Celebration Held On White House Lawn For Jackson

April 9, 2022 1:25 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s a moment 46 days and more than two centuries in the making. President Joe Biden on Friday will celebrate the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to reach the Supreme Court, marking the pinnacle of her legal career and bringing his political story full circle. As a longtime Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Biden had a front-row seat to some of the most contentious confirmation battles in the court’s history. He also presided over the hearings for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose retirement this summer is clearing the way for Jackson to join the bench.  (Photo:  AP) 

Academy Ousts Will Smith From Oscars For Ten Years

April 9, 2022 1:01 am

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The motion picture academy has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. The move comes after a meeting Friday of the academy’s board of governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions. The academy in a statement called Smith’s actions “unacceptable and harmful.” Smith preemptively resigned from the academy last week during the run-up to the meeting and said he would accept any punishment the academy handed down. The academy also apologized for its handling of the slap and allowing Smith to remain and receive his best actor Oscar for “King Richard.”

Jurors Acquit Two But No Verdict For Two Others

April 8, 2022 4:59 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – Jurors have acquitted two defendants of all charges in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer but couldn’t agree on a verdict for two others. The verdicts were read Friday at the federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were acquitted. The jurors could not agree on verdicts for Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. Croft is from Delaware and the others are from Michigan. Defense attorneys portrayed their clients as weekend warriors, often stoned and prone to wild talk. They said FBI undercover agents and informants tricked the men into agreeing to a conspiracy. Prosecutors entered evidence that the men discussed abducting Whitmer before the FBI sting began.

Mass Shooting Suspect Served Less Time With Cal Law

April 8, 2022 4:26 am

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Officials say a suspect arrested in connection with Sunday’s mass shooting near the California state Capitol would likely still be in prison were it not for corrections officials’ use of sentencing credits authorized by voters in 2016. Smiley Allen Martin was released in February after serving less than half his 10-year sentence. He was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun. The California District Attorneys Association’s executive officer says Martin typically would not have been freed until at least May were it not for earlier release credits.

Russia Acknowledges Significant Troop Losses

April 8, 2022 4:23 am

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged that Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops” during its military operation in Ukraine. Peskov said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it is a huge tragedy for us.” Speaking in an exclusive interview with British broadcaster Sky on Thursday, Peskov also hinted that the operation might be over “in the foreseeable future.” He said that Russian forces were “doing their best to bring an end to that operation.” He said that Moscow hopes that in coming days, in the foreseeable future, “this operation will reach its goals, or we’ll finish it by the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegation.”

Missile Hits Crowded Train Station In Ukraine

April 8, 2022 4:22 am

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – A missile has hit a crowded train station in eastern Ukraine that was an evacuation point for civilians fleeing the war. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least 30 were killed during Friday’s strike. Russia’s Defense Ministry denied it targeted the train station in Kramatorsk, a city in the eastern Donetsk region. But Zelenskyy blamed the Russians for “an evil without limits.” The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said about 4,000 civilians were in and around the station, most of them women and children heeding calls to leave the area before Russian forces arrived. After failing to take Ukraine’s capital and withdrawing from northern Ukraine, Russia has shifted its troops and focus to eastern Ukraine.

Details Released Into Gunfight That Killed Officer

April 8, 2022 4:14 am

A prosecutor is releasing details of a gunfight that killed a police lieutenant in Pennsylvania and injured two other officers last week. Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said Thursday that the 34-year-old suspect broke into his stepfather’s home in Lebanon and opened fire on responding officers. Graf says Travis Shaud shot and killed Lt. William Lebo and injured two other officers. She says Shaud was killed by return fire. Authorities had not previously revealed who shot whom in the chaos. Lebo was a 40-year veteran of the force and was only a month away from retirement. His funeral is Friday. His widow says she forgives the gunman.

Senate Candidate McCormick Visits Washington County

April 8, 2022 4:10 am

Republican candidate for Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick visited Washington County on Thursday. He toured a natural gas drilling site so that he could get a deeper understanding of how to “unleash the power of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry”. McCormick met with a small group of supporters after the tour at the The Washington Brewing Company. He spoke briefly as to why he wants to run for the senate. His comments centered on increased production of natural gas and streamlining regulatory issues to aid in the construction of pipelines needed to get the gas to processing plants. He spoke to his support of the second amendment and his belief of pro life and education that pushes back on such ideas of critical race theory. McCormick ended his speech with a comment that stated that environmental protection is important but it cannot be the leading force. Economic growth and job security should be able to go hand in hand with environmental protections.

Washington Man Arrested In City Stabbing

April 8, 2022 2:17 am

The investigation continues into a stabbing Wednesday night in the city of Washington. Washington City Police Chief Dan Rush says they have arrested a Washington man in connection with a stabbing outside of the Family Dollar on Wylie Avenue just after eight-thirty. Rush tells WJPA News that Joshua Carr was slashed from his ear lobe to his mouth. The injury, however, according to Rush, is not believed to be life-threatening. Rush says he was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment. According to Rush, the Carr told them he had just come out of the Family Dollar and was called out to by the suspect, 30-year-old Shawn Laschinsky, of Washington. The victim said the two exchanged words and it was shortly after that, when Carr said Laschinsky pulled out a knife and slashed his face. Carr needed 24 stitches for the laceration, according to our news partners at Channel 11. Rush says Laschinsky currently faces a charge of aggravated assault and is being held in the Washington County Jail. Rush says additional charges could be filed.  Rush says Laschinsky was arrested without incident at a home in the 900 block of Jefferson Avenue.

Jobless Claims Stay At Historically Low Levels

April 7, 2022 8:45 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remain at historically low levels. Jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 166,000 for the week ending April 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s number was revised down a whopping 31,000 claims. First-time applications for jobless aid generally represent the pace of layoffs. The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, fell by 8,000 to 170,000 from the previous week’s 178,000. In total, 1,523,000 Americans were collecting jobless aid for the week ending March 26, a level not seen in more than 50 years.