December 12, 2022 4:22 pm
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A massive winter storm blowing across the center of the United States on Monday is threatening millions of people with heavy snow, freezing rain and flooding. The National Weather Service warned that there would be “numerous, widespread, and impactful weather hazards in the heart of the country this week.” People from Idaho spanning into Wisconsin and as far south as Louisiana were warned to be ready for blizzard-like conditions in the north and flash flooding in the south. By Tuesday, Texas and northern Louisiana could be pummeled by severe hail, winds and tornadoes. Forecasters say the storm will continue southeast into Florida later in the week.
December 12, 2022 4:35 am
South Strabane Township Police say a 16-year-old will be charged with an early morning shooting. Chief Drew Hilk says Samuel Hoy of South Strabane will be charged as an adult with attempted homicide in the shooting of his step-father Joshua Daniels. Officers were called to the area of Murtland Avenue and Oak Springs Road between midnight and one o’clock, for a report of shots being fired. They say they saw a vehicle speeding away, and one person running from the scene. Officers found Hoy at the rear of the Waffle House along Oak Springs Road. Chief Hilk says he was in possession of a stolen and loaded handgun. Officers learned that Daniels drove himself to Washington Hospital but was then transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds to his stomach and leg. He reportedly underwent surgery. Hoy will also be charged with aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, and possession of a firearm by a minor. A motive for the shooting has not bee released.
December 12, 2022 4:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare for the District of Columbia and other major cities that public transit was a lifeline for essential workers and that even modest fares could be a burden to them. So the nation’s capital is introducing a groundbreaking plan: It will begin offering free bus fares to residents next summer. It comes at a time when major cities including Los Angeles, Boston and Denver and states such as Connecticut are considering broader zero-fare policies to promote equity and help regain ridership that was lost with the rise of remote and hybrid work. Analysts say D.C.’s free fare system offers a good test case on how public transit can be reshaped for a post-pandemic future.
December 12, 2022 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A former Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 has appeared in federal court in Washington to face charges of international terrorism. The extradition to the U.S. of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi was a milestone in the decades-old investigation into the attack that killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground. The Justice Department announced Sunday that Mas’ud had been taken into U.S. custody, and he faced the charges in court on Monday.
December 12, 2022 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – WNBA star Brittney Griner didn’t want quiet time as soon as she boarded a U.S. government plane that would bring her home. “I’ve been in prison for 10 months, listening to the Russians. I want to talk,” Griner said. That’s according to Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who helped secure the basketball star’s release and bring her back to the U.S. last week. Carstens told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Griner walked throughout the plane, introducing herself to every member of the flight crew, shaking their hands, and “making a personal connection with them.”
December 12, 2022 4:22 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran says it executed a second prisoner detained amid the nationwide protests that are challenging the country’s theocracy. Iran’s Mizan news agency, under the country’s judiciary, identified the man hanged to death in public on Monday as Majidreza Rahnavard. He had been convicted over allegedly stabbing two security force members to death Nov. 17 in Mashhad and wounding four others. Iran executed the first prisoner detained amid the demonstrations Thursday. The protests have expanded into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Activists warn that others could also be put to death in the near future, saying around a dozen people so far have received death sentences over their involvement in the demonstrations.
December 12, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November’s midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning. That’s a potential warning sign for a party that will need their strong backing heading into the 2024 presidential race. Midterm voters under 30 went 53% for Democrats compared with 41% for Republicans nationwide. That was down from 2020, when such voters supported Joe Biden over his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, 61% to 36%. That’s according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping national survey of voters in November’s election.
December 12, 2022 4:19 am
SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP — (WPXI) – Two people were injured after a house fire in Fayette County, investigators say. Fayette County dispatchers say emergency crews were called to reports of a house fire on High House Street in Smithfield Township at around 3:01 a.m. Sunday. Flames appeared to have damaged the siding of the house, creating a large hole on the right side of the building. Firefighters were on the scene for almost two hours, with the call closing out at 4:44 a.m.
December 12, 2022 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – One resident died, another resident and a medic were taken to the hospital, and a firefighter had to be treated for injuries at the scene of a fire at a downtown Pittsburgh high-rise apartment building. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the fire started around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night in the Roosevelt building at the corner of 6th Street & Penn Avenue, across the street from Heinz Hall. The fire is believed to have started in an apartment on the 12th floor. Firefighters contained the fire to that floor, public safety officials said. A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson said one resident was pronounced dead at the scene. Another resident was taken to the hospital in critical condition. A medic also had to go to the hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation, and a firefighter was treated at the scene for minor injuries, officials said. Firefighters got the fire under control around 12:15 a.m. Monday morning, officials said. It’s not clear yet what caused the fire. 106 people were in the building at the time of the fire, officials said.
December 12, 2022 2:18 am
A winning Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $1 million was sold in Westmoreland County for the Friday, Dec. 9 drawing. The ticket was sold at the Shop ‘n Save at 600 Willowbrook Plaza in Rostraver Township. The store gets a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. The ticket matched all five white balls drawn, 8-19-53-61-69, but not the yellow Mega Ball 19, to win $1 million. Winners are not known until prizes are claimed and tickets are validated. There was no jackpot-winning ticket sold for the Dec. 9 Mega Millions drawing, which boosted the jackpot to $400 million. The next Mega Millions drawing will be held Tuesday, Dec. 13th.
