September 28, 2021 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Homicides in the U.S. in 2020 increased nearly 30% over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. That’s according to figures released Monday by the agency. Homicides and non-negligent manslaughters climbed an estimated 29.4% to 21,570, an increase of 4,901 over 2019, FBI data showed. It is the highest estimated total since the early 1990s, when homicides stayed above 23,000 a year as drug wars played out in many places in the U.S. Other crimes, including property offenses, robbery and rape, dropped in 2020.
September 28, 2021 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The top U.S. military officer has called the 20-year war in Afghanistan a “strategic failure.” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also has acknowledged to Congress that he had favored keeping several thousand troops in the country to prevent a collapse of the U.S.-supported Kabul government and a rapid takeover by the Taliban. Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee pointed to Milley’s testimony on Tuesday as evidence that President Joe Biden had been untruthful last month when he suggested the military had not urged him to keep troops in Afghanistan. Milley refused to say what advice he gave Biden.
September 28, 2021 4:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican senators have blocked a bill to keep the U.S. government funded and allow borrowing. But Democrats determined to avoid a federal shutdown say they will try again this week. All this as Democrats also press ahead on President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy agenda. The tangled efforts Monday are not necessarily linked. But the fiscal year-end deadline to fund government operations past Thursday is up against the Democrats’ desire to make progress on Biden’s $3.5 trillion federal government overhaul. Republicans reject Biden’s package as too big. And they won’t vote for more borrowing to pay past debts.
September 28, 2021 3:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Legislation that has cleared a Pennsylvania House committee would give school districts the authority to decide whether student athletes must wear masks while playing. The Republican-controlled committee approved the measure on a party-line vote. It would give “exclusive authority” to schools, recreational clubs and similar groups to set masking policy for youth athletes. Republican state lawmakers have promised to mount a legislative response to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s statewide mask mandate for schools. But so far, there has been no movement by the GOP on a wider mask mandate bill. The Wolf administration’s masking order already exempts youth athletes from having to cover their faces during practice or games.
September 28, 2021 2:43 am
Pennsylvania State Police say they have arrested a state trooper following a disturbance call Monday morning in Claysville. Police say Trooper Dustin Schumacher is facing felony and misdemeanor charges related to the incident, including aggravated assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Charges were filed by the Troop B Belle Vernon Criminal Investigation Unit. Trooper Schumacher, who is a resident of Claysville, was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Robert Redlinger and transported to Washington County Prison. Bail was set at $5,000. Trooper Schumacher enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in April 2016 and graduated as a member of the 146th cadet class. He is assigned to the patrol section of Troop B, Belle Vernon. Trooper Schumacher has been suspended without pay pending resolution of the criminal charges against him.
September 27, 2021 1:45 pm
UNDATED (AP) – A federal judge says the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan four decades ago can be released unconditionally from the restrictions he’s been living under next year if he remains mentally stable. John Hinckley Jr. was 25 when he attacked the president. Jurors found him not guilty by reason of insanity. Now he’s 66, and he’s been living in Williamsburg, Virginia, since leaving a Washington hospital five years ago. Doctors oversee his medication and therapy. He can’t have a gun. And he can’t travel far without informing his doctors. Hinckley’s lawyer says he no longer poses a threat. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said Monday that he’ll sign off on the plan this week. (Photo: CNN)
September 27, 2021 4:25 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Rolling Stones are touring again, this time without their heartbeat, or at least their backbeat. The legendary rockers relaunched their “No Filter” tour Sunday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis without their drummer of nearly six decades. It was clear from the outset just how much the band members – and the fans – missed Charlie Watts, who died last month at age 80. Early in their first public show without Watts; Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood came to the front of the stage and thanked fans for the outpouring of support, saying this is “the first tour we’ve ever done without him.”
September 27, 2021 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – R. Kelly remained motionless with his eyes downcast as the guilty verdict in his sex trafficking trial was read in federal court in New York City. A jury of seven men and five women convicted the R&B superstar Monday on a racketeering charge after a trial in which several accusers testified he subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. Kelly was also convicted of counts accusing him of violating a law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for immoral purposes. Kelly was accused of running a Chicago-based criminal enterprise that recruited his accusers for unwanted sex and mental torment. (Photo: CNN)
September 27, 2021 4:23 am
MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Sam is a powerful Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean, but forecasters said late Sunday that it had peaked in intensity. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sam was centered about 850 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. Forecasters say there will be some fluctuations in strength over the next day or so, followed by a slow weakening. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. However, swells from Hurricane Sam could cause dangerous rip current conditions off the coast of the Lesser Antilles early this week.
September 27, 2021 4:22 am
JOPLIN, Mont. (AP) – Investigators are seeking the cause for the weekend derailment of an Amtrak train in far northern Montana that killed three people. Seven people remained hospitalized Sunday but were in stable condition. The Empire Builder train was westbound when the derailment occurred about 4 p.m. Saturday just outside the tiny community of Joplin. Nearby residents rushed to the scene to help first responders attend to the roughly 160 passengers and crew. National Transportation Safety Board investigators are looking into the cause of the accident, which occurred near a switch on the tracks. The Empire Builder runs between Chicago and Seattle.
