May 31, 2023 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote. President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy are working to assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent. They are rushing to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default in less than week. Despite deep disappointment from hard-right Republicans that budget cuts don’t go far enough, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes to ensure approval. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the package reduces deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade. Liberal Democrats are upset the deal greenlights a natural gas pipeline development through Appalachia.
May 31, 2023 5:04 am
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to begin his first full day of presidential campaigning with a four-stop blitz through Iowa, trying to prioritize personally connecting with voters while proving he has the mettle to take on former President Donald Trump. DeSantis has appearances in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Pella and Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. He’s packing in early events in the state whose caucus kicks off GOP White House primary voting as part of a leadoff sprint that will eventually take him to 12 cities across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina before Saturday.
May 31, 2023 5:03 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into space failed. Wednesday’s failed launch is a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost his military capabilities. After its unusually quick admission of failure, North Korea vowed to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong. A satellite launch by North Korea is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. South Korea and Japan briefly urged residents to seek shelter during the launch. South Korea’s Defense Ministry released photos of a salvaged white, metal cylinder suspected to be part of the crashed North Korean rocket.
May 31, 2023 5:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Light rail service was impacted at several T stations in Pittsburgh and the South Hills on Tuesday. Service was suspended between the North Side and Gateway stations due to a possible electrical issue. Bus shuttles were called to operate between these two stations. In a separate incident, a PRT spokesperson said it appears that a set of wheels on a rail car came off the track. That car was not in service and no passengers were involved. Single-track operation where in effect between Washington Junction and Private Drive in the South Hills. All Blue and Red line cars will be boarding and alighting passengers from the inbound platform at Washington Junction until further notice.
May 31, 2023 4:56 am
(AP) – Testimony has resumed in the trial of a suburban truck driver charged with carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Carol Black told the federal jury in Pittsburgh on Wednesday about how she and her fellow New Light congregants, including her 65-year-old brother, Richard Gottfried, heard loud noises as they started Sabbath services in the basement of the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. She says they quickly realized it was gunfire and that some of them hid. Black says she watched as the gunman killed an 87-year-old member of her congregation. She found out later that her brother was among the 11 people killed that day. Robert Bowers could get the death penalty if convicted.
May 31, 2023 2:39 am
A North Franklin Township man pleaded guilty to several felony and misdemeanor charges on Monday. Austin Garrett, 21 is accused of felony strangulation and robbery charges and several misdemeanor firearms charges that occurred from February of 2020 through May of 2021. According to police, Garrett punched his girlfriend in the head and face. He also grabbed a 1 month old baby from her, set it aside and then placed his hands around her neck causing her to struggle breathing and lose consciousness in July of 2020. Garrett will spend the next 3-6 years in state prison on the strangulation and robbery charges. He will then spend three years on probation for a person not to possess firearms charge. As part of a robbery sentence Garrett will also pay $300 restitution.
May 31, 2023 2:37 am
A Hopewell Township man requested a jury trial at his plea court hearing on Monday. Briar Chase, 24 is accused of multiple incidents of sexual assault of a juvenile between 2019 and February of 2021. According to police Chase assaulted the victim beginning at the age of 14. When arrested, police found several sexually explicit photos of the victim on Chase’s phone along with text messages to his girlfriend discussing the incidents that occurred in an Independence Township home. The trial is set for September.
May 30, 2023 5:19 pm
BRYAN, Texas (AP) — Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is in custody at the Texas prison where she will spend the next 11 years serving her sentence for overseeing an infamous blood-testing hoax. Holmes entered the minimum-security, federal women’s prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday. The arrival comes more than a year after a jury convicted Holmes on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in January 2022. She was sentenced to prison time in November. (Photo: ABC)
May 30, 2023 5:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most people in the U.S. say the court should allow consideration of race as part of the admissions process. Yet few believe students’ race should play a significant role in those decisions. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 63% say the Supreme Court should not stop colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems. The poll shows little divide along political or racial lines. But people were more likely to say grades and standardized test scores should be significant factors.
May 30, 2023 5:22 am
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Nine people were injured after gunfire erupted along a beach boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida, sending people frantically running for cover along the crowded beach on Memorial Day. A police spokesperson said several of the victims were taken to a children’s hospital. However, authorities have not yet released the ages of the victims or provided details about their conditions. A preliminary investigation shows that an altercation between two groups resulted in gunfire. One person has been detained and another suspect is being still being sought.
