July 20, 2022 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has overwhelmingly approved a bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriages. Tuesday’s vote stands as a direct confrontation with the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority in overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access signaled that other rights may be in jeopardy. While the Respect for Marriage Act easily passed the House, it is likely to stall in the Senate, where most Republicans could stop it with a filibuster. But it’s part of a political strategy setting up an election-year roll call that forced all lawmakers to go on the record with their views. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in Tuesday’s House passage.
July 20, 2022 4:10 am
LONDON (AP) – Britain’s record-breaking heat wave has disrupted travel for a third day and firefighters remain on alert even as cloudy skies and showers have brought relief from the scorching temperatures of recent days. Forecasters predict London will reach a high of 26 Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, down from the record 40.2C (104.4F) set Tuesday at Heathrow Airport. Still, the main train line from London to Edinburgh will remain closed until noon as crews work to repair power lines and signaling equipment damaged by a heat-related fire on Tuesday, according to the London North Eastern Railway.
July 20, 2022 4:08 am
SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced modest new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.” The president stopped short Wednesday of issuing a formal declaration of a climate emergency. Democrats and environmental groups have been seeking such a declaration after an influential Democratic senator quashed hopes for sweeping legislation to address global warming. Biden he hinted such a step could be coming. During a speech at a former coal-powered plan in Massachusetts, Biden said he would use his executive powers to turn concern about a climate emergency into “formal, official government actions.”
July 20, 2022 4:07 am
NARVA, Estonia (AP) – Nearly 2 million Ukrainians refugees have been sent to Russia. Their journey starts not with a gun to the head, but with a poisoned choice: Die in Ukraine or live in Russia. Those who choose to live in Russia are then taken through a series of what are known as filtration points, where treatment ranges from interrogation and strip searches to being yanked aside and never seen again. Ukraine portrays these journeys as forced transfers to enemy ground, which is considered a war crime. Russia calls them humanitarian evacuations. An Associated Press investigation found that many refugees are indeed forced to embark on a surreal journey into Russia, subjected along the way to human rights abuses. It also found an underground network of Russians trying to help Ukrainians escape.
July 20, 2022 4:06 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Federal authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information about the man who allegedly shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker last year in Hollywood and stole two of the pop star’s French bulldogs. Nineteen-year-old James Howard Jackson was mistakenly released from custody in April and remains missing. Detectives do not believe the thieves initially knew the dogs belonged to the pop star. The motive was supposedly the value of the French bulldogs – which can run into the thousands of dollars. U.S. Marshals, in a statement Monday, say Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous. The reward is for information that leads to his arrest. Representatives for Lady Gaga did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
July 20, 2022 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Casinos and other operators in Pennsylvania set a new annual record for gambling revenue, state regulators said Tuesday, rising above $5 billion for the first time amid surging betting on online casino games and a post-pandemic return to the casinos’ slot machines and table games. Operators in one of the nation’s largest commercial casino states won more than $5 billion from gamblers in the 12 months through June 30, according to the figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board That was about 30% higher than the $3.9 billion recorded in the previous fiscal year, and slightly above the previous calendar year high of $4.7 billion reported in January. The rebound continues after pandemic-related shutdowns sapped casino revenue in 2020. Revenue in casinos from slot machines grew to $2.4 billion and from table games to above $1 billion. Online gambling, in just its fourth year, grew again to pass $1.2 billion. Sports betting, in just its fifth year, added $325 million in revenue.
July 20, 2022 4:00 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Allegheny County Council met in special session Tuesday night to attempt to override a veto by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald vetoed Bill 12162-22 that would have banned fracking and other industrial development in county parks. Dozens turned out for the meeting. Seventy-five citizens signed up to speak, most of who were for the override. The original ordinance was agreed to overwhelmingly, but it was not unanimous. That was before Fitzgerald’s veto. Council member at-large Sam DeMarco III called the issue political. “My issues with the ordinance remain unchanged from last month. It’s the solution to a (non)problem. No one is currently looking to frack in any of the county parks,” he said. In the end, the vote to override wasn’t close; passing 12-3. Two council members switched to “yes.”
July 20, 2022 2:38 am
(WPXI) – A 6-year-old girl was flown to a hospital after she was attacked by a stray cat in Washington County. According to Washington County 911, the call came in around 1 p.m. Officials said the attack happened in either the 100 block or 200 block of 7th Street in California. There is no word on the child’s condition but California Borough police confirmed that she was taken to Children’s Hospital.
July 20, 2022 2:11 am
Jury deliberation is underway in the trial of Nyieka Speer 29 of Canton Township. She is facing three felony charges, drug delivery resulting in death, possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication device. Speer is accused of selling a fatal dose of heroin laced with fentanyl to Sara Nicole Morrison Jones, 25 of Somerset Township. The bulk of Tuesday’s testimony came from prosecutor’s witnesses came from state police investigators and the husband of Jones. State police testified to two different interviews given to them by Jones’ husband Brenden Jones. The first interview was very light on detail and the second several weeks later was much deeper in detail in how Sara Jones purchased heroin on the day of her death in April of 2019. Data extraction from Jones’ cell phone tracked how the purchase of two bundles of heroin were purchased from Speer and how Speer agreed to give Jones an additional five bags for free for a ride to Jollick Manor so Speer could get the drugs needed for the sale. Brendan Jones’ testimony corroborated all that state police said. The defense attorney brought up past drug use by both trying to make the connection that former suppliers could have been liable for selling the fatal dose. Jones testified that Speer was the only dealer that they purchased from. Testimony was delayed on Wednesday for several reasons, including one juror who reportedly came down with COVID.
July 19, 2022 2:57 pm
BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) – Officials say no one was injured when a transformer at Hoover Dam briefly caught fire Tuesday morning. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Reclamation said the fire ignited around 10 a.m. and was extinguished about half an hour later. She said there is no risk to the power grid and power is still being generated. Police in Boulder City, Nevada, has previously said they were headed to the Hoover Dam after reports of an explosion Tuesday morning. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a fire or explosion in a building near the base of the dam. Boulder City officials said on Twitter that the fire was out before the fire department arrived.
