June 11, 2023 7:10 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is blasting his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless.” His comments come in his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed. In appearances at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina, Trump tried to frame the 37 criminal charges he’s facing as an attack not just on him but also on his supporters. The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes. In the indictment unsealed Friday, Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena.
June 11, 2023 7:07 am
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say they plan to conduct safety investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year. That’s after the Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern’s safety culture. A report will be released soon on what investigators found at Norfolk Southern after the fiery February derailment that prompted the evacuation of half of East Palestine, Ohio. The crash sparked intense interest in railroad safety nationwide and prompted several proposed reforms in Congress. Railroad unions have been raising concerns that operating changes and deep cuts the railroads have made over the past six years have made trains riskier. But the railroads maintain they haven’t sacrificed safety as they became more efficient.
June 11, 2023 7:06 am
JEANNETTE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say police are seeking a man in connection with a shooting that killed a woman and injured four other people at a western Pennsylvania home. The Westmoreland County coroner and district attorney say 25-year-old Brianna Lartz was killed in the gunfire Friday evening at a Jeannette home. Officials say four other people brought to hospitals were expected to survive their injuries. No further information about the victims or their conditions was immediately available Saturday. According to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Deshawn Russell, 25, has been identified as a person of interest in the shooting and it is also believed a second person who hasn’t been identified was involved. They said both should be considered armed and dangerous.
June 11, 2023 7:03 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A woman was shot and killed at an apartment on Iowa Street Friday morning. The suspect was taken into custody at a local gas station a half-mile away. According to the criminal complaint, Danny Sottile shot and killed a woman identified in court documents only as “Tiffany.” Police have not yet released her full name saying the family has not been notified. According to court documents, Sottile told police he had been with the victim since about 4:00 Thursday afternoon. He told police they did meth, marijuana, and another drug police said Sottile called “wet.” Police said Sottile told them he was sitting on the bed paranoid that her friends were going to rob him. He told police he heard noises outside and then shot the woman in the chest. Police said he told them he fired another shot as she made it to another room, but he was unsure if he hit her. Sottile is being held in the Fayette County Prison without bond. He faces criminal homicide and other charges.
June 11, 2023 3:15 am
The second annual Washington Pride Festival took place Saturday at the community pavilion on South Main Street. The event ran from noon to nine p.m. and featured vendors, entertainment, food and other activities for kids.
June 10, 2023 9:45 am
MIAMI (AP) — The federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in 2021, and then scheming and lying to thwart government efforts to recover them. Justice Department prosecutors brought 37 felony counts against Trump in their indictment, relying upon photographs from Mar-a-Lago, surveillance video, text messages between staffers, Trump’s own words, those of his lawyers, and other evidence. An aide to Trump, Walt Nauta, was charged as a co-conspirator with six felony counts.
June 10, 2023 9:10 am
The Air Quality Index (AQI) has updated to Moderate for Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. This is deemed as acceptable according to The Weather Channel
There may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
June 10, 2023 7:13 am
Today’s Air Quality Index in Pittsburgh is marked at 65 as “Poor” according to AccuWeather. The air has reached a high level of pollution and is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Reduce time spent outside if you are feeling symptoms such as difficulty breathing or throat irritation.
June 10, 2023 4:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A thick, hazardous haze of wildfire smoke is looming over daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada for a third day, and it’s expected to persist as long as the weekend. The conditions Thursday sent asthma sufferers to hospitals, delayed flights, postponed ballgames and pushed back a White House Pride Month celebration. If the worrisome haze is an unnerving novelty for millions of people on the United States’ East Coast, it’s a reminder of what other places experience more regularly. And scientists say it’s a wake-up call about the future.
June 10, 2023 4:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — This week’s Supreme Court decision ordering Alabama to redraw its congressional maps was seen by many minority lawmakers and voting rights activists as a stunning victory with the potential to become a major stepping stone for undoing gerrymandered political maps that dilute the political strength of communities of color. The court majority found that Alabama concentrated Black voters in one district, while spreading them out among the others to make it much more difficult to elect more than one candidate of their choice. Similar maps have been drawn in other states, primarily by Republican-controlled legislatures. Voting rights activists said they believe maps will have to be redrawn in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana ahead of the 2024 elections.
