July 18, 2023 9:46 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. officials say an American soldier who fled across the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea had been facing military disciplinary actions. Two U.S. officials say Private 2nd Class Travis King had just been released from a South Korean prison where he’d been held on assault charges and was facing military disciplinary actions in the U.S. King was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, but left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border. At a Pentagon press conference, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not name King, but confirmed that a U.S. service member was likely in North Korean custody.
July 18, 2023 9:45 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump made the claim in a post on his Truth Social platform. He said he received the target letter on Sunday night. Such a letter can precede an indictment; Trump got one ahead of being charged last month in a separate investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.
July 18, 2023 5:12 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have shot down 25 exploding drones and six cruise missiles from a pre-dawn Russian attack on the port of Odesa. The attack came a day after Moscow broke off a deal that had allowed Kyiv to ship vital grain supplies from the Black Sea city during the war. Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday the Russians first sought to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses with the drones and then targeted Odesa with six Kalibr cruise missiles. Ukrainian military’s Southern Command says all six missiles were shot down by air defenses but their debris and shock waves damaged some port facilities and a few residential buildings, injuring an elderly man at his home.
July 18, 2023 5:09 am
ST. JOSEPH. Mo. (AP) — The Powerball jackpot rose yet again to an estimated $1 billion after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. No ticket for Monday’s drawing matched the white balls 5, 8, 9, 17, 41 and red Powerball 21. The estimated jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing would be the third highest in U.S. history. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $1 billion paid out in yearly increments or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 38 consecutive drawings.
July 18, 2023 5:06 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix’s relentless streak of dangerously hot days is finally poised to smash a record for major U.S. cities on Tuesday, the 19th straight day the desert city is to see temperatures soar to 110 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Nighttime has offered little relief from the brutal temperatures. Phoenix’s low of 95 on Monday was its highest overnight low ever, toppling the previous record of 93 set in 2009. It was the eighth straight day of temperatures not falling below 90, another record. The length of Phoenix’s heat wave is notable even during a summer in which much of the southern United States and the world as a whole has been cooking in record temperatures.
July 18, 2023 5:01 am
WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — Extreme weather conditions enveloped the U.S. Monday as the East Coast recovered from flooding, sizzling temperatures beset the West and several northern states contended with unsafe air quality from Canadian wildfires. In Pennsylvania, emergency crews are still searching for a missing 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, whose family car was swept away in a weekend deluge. Meanwhile, Death Valley in California is flirting with record-high temperatures that could reach a staggering 125 degrees Monday. And finally, the Environmental Protection Agency says extensive swaths of the northern United States are experiencing unhealthy air quality as smoke from Canada’s wildfires pushes the air quality index into the red zone.
July 18, 2023 4:58 am
NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – State Police have released new information about a fatal bicycle accident in Fayette County last week. According to Police, the crash happened on July 12 at 3:14 p.m. at the intersection of Pittsburgh and Hickory roads in North Union Township. Prevail Hall, 36, was riding her bike on Hickory Road when she tried to cross Pittsburgh Road without yielding to oncoming traffic, state police said. A 2014 Buick Verano hit Hall. The driver did stop. Hall was taken to Uniontown Hospital by EMS where she was pronounced dead, police said.
July 18, 2023 4:53 am
SCOTTDALE, Pa. — (WPXI) – Flames ripped through a garage in Scottdale on Monday evening, causing the roof to collapse. According to Westmoreland County 911, first responders were called to the Keystone Autoworx garage in the 90 block of Orchard Avenue at 7:57 p.m. Most of the fire was knocked down before 9 p.m., but as of 10 p.m., crews remained on scene working on extinguishing hot spots. No injuries have been reported.
July 17, 2023 4:17 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A prosecutor is asking jurors to impose a death sentence on the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, saying Robert Bowers targeted them because of their faith and has never once expressed remorse. Bowers lawyers’ argued Monday that life in prison would be sufficient punishment for the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. Jurors have heard opening statements in the sentencing phase of Bowers’ federal trial. Survivors and family members are testifying about the devastating impact of Bowers’ actions.
July 17, 2023 1:16 pm
WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials say no injuries were reported and there’s no known hazard to the public. The 40-car CSX train, which was operating on tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed around 4:50 a.m. Monday in Whitemarsh Township. CSX said at least 16 cars went off the tracks, but officials later said 15 cars had derailed. Whitemarsh police say silicone pellets were leaking from at least one of them, but they posed no risk to the public. Among the other derailed cars, five contained urea, a liquid fertilizer, and another had tetrachloroethylene, which is used as a dry cleaning agent and metal degreasing solvent. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
