June 25, 2024 4:13 am
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has arrived in Saipan ahead of an expected guilty plea in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will set him free to return home to Australia. The plane carrying the eccentric computer expert and internet publisher touched down more than two hours before the scheduled start of a plea hearing. He is set to admit to a felony for publishing U.S. military secrets under a deal that spares him prison time in America after years spent jailed in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition to America.
June 25, 2024 4:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment about witnesses and jurors in his New York hush money criminal trial but keeping court and prosecution staff off limits. Judge Juan M. Merchan issued his decision on Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers had wanted the gag order fully lifted. They argued there was nothing to justify continued restrictions on Trump’s First Amendment rights after the trial ended May 30 in his conviction for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. Prosecutors had urged Merchan to keep most of the gag order in place at least until Trump is sentenced on July 11, but said they’d be OK with modifying it.
June 25, 2024 4:07 am
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — U.S. citizens jailed in Russia include a Wall Street Journal reporter, a vacationing corporate security executive and a dual national visiting her family in Tatarstan. Arrests of Americans in Russia have become common recently, as relations between Moscow and Washington sink to Cold War lows. The U.S. accuses the government of President Vladimir Putin of targeting Americans for political reasons and using them as bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all have broken the law. Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the U.S., but for others, the prospects of being released in a swap are less clear.
June 25, 2024 5:42 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 550,000 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the transmissions can unexpectedly downshift to first gear no matter how fast the trucks are going. The recall covers certain F-150 pickups from the 2014 model year. Ford says in documents posted Tuesday by U.S. safety regulators that the downshifting can cause drivers to lose control of the trucks, increasing the risk of a crash. Documents say the problem is caused by a lost signal between a transmission speed sensor and the powertrain control computer. There also could be corrosion and problems with connector pins. Dealers will update the power-train control software at no cost to owners, who will be notified by letters in early July.
June 24, 2024 4:05 am
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is one of Donald Trump’s most visible and vocal backers, sprinting around the country to drum up support for the ex-president’s comeback bid while auditioning to be his running mate. But far from the glare of the campaign trail, Burgum is wrestling at home with a mammoth carbon dioxide pipeline project. The $5.5 billion venture has split his state and left him straddling an awkward political divide. Burgum has stood out in the narrowing field of Trump’s potential V.P. choices due to his executive experience, business savvy, and close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs whose money Trump wants to help bankroll his 2024 campaign.
June 24, 2024 3:58 am
Pennsylvania State Police and municipal officers from South Strabane Township, North Strabane Township and Chartiers Township arrested 54 intoxicated drivers as part of a DUI enforcement initiative called “Operation Nighthawk” last weekend. The operation was hosted by state police in Washington. In addition to the intoxicated drivers, it resulted in 35 arrests for controlled substances and six arrests for underage drinking. Police conducted 356 stops and issued 255 citations and 227 warnings for traffic offenses. Three drivers had licenses suspended for previous DUI charges, state police said. In addition to the drug and alcohol charges, police arrested six individuals for misdemeanor offenses, four others for felony crimes and served six with warrants. According to state police, more than 50 law enforcement officers participated in Operation Nighthawk, a specialized and unique two-day training and enforcement program that has proven highly successful at reducing drinking and driving.
June 25, 2024 3:56 am
PennDot has announced plans to close Mingo Church Road (Route 1061) between Keeney Road and Route 88 (Finleyville Rd) beginning July 1. They plan to replace the bridge that carries Mingo Church Road over Froman Run. Aside from the bridge replacement, the approaches to the bridge will be widened and repaved. There is a 6.3 mile detour that will be used as follows.
*Route 1061 Mingo Church Rd
*Route 1059 Sugar Run Rd
*Route 1006 Venetia Rd, Rankintown Rd, Washington Ave
*Route 88 Washington Ave, Brownsville Rd, Finleyville Rd
The $600,000 infrastructure improvement is expected to last through early October.
June 25, 2024 3:54 am
According to AAA, gasoline prices are continuing a downward trend. Prices are two cents lower this week in Western Pennsylvania. AAA’s East Central Gas Price Report states that gas is priced at $3.778 per gallon. In Washington County, drivers are paying a little more at $3791 per gallon. The national average is $3.44 and has been steady over the last week. Increasing supplies and demand that although is increasing, is still behind 2023 levels are recognized as the stabilizing effects. Prices are 16 cents less than last month and 13 cents less than a year ago.
June 24, 2024 4:17 am
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Eastern Ohio residents will learn more Tuesday about the fiery Norfolk Southern train wreck that derailed their lives when the National Transportation Safety Board holds another hearing in their hometown about the disaster last year. The hearing is expected to disclose new findings from the investigation into the February 2023 derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania line. The agency also will make recommendations for averting future derailments. The agency has already said it believes the crash was caused by an overheated bearing on a railcar and that officials didn’t need to blow open five tank cars of vinyl chloride and burn the toxic chemical to prevent an explosion. Congress has yet to act on rail safety reforms proposed after the derailment.
June 24, 2024 6:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will soon confront a perfect storm mostly of its own making: a trio of decisions stemming directly from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Within days of each other, if not hours, the justices are expected to rule on whether Donald Trump has immunity from criminal charges over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and whether Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol can be prosecuted for obstructing an official proceeding. The court also will decide whether former Trump adviser Steve Bannon can stay out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack.
