October 10, 2022 4:27 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The third largest railroad union rejected its deal with the railroads Monday – renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy – but before that could happen both sides will return to the bargaining table. About 56% of the track maintenance workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union who voted opposed the five-year contract even though it included 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Union President Tony Cardwell said the railroads didn’t do enough to address worker concerns about the lack of paid time off – particularly sick time – and demanding working conditions after the major railroads eliminated nearly one-third of their jobs over the past six years.
October 10, 2022 4:25 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea says its recent barrage of missile launches were the simulated use of its tactical battlefield nuclear weapons to “hit and wipe out” potential South Korean and U.S. targets. Its leader Kim Jong Un has signaled he would conduct more provocative tests. Monday’s North Korean statement released on the 77th birthday of its ruling Workers’ Party is seen as an attempt to buttress a public unity behind Kim as he is struggling to overcome difficulties such as pandemic-related economic hardships. State media say North Korea’s recent missile tests were response to recent naval drills between U.S. and South Korean forces, which involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
October 10, 2022 4:25 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia has retaliated for what it claimed was a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a critical bridge by unleashing its biggest and most widespread attacks against Ukraine in months. The lethal barrage Monday against multiple cities smashed civilian targets. It killed at least 11 people, knocked out power and water, and shattered cars and buildings. Ukraine’s Emergency Service said 64 people were wounded across the country in the morning attacks – the biggest and broadest since the early days of the war. One Russian missile hit a playground in downtown Kyiv and another struck a central building of a university. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks aimed to inflict the most damage on civilians.
October 10, 2022 4:22 am
Federal prosecutors on Sunday recommended a prison sentence of approximately four years for a Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty to assaulting an Associated Press photographer and using a stun gun against police officers during a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss is scheduled to sentence Alan Byerly on Oct. 21 for his attack on AP photographer John Minchillo and police during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in Washington. Sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term ranging from 37 to 46 months. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Byerly’s attorney has until Friday to submit a sentencing recommendation. The judge isn’t bound by any of the sentencing recommendations. Byerly was arrested in July 2021 and pleaded guilty a year later to assault charges. Byerly purchased a stun gun before he traveled from his home in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. Leaving the rally before then-President Donald Trump finished speaking, Byerly went to the Capitol and joined other rioters in using a large metal Trump sign as a battering ram against barricades and police officers, prosecutors said.
October 10, 2022 4:17 am
HARMAR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two attempted homicide suspects are in custody after a police chase, authorities say. The chase began after Pittsburgh detectives saw a vehicle wanted in connection with a shooting on Oct. 2. which left one person in critical condition. Detectives saw the vehicle on Natchez Street in Mount Washington. It began to flee as they tried to pull it over. The car crossed the Liberty Bridge and sped down the North Bound side of Route 28. Harmar Township police said they were alerted of the pursuit at around 12:15 p.m. by Allegheny County dispatchers and were able to box the suspects in as they tried to take the Harmar Township exit. Police say 24-year-old Allan Littlejohn was arrested for attempted homicide and his role in the chase, and 21-year-old Carter Hodges was also arrested for his suspected role in the attempted homicide. Police say several items were thrown out of the car on the Liberty Bridge and at the Harmar Township exit. They did not specify what the items were. The chase had to be briefly terminated for safety reasons when the suspects reached the Fox Chapel area. Officers arrested the suspects at around 1:30 p.m. They are both being held in the Allegheny County Jail at this time.
October 10, 2022 2:52 am
(WPXI) – State police are looking for the driver of a vehicle who hit a police car Saturday night in South Huntingdon Township and fled. The driver of a dark-colored Jeep struck a marked cruiser on Route 31 near Route 136 around 8:40 p.m., according to a news release. Police said the 2018-22 Jeep Wrangler has round LED-style headlights and side fender-marker lights. It will have front driver’s side damage with some white paint. Anyone with information is asked to call the Belle Vernon Barracks at 724-929-6262.
October 10, 2022 2:44 am
HARMONY BOROUGH, Pa. (WPXI) — A missing businessman from Harmony was found dead in the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh’s North Shore on Saturday. Allegheny County 911 dispatchers said police, fire and medics were sent to North Shore Drive and Art Rooney Avenue at around 12:45 p.m. Divers who were searching the river for two missing people found the body and contacted police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner said the man inside the car was 54-year-old Tod DiMinno, a businessman from Harmony. DiMinno had been considered missing and endangered and was last seen on Sept. 28 in Harmony Borough. The diving group that found DiMinno is part of a YouTube diving group that specializes in solving cold cases involving missing people whose vehicles are also missing. They said they were not looking for DiMinno but are hopeful the situation will bring peace to his family. The divers were looking for 70-year-old Janet Walsh, who has been missing from Shaler Township since 2020 and 78-year-old Bunnie Lee, who disappeared from Homewood in 2013. The cause of death has not been released at this time.
October 9, 2022 7:56 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man known as the “jogger rapist” is set to be released from prison in mid-December after serving nearly 36 years behind bars, almost all of his sentence. Richard Gillmore admitted to raping nine girls in the Portland area in the 1970s and 80s but was only convicted in one case because of the statute of limitations. Gillmore was called the “jogger rapist” because he staked out victims as he ran by their homes. KOIN, which first reported his release, said he will remain under supervision until 2034. The Oregonian reports that he will be released as a low-level sex offender, angering some of his victims, who believe he should receive a higher level sex offender classification.
October 9, 2022 7:55 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving to tighten security along a key bridge to Crimea after an explosion caused part of the bridge to collapse. The Kerch bridge is an important supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. The 12-mile-long bridge is also a symbol of Russia’s claim to control the territory, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast early Saturday. Russian authorities say it was caused by a truck bomb, which set some train tanker cars on fire. Train and automobile traffic on the bridge were suspended temporarily. Automobile service was restored later in the day on just part of the bridge.
October 9, 2022 7:54 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Revelations about the warrant that led to the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor are scratching old wounds in Louisville, Kentucky. An officer admitted to falsifying information in the request for a search warrant that accused Taylor of harboring a drug dealer. Numerous police reforms are in the works, and the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the city’s policing practices. Four officers now await trial on federal charges. But people who protested her killing say all the heartache, injuries and abuse that followed the botched raid could have been avoided. They still want top-ranking officers fired, and meanwhile they say all charges should be dropped against people arrested for protesting.
