August 9, 2022 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – She rode her status as a Grammy-winning pop singer into Hollywood stardom by starring in “Grease.” And she waged a brave, decades-long, battle against breast cancer. So no matter what part of the entertainment world you’re into, there’s mourning for the loss of Olivia Newton-John, who died yesterday at age 73. From 1973-to-83, Newton-John was one of the world’s top popular entertainers, logging 14 top 10 singles in the U.S. She also starred with John Travolta in “Grease” and with Gene Kelly in “Xanadu.”
August 9, 2022 4:12 am
PINGTUNG, Taiwan (AP) – Taiwan’s foreign minister says China aims to control the East and South China Seas via the Taiwan Strait, describing a greater ambition to upend the Asia-Pacific status quo and prevent nations from aiding the self-governing island. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu spoke Tuesday as Taiwan began live-fire military drills in response to ongoing Chinese exercises. China says its drills were prompted by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit, but Wu said that was a pretext. He said China aims to upend the status quo and annex Taiwan. Since Thursday, China has sent military ships and planes across the midline in the Taiwan Strait and launched missiles into waters surrounding the island. Beijing hasn’t said when the exercises will end.
August 9, 2022 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, big tech firms and the European Union moved to ban the country’s main propaganda and disinformation channels. Nearly six months later, the number of sites pushing that same content has exploded. That’s according to a new report from a tech firm, NewsGuard, that tracks disinformation. NewsGuard has identified 250 websites actively working to spread Kremlin disinformation. In some cases, Russia’s propaganda agencies merely rebrand the content with a new name and logo before reposting it from new accounts. Experts say the ease with which Russia has evaded bans on its content show a need for more a aggressive approach by governments and tech companies.
August 9, 2022 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI has searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence. That’s according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Trump says agents opened up a safe at his home and describes their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.” The FBI and Justice Department have not confirmed the search. It marks a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the former president.
August 9, 2022 4:06 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – A hit-and-run crash in Uniontown damaged two vehicles on Sunday night, totaling one of them. ”I was in my bedroom right here and heard it, it was like a bomb went off and I came out and saw my car and I was pretty upset about it,” Angela Soom said. Soom found her SUV parked in front of her house on Coolspring Street in Uniontown mangled and totaled. It is her family’s only means of transportation.”I take her to doctor’s appointments. My mother is disabled she can’t see, I take her to her appointments,” Soom explained. The impact was so hard that it not only caused significant damage to her SUV and her fence, but the force pushed her car into her neighbor’s truck. ”Troopers were at another incident when they heard a loud crash,” Trooper Kalee Barnhart said. It turns out that the driver who took off was not far away.”They were able to follow a trail of leaking fluid and found that at-fault vehicle at the residence,” Barnhart said. State police said that the driver will likely be charged with at least several summary offenses.
August 9, 2022 4:03 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Gas prices are continuing to drop across the country. In western Pennsylvania, AAA reports the average cost of a gallon is down seven cents from a week ago. Despite what many would call a positive trend, fewer drivers are filling up their tanks. “They’re coming down, but they’re still too high. I drive a gas guzzler,” Charles Hunter said. Even with the lower prices, it still takes more than $100 to fill his pickup truck. “It’s like a dollar less than the last few months, so that’s a big help, yes. But a couple more would be even better.” Prices still average a dollar more than this time last year, but they are fifty cents lower than a month ago. “What we’re seeing right now is a combination of lower demand for gasoline as well as a dip in crude oil prices,” AAA East Central spokesperson Tiffany Stanley said. Crude oil prices are the lowest since February — that’s before Russia invaded Ukraine.
August 9, 2022 2:15 am
(WPXI) – One person is in custody following a “barricaded gunman’ incident in Ross Township. Ross Township police say they were called for a domestic violence incident at a home on Thompson Run Road just before 1 p.m. Tuesday. According to a press release, the victim called 911 to report her adult son, 48-year-old Robert Gentile, had assaulted her and barricaded himself in his room. Gentile allegedly became irate and started yelling, then got up and attacked the victim. The victim was able to get out of the house, but the suspect was barricaded inside the home with several weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, according to police. Gentile was barricaded, and did not initially respond to police attempts to communicate. Gentile eventually surrendered to police just before 2 p.m. Police said an arrest warrant was obtained at the beginning of the incident for simple assault, but that charges may be modified after further investigation.
August 8, 2022 3:58 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Olivia Newton-John, the Grammy-winning superstar who reigned on pop, country, adult contemporary and dance charts with such hits as “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want” has died. She was 73. Newton-John, a longtime resident of Australia whose sales topped 100 million albums, also won countless hearts as everyone’s favorite Sandy in the blockbuster film version of “Grease.” (Photo: ABC News)
August 8, 2022 1:24 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Authorities investigating the killings of four Muslim men said they are looking for help finding a vehicle believed to be connected to the deaths in New Mexico’s largest city. A Muslim man was killed Friday night in Albuquerque, and ambush shootings killed three other Muslim men over the past nine months. Police are trying to determine if the slayings are linked. Investigators say the common elements in all the deaths were the victims’ race and religion. The same vehicle is suspected of being used in all four homicides – a dark gray or silver four-door Volkswagen that appears to be a Jetta with dark tinted windows.
August 8, 2022 1:22 pm
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) – The white man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery after chasing the 25-year-old Black man in a Georgia neighborhood has been sentenced to life in prison for committing a federal hate crime. Travis McMichael was sentenced Monday by a U.S. District Court judge in the port city of Brunswick. His punishment is largely symbolic, as McMichael was previously sentenced to life without parole in a Georgia state court for Arbery’s murder. McMichael and his father armed themselves with guns and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after he ran past their home on Feb. 23, 2020. Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun.
