January 21, 2024 8:55 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley has questioned whether Donald Trump is mentally capable of serving as president again, after he repeatedly seemed to confuse her with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a campaign speech. As she campaigned Saturday in New Hampshire, Haley referenced Trump’s Friday speech, in which he mistakenly asserted that Haley was in charge of Capitol security on January 6, 2021. Trump first said that Haley turned down security offered by his administration that day. Haley has called for mental competency testing for older politicians.
January 21, 2024 8:50 am
(WPXI) – A man was killed and three other people were hurt in an early-morning shooting near a Coraopolis bar. The Allegheny County Police Department says first responders were sent to the 800 block of Fourth Avenue, near a bar called the Steel Shaker, around 1:45 a.m. On scene, first responders found a man dead from gunshot wounds. He was later identified by the Office of the Allegheny County Medical Examiner as Anthony Johnson Jr., 35, of Aliquippa. Two other men and a woman were also shot. They were taken to area hospitals in stable condition. Homicide detectives say they’ve identified “all individuals involved in the shooting.” When their investigation is complete, the facts will be turned over to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office for a charging determination. There is no danger to the public. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
January 21, 2024 8:48 am
Part of southbound I-79 in Washington County had a lane restriction in place early Sunday morning because of a vehicle fire. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the right lane and shoulder of southbound I-79 near mile marker 31 closed from just before 6 a.m. until just after 8:15 a.m. while crews worked to put out the fire. Drivers were asked to drive cautiously through the area.
January 21, 2024 8:45 am
(WPXI) – Five firefighters were hurt battling a 5-alarm fire in Homestead Saturday morning. Allegheny County 911 confirms firefighters, police and EMS were sent to a building on the 200 block of East 17th Avenue just before 9:30 a.m. Matt Brown, the Chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services, says police and fire units showed up within minutes of being dispatched, confirming the active structure fire. Brown says the blaze began in one residential building and spread to two others because of the extreme cold and wind conditions. The fire was considered under control just after 1 p.m. Five firefighters were hurt while working to put the fire out, including two who reportedly fell through the floor. Brown says none of the injuries are life-threatening. “The first two injured firefighters had fallen through the first floor; that was early into the firefight,” Brown said. “The other injuries, again, are minor and not related to that. Additionally, eight residents were displaced but not hurt. Brown says at least a dozen fire departments responded, along with police, EMS, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
January 21, 2024 5:11 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian-installed officials in the eastern city of Donetsk say at least 27 people have been killed in the shelling by Ukraine of a market. The attack hit Tekstilshchik, a Donetsk suburb, on Sunday. Kyiv has not commented on the attack and the claim could not be independently verified by The Associated Press. Donetsk is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russia annexed illegally in 2022, months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. Also Sunday, officials said a fire broke out at a chemical transport terminal at Russia’s Ust-Luga port southwest of St. Petersburg following two explosions. Local media reported it had been attacked by Ukrainian drones.
January 21, 2024 5:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump could testify as soon as Monday in his defamation trial for calling sexual assault accuser E. Jean Carroll a liar. But the judge has ruled that if Trump takes the stand, he won’t be allowed to say that the writer concocted her allegation, nor that she was motivated by financial or political considerations. That’s because a different jury found last year that Trump sexually abused Carroll. Last week, Trump was threatened with expulsion from court for making comments about what he called a “con job.” AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
January 20, 2024 4:58 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Alec Baldwin once again is facing a felony involuntary manslaughter charge after a grand jury indicted the actor in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie in New Mexico. The new charge was filed Friday and defense attorneys indicate they’ll fight it. Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. A new analysis of the gun opened the way for prosecutors to reboot the case. A separate trial of the film set weapons supervisor could provide a preview of strategies and witnesses against Baldwin.
January 20, 2024 4:56 am
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has endorsed former President Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP primary. It’s a blow to Scott’s fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley, who is banking on a strong showing in New Hampshire to keep her presidential hopes alive. Scott traveled from Florida to the state with the GOP front-runner to announce his support for Trump at a rally in Concord. Scott launched his own bid to challenge Trump last May before shuttering his effort about six months later. Trump has been appearing on the campaign trail with several other former rivals who have endorsed him. Haley appointed Scott to the Senate in 2012.
January 20, 2024 4:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally have spoken by phone after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication. They talked on Friday. The leaders spoke frequently in the weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but their direct communication has decreased amid fundamental differences over their visions for Gaza once the war ends. Neither side shows signs of budging, and both men are hemmed in by domestic political considerations. Netanyahu has repeatedly rebuffed Biden’s calls for Palestinian sovereignty. Netanyahu said this week that he has told U.S. officials in plain terms that he will not support a Palestinian state as part of any postwar plan.
January 20, 2024 4:34 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. company’s failed moonshot has ended with a fiery plunge over the South Pacific. Astrobotic Technology said Friday that it had confirmation that its lunar lander broke apart as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday. A fuel leak shortly after liftoff from Florida last week had nixed any chance of a moon touchdown. The company took steps to destroy its crippled lander to protect other spacecraft. It was the first U.S. lunar lander in more than a half-century. The next one from a U.S. business is set to blast off next month.
