April 10, 2022 8:08 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — In the days after a group of West Point cadets on spring break were sickened by fentanyl-laced cocaine at a South Florida house party, community activists sprang into action. They blitzed beaches, warned spring breakers of a surge in recreational drugs cut with the dangerous synthetic opioid and offered an antidote for overdoses, which have risen nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Street teams stood under the blistering sun, handing out beads, pamphlets and samples of naloxone, a drug known by the brand name Narcan, which can revive overdose victims. Teams pull up to Fort Lauderdale beach in a brightly colored mobile clinic van. They walk the sidewalks that run parallel to the beach, across the main drag from the bustling oceanfront clubs and restaurants.
April 10, 2022 8:06 am
PARIS (AP) — French citizens flocked to polling stations across the country Sunday to vote in the first round of the country’s presidential election, where up to 48 million eligible voters will be choosing between 12 candidates. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second five-year term, but faces a strong challenge from the far right. Polls close at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) in most places and an hour later in some larger cities. By noon, just over a quarter of France’s electorate had cast their ballot, slightly down from previous elections. France operates a manual system for elections: Voters are obliged to cast ballots in person, and they are hand-counted once voting closes. Unless someone gets more than half of the nationwide vote, there will be a second and decisive round between the top two candidates on Sunday, April 24. Bundled up against an April chill, voters lined up to cast ballots at one polling station in southern Paris on Sunday before it opened. Once inside, they placed their paper ballots into envelopes and then into a transparent box, many wearing masks or using hand gel as part of COVID-19 measures.
April 10, 2022 8:05 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis opened Holy Week Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.” Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the first time since the pandemic, Pope Francis called for “weapons to be laid down to begin an Easter truce, not to reload weapons and resume fighting, no! A truce to reach peace through real negotiations.” Francis did not refer directly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the reference was clear, and he has repeatedly denounced the war and the suffering brought to innocent civilians. During the traditional Sunday blessing following Palm Sunday Mass, the pontiff said leaders should be “willing to make some sacrifices for the good of the people.” “In fact, what a victory would that be, who plants a flag under a pile of rubble?” During his Palm Sunday homily, the pontiff denounced “the folly of war” that leads people to commit “senseless acts of cruelty.”
April 10, 2022 8:04 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is targeting all of Europe with its invasion of Ukraine, and stopping Moscow’s aggression is essential for the security of all democracies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as Russian forces prepared for battle in the east of his country. Addressing the “free people of a brave country,” Zelenskyy said in a late night video message to Ukrainians that Russia’s war aim “was not intended to be limited to Ukraine alone” and the “entire European project is a target.” “That is why it is not just the moral duty of all democracies, all the forces of Europe, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace,” he said. ”This is, in fact, a strategy of defense for every civilized state.” His address came as civilians continued to flee eastern parts of the country before an expected onslaught and emergency workers searched for survivors in towns north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, that are no longer occupied by Russian forces.
April 10, 2022 8:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s crowded Senate primary, ending months of jockeying for Trump’s support. Trump says in a statement that his decision is “all about winning elections” as he backs the celebrity heart surgeon best known as the host of daytime TV’s “The Dr. Oz Show.” Trump had previously endorsed Sean Parnell in the race, but Parnell withdrew amid allegations of abuse from his estranged wife. Oz was competing for Trump’s endorsement against former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, whose wife, Dina Powell, served in Trump’s administration. Trump is calling Oz “smart” and “tough.”
April 10, 2022 4:39 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Virginia truck driver who struck and killed another truck driver while tending to his disabled truck on Interstate 70 last year has been sentenced to jail. Hosea Holcomb, 28 was found guilty of striking and killing John Isenberg of Ohio back in late January. Video testimony showed Holcomb falling asleep at the wheel of his truck and swerving between lanes of traffic and the shoulder of the road before striking Isenberg in January of 2021. Holcomb did not stop after the accident and was pulled over by state police roughly 10 miles further east on Interstate 70. Holcomb is guilty of felony homicide by vehicle and accident causing death. He was also found guilty of four other summary offenses. Judge Gary Gilman sentenced Holcomb 3 1/2 to 7 years in jail for the incident. Reports say Holcomb was sorry for killing Isenberg and causing so much grief for the family, but still claimed that he was not aware of hitting Isenberg at the time of the incident. Holcomb’s lawyer says they will appeal the case.
April 10, 2022 4:20 am
WEST PIKE RUN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Fredericktown teen was killed in a single vehicle crash in West Pike Run Township on Friday. According to a release from the Washington County Coroner’s office, 13-year-old Jayden Anderson was the front seat passenger of the car, when the driver failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of the vehicle near the 100 block of Sunset Drive late Friday afternoon. Anderson was ejected from the vehicle and was transported to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital. He died in the emergency room at 5:53 p.m. The release says that the driver and another occupant were transported to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. None of the other identities were released. Responding to the scene included crews from Ambulance and Chair Service, Brownsville Ambulance, UPMC Paramedic Response, Bentleyville Fire Department and Richeyville Fire Department. This crash is now under investigation by Pennsylvania State Police. A GoFundMe page has been created for Anderson’s family following his death. (Photo: GoFundMe)
April 10, 2022 1:24 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Dwayne Haskins was working on a second chapter for his young NFL career. The 24-year-old quarterback was spending time with some teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers, getting ready to compete for a starting job. That’s when his life was cut short. Haskins was killed early Saturday morning when he was hit by a dump truck while he was walking on a South Florida highway. Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Indiana Miranda said Haskins was pronounced dead at the scene. “He was attempting to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 when there was oncoming traffic,” Miranda said in an emailed statement. Miranda didn’t say why Haskins was on the highway at the time. The accident caused the highway to be shut down for several hours, and Miranda said it’s “an open traffic homicide investigation.” A 2019 first-round draft pick by Washington, Haskins was released by the team after going 3-10 over two seasons. He was signed by Pittsburgh as a developmental QB, but he didn’t appear in a game last season. Haskins appeared to be in South Florida this week with several teammates, including fellow quarterback Mitch Trubisky, running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
April 9, 2022 11:53 am
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s Democratic has vetoed a Republican-backed measure to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The bill also would regulate the dispensing of abortion pills. Gov. Andy Beshear issued the veto Friday. He raised doubts about the bill’s constitutionality. And he criticized it for not including exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Lawmakers will have a chance to override the veto when they reconvene next week. The abortion measure won overwhelming support in the GOP-dominated legislature. The state GOP says the veto is the latest example of the governor’s “ideological war” on conservative values.
April 9, 2022 11:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal jury has begun deliberating in the case against a former Virginia police officer charged with storming the U.S. Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. The jury for the trial of former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson deliberated for more than four hours Friday without reaching a verdict. They will resume Monday. One of Robertson’s attorneys conceded that he broke the law when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The lawyer encouraged jurors to convict him of misdemeanor offenses but urged them to acquit Robertson of felony charges that he armed himself with a weapon and stormed the Capitol to overturn the election results.
