March 9, 2023 4:21 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has unleashed a massive rocket attack that hit critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions of Ukraine. Officials reported at least six deaths Thursday in the largest such night-time attack in three weeks. described the barrage that came while people slept as an attempt by Moscow “to intimidate Ukrainians again.” The onslaught came as the war largely ground to a battlefield stalemate over the winter. The Kremlin’s forces started targeting Ukraine’s power supply last October in an apparent attempt to demoralize the civilian population. The barrages became less frequent, with analysts speculating Russia may have been running low on ammunition. The last massive barrage took place on Feb. 16.
March 9, 2023 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Lawyers for the districts that won a landmark school funding court case in Pennsylvania say that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal falls short of the money commitments that are needed to help the state’s poorest districts. Their criticism is being echoed in reactions from progressive groups and public school advocates that say the Democrat’s first response to the court ruling was lacking. On Wednesday, Shapiro said the budget should be viewed as a “two-step process” that includes the new budget plan and then, next year, when he returns with his second budget plan.
March 9, 2023 4:18 am
(AP) – Another Norfolk Southern train derailed Thursday, this time in Calhoun County, Alabama, around 6:45 a.m. local time in the Quad Cities area of White Planes. It is estimated that 30 cars derailed, but no one was hurt and there were no hazardous materials leaked, but there is no indication as to what caused the train cars to leave the track. The train cars were empty and crews quickly responded to clear the wreckage. This is the third Norfolk Southern train that has derailed since last month. One derailed on Saturday on its way to Birmingham, Alabama. A train derailed on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, and that train was carrying hazardous materials which burned for days, forcing the evacuation of the surrounding community. The latest derailment came as a hearing was being held in the Senate where Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw apologized for the derailment and offered millions of dollars to the Ohio community to help it recover from the wreck.
March 9, 2023 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nominees for attorney general and state police commissioner received unanimous approval from the Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate. Wednesday’s vote confirmed Michelle Henry to be attorney general and fill the last two years of Shapiro’s elected four-year term in that office. The 54-year-old Henry was Shapiro’s top deputy for all six years while he served as attorney general. Before that, she was a career prosecutor from Bucks County. The new state police commissioner is Col. Christopher Paris, a lawyer and career state police trooper. He rose through the ranks of the state police in northeastern Pennsylvania to become one of four area operations commanders.
March 9, 2023 4:13 am
A California woman who, with her husband furnished liquor to minors and allowed them to play with a hand gun pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Trisha Jackson, 40 pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and terroristic threats charges for her role in an incident that occurred at their home in September. Jackson will receive a sentence of time served to 23 months on the corruption of minors charge. She will serve two years of probation after that on the terroristic threats charge. According to police the Jacksons were arrested after a witness videoed the account and called police. Trisha Jackson then threatened the neighbor and became violent in the police car. Her husband Jeremy earlier pleaded guilty to child endangerment and corruption of minors charges. Jackson was released from the Washington County Jail directly to the Crisis Stabilization/Diversion Unit where she will be medically supervised for mental health evaluation and treatment.
March 8, 2023 4:43 pm
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads have announced a number of steps they are taking to improve safety in the wake of last month’s fiery Ohio derailment. It’s not clear, however, that the actions they announced Wednesday will be enough to satisfy regulators and members of Congress who are pushing for changes. Many of the proposals from the Association of American Railroads trade group focus on strengthening the network of trackside detectors the railroads use to spot problems before they can cause derailments. The group proposes installing roughly 1,000 more of them nationwide and tweaking the way railroads use the data from them.
March 8, 2023 1:49 pm
(WPXI) – The two men who were killed inside a Uniontown bar early Wednesday morning have been identified. Authorities say 32-year-old Darrell Gregg and 28-year-old Tommy Stargell, Jr. were shot around 12:30 at the Sails Inn on North Gallatin Avenue. “It looks like they were all together and some type of altercation – we haven’t determined what that is yet – broke out and we do believe there was two guns involved,” said Uniontown Police Lt. Thomas Kolencik. “We don’t know if one shooter caused both of the deceased or if there was more than one shooter. One shooter did leave after the incident and police say they have issued an arrest warrant for Jamie Holland. They say he is facing multiple charges, including criminal homicide and aggravated assault.
March 8, 2023 12:21 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said under oath that he believes the 2020 presidential election was free, fair and not stolen, according to court filings released Tuesday. The filings are from a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit over Fox News’ coverage of former President Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims. In sworn questioning in January by lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems, Murdoch was asked, “Do you believe that the 2020 presidential election was free and fair?” He replied “Yes.” Dominion is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, saying the network crippled the company’s business by broadcasting false claims from Trump’s lawyers that Dominion had changed votes in the 2020 election. (Photo: ABC)
March 8, 2023 4:23 am
BOSTON (AP) — A passenger who helped restrain a threatening man on a weekend flight from Los Angeles to Boston says the entire chaotic episode was over within seconds thanks to teamwork. Federal authorities say the man tried to open an airliner’s emergency exit and then tried to stab a flight attendant. Speaking Tuesday, passenger Simik Ghookasian says he heard the suspect make loud threats. Ghookasian says he was among five or six passengers who piled onto the suspect and took a modified metal spoon from him. The suspect is expected to appear in court later this week after being arrested Sunday, when the plane landed in Boston.
March 8, 2023 4:22 am
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Officials say two survivors of a deadly abduction in Mexico are back on U.S. soil. They were brought to a hospital in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday. Two other Americans were killed after the group got caught in a drug cartel shootout last week. Officials say the group was on a road trip to Mexico for one of them to get cosmetic surgery. The Americans were hauled away in a truck. The region’s governor said Mexican authorities frantically searched as the cartel moved them around. They were eventually found Tuesday in a remote area near the Gulf coast in a wood shack.
