August 15, 2023 2:22 am
A Canton Township man has reached a plea deal for his role in a shooting last year. Melvin Ringer, 41 will spend 7-14 years in state prison on a single aggravated assault felony charge. In April of 2022, the victim, Everett Miller and Ringer’s wife Amanda Ringer were departing Ringer’s home after Amanda told her husband that she had begun a romantic relationship with Miller. Melvin Ringer shot at both of them as they departed striking Miller with a shot. An earlier plea deal on July 20 was delayed as Miller objected to the sentence, stating that it is too short. Judge Valarie Costanzo delayed the hearing to Monday to review the case. The judge found the sentence to be appropriate despite Miller’s objection. Miller is facing retail theft charges himself and indicated to prosecutors that he would accept the plea deal if those charges were dropped. Prosecutors denied the request calling it inappropriate. Ringer had a previous probation sentence revoked for unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was re sentenced to 1-2 years in state prison on that charge and it will be served concurrently to the aggravated assault sentence.
August 14, 2023 5:27 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s attorneys are pushing to keep part of a plea deal they reached with the prosecutor whose new status as special counsel has intensified the tax investigation into the president’s son. As House Republicans continue their own investigations, Hunter Biden’s attorney argued in court documents late Sunday that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea agreement on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month. It’s unclear whether prosecutors agree that the gun agreement remains valid. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika ordered them to respond by Tuesday.
August 14, 2023 5:19 am
MARION, Kan. (AP) — A small central Kansas police department is facing a torrent of criticism after it raided the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher and owner. Marion County Record Publisher and Editor Eric Meyer said police raided the newspaper’s office on Friday, seizing the newspaper’s computers, phones and file server and the personal cellphones of staff, based on a search warrant investigating alleged identity theft. Police simultaneously raided Meyer’s home, seizing computers, his cellphone and the home’s internet router. Meyer blames the stress of the home raid for the Saturday death of his 98-year-old mother. Press freedom watchdogs condemned the raids.
August 14, 2023 5:18 am
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Parishioners mourned the dead and prayed for the missing Sunday in Hawaii churches as communities began looking ahead to a long recovery from last week’s wildfire that demolished a historic Maui town and killed more than 90 people. Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina was spared from the flames that wiped out most of the surrounding community, but with search-and-recovery efforts ongoing, its members attended Mass about 10 miles up the road, with the Bishop of Honolulu, the Rev. Clarence “Larry” Silva, presiding. Silva later told The Associated Press that the community is worried about its children, who have witnessed tragedy and are anxious. Meanwhile, Hawaii officials urged tourists to avoid traveling to Maui as many hotels prepared to house evacuees and first responders. About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of Kahului Airport in West Maui since the devastation in Lahaina became clear Wednesday, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
August 14, 2023 5:13 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Just one month after Donald Trump’s January 2021 phone call to suggest Georgia’s secretary of state could overturn his election loss, district attorney Fani Willis announced she was looking into possibly illegal “attempts to influence” the results. As she built her case, she called a parade of witnesses before a special grand jury, presiding over an investigation that was so public it seemed she would become the first prosecutor in U.S. history to indict a former president. She is instead poised to become the third person to levy criminal charges against Trump. But the expected indictment could be the most sprawling case against the former president.
August 14, 2023 5:12 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After two years in power, the Taliban are entrenched as rulers of Afghanistan, facing no significant opposition that could topple them. They have avoided an internal split by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader and have kept a struggling economy afloat, even as the international community refused to recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Girls and women pay the price, with the Taliban barring them from jobs, education and virtually every aspect of public life. Prospects for a change toward moderation are slim as the Taliban mark the second anniversary of its takeover of Afghanistan this week.
August 14, 2023 5:10 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean state media say leader Kim Jong Un has again toured munitions factories and has ordered a drastic increase in production of missiles and other weapons. The report said Kim visited the factories last week and said North Korea must have “an overwhelming military force” and be fully prepared for any war. Some observers suspect Kim’s focus on weapons factories could be related to possible North Korean plans to send more munitions to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Also Monday, South Korea and the U.S. militaries announced they will begin major annual drills next week. The allies say their exercises are defensive, but North Korea views them as an invasion rehearsal.
August 14, 2023 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick often touts his deep connection to Pennsylvania as he lays the groundwork for another likely Senate run. McCormick says he lives in the state and points to his $2.8 million home in Pittsburgh. But public records and footage from home interviews with McCormick show the multimillionaire Republican spends much of his time living in Connecticut, where he rents a $16 million mansion on the coast. McCormick previously criticized Dr. Mehmet Oz because he said the 2022 Republican Senate nominee lacked ties to Pennsylvania. McCormick says he was raised in Pennsylvania, but plans to maintain a Connecticut residence while his daughters finish high school.
August 14, 2023 5:02 am
PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. — Peoples Gas president Michael Huwar said the company’s “system was operating as designed” at the site of the house explosion in Plum. According to officials, the explosion happened at around 10:23 a.m. on Rustic Ridge Drive and Brookside Drive. During a press conference on Sunday, Huwar said gas in the area was turned off at 11:30 a.m., just over an hour after the explosion. Huwar said his team at the scene checked for leakage, as well as did smell checks and tested for gas underground and in the air. After the checks, Huwar said his team determined their “system was operating as designed,” but further testing of their systems will be done. Gas is still turned off at some homes and Huwar said it’s too early to estimate when it’ll be restored. This is the second house explosion in Plum in less than two years. Last April, a house exploded on Hialeah Drive. Five people were hospitalized.
August 14, 2023 5:01 am
PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. — (WPXI) – A father and son are among the five people who died in a house explosion in Plum Borough. Several sources tell our news partners at Channel 11 Casey and Keegan Clontz are among the five who died after a house on Rustic Ridge exploded Saturday morning. Casey was 38, Keegan was 12. Three additional people were hurt in the explosion that destroyed one home and damaged several others. Two have since been released from the hospital, and one remains in critical condition. The formal identification of the five people killed will be made by the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, and is expected to “take some time.”
