sit for a deposition on Feb. 28. Republicans had been set to advance a contempt resolution against him to the House floor this week but called it off Tuesday to give attorneys additional time to reach an agreement. Hunter Biden’s legal team confirmed news of the agreement Thursday night.
January 19, 2024 5:11 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new layer of ice has formed over parts of Tennessee just days after a deadly snowy, frigid storm, as bitterly cold weather continued impacting the U.S. from Oregon to the Northeast. Tennessee officials updated the state’s death toll to 14 at midweek after more than 9 inches of snow fell since Sunday in parts of Nashville, where only about half that amount falls annually. Freezing rain began falling Thursday in Tennessee. In Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, a power line fell on a parked car, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm. Even with warmer temperatures and rain there Thursday, forecasters warned more freezing rain and gusting winds were possible.
January 19, 2024 5:09 am
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Families of the children and teachers killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre are renewing demands for criminal charges after a scathing Justice Department report again laid bare numerous failures by police during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history. In the report released Thursday, federal officials detail “cascading failures” by police in responding to the 2022 massacre of 19 students and two teachers, They include officers waiting more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman, and repeatedly giving false information to grieving families about what happened. It is up to local prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
