April 24, 2023 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jury selection has begun in the federal death penalty trial of a truck driver accused of shooting to death 11 Jewish worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Robert G. Bowers, from the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, faces 63 counts in the Oct. 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life synagogue, where members of three Jewish congregations were holding Sabbath activities. U.S. District Judge Robert Colville thanked prospective jurors at the start of Monday’s proceedings. If convicted, Bowers could get the death sentence. The 50-year-old offered to plead guilty in return for a life sentence, but federal prosecutors turned him down.
April 24, 2023 4:07 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court has turned down a request by 30 news organizations to lift the gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The unanimous court did not weigh in on whether the gag order violates the First Amendment rights of a free press, but instead said the news organizations should have first brought the request to the magistrate judge handling the criminal case. Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths in Moscow, Idaho. The gag order prohibits the attorneys, prosecutor’s office, law enforcement officials and others involved with the case from talking to the news media.
April 24, 2023 2:30 am
The Shapiro Administration congratulated California Area School District on being named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of their environmental sustainability efforts. Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin says that “Green Ribbon Schools demonstrate a committment to promoting environmental awareness and education in the classroom, equipping future generations with the knowledge and tools they need to live sustainable, environmentally conscious lives.” California Area School District’s commitment to environmental and educational efforts extends beyond the district, coordinating activities between the district and local partners that reduce environmental impact, energy use and food waste, conserve water, introduce environmentally friendly transportation and increase recycling.
April 23, 2023 7:33 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said late Saturday that the U.S. military evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel in Sudan has been completed as he called for end to the “unconscionable” violence. Biden thanked the U.S. troops who carried out the mission to extract American staffers in Sudan, as Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely. The staffers were airlifted to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the mission. U.S. troops carried out the operation as fighting between two armed Sudanese rivals —which has left more than 400 dead, put the nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders—moved into a second week.
April 23, 2023 7:28 am
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion for all families and battling racism. Barbara Cooper was forced out as head of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education after Ivey expressed concern over the distribution of the book to state-run pre-kindergartens. A spokesperson for Ivey identified the book as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition.
April 23, 2023 7:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two shootings in Washington, D.C., on Friday night resulted in eight people, including a young girl, suffering injuries. The Metropolitan Police Department says there were no fatalities and none of the injuries were life-threatening in the two shootings, which could be related because they occurred in the same area of the city in a short time frame. Police say seven men suffered gunshot wounds around 10 p.m. on Lebaum Street. Assistant Chief Andre Wright says the shooters on Lebaum Street drove through the block and indiscriminately fired upon people. While police were at the scene, a 12-year-old girl was shot and wounded in her “lower extremities” on nearby 2nd Street. Wright says a possible motive for the shootings was not immediately known.
April 23, 2023 7:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) — TV personalities Gayle King and Charles Barkley will headline a new prime-time weekly CNN show. The network made the announcement Saturday. A statement from CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht says the show titled “King Charles” will exemplify an exciting new way to deliver “culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities.” The show will debut in the fall. Licht said King will continue to anchor ”CBS Mornings.” Former NBA star Barkley will continue his current role at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. The announcement comes as CNN tries to engineer a turnaround amid falling ratings.
April 23, 2023 7:13 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — One of the most important munitions of the Ukraine war comes from a historic factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steel rods are brought in by train to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant to be forged into the artillery shells Kyiv can’t get enough of. The plant is at the vanguard of a multibillion-dollar Pentagon plan to modernize and accelerate its production of ammunition and equipment. It is one of just two sites in the U.S. that make the steel bodies for the 155 mm howitzer rounds that the U.S. is rushing to Ukraine. The lack of 155 mm shells has alarmed U.S. military planners, who see it as a critical shortage.
April 23, 2023 7:10 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa.-(WPXI)-A representative from Kennywood Park says that four teenagers are expected to face criminal charges after trying to gain entrance by climbing a fence. Police in the park were alerted to the teens trying to get into the park by climbing over the fence at around 2 p.m. Kennywood says their new camera system with AI technology was what spotted the group trying to get in. Three of the teens were arrested and will face charges. Kennywood says the fourth person will be charged with trespassing. All four of them will be banned from the park. “The safety and security of our guests and team members is our top priority. We are pleased that our enhanced security procedures, including enhancements to our perimeter, new technology and increased police presence enabled us to immediately detect and apprehend those responsible,” Kennywood said in a statement. The upgrades to the system came after three people were shot and injured inside Kennywood in September 2022.
April 23, 2023 7:06 am
Prior to a civil lawsuit being filed in Washington County Common Pleas Court, a Peters Township attorney was granted an injunction. Jeffery Wertz filed a lawsuit making claims that attorney client privileged conversations he had with his clients were inappropriately recorded and the recordings were handed over to the district attorney. In an April 4, 2023 motion, a judge granted an injunction against Inmate Calling Solutions, LLC, The County of Washington, The Prison Board of Washington County and Washington County Correctional Facility Warden Jeffery Fewell. The injunction states that no phone call may be intercepted or recorded nor any mail be intercepted of copied between Wertz and his clients while he is attorney of record. Wertz proceeded to file that lawsuit against the same parties on April 17. In a text exchange, Washington County Commissioner Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughn acknowledged the injunction and referred to earlier statements she issued about the lawsuit indicating that “all policies were followed and that there was no wrong doing on behalf of Washington County.” Irey-Vaughn’s statement went on to describe the situation as “nothing more than theatrics and meritless nonsense.”
