March 22, 2024 2:56 pm
(AP) – Russia’s Federal Security Service says 40 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in an attack at a Moscow concert hall. The attack, which Russian authorities are investigating as terrorism, is the deadliest in Russia in recent years. The venue is still on fire and the death toll may rise. Several gunmen burst into the concert hall on the edge of Moscow and sprayed visitors with automatic gunfire, killing and wounding dozens and starting a massive blaze. Russian media reports that the venue’s roof is collapsing. The attack comes days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.
March 22, 2024 2:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is at risk of being ousted. Hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a motion to vacate on Friday during a House vote on a $1.2 trillion package to keep government open. Greene says it’s a “warning” to the Louisiana lawmaker. It’s the same political dynamic that removed the last Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, months ago. McCarthy’s was the first such ouster of a speaker after far-right conservatives revolted over his compromise with Democrats to prevent a federal shutdown. The House is scheduled to leave town for a spring recess. It’s doubtful any vote on Johnson’s removal would be imminent. Johnson’s spokesman says he’s “focused on governing.”
March 22, 2024 2:10 pm
LONDON (AP) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, says she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. The video announcement Friday came after weeks of speculation spread on social media about her whereabouts and health since she was hospitalized in January for unspecified abdominal surgery. Kate, 42, hadn’t been seen publicly since Christmas until video surfaced this week of her with her husband, Prince William, heir to the throne, walking from a farm shop near their Windsor home. Kensington Palace had given little detail about Kate’s condition beyond saying it wasn’t cancer-related, the surgery was successful and recuperation would keep the princess away from public duties until April. (Photo: AP)
March 22, 2024 5:04 am
Police have arrested two white supremacist gang members following an attack on corrections officers at an Idaho hospital, and investigators are looking into whether they killed two people while on the run. Escaped prison inmate Skylar Meade and accomplice Nicholas Umphenour were arrested during a traffic stop Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls. Police say Umphenour shot two Idaho corrections officers early Wednesday to break Meade out of custody. Authorities said during a news conference Thursday that they were investigating two homicides, in Clearwater County and Nez Perce County, which borders Washington state. Police found shackles at the scene of one of the killings.
March 22, 2024 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers have introduced a $1.2 trillion spending package that sets the stage for avoiding a partial government shutdown for several key federal agencies this weekend. The bill unveiled Thursday comes nearly six months into the current budget year and would allow Congress to complete its work in funding the government through September. Democrats were able to swat back scores of policy mandates and some of the steeper budget cuts that House Republicans were seeking to impose on nondefense programs. Among the policy wins that House Speaker Mike Johnson is highlighting for Republicans is a nearly 24% increase in detention beds for migrants awaiting their immigration proceedings or removal from the country.
March 22, 2024 5:01 am
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the final stop in his sixth urgent trip to the region since the start of the war. Blinken says he will share alternatives to Israel’s planned ground assault into the southern Gaza town of Rafah during his talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet. Later Friday, the United Nations Security Council will vote on a U.S.-sponsored resolution declaring “the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire.” It also emphasizes the urgent need for aid in Gaza. The World Health Organization says so little food has been allowed in that up to 60% of children under 5 are now malnourished.
March 22, 2024 5:00 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has attacked electrical power facilities in much of Ukraine, including the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, causing widespread outages and killing at least three people. Ukraine’s energy minister says the nighttime drone and rocket attacks were the largest on the country’s energy sector in recent times. He says the goal was to cause a large-scale disruption of the energy system. The attacks caused a fire at the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station, which supplies electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power installation. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the main 750-kilovolt power line to the plant was cut off but a lower-power backup line was working.
March 22, 2024 4:56 am
JEANNETTE, Pa. — Jeannette Police Chief Derek Manley says investigators are treating Wednesday’s devastating fire as arson until they can safely rule it out. He said that is standard procedure for a fire of this magnitude. “The way we’re handling it is as an arson until we determine otherwise just because of the nature of what occurred, we don’t want to be lackadaisical and not cover our bases if it turns out to be one,” Manley said. “We won’t know that until we get the report from the fire marshal.” The fire Wednesday tore through one home along Guy Street, killing a dad and four of his kids. That fire also destroyed the house next door. The mother and two other children were able to escape the blaze.
March 22, 2024 2:23 am
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Biden administration has announced up to $475 million in federal funding for clean energy projects on current or former mine land sites. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that the projects will be in five states. They include the political battleground states of Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. Kentucky and West Virginia are also benefiting. They are solidly Republican and have been hit hard by the downturn in the coal sector. The projects will involve solar power, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity and batteries. The administration says the clean energy projects will strengthen the country’s energy security while helping ensure mining communities continue playing a role in the energy economy.
March 22, 2024 2:15 am
Washington County Commissioners put to rest an issue that has had county residents in an uproar by adopting a recommendation to grant LSA funding for a homeless women’s shelter. In February, the Local Share Account Committee recommended 50 projects to be funded with $8.7 million of a possible $9.2 million. Notably absent from the list was a Washington City Mission request for $500,000 for a homeless women’s shelter. The recommendation for $8.7 million in grant allocations and the carryover of $500,000 to next year was adopted by commissioners. Community outcry and accusations of political influence caused the commissioners to adopt a measure to have the LSA committee reconvene to consider the allocation of the remaining $500,000 to all projects denied funding. The LSA Committee met Wednesday and considered only the City Mission project and unanimously approved the measure to fund the City Mission’s request. Commissioners unanimously approved the recommendation and the City Mission will receive their women’s shelter funding. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman says that commissioners have met and will continue to meet with the LSA Committee to refine the process for grant allocations. He disagrees with Commissioner Larry Maggi who says that the recent events have given the selection process a “black eye.” Sherman did say that he was happy that the City Mission received their grant allocation.
