May 2, 2022 4:27 am
BERLIN (AP) – Germany says it’s making progress on weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels and expects to be fully independent of Russian crude oil imports by late summer. Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck says Europe’s largest economy has reduced its share of Russian energy imports to 12% for oil, 8% for coal and 35% for natural gas. He said that means increased costs for the economy and for consumers. But Habeck says the moves “are necessary if we no longer want to be blackmailed by Russia.” Russia last week decided to cut off gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria. The German announcement comes as the European Union considers an embargo on Russian oil. The bloc has already banned Russian coal imports, starting in August.
May 2, 2022 4:26 am
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – The tornado that damaged more than more than 1,000 buildings in south-central Kansas generated winds up to 165 mph and carved a path of destruction nearly 13 miles long. The National Weather Service said the tornado that caused extensive damage Friday mostly in the Wichita suburb of Andover and injured several people rated an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale it uses to assess tornadoes. Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell said that at least 300 to 400 buildings were destroyed by the storm as part of a total of 1,074 buildings that were damaged. The Weather Service said the tornado was on the ground for 21 minutes Friday evening.
May 2, 2022 4:22 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand has begun welcoming back tourists from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions. The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungy jumping and jet-boating. Before the spread of COVID-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for more than 5% of the economy. But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world’s toughest border restrictions. The real test of how much the tourism industry rebounds will come during the Southern Hemisphere summer several months away.
May 2, 2022 4:21 am
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) – The evacuation has begun for civilians holed up at a steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after nearly two months under siege by Russian forces. Local officials said people sheltering elsewhere in the city would also be allowed out on Monday. Video posted by Ukrainian forces showed elderly women and mothers with small children being helped to climb over a steep pile of rubble from the sprawling Azovstal steel plant and eventually onto a bus. Ukraine’s president said more than 100 civilians were expected to arrive in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday. Fighters inside the plant called for the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian fighters as well.
May 2, 2022 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A lawyer for an NFL coach who sued the league over alleged racist hiring practices has told a judge that arbitration is the wrong way to resolve the lawsuit in part because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would be the arbitrator. Attorney Douglas Wigdor said in Manhattan federal court Monday that the league wanted to force “behind closed doors” the claims of Brian Flores and two other Black coaches. It was the first court hearing for a lawsuit Flores filed in February, when he claimed the league was “rife with racism” even as the NFL publicly condemns it. NFL attorney Loretta Lynch said all claims belong in arbitration. Flores was fired in January as head coach by the Miami Dolphins but has since been hired as assistant for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
May 2, 2022 4:14 am
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) – A suspended western Pennsylvania prosecutor has been ordered confined on house arrest as he awaits trial in separate sexual assault and assault cases. A Somerset County judge on Friday revoked bond for 36-year-old Jeffrey Thomas, the county’s elected district attorney, and ordered him to stay at a relative’s home with an electronic ankle monitor. Authorities alleged last week that Thomas was seen on a video call punching a woman as the two rode in a vehicle in May 2021. He was already facing sexual assault and other charges in an alleged attack on a woman in September. A defense attorney says he maintains that he is innocent of all charges.
May 2, 2022 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Runners, organizers, and spectators braved some soggy weather on Sunday morning to celebrate the return of the Pittsburgh Marathon. “[The runners] have trained in tougher weather this year. They’ve trained in snow and sleet and hail,” said race director Troy Schooley. “This has got to be the hardest race I’ve done and from 5Ks to marathons, I’ve probably done a hundred,” added Thomas Rule. Rule is a runner from Johnson City, Tennessee, who completed the half marathon in what was his first visit to Pittsburgh. “I loved it,” he said. “[There was] a lot of enthusiasm, the people were great cheering you on, there was bands, some of the signs that I saw were hilarious. It was just a lot of fun.” Dominican runner Alvaro Abreu took home the crown, completing the full 26.2-mile marathon in 2 hours and 16 minutes. He was among an accomplished field of competitors. “Former Boston Marathon champion, we have three Olympians in town. It was just a great elite field,” said Schooley. This was the first in-person Pittsburgh Marathon since 2019. In total, 30,000 runners competed across all the races this weekend. They represented all 50 states and 12 countries — and brought a big boost to tourism. Next year’s race is scheduled again for the first Sunday of May.
May 2, 2022 2:54 am
Authorities say a California man has been jailed on multiple charges, including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and burglary, following a SWAT standoff Sunday afternoon. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh tells WJPA News that 32-year-old Donte Valentino was taken into custody, following a more than two hour standoff at an apartment in the six-hundred block of American Street. Police say Valentino went to the apartment of a neighbor, Thomas Debreucq and reached through his door, grabbed him by the collar and tried multiple times, to stab him with a butcher’s knife. There was no word on what injuries, if any, Debreucq suffered.
May 2, 2022 2:19 am
The Washington Health System has addressed so-called ‘chatter’ on various social media outlets with a Facebook post of their own. The post is in regards to the Obstetrics Unit at Washington Hospital and the potential ‘abduction of an infant’. The health system says its Police Department and Risk Management Department conducted ‘a several day investigation’ and determined that no immediate threat could be found. Washington Health System is not providing any other specifics and refused any additional comment to WJPA News. The Facebook post says they want to assure the public that the unit is ‘safe and secure’. It also mentions the hospital’s ‘multi-layered, state of the art security system’ that is regularly tested to ‘ensure its effectiveness in a constantly changing environment’.
May 1, 2022 8:14 am
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police arrested a building owner and eight other people Sunday, two days after the structure collapsed, leaving dozens trapped or missing, police and state media said. The official Xinhua News Agency said the building owner was among the arrested. Police in the city of Changsha said they had also arrested three people in charge of design and construction and five others for what they said was a false safety assessment for a guest house on the fourth to sixth floors. A woman was rescued, taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, state broadcaster CCTV said Sunday, bringing the total rescued to six. About 20 remained trapped, and another 39 had not been accounted for as of late Saturday. In photos the building appeared to have pancaked down to about the second floor, leaving rubble strewn on the sidewalk. It had stood in a row of buildings about six stories tall in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. Xinhua said the building had eight floors, including a restaurant on the second floor, a cafe on the third floor and residences on the top two floors. Other media reports said it was a six-story building. Tenants had made structural modifications to the building, but the cause of the collapse remained under investigation, Xinhua said.
