June 10, 2022 4:25 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Britney Spears has married her longtime partner Sam Asghari months after the pop superstar won her freedom from a court conservatorship. Asghari’s representative Brandon Cohen confirmed the couple’s nuptials, saying he was ecstatic that Spears and Asghari had fulfilled their dream of getting married. The wedding happened nine months after the pair were engaged and nearly seven months after Spears’ conservatorship ended. While seeking an end to the court case that controlled many aspects of her life, Spears expressed her desire to marry Asghari and have children. The wedding day was not without unexpected drama – Spears’ first husband, a childhood friend, was arrested after attempting to crash their wedding. (Photo: ABC)
June 10, 2022 4:22 am
SMITHSBURG, Md. (AP) – Authorities say a West Virginia man accused of fatally shooting three co-workers at a western Maryland machine shop remains under police guard at a hospital, but a Maryland state trooper injured in a shootout with the shooting suspect has been treated and released. Police say the 25-year Maryland State Police veteran was shot when the fleeing suspect fired at troopers who tracked him down. Police say at least one trooper returned fire, striking the suspect. Police say charges are pending consultation with the state’s attorney’s office. The Washington County sheriff says three men were found dead at Columbia Machine and a fourth was critically injured. He says the victims and suspect were all employees.
June 10, 2022 4:20 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history says in his first extensive published comments that he didn’t consider himself the incident commander as the massacre unfolded. Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo told the Texas Tribune that he assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School. An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers behind a locked classroom door that the chief said was reinforced with a steel jamb and could not be kicked in. Officers did not confront the gunman for more than an hour as they waited on a key that would unlock the door.
June 10, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has firmly laid blame on Donald Trump. In Thursday’s prime-time hearing, lawmakers said the siege was no accident but an “attempted coup” and a direct result of the defeated president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democrat from Mississippi, said the attack put America’s “constitutional democracy at risk.” Thursday’s hearing showed new video and other evidence from the deadly Capitol assault. The panel also detailed the chilling backstory as defeated President Donald Trump tried to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Live testimony included a police officer who was pummeled in the riot and a documentary filmmaker tracking extremist Proud Boys leading the melee.
June 10, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is allowing elections officials to count mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania that lack a handwritten date but were received in time. The unsigned order Thursday applies to a Lehigh County judicial election from 2021. But Justice Samuel Alito warned in a dissent that the issue could affect the November elections. Last week, Alito had imposed a temporary hold on counting the ballots to give the justices more time to consider the matter. At the time, former hedge fund CEO David McCormick was locked in a tight contest with celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. McCormick has since conceded to Oz.
June 10, 2022 4:13 am
The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows reopened its sportsbook as the Barstool Sportsbook on Thursday. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held and Vice President, General Manager Tony Frabbiele stated that the reconstruction project took more than six months and $7 million to complete. Frabbiele points not only to the sports betting activity that enthusiasts have come to enjoy but to other amenities that are available. The new area has a 48 foot video wall, 46 large screen televisions, a restaurant and several hang out areas. Other amenities include a 360 degree bar, slot machines and a low limit table games pit. Frabbiele considers Barstool Sportsbook as the premiere sports betting and dining experience in Pennsylvania.
June 10, 2022 4:10 am
Washington City Council held a public hearing to gather testimony on seven properties that they would like to see demolished. Council immediately convened their regular voting meeting to confirm those demolitions. The vote to condemn was unanimous and Mayor Scott Putnam noted that 5 of the properties are owned by absentee landlords that live outside the city. He said council is working hard to change the 57% rental housing stock rate in the city to more owner occupied houses. The city also promoted three policemen. Officer Daniel Florian was promoted to Corporal. Corporal Willis McConnell was promoted to Sergeant. Sergeant James Markely was promoted to Lieutenant. City Hall will be closed on June 14 for Flag Day and will reopen on June 15.
June 10, 2022 2:14 am
Greene County District Attorney Dave Russo announced on Thursday that Greene County is immediately implementing an emergency response team specifically trained to give emergency response and tactical entry in the event of a school shooting within county school districts. Russo says that in the wake of the tragedy that occurred in Uvalde, Texas and in response to the surge in school shootings, which are becoming more frequent, it is imperative for law enforcement to take appropriate actions for the protections of children and schools. Russo says he believes the single common factor for the prevention of loss of life that has occurred in Texas, Parkland Florida, Columbine and other school shootings is response time and the availability of a trained emergency response team to immediately engage an active shooter at the incident location. Russo says his team will be made up of county detectives, major crimes unit and local law enforcement who will be on call for immediate response to neutralize and/or de-escalate any threat of a shooting in local school districts. The selected individuals will be specifically trained in dynamic entry, threshold entry, active shooter location, and will monitor social media for prevention of any potential incidents. A hot line will also feed directly to my office of any possible issues developing in schools for the public to utilize. Russo says they’ll be working directly with local school districts to initiate response plans in the event of an active shooter and will coordinate and develop evacuation plans for each of the schools. Russo says funding, for now, will come out of their current budget and they will begin training immediately.
June 9, 2022 5:52 pm
SMITHSBURG, Md. (AP) – Authorities say a suspect opened fire at a business in western Maryland, leaving three dead before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that three victims were found dead Thursday at Columbia Machine Inc. in Smithsburg. The releases says the suspect then fled in a vehicle and was tracked down by Maryland State Police. The sheriff’s office says the suspect and a trooper were wounded in an exchange of gunfire. Both were being treated for their wounds. News photographs showed a large law enforcement presence, including emergency vehicles, at the scene.
June 9, 2022 3:51 pm
(WPXI) – Crews worked Thursday to rescue two people after they became trapped in a chocolate tank at an M&M/Mars factory in central Pennsylvania, according to multiple reports. Officials confirmed a rescue mission began shortly before two-thirty. Lancaster County dispatchers told PennLive.com that two people fell into the tank at the facility just after 1:50 p.m. They were not hurt but could not get out on their own. First responders had to to cut a hole into the tank to free them. Dispatchers told PennLive.com that the tank had some chocolate in it at the time of the incident. The chocolate was believed to be about waist-high.
