June 27, 2023 5:27 pm
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania state trooper who was shot and killed earlier this month when he went to work on his day off after learning his barracks had been attacked by an armed man was lauded during his funeral as a hero who only wanted to serve his community. The service for 29-year-old Jacques “Jay” Rougeau Jr. was held Tuesday at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie. Rougeau was shot June 17 by 38-year-old Brandon Stine of Thompsontown, who also critically wounded another trooper that day in a separate incident before he was shot and killed himself after a manhunt and a fierce gunbattle, Stine’s motive remains under investigation. Rougeau was killed by a gunshot through the windshield of his patrol car. (Photo: AP)
June 27, 2023 10:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that North Carolina’s top court did not overstep its bounds in striking down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law. The justices on Tuesday rejected the broadest view of a case that could have transformed elections for Congress and president by leaving state legislatures virtually unchecked by their state courts when dealing with federal elections. The high court did, though, strongly suggest there are limits on what state courts can do. Another redistricting case from Ohio is pending, if the justices want to say more about the issue before next year’s elections.
June 27, 2023 5:21 am
CHICAGO (AP) — The haze of unhealthy air that settled over the Great Lakes region Tuesday reminded U.S. residents from the Midwest to the Northeast and as far south as Kentucky to brace for more depending on which way the wind blows as Canadian wildfires rage on. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson says, “Until the fires are out, there’s a risk.” Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada has created curtains of haze and raised air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region and in parts of the central and eastern United States. The Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov site shows parts of Illinois, lower Michigan and southern Wisconsin have the worst air quality in the U.S.
June 27, 2023 5:18 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan Seacrest will become the new “Wheel of Fortune” host after Pat Sajak’s retirement next year. Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multi-year deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42. Sajak recently announced the upcoming 41st season would be his last on the show. It’s the latest hosting gig for Seacrest, the popular “American Idol” host who also now rings in the new year for many on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Seacrest in his statement also praised Vanna White, another mainstay of “Wheel of Fortune.” Both White and Sajak have been on the show since the early 1980s.
June 27, 2023 5:16 am
DALLAS (AP) — Scorching temperatures meteorologists say were brought on by a heat dome have taxed the Texas power grid and threaten to bring record highs to the state before they are expected to expand to other parts of the U.S. National Weather Service Forecaster Bob Oravec said Monday that the heat dome is expected to reach north to Kansas City and east to the Florida Panhandle and continue at least until the July Fourth holiday. The National Integrated Heat Health Information System reports more than 46 million people are under heat alerts. Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said the dome is not unusual because this is the time of year the atmospheric conditions combine to create such a threat.
June 27, 2023 5:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in New York City is set to hear arguments Tuesday over whether the state criminal hush money prosecution of former President Donald Trump can be moved to federal court. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein will preside over the hearing. He’s unlikely to immediately rule. Trump’s lawyers sought to move the case to Manhattan federal court soon after Trump pleaded not guilty in state court in April to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide 2016 hush money payouts to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. They say his alleged criminal conduct occurred while he was president. Prosecutors say he can’t invoke official immunity for unofficial actions.
June 27, 2023 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of different e-cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000, despite a three-year effort by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on kid-friendly flavors. The rise in electronic cigarettes has been almost entirely driven by a wave of cheap, disposable devices imported from China. That’s according to sales data obtained by The Associated Press. Most are sold in fruit and candy flavors that can appeal to teenagers. All are technically illegal, but they continue to flow into U.S. ports with little threat of retaliation. The trend underscores the FDA’s inability to control the tumultuous vaping market previously dominated by Juul and other reusable e-cigarettes.
June 27, 2023 5:10 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities have confirmed that British actor Julian Sands died while hiking on a Southern California mountain. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that remains found by hikers have been identified as the 65-year-old Sands, who went missing in January. Sands starred in many acclaimed films of the 1980s and 90s, including the 1985 British romance “A Room With a View” opposite Helena Bonham Carter. He also appeared in the films “Arachnophobia,” “Naked Lunch,” “Boxing Helena” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” Sands made regular guest appearances on television series including “24,” “Dexter” and “Smallville.” (Photo: ABC)
June 27, 2023 5:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jurors who convicted the gunman in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history are hearing arguments on whether he should be put to death. The sentencing phase of Robert Bowers’ trial is expected to last at least four weeks. Bowers killed 11 worshippers and injured others in the 2018 attack at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. Prosecutors are trying to show there are aggravating factors that make Bowers deserving of death. The defense is trying to persuade jurors to spare his life. A defense lawyer told the jury on Monday that Bowers had psychotic, delusional and paranoid symptoms that made him unable to make appropriate decisions.
June 27, 2023 5:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Spurred on by train derailments, some states crisscrossed by busy freight railroads aren’t waiting for federal action to improve safety. Instead, they’re pursuing their own remedies amid questions about whether states even have that authority. The Feb. 3 derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border of a train carrying toxic chemicals has prompted new legislation and revived long-stalled efforts as backers voice skepticism that the federal government can help. Legislatures in at least a dozen states have advanced measures in recent weeks. Some of the new requirements include provisions long resisted by the railroad industry. It says it’s capable of making improvements and that its growing efficiency is not compromising safety.
