April 9, 2024 2:59 pm
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court says the state can enforce its long-dormant law criminalizing all abortions except when a mother’s life is at stake. The ruling examined whether the state is still subject to a law that predates Arizona’s statehood. The 1864 law provides no exceptions for rape or incest, but allows abortions if a mother’s life is in danger. The state’s high court ruling reviewed a 2022 decision by the state Court of Appeals that said doctors couldn’t be charged for performing the procedure in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
April 9, 2024 5:17 am
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The parents of a Michigan school shooter have each been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for failing to take steps that could have prevented the killing of four students in 2021. Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. They were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors presented evidence of an unsecured gun at home and indifference toward Ethan Crumbley’s mental health. The 15-year-old pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot up the school. He was allowed to stay in school despite the discovery of a violent drawing earlier that day. The shooter is serving a life prison sentence.
April 9, 2024 9:33 am
Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company said Tuesday that the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.
April 9, 2024 5:36 pm
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland senator says a third channel will open this month at Baltimore’s port after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse two weeks ago. Sen. Ben Cardin also said Tuesday that the state’s congressional delegation will sponsor legislation seeking federal aid to pay the entire cost of a new bridge. Cardin said it is hoped that the entire channel for the Port of Baltimore will be reopened by the end of May. Cardin also said he will be leading an effort to introduce legislation clarifying that federal funds will be used to pay for the replacement. (Photo: AP)
April 9, 2024 4:56 am
Peters Township Council spent nearly 90 minutes in a public hearing, listening to opinions from residents and a land owner over a proposed zoning change for a property located along E. McMurray Road, adjacent to fire station number one. Andrew Zahalsky owns two parcels of land that are zoned as a mixed residential overlay. On one parcel he would like to develop a senior care facility. On the second, he would like to develop a neighborhood with 80-90 townhomes. It is the townhome property that the township wishes to rezone. At issue is the recent finding that five residential lots exist at the front of the property and Zahalsky does not wish to consolidate those lots into the bigger lot. County tax maps and township maps did not identify these lots when the property was rezoned to its current status in the mid 2010s. The half acre lots were subdivided in 1959. It was that reluctance to consolidate and a disagreement on funding of a traffic signal that has caused an impasse in development plans. The township questions the ability for a traffic light installation if the consolidation does not take place. Zahalsky presented new plans to the township on Monday morning. He was represented by an attorney that has been retained only in the last week. Public opinion was in favor of the rezoning, citing traffic and safety concerns. Zahalsky is claiming spot zoning issues. The public meeting was continued until April 22 to allow three absent council members the time to study the testimony. Council will close the meeting in two weeks and possibly vote on the measure that same night.
April 9, 2024 5:00 am
No injuries are reported after fire crews battled a house fire in Union Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it broke out at a vacant home along Houston Run Road early Tuesday morning. There is no word on the cause of the fire.
April 9, 2024 5:11 am
State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving two motorcycles and an SUV late Monday night in Westmoreland County. The Washington County Coroner’s office says it happened just before 9 p.m. in the 100-block of Fellsburg Road in Rostraver Township. According to the report, the crash was witnessed by a State Trooper. 24-year-old Camden Ellin of Rostraver was pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Monongahela Valley Hospital just before 10 p.m. A cause and manner of death are pending. The other motorcyclist involved, 25-year-old Joshua Sethman was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with suspected serious injuries. The female driver of the SUV is identified as 18-year-old Gracie Lynch suffered minor injuries and was transported to Jefferson Hospital. Uniontown State Police are handling the investigation.
April 9, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Efforts to ban TikTok from government devices have picked up steam in the past year in state legislatures and Congress even as politicians continue to use it to connect with and expand their base. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a prolific poster, but legislation seeking to ban the app from state networks and devices could reach his desk soon. Researchers say using social media to connect with constituents has a long history. And it’s largely Democrats having the internal debate about using TikTok while weighing a significant ban over security concerns. A TikTok spokesman said there is “no regard for the facts” when bills like this are pushed through.
April 9, 2024 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is urging the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The brief from prosecutors was submitted just over two weeks before the justices will take up the legally untested question of whether an ex-president is shielded from criminal charges for official actions taken in the White House. The outcome of the April 25 arguments is expected to help determine whether Trump faces trial this year in a four-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to block the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
April 9, 2024 5:15 am
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade Rafah. In a video statement Monday, he declared: “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has insisted on sending troops into Rafah, saying the city on the Egyptian border is Hamas’ last stronghold. However, this has raised international alarm over the fate of the around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.
