August 31, 2022 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Obstruction of justice is emerging as a key focus in the Justice Department’s investigation of classified government documents the FBI seized at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The department says classified documents had been “likely concealed and removed” from Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the federal investigation. A court filing made Tuesday night shows the FBI also seized 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified records during its Aug. 8 search and found classified documents stashed in Trump’s office. The filing lays out the most detailed chronology to date of months of strained interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump representatives over the discovery of government secrets.
August 31, 2022 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As attorney general, Josh Shapiro went to court repeatedly to defend Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration against legal challenges to his pandemic-era mandates and shutdowns. Now, as he’s running to succeed Wolf as governor, Shapiro says he is against some of the same COVID-19 containment measures that his fellow Democrat used to help manage the nation’s worst pandemic in over a century. On the campaign trail in the presidential battleground state, Shapiro’s Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, makes Wolf’s COVID-19 policies — and Shapiro’s defense of them in court — a source of derision. But disavowing Wolf’s COVID-19 policies while facing headwinds for his party may be a politically painless way for Shapiro to tack to the middle against Mastriano, who even some top Republicans say is too far to the right to win the November general election. “This is an area where I think folks got it wrong,” Shapiro said of school and business shutdowns. On mask and vaccine mandates, Shapiro said he opposed them and instead talked about a need to “educate and empower” the public, business owners, school leaders and others to protect themselves and others. “And to me, that’s the approach we need to take more broadly as a public, which is to educate, empower and respect people’s personal decisions and respect their personal freedom to make those choices,” Shapiro told The Associated Press in an interview.
August 31, 2022 2:37 am
A Washington County man charged with homicide in his baby’s death, could face the death penalty. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced today that he is seeking the death penalty against 36-year-old Jordan Clarke. On May 23, Peters Township police responded to 148 Pleasantview Drive for a report of an infant not breathing. The baby was unresponsive, lying on the floor and his skin had a bluish hue. Clarke, the baby’s father, told officers that he fell on top of him while he was getting the child’s bottle. The baby was eventually flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he died the next day. Officials at the hospital told police that the baby’s injuries were “gravely concerning for physical abuse.” The doctor who wrote the report said the baby had subdural hematomas over both sides of the brain, multiple layers of retinal hemorrhages in both eyes and in all four quadrants and possible fractures to both tibias. Clarke is set to be arraigned on October 3rd, on charges of homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
August 30, 2022 4:59 pm
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian news agencies are reporting that former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has died at 91. Gorbachev, as the last leader of the Soviet Union, waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that ended the Cold War.
August 30, 2022 3:52 pm
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) – President Joe Biden is forcefully defending the FBI as the agency and its employees have come under criticism and threats of violence since executing a search warrant at Donald Trump’s Florida residence earlier this month. Biden told a crowd of more than 500 at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that “It’s sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI.” Biden was also promoting his administration’s crime-prevention efforts and continuing to pressure Congress to revive a long-expired federal ban on assault-style weapons. Hailing firearm restrictions recently approved by Congress, Biden said, “We’re not stopping here.”
August 30, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has completed its review of potentially privileged documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate this month and has identified “a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information,” according to a court filing Monday. The filing from the department follows a judge’s weekend order indicating that she was inclined to grant the Trump legal team’s request for a special master who would oversee the review of documents taken during the Aug. 8 search of the Mar-a-Lago estate and ensure that any that might be protected by claims of legal privilege be set aside. In revealing that the department had completed its review of potentially privileged communications, law enforcement officials appeared to be suggesting that the appointment of a third-party special master might now be moot. The department had been relying on a specialized team to filter out potentially privileged communications and said Monday that it had completed its review of those materials before the judge’s order.
August 30, 2022 4:08 am
DAYTON, OHIO (AP) – With abortion limits enacted or looming nationwide, an Ohio provider has been referring hundreds of patients to its sister clinic in Indianapolis. Their pregnancies exceed Ohio’s six-week limit, passed when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The women are racing a political clock. Indiana recently passed a near-total abortion ban. It takes effect Sept. 15. Until then, in-clinic abortions are allowed until 13 weeks and six days of pregnancy. Most of the women the clinics see are desperate. Some have been raped or have ectopic pregnancies. For others, birth control failed. Many fear telling family and friends. Both clinics likely face closure next month. But staff say they’ll work to help as many patients as possible until then.
August 30, 2022 4:07 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The 20-year-old who opened fire in a Bend, Oregon, supermarket, killing two before he turned the gun on himself, was a loner who was known for getting into fights at the high school where he graduated in 2020. A former classmate says shooting suspect Ethan Blair Miller “tried to fight quite literally everybody” at Mountain View High School and once threatened to shoot a student after a school fight. Police say they are investigating reports that the gunman posted his plans on social media before Sunday’s shooting and wanted to attack his alma mater next week but grew impatient.
August 30, 2022 4:04 am
BAGHDAD (AP) – Supporters of a prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric are firing rocket-propelled grenades into Iraq’s Green Zone as machine gun fire crackled overhead, deepening the political chaos gripping the Mideast nation. Those backing influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired into the Green Zone on Tuesday, where it appeared Iraqi security forces were firing back at them. Live television footage showed the chaos, with at least one wounded man being taken away in a three-wheel rickshaw, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry visible behind them. The death toll rose to 22 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest erupted the previous day
August 30, 2022 3:53 am
Washington City Council got departmental reports for their agenda meeting on Monday night. Parks and Recreation Director DeAnna Martin reported that the summer is winding down and Labor Day will be the last day that the pool will be open. She did report that on September 10, the pool will put on a Bark In The Park where residents will be able to bring their dogs for a swim at a cost of five dollars per dog. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the completion of the Dog Park. Martin reported that the park is about 65% complete and hopes to get closer to completion later this fall. Police Chief Dan Rush stated that the department’s demonstration period for four police body cameras is coming to a close. He and his officers are happy with the performance. Rush indicated that on three occasions a review of body cam footage found complaints against officers to be unfounded. Rush went on to say that residents should find comfort in the fact that the police force is out doing the right thing and acting in the best interest of the community. Council will meet on Thursday night to consider increases of fines for failure to file mercantile taxes and business privilege taxes. They will also look to limit parking on the east side of Forrest Avenue from East Walnut Street to Central Avenue.
