April 11, 2024 11:26 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. The family announced on Simpson’s official X account — formerly Twitter — that Simpson died Wednesday after battling cancer. Simpson’s attorney confirmed to TMZ he died in Las Vegas. Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. Live TV coverage of his arrest after a famous slow-speed chase marked a stunning fall from grace for the sports hero. (Photo: AP)
April 11, 2024 4:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) — As he prepares to bring the first of Donald Trump’s four criminal prosecutions to trial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg finds himself at the center of a political firestorm. Since his election two years ago, Bragg, a former law professor, has often spoken about his unease with the job’s political demands. The upcoming trial, over hush money payments allegedly made by Trump during the 2016 election, will test Bragg’s efforts to portray himself as apolitical in the face of relentless attacks from Trump and his supporters. Bragg says he is treating the former president as he would any other defendant in a white-collar crime case. The trial is scheduled to begin on Monday.
April 11, 2024 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has addressed U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol. He was urging them to consider the importance of global commitments at a time of tension in the Asia-Pacific and deep skepticism in Congress about U.S. involvement abroad. Kishida is in Washington this week visiting President Joe Biden as the White House completes hosting each leader of “the Quad.” It’s an informal partnership between the U.S., Japan, Australia and India that is seen as important to countering China’s growing military strength. On Thursday at the Capitol, Kishida was addressing many Republicans who have urged the U.S. to take a less active role internationally in line with the ethos of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
April 11, 2024 4:55 am
PHOENIX (AP) — The fight over a newly revived 1864 Arizona law criminalizing abortion throughout pregnancy unless a woman’s life is at risk has engulfed the state’s lawmakers. The Arizona Legislature devolved into jeering Wednesday as Republican lawmakers shut down discussion on a proposed repeal of the law. Shouts of “Shame! Shame!” erupted in the state House. The Arizona Supreme Court cleared the way this week for enforcing the pre-statehood abortion ban throughout pregnancy without exceptions for rape or incest. A proposed ballot initiative may ask voters in November whether to enshrine abortion protections into the Arizona state constitution.
April 11, 2024 4:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Wednesday rolled out a counterproposal to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to boost college enrollment in Pennsylvania. The plan they unveiled Wednesday pledges help for both in-state and out-of-state students who enroll in degree programs for high-priority disciplines, such as teaching and nursing. The proposal revolves around grants and tuition discounts. Top Republicans also signaled that key elements of Shapiro’s higher education plan rolled out earlier this year are essentially dead in the Legislature. Republicans view their proposal as an effort to counter the demographic trend of a shrinking workforce in Pennsylvania, declining enrollments in higher education institutions and shortages in high-need disciplines.
April 11, 2024 2:34 am
A California man will face trial for his alleged role in starting a fire in a California apartment building. Christopher Grasty, 38 had 26 felony arson charges, 26 misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges and four other felonies held for court. He is alleged to have started a fire in his apartment at the California Manor apartment building on March 1. The fire, in the building owned by the Washington County Housing Authority displaced 29 people at the time of the blaze. Grasty jumped from the window of his apartment and investigators determined that the fire began in his apartment. According to police Grasty admitted to starting the fire in his unit. All charges were held for court. Grasty is currently being held in the Washington County Jail unable to post an $800,000 bond. His formal arraignment will be on May 23.
April 11, 2024 2:08 am
A Washington man faced his preliminary hearing Thursday for his alleged role in the killing of a Nottingham Township man and had all charges held for court without a hearing. William Slider, 34 is accused of killing 69 year old Richard Morse in his Mingo Park Estates home. According to the criminal complaint, state police were alerted by a concerned neighbor that found Morse deceased in his home on the afternoon of March 8. The coroner was called and pronounced Morse dead shortly after midnight on March 9. Pennsylvania State Police determined that Slider struck Morse in the head with a blunt object, killing him, between 6:00 AM and 11:30 AM on March 6. Slider is facing felony criminal homicide, aggravated assault and robbery charges along with several other misdemeanor and summary charges. He remains in the Washington County Jail without bond.
April 10, 2024 5:39 pm
(AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced its first-ever limits for several common types of PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals,” in drinking water. Two types, PFOA and PFOS, will be limited to 4 parts per trillion, the lowest level that tests can reliably detect. The agency says it will reduce exposure for 100 million people and prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancer. Utilities groups, however, say the EPA is underestimating the rule’s cost and overestimating its benefits. They argue water rates will go up and struggling utilities will only struggle more. The Biden administration has made protecting drinking water a priority.
April 10, 2024 4:46 pm
Police say at least three people were shot and injured Wednesday at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel says the shooting occurred around 2:30 p.m., when police at the scene heard about 30 gun shots. He says two groups of people started firing at each other, and people began fleeing the scene. Bethel says officers have taken into custody five people, and four weapons were recovered at the scene. One suspect, a 15-year-old boy who police say had a gun, was shot by police and sustained wounds to his shoulder and leg. A man also was shot in the stomach, and another juvenile had a wound to his hand. It was not immediately clear what caused the shooting. (Photo: AP)
April 10, 2024 4:28 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires. But the recall does not fix the fuel leaks. It covers certain Bronco Sport SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years, as well as Escape SUVs from 2022, all with 1.5-liter engines. Ford says fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources. Dealers will install a tube to let gas flow away from hot surfaces to the ground. They’ll also update software to detect a fuel pressure drop. If that happens, the software will disable the high pressure fuel pump, reduce engine power and cut temperatures in the engine compartment. Owners were to be notified starting April 1.
