June 2, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration says children under 5 may be able to get their first COVID-19 vaccination doses as soon as June 21, if federal regulators authorize shots for the age group as expected. White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning Thursday for the last remaining ineligible age group to get shots. He says the Food and Drug Administration’s outside panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to evaluate the Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids. Shipments to doctors’ offices and pediatric care facilities would begin soon after FDA authorization, with the first shots possible the following week.
June 2, 2022 4:20 am
(AP) – Police say a man who blamed his surgeon for ongoing pain after a recent back surgery bought an AR-style rifle hours before opening fire at a Tulsa medical office, killing the surgeon and three other people before fatally shooting himself. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin identified the shooter as 45-year-old Michael Louis. He says the gunman had recently undergone back surgery and had called a clinic repeatedly complaining of pain. Franklin says the doctor who performed the surgery, Dr. Preston Phillips, was killed Wednesday, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and patient William Love.
June 2, 2022 4:18 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A suburban Philadelphia man charged in the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol after he was turned in by an ex-girlfriend he reportedly insulted has pleaded guilty to a felony count. Richard Michetti, 29, of Ridley Park pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Washington to a charge of aiding and abetting obstruction of an official proceeding. He was originally also charged with trespassing, violent entry and disorderly conduct. FBI authorities said a former romantic partner of Michetti alerted authorities about his presence a day after the riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Officials allege he sent her a text saying several hours after the siege began “If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron.”
June 2, 2022 4:10 am
A Donora woman facing homicide and possession felony charges pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Kisiah Thomas, 25 avoided conviction on the homicide charge and was sentenced on possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy possession felony charges. She and her roommate Bryan Harris were involved in the shooting of Brandon Harrison at their front door in December of 2020. Harris, earlier this year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession felonies and is serving 4-8 years in state prison. Thomas received a sentence of 11 ½ months to 23 months on the drug charges. She was released from the Washington County jail and sentenced to parole for the remainder of her sentence. She will also serve two years probation.
June 2, 2022 2:39 am
The recount has begun in Washington County in the GOP race for an open U.S. Senate Seat in Pennsylvania. As of Friday, in the too-close-to-call Republican primary contest, there were barely 900 votes separating Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick. Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander says this isn’t exactly an ordinary recount. She says they will be separting the Democrat and Republican ballots and will only be counting Republican ballots. That includes absentee and mail-in ballots as well. For less populated counties, the process could take a day. More heavily populated counties say they will need several days. As for Washington County, Ostrander is ballparking two days to finish. Counties have until June 7th to finish a recount and another day to report results to the state.
June 1, 2022 2:55 pm
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A grand jury has charged the white 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket with domestic terrorism motivated by hate and 10 counts of first-degree murder. Payton Gendron, who has been in custody since the May 14 shooting, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Erie County Court. Gendron had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, which also injured three people. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors told a judge May 20 the grand jury had voted to indict Gendron but was continuing its investigation.
June 1, 2022 2:53 pm
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) – A jury has ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Heard before and during their brief marriage. The jury also found in favor of Heard, who said she was defamed by Depp’s lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax. Jury members found Depp should be awarded $15 million in damages, while Heard should receive $2 million. Depp sued Heard for libel in Virginia over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.
June 1, 2022 2:50 pm
WESTMORELAND, Pa. (AP) – A man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to criminal homicide and other charges in a three-day crime spree in western Pennsylvania that included the ambush and murder of a couple in their driveway. The Tribune-Review reports that 54-year-old Victor Steban of North Huntingdon pleaded guilty Wednesday in Westmoreland County to more than 30 criminal charges in seven separate cases including the May 2021 deaths of 40-year-old Jacob Erdeljac and 27-year-old Mara Casale in Penn Township. Prosecutors dropped plans to seek the death penalty in exchange for the pleas. The Tribune-Review reports that Steban was sentenced to two life terms and concurrent sentences totaling 46 to 96 years.
June 1, 2022 1:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration foresees unnecessary deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of dollars more to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the push to provide the money is in limbo in Congress. It’s the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s already stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Biden’s request for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has run into opposition from Republicans. And the GOP has complicated the election-year fight by fusing it with the politically precarious issue of immigration. If the issue isn’t resolved soon, the next best chance of handling it may not come until the fall.
June 1, 2022 1:14 pm
PIGEON KEY, Fla. (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard says a woman from Illinois was killed and two young children injured when a sudden storm prompted a boat captain to cut loose their parasail in the Florida Keys. The inflated parasail then dragged the three tourists across the ocean and slammed them into a bridge. The trio was airborne and tethered to a speedboat when a sudden storm blew in. The winds were so strong that the boat below was being dragged, so the captain cut the line. They hit the water but the inflated parasail dragged them across the surface until they slammed into Old Seven Mile Bridge. A fishing guide raced to rescue them, but the 33-year-old woman from Schaumburg, Illinois was dead by the time they reached the dock. Her 10-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew were taken to hospitals.
