March 20, 2022 7:59 am
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Lagging behind Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, the U.S. Navy is rushing to field its first, with installation on a warship starting as soon as late next year. The United States is in a race with Russia and China to develop these weapons, which travel at speeds akin to ballistic missiles but are difficult to shoot down because of their maneuverability. The Russian military says it already deployed hypersonic missiles and claimed Saturday to have used one for the first time in combat against a target in Ukraine. The Pentagon couldn’t confirm a hypersonic weapon was used in the attack. The American military is accelerating development to catch up. The U.S. weapon would launch like a ballistic missile and would release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would reach speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target. In Maine, General Dynamics subsidiary Bath Iron Works has begun engineering and design work on changes necessary to install the weapon system on three Zumwalt-class destroyers.
March 20, 2022 7:57 am
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russia’s military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the embattled port city of Mariupol, where Ukraine’s president said an unrelenting Russian siege would be remembered for centuries to come. It was the second time in less than a week that city officials reported a public building where residents had taken shelter coming under attack. A bomb hit a Mariupol theater with more than 1,300 believed to be inside on Wednesday, local officials said. There was no immediate word on casualties from the reported strike on the art school, which The Associated Press could not independently verify. Ukrainian officials have not given an update on the search of the theater since Friday, when they said at least 130 had been rescued. Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, has been under bombardment for at least three weeks and has seen some of the worst horrors of the war in Ukraine. At least 2,300 people have died, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves, and food, water and electricity have run low.
March 20, 2022 7:55 am
WASHINGTON DC (WPXI) — A Cranberry man is among the latest person charged for allegedly breaching the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. Jordan Bonenberger reportedly turned himself in Friday morning, and later appeared before a federal judge. Court documents that were unsealed late Friday afternoon claim Bonenberger was caught on camera within the Capitol building. Witnesses reportedly assisted agents in identifying him. According to the criminal affidavit, one tipster who knew Bonenberger “from college-age” saw videos of him on Snapchat, and provided the FBI with his cell phone number. Cell records revealed that Bonenberger’s phone was within the Capitol building for about 15 minutes on Jan. 6, according to court documents. Bonenberger was issued a $10,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Washington D.C. next week.
March 20, 2022 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A big Republican primary field for governor in Pennsylvania is spurring growing discomfort among party leaders that a widely splintered primary vote could produce a winner who cannot beat Democrat Josh Shapiro in November’s general election. Ten Republicans filed paperwork Tuesday to get on the May 17 primary ballot. That is more than party leaders expected and it has propelled them to try to persuade some weaker candidates to drop out. Sam DeMarco, the GOP chairman of Allegheny County, says party leaders don’t want a weak or polarizing candidate for the general election to win the primary election thanks to a splintered primary vote.
March 20, 2022 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Democrat Josh Shapiro is rolling out the first tax proposal of his candidacy for governor. Shapiro said Friday he would use surplus state cash and federal pandemic aid to eliminate 11% state taxes on cell phone bills, send payments to car-owning households and expand Pennsylvania’s rent and property tax rebate program. Shapiro’s plan comes out as high gas prices have made cutting gas taxes a hot topic. Shapiro says households could get a $250 payment for each passenger vehicle. Shapiro’s proposal to expand the property tax and rent rebate program would roughly triple the cost, by an estimated $424 million, and possibly expand the number of applicants by about 60%.
March 20, 2022 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Eight locks and dams in southwestern Pennsylvania that for decades helped barges move goods along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers could in a few years also generate enough hydropower for 75,000 homes. A Boston-based hydropower company is retrofitting the dams with turbines to generate electricity and says the upgraded structures will limit damage to the rivers’ water quality and fish. As the U.S. pushes to transition to low-carbon energy, some companies see an opportunity to expand hydropower generation at existing dams while minimizing environmental harms. It reflects a surprising alliance that has emerged between the industry and conservation groups.
March 20, 2022 3:18 am
The Burgettstown man charged with killing his six month old baby will face trial on homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment felony charges. Joshua George, 30 had his preliminary hearing on Friday and all of his charges were held for court. Nearly two hours of testimony from five witnesses implicated George as the person responsible for causing a multitude of injuries suffered by his son Oliver on December 30th of last year. Dr. Adelaide Eichman, a children’s advocate at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh testified that medical records from Oliver’s intake to the hospital found a skull fracture, bruising of an ear and eyes and retinal hemorrhaging. According to Eichman, all of these injuries are consistent with excessive child abuse and abusive head trauma. The district attorney then called on several family witnesses including the mother to trace the chain of custody of Oliver from the time the mother left the baby with his father to go to work until he wound up at Weirton Hospital and then Children’s Hospital. George’s defense attorney indicates that the chain of custody will be what clears his client when his trial is settled. George remains in the Washington County Jail without bond. He will be arraigned on April 28th.
March 19, 2022 6:51 am
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has ruled out providing military aid to Ukraine but says his country, a NATO ally, will continue to provide humanitarian assistance. “Being so close to the conflict, right now I have to say that currently we will not be able to send military assistance to Ukraine. This will not be possible,” Petkov said Saturday at a news conference in the Bulgarian capital with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Bulgaria, which does not border Ukraine but has received thousands of refugees, has agreed to host a new contingent of NATO troops as part of the alliance’s push to reinforce its eastern flank. That contingent includes about 150 U.S. Army infantry soldiers.
March 19, 2022 4:26 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal labor board says a second Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island will have a union election in April. In-person voting will be held at the facility known as LDJ5 every day from April 25-29, except for April 26. The count is expected to occur on May 2. Amazon already faces another in-person union vote March 25-30 at JFK8, a separate Staten Island warehouse neighboring LDJ5. An organization called the Amazon Labor Union is leading the union effort at both warehouses. Employees at a company warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, are also currently casting mail ballots for another union election.
March 19, 2022 4:25 am
About three dozen would-be asylum seekers from Russia were blocked from entering the U.S. while a group of Ukrainians flashed passports and were escorted across the border. The scene Friday reflected a quiet but unmistakable shift in disparate treatment of Russians and Ukrainians who enter Mexico as tourists and fly to Tijuana, hoping to enter the U.S. for a chance at asylum. A U.S Homeland Security Department memo tells border officials that Ukrainians may be exempt from sweeping asylum limits designed to prevent spread of COVID-19. It makes no mention of Russians.
