April 29, 2024 5:07 am
SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) — Small towns in Oklahoma are beginning a long cleanup after tornadoes flattened home and buildings and killed at least four people, including an infant. The damage Monday was extensive in the community of Sulphur, where a weekend tornado crumpled many downtown buildings and sheared the roofs off houses across a 15-block radius. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said hospitals across the state reported about 100 injuries, including people apparently cut or struck by debris. White House officials said President Joe Biden spoke to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Sunday and offered the full support of the federal government.
April 29, 2024 5:07 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Protesters of the war in Gaza who are encamped at Columbia University have defied a deadline to disband with chants, clapping and drumming. The Ivy League university in Manhattan earlier Monday issued an ultimatum for students to sign a form and leave an encampment by 2 p.m. or face suspension. The move comes as colleges around the country implore student protesters to clear out camps with rising levels of urgency as classes wrap up for the semester and graduation ceremonies approach. Students and others nationwide have been sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel. (Photo: AP)
April 29, 2024 5:05 am
Palestinian health officials say Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah have killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children. One of the children killed in the strikes overnight into Monday was just 5 days old. Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave. Over a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border. The U.S. and others have urged Israel not to invade, fearing a humanitarian catastrophe. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday begins his seventh diplomatic mission to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
April 29, 2024 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH — Protests at the University of Pittsburgh have expanded with protesters now marching in Oakland and police monitoring the situation. They set up a tent encampment and were calling for the University of Pittsburgh to sever ties with Israel. At 5:00 p.m. Sunday night, the protest expanded and created a traffic disruption between Bigelow Blvd. and Forbes Avenue. Pittsburgh Police were called in to help monitor the situation. An official said Pitt Police arrested two protesters. The University of Pittsburgh said they would be closing the William Pitt Union out of an abundance of caution. The protest is part of a wider national movement happening around the country at college campuses. In a press release issued earlier this week, students backing the movement said they wanted Pitt to fully disclose any investments it has made into Israel. They also wanted the university to release a statement in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Since the encampment began, protesting has remained peaceful.
April 29, 2024 4:57 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — U.S. police departments have reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd. A survey released by the Police Executive Research Forum shows more officers were hired in 2023 than in any of the previous four years. It also notes there were fewer retirements and resignations of officers among the 214 law enforcement agencies that responded. Forum Executive Director Chuck Wexler says departments appear to be turning the corner on hiring but aren’t out of the woods yet. Departments saw an exodus of officers after the pandemic and Floyd’s 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
April 29, 2024 4:56 am
MONESSEN, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two vacant buildings in Westmoreland County were damaged in an early morning fire. The fire started along Rostraver Street in Monessen just after 3:30 a.m. The Monessen Fire Department No. 1 said the structures were fully involved. One of the buildings collapsed, and another was damaged. Westmoreland County 911 officials say no one was hurt because of the fire. Fire crews remained in the area for around 6 hours. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
April 29, 2024 2:02 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) — Two men who are facing charges in relation to a deadly double shooting that happened in Washington County are now in custody. Pennsylvania State Police filed homicide charges against Karon Whitlock, 20, and Windale Barfield Jr., 19, on Monday. State troopers said the two turned themselves in on Sunday. Annalaya Wilkerson, 18, was killed and another 17-year-old girl was hurt in a shooting on a rural road in South Franklin Township around 11 p.m. on April 13th. Both men are being held without bond in the Washington County jail and are to face preliminary hearings May 10th.
April 28, 2024 7:40 am
(WPXI) – A teenager has been arrested in connection to a deadly shooting at a playground in McKees Rocks. Delvon Johnson, 17, is charged in the shooting death of Ahsan Edwards, 15. Ahsan was shot multiple times at Third Street Park on Saturday, April 20. He died at a local hospital. Witness interviews and multiple videos led detectives to Johnson. Johnson was arrested Friday afternoon in Orlando, Florida. He is facing multiple charges including criminal homicide, aggravated assault and illegal possession of a firearm. Police said Johnson is still in Florida, pending extradition back to Allegheny County
April 28, 2024 7:37 am
DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has a new attendance record after more than 775,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit for the three-day event. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revealed at Campus Martius Park during the third and final day of the draft that Detroit had broken the record, and the league later released its estimate of the crowd size. While it will take years to know if this year’s picks delivered for their teams, there’s no doubt that Detroit made the most of an opportunity to host the football spectacle and show 50-plus million viewers the new-look city. Motown beat Music City’s three-day attendance record of 600,000 set in 2019, when fans filled Broadway in Nashville.
April 28, 2024 7:35 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The character performers at Disneyland in California have said they filed a petition for union recognition. The organizing effort comes more than four decades after their peers at Disney’s parks in Florida joined a union. Why now for the California character performers? A lot of it has to do with the Disneyland Resort workers’ proximity to Hollywood. Unlike in Florida where being a character often is a full-time job, many of the character performers in California have other gigs in movies and TV. When many of their Hollywood jobs dried up because of the pandemic and labor strikes, they wanted more dependable scheduling from Disney. (Photo: AP)
