September 25, 2022 7:58 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities and residents in Florida are keeping a cautious eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it rumbles through the Caribbean, expected to continue gaining strength and become a major hurricane in the coming days on a forecast track toward the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a statewide emergency, expanding an order from Friday that had covered two dozen counties. He is urging Floridians to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of the state. Some residents have begun stocking up on supplies such as water, plywood and generators. President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency for the state.
September 25, 2022 2:56 am
A Friday preliminary hearing scheduled for the suspect that is accused of killing 19-year-old Antonio Martinez of Tennessee in a July shooting in Jollick Manor was continued. Fifteen minutes before the hearing, the Washington County Jail informed attorneys that 23-year-old Jamil Carr, whose last known residence was Washington, would not be transported to the courthouse because of a five day mandatory lockdown due to Covid-19. Carr was available by video to participate in his hearing but just as he did in an earlier preliminary hearing, he complained that he was unable to hear the proceedings. The judge initially tried to conduct the hearing but Carr kept interrupting stating that he could not hear and wanted to discuss details of his defense directly with his attorney. The judge relented and continued the hearing for a later date. Details of the charges that Carr faces are under seal. A new hearing date has not been set.
September 25, 2022 2:56 am
Officials with the Washington School District issued a statement on Friday, announcing that test results from four students at Washington Park Elementary School have come back and they were not positive for Monkeypox. Superintendent George Lammay says they now have medical documentation that the four students who were identified with concerning skin rashes do not have monkeypox. Lammay did not disclose exactly what medical condition the students have but said district officials spoke with parents to ensure proper treatment protocols were being followed and district nurses are monitoring the children as well. Lammay issued a letter to parents of students in the elementary school earlier this week notifying them of the potential for Monkeypox and saying the affected students had been removed from classes and all areas had been sanitized.
September 24, 2022 9:30 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A stark gender divide has emerged in debates unfolding in Republican-led states including West Virginia, Indiana and South Carolina following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to end constitutional protections for abortion. As male-dominated legislatures worked to advance bans, protesters were more likely to be women. That happened even as legislators often had support of the few Republican women holding office. In all three states, lawmakers fighting against abortion bans have pointed to the gender divide. They’ve insisted that male counterparts shouldn’t get to dictate medical decisions for women. Ban supporters maintain that abortion affects not only women, but also children, and all of society.
September 24, 2022 9:28 am
It’s been a long road to the upcoming Capitol riot trial of the the leader of the extremist group Oath Keepers. But the prosecution’s case against Stewart Rhodes covers a lot more than just the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes and four co-defendants are facing the difficult-to-prove charge of seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors will try to show that for the Oath Keepers, the siege wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment protest but that it was part of a weeks long plot to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from election-denier Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Jury selection begins Tuesday in federal court in the nation’s capital. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
September 24, 2022 9:23 am
ATLANTA (AP) – A breach of sensitive voting equipment data from a rural county in Georgia spilled into the public light last month when documents and emails produced in response to subpoenas revealed the involvement of high-profile supporters of former President Donald Trump. Since then, a series of revelations about what happened in Coffee County have raised questions about whether the Dominion Voting Systems machines used throughout Georgia have been compromised. The tale involves a bail bondsman, a prominent attorney tied to Trump and a cast of characters from an area that rarely draws notice from outsiders.
September 24, 2022 9:20 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian forces have launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities as Kremlin-orchestrated votes continue to pave the way for Moscow to annex occupied regions of Ukraine. Ukraine’s presidential office said the latest Russian shelling killed at least three people and wounded 19. The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region says a Russia missile hit an apartment building. The region is one of four in eastern and southern where referendums on making them part of Russia are underway. Kyiv and its Western allies say the votes are a sham with no legal force. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged residents to undermine “this farce.” He also encouraged people called up to fight to desert or sabotage the Russian military.
September 24, 2022 9:17 am
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) – Strong rain and winds are lashing the Atlantic Canada region as Fiona hits as a powerful post-tropical cyclone. Canadian forecasters are warning it could be one of the most severe storms in the country’s history. Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia before dawn Saturday after transforming from a hurricane into a post-tropical cyclone. Forecasters caution that despite the change, Fiona still could have hurricane-strength winds and will bring drenching rains and huge waves. More than 500,000 customers in Atlantic Canada are affected by outages.
September 24, 2022 4:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has released his health records as he maneuvers to keep questions about Democratic rival John Fetterman’s recovery from a stroke front and center. Dr. Rebecca Kurth wrote in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that she found the heart surgeon-turned-TV celebrity to be in “excellent health” in an annual checkup Thursday. The release of the New York City doctor’s note and health records comes as Oz has increasingly made Fetterman’s fitness to serve a central theme in his campaign and as Oz is trying to close a gap in polls. Fetterman didn’t immediately comment Friday.
September 24, 2022 2:56 am
MONONGAHELA, Pa. (AP) — Republican leader Kevin McCarthy headed to Pennsylvania on Friday to directly confront President Joe Biden and the party in power, unveiling a midterm election agenda with sweeping Trump-like promises despite the House GOP’s sometimes spotty record of delivering and governing in Congress. McCarthy, who is poised to seize the speaker’s gavel if Republicans win control of the House in the fall, hopes to replicate the strategy former Speaker Newt Gingrich used to spark voter enthusiasm and sweep House control in a 1994 landslide. The House GOP’s “Commitment to America” gives a nod to that earlier era but updates it for Trump, with economic, border security and social policies to rouse the former president’s deep well of supporters in often-forgotten regions like this rusty landscape outside Pittsburgh. “We have a plan for a new direction for America,” McCarthy told The Associated Press. On Friday, the House Republican leader stood with other lawmakers to roll out the GOP agenda, offering a portrait of party unity despite the uneasy coalition that makes up the House minority – and the Republican Party itself. The GOP has shifted from its focus on small government, low taxes and individual freedoms to a more populist, nationalist and, at times, far-right party, essentially still led by Donald Trump, who remains popular despite the deepening state and federal investigations against him.
