April 26, 2023 4:20 am
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican leaders will vote on censuring or expelling a transgender state lawmaker who has been silenced in the House for comments against a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for children. On Tuesday night, Democratic, Rep. Zooey Zephyr tweeted a letter she received from House leaders informing her of the plan to consider disciplinary action against against her on Wednesday. She says she will be given a chance to speak. A protest against Zephyr being silenced disrupted the House floor session on Monday and she stood defiantly on the floor with her microphone raised. The House won’t be disrupted on Wednesday because the gallery will be closed.
April 26, 2023 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Taliban have killed the Islamic State group militant who spearheaded the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Initially, neither the U.S. — nor apparently the Taliban — were aware that the mastermind was dead. Officials say he was killed during a series of battles early this month in southern Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Islamic State group’s affiliate. But in the past few days, U.S. intelligence confirmed “with high confidence” that the Islamic State leader had been killed.
April 26, 2023 4:14 am
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – An arrest warrant has been issued for the person suspected of stealing $9,500 from a man at a Westmoreland County casino. According to Pennsylvania State Police, the theft happened early in the morning on Monday, April 17 at a casino in Hempfield Township. When police responded, the victim said he sat his funds on the counter of a machine and walked away. When the man came back, his money was gone. Surveillance video showed the suspect taking the money from the machine and leaving the casino. Police said the casino was able to provide identification for the suspect. A warrant has been issued for their arrest. Police did not identify the suspect.
April 26, 2023 4:11 am
UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Upper St. Clair School District is planning to push school start times back starting in the 2023-24 school year. The motivation stems from research that shows students, specifically in high school, do better with later start times. The start time will be pushed back thirty minutes. High school students will now start at 8 a.m., elementary students at 8:35 a.m. and middle school students at 8:55 a.m. The plans were laid out in detail during the school districts meeting Monday night. Tuesday, parents across the district found out about the planned change when the superintendent sent out an email. The district has asked parents for input via an online form. The final recommendation for the change to school start times will be presented for approval at the May school board meeting.
April 26, 2023 4:07 am
A Canton Township man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanor charges surrounding a scene where he was found to be firing a rifle. Richard Bedillion, 49 was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to simple assault and reckless endangerment charges. Back in December, Bedillion’s girlfriend called county 9-1-1 to report that Bedillion was armed with an AR-style rifle and was threatening her son. Pennsylvania State Police arrived and heard gunshots and found Bedillion in his back yard with the AR-style rifle pointed to the sky. Bedillion agreed to two probation terms and will spend the next four years on probation.
April 26, 2023 2:22 am
A Washington man who was accused of hitting a child with his vehicle will not face charges. Kenneth Reed, 37 was accused by witnesses of driving at a high rate of speed and hitting a child in their yard on Sycamore Street in November of last year. Felony charges of aggravated assault and accidents involving death or injury plus three other traffic summary offenses were dismissed when the victim’s parent failed to appear as a witness at the preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Reed was being held in the Washington County Jail unable to post a $20,000 bond.
April 25, 2023 4:49 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A former advice columnist’s nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump has gone to trial. The six-man, three-woman jury in E. Jean Carroll’s federal civil case got its first look Tuesday at her allegation that Trump raped her in 1996 in a luxury department store dressing room. The former president says nothing happened between them. Carroll says a chance encounter with Trump turned violent two decades before he became president. Trump says she fabricated the claim to sell a 2019 memoir. Trump wasn’t in court Tuesday and isn’t likely to testify, but his lawyers have not ruled it out.
April 25, 2023 4:48 pm
(WPXI) – Two men are in custody after a 15-year-old boy from Butler County was found in Missouri over the weekend after chatting with strangers online, according to Adams Township police. Nicholas Padgett and Nathaniel Archer, both of Arkansas, are awaiting extradition to Butler County. They face multiple charges, including interference with the custody of children, theft, receiving stolen property, and criminal use of a communication facility. The search began over the weekend when Adams Township Police said they got a call for a missing teenage boy.
That boy was then found 11 hours away in Missouri after allegedly chatting with the two men online.
April 25, 2023 10:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Harry Belafonte has died at age 96. He was a dedicated activist and award-winning actor and singer. He sold millions of records and starred on stage and screen before scaling back his career and becoming a relentless supporter of civil rights and other causes. Belafonte not only participated in protest marches and benefit concerts, but helped organize and raise support for them. He worked closely with his friend and generational peer the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., often intervening on his behalf with both politicians and fellow entertainers.
April 25, 2023 4:12 am
North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed legislation banning abortion in almost all cases. The new law prohibits all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Before then, only women or girls subject to rape, incest or who are suffering from narrowly defined medical emergencies would be allowed to end their pregnancies. After six weeks, even those exceptions disappear, making the North Dakota law one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. The bill’s sponsor says it will go into effect immediately. That’s despite a ruling last month from the North Dakota Supreme Court, which is blocking another ban on abortion in the state while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds.
