May 15, 2024 5:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the numbers Wednesday. CDC officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. The agency says about 107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year. That’s down 3% from 2022. It’s too soon to know what spurred the decline, but experts reacted cautiously. They say the decline as relatively small. They also note that the last time a decline occurred — in 2018 — drug deaths shot up afterward.
May 15, 2024 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios with no audience present. The Democratic president earlier Wednesday announced he won’t participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that’s organized them for more than three decades. Biden proposed two debates with the Republican ex-president, excluding third-party candidates. Trump says, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” CNN holds open the door to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s participation if he or any other third-party candidate meets polling and ballot access requirements.
May 15, 2024 10:33 am
PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. The message posted to his account said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.” Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said.
May 15, 2024 8:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumer inflation in the United States cooled slightly last month after three elevated readings, likely offering a tentative sigh of relief for officials at the Federal Reserve as well as President Joe Biden’s re-election team. Prices rose 0.3% from March to April, down slightly from 0.4% the previous month. Measured year-over-year, inflation ticked down from 3.5% to 3.4%. And a measure of underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, also eased in April. Inflation had been unexpectedly high in the first three months of this year after having steadily dropped in the second half of 2023. The elevated readings had dimmed hopes that the worst bout of inflation in four decades was being rapidly tamed.
May 15, 2024 5:08 am
BEIJING (AP) — Russia’s Putin has expressed gratitude to Xi Jinping for China’s initiatives to resolve the Ukraine conflict. His remarks came at a summit with Xi where the Chinese leader said China hopes Europe will return to peace and stability soon and that China will play a constructive role. Putin on Thursday began a two-day state visit to Beijing as Moscow presses forward on a new offensive in Ukraine. China issued a broad proposal for peace in Ukraine in 2023. China has significant influence as a critical supporter of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. It continues to supply Russia with key components that Moscow needs for its productions of weapons, and its purchase of Russian oil and gas has helped boost the Russian economy.
May 15, 2024 5:07 am
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Investigators say a man with a long record of dangerous driving told them he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus. Eight farm workers from Mexico were killed and dozens more were injured. Bryan Maclean Howard pleaded not guilty Wednesday to driving under the influence-manslaughter, and a judge denied bail. The Florida Highway Patrol says the 41-year-old drove his pickup into the center line on a two-lane road early Tuesday and hit the farmworker bus, causing it to veer off the road, strike a tree and flip over. Howard’s arrest report says he had bloodshot and watery eyes and slurred speech after the crash.
May 15, 2024 5:04 am
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — A hospital official says Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in serious but stable condition. The populist leader was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt Wednesday that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European elections. He is being treated Thursday at an intensive care unit. A suspect was in custody, and the interior minister said that an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the attack. The minister did not specify what the motivation was. Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. His return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would abandon his country’s pro-Western course.
May 15, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. That’s according to three congressional aides who spoke of condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public. It’s not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered. It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold this month. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
May 15, 2024 5:01 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A miniature poodle named Sage has won the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Sage bested six other finalists to claim the best in show award Tuesday night at the United States’ most illustrious canine event. A German shepherd named Mercedes placed second. Each stood, strode and sought to shine before the judge at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. In all, more than 2,500 dogs spanning about 200 breeds and varieties entered the show. They’re judged according to which one best matches the “standard,” or ideal, for its breed.
May 15, 2024 4:59 am
A Washington man is facing charges that include attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after a shooting in the city Tuesday evening. Washington Police say 29 year old Justice Walden fired five-to-seven shots from a handgun at an elevated position at a home along Burton Avenue around 6:30 p.m. A 42 year old man was struck in the abdomen. Police say a woman and two juveniles were nearby when the shooting occurred but were not injured. Police were then called to Washington Hospital after the victim showed up at the emergency room. He was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. There is no word on his condition. Police apprehended Walden a short time later inside a home along Maple Avenue. He is last reported in the Washington County Jail. Police say the investigation continues and additional charges could result. Meanwhile, City officers were called to a report of shots fired around 8 p.m at a home in the 800-block of Ewing Street. Police say charges are possible after, what they called “an accidental discharge”. No other details have been released.
