Graduation party shooting wounds 4; no arrests reported
CLAIRTON, Pa. (AP) — Police in western Pennsylvania say four young people were wounded in an early morning shooting at a graduation party near Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County police say multiple 911 callers reported the shooting shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday in a yard in Clairton.
Police say several dozen people fled the area as officers and emergency responders arrived. They found a 16-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the lower extremities, and a 14-year-old boy with gunshot wounds to upper and lower extremities. All were in stable condition.
Police say 100 to 125 people were at the party before the shooting began. The motive wasn’t clear and no arrests have been reported.

Heat, humidity grips East Coast as central US sees reprieve
NEW YORK (AP) — The East Coast on Sunday sweated through another day of heat and humidity in a stretch of weather so oppressive that a New Jersey drawbridge got stuck and suburban Boston police jokingly asked criminals to take it easy.
The central part of the country, meanwhile, enjoyed some relief. A cold front was steadily moving southward and eastward across the country, bringing down the temperatures in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, according to the National Weather Service.
But portions of the Central Plains and Mississippi Valley and much of the East Coast were still expected to see temperatures approaching nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). The cooler weather settling in Monday and Tuesday will also bring severe storms and heavy rain that could cause flash flooding and produce damaging winds, the agency warned.
The Carolinas up to Maine were expected to see the highest temperatures Sunday. Daytime highs were expected in the mid-to-upper 90s, which, coupled with high humidity, could feel as hot as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).
Boston has opened up city pools free to residents this weekend as the region could see temperatures again approach 100 degrees, and area police posted a tongue-in-cheek request on their Facebook page.
“Due to the extreme heat, we are asking anyone thinking of doing criminal activity to hold off until Monday,” Braintree police wrote as the high temperatures set in Friday. “Conducting criminal activity, in this extreme heat is next level henchmen status, and also very dangerous.”
New York City has directed office buildings to set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees (26 degrees Celsius) through Sunday to reduce strain on its electrical grid.
In Philadelphia on Saturday, several hundred people were evacuated from a retirement community because of a partial power outage that officials say may have been heat-related.
Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, nine firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and six transported to a hospital for treatment while fighting a house fire in sweltering conditions. The Strinestown Fire Company said all of the firefighters were released by the time Saturday’s Conewago Township blaze was extinguished.
In New Hampshire, rescue crews helped rescue a 29-year-old hiker after he was overcome by the heat in the White Mountain National Forest on Saturday.
In New Jersey, the Oceanic Bridge over the Navesink River was closed Saturday evening after it got stuck open. Monmouth County officials say heat caused expansion of the metal encasing the drawbridge, which is a popular route for residents and beachgoers.
The heat wave is starting to break in the northern reaches of New England.
A Canadian cold front brought a series of thunderstorms Saturday evening that dropped temperatures across northern Vermont and upstate New York. A heat advisory remains in effect Sunday for southern sections of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, where heat indexes could still top 100 degrees.
But in many parts of the country, it’s not expected to get much better when the sun goes down. Temperatures are expected to remain at or above the high 70s overnight (26 degrees Celsius).
Inland, strong wind and rain were expected to persist Sunday in the Midwest, and a cold front stretching between the Central Plains and the Great Lakes region is forecast to move south. But in addition to lower temperatures, the cold front is expected to carry showers and thunderstorms, which could lead to heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the Midwest.
Storms knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents in Michigan and Wisconsin Saturday.
Experts have warned residents in affected areas to limit their time outdoors. The risks are greatest for young children, the elderly and the sick.
On Saturday, the heat wave canceled events across the affected region.
In New York, authorities scrubbed a Times Square commemoration of the 1969 moon landing and an outdoor festival featuring soccer star Megan Rapinoe and musician John Legend.
Horse racing tracks from Maryland to upstate New York cancelled races and pushed back others, including the $1 million Haskell Invitational that went off after 8 p.m. at Monmouth Park in New Jersey.
In Chicago, a 5K run in Grant Park was nixed.
And baseball fans broiled at big-league ballparks across the country. At Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, “Let It Snow” and other winter-themed songs blared through the stadium PA.
___
Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo and Mark Pratt in Boston, Wilson Ring in Vermont and Ron Todt in New Jersey contributed to this report.

‘The Lion King’ bites off $185 million debut, a July record
By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — If there was any doubt that the 2019 box office belonged to the Walt Disney Co., this weekend put an end to it. Not only did its photorealistic remake of “The Lion King” devour opening weekend records for the month of July and a PG-rated film, but “Avengers: Endgame” also crept past “Avatar” to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
“The Lion King” this weekend roared into 4,725 North American theaters, where it grossed a stunning $185 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Although reviews were mixed for Jon Favreau’s remake of the 1994 animated film, audiences still turned out in droves to hear the A-list voice cast, from Beyoncé to Donald Glover, and see the innovative technology that made the film possible.
“We’ve had a spectacular run this weekend,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of distribution. “We really did know we had something special with (“The Lion King”) given its popularity with fans of all ages.”
Industry experts had pegged “The Lion King” for a $150 million opening, which turned out to be far too modest a projection. Instead, with $185 million, Disney got a few records to boast about: It’s the ninth-biggest opening of all time, a July record (unseating “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”) and a PG-rating record (taking over from “The Incredibles 2”).
It’s the second time this year a beloved Disney brand has overwhelmed a tepid critical response. “Aladdin,” which is still in the top 10 after nine weeks in theaters, has made $989 million globally.
“Certain brands have so much goodwill and equity,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Reviews clearly didn’t matter at all.”
And, having opened in China a week early, “The Lion King” has amassed over $531 million in just 10 days. Audiences also embraced large format and 3D for the event film: 36% of that total came from 3D showings and $25.2 million from IMAX.
This is just the latest in a long string of wins for Disney, which now holds five of the top six spots for the year. It’s evident even in this weekend’s charts. Five weeks in, “Toy Story 4” is still at No. 3 with an additional $14.6 million (behind “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which slipped to second in its third weekend with $21 million). The Pixar sequel has grossed $859.4 million globally. “Aladdin” is in 7th place, with $3.8 million.
And then there is “Avengers: Endgame,” which didn’t make the top 10, but that hardly matters. With $1.5 million globally added this weekend, it surpassed “Avatar’s” all-time record, not accounting for inflation.
“Avatar” grossed $2.789 billion worldwide, and “Avengers: Endgame” is currently at $2.79 billion.
“‘Endgame’ finally did it,” Taff said. “It’s a huge achievement.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige previewed that this was a sure-thing Saturday night at San Diego Comic-Con.
“You have to shout-out to Mr. James Cameron, who held that title for a long time,” Feige said. “If you adjust for inflation, he still holds the title, and he’ll probably get the title again as soon as he puts out another movie. But for right now … ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is the biggest film of all time.”
This weekend helped knock the year-to-date deficit from 9.1% to 7.2%.
“That’s what a massive Disney debut will do for the box office,” Dergarabedian said. “You’ve got to give some credit to the holdovers that are doing quite well, like ‘Yesterday.’ But it’s just a great weekend for the industry and absolutely a shot in the arm that was needed.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1.”The Lion King,” $185 million.
2.”Spider-Man: Far From Home,” $21 million.
3.”Toy Story 4,” $14.6 million.
4.”Crawl,” $6 million.
5.”Yesterday,” $5.1 million.
6.”Stuber,” $4 million.
7.”Aladdin,” $3.8 million.
8.”Annabelle Comes Home,” $2.7 million.
9.”Midsommar,” $1.6 million.
10.”The Secret Life of Pets 2,” $1.5 million.
___
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr

Apollo 11 astronauts reunite on 50th anniversary of moonshot
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins reunited Friday on the eve of the 50th anniversary of humanity’s first moon landing.
They gathered in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, who got a rundown on his administration’s plans to get astronauts back on the moon by 2024 and then on to Mars in the 2030s.
“We’re bringing the glamour back” to the space program, Trump said.
Both sons of the late Neil Armstrong, the first man to step onto the moon on July 20, 1969, also attended, as well as first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
The moon versus Mars debate as astronauts’ next destination arose again Friday.
The president asked if astronauts could get to Mars without first going back to the moon.
Collins, 88, who circled the moon alone in the command module while Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Eagle, told the president that he supports going directly to Mars and bypassing the moon.
“It seems to me Mars direct, who knows better than these people?” Trump noted.
Bridenstine, though, stressed the importance of the moon as a training ground and noted that because of the planetary alignment, launches to Mars can occur only every 26 months and even then the trip is seven months each way.
“What happens if you miss the timing? They’re in deep trouble? Trump asked. “You don’t want to be on that ship.”
Aldrin, meanwhile, said he’s disappointed with the state of human space exploration the past 10 or 15 years. “We were able to achieve so much early,” the 89-year-old said.
Aldrin, whose specialty was orbital rendezvous, doesn’t like NASA’s idea for a small space station around the moon, called the Gateway, from which to stage lunar landings and, eventually, Mars trips. He noted that the Apollo 11 command module and attached lunar module went straight into lunar orbit and even separated and redocked around the moon.
“We have the No. 1 rocket right now in the U.S. and we have the No. 1 spacecraft, and they cannot get into lunar orbit with significant maneuvering capability,” Aldrin pointed out.
Trump directed Bridenstine to listen to the “other side.”
Aldrin and Armstrong, who died in 2012, landed on the Sea of Tranquility at 4:17 p.m. on July 20, 1969. “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” Armstrong radioed.
Armstrong was the first to climb down the ladder, stepping onto the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. His “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” is arguably the most famous space line of all time.
The vice president is commemorating Saturday’s anniversary at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, visiting the launch pad where Apollo 11 blasted off.
Museums and towns across the country geared up for their own golden anniversary celebrations, including Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong’s hometown that was serving up “cinnamoon pancakes” and “buckeye on the moon sundaes.” The U.S. Postal Service, meanwhile, issued its “1969: First Moon Landing” Forever stamps Friday at Kennedy.
NASA televised a two-hour show Friday afternoon remembering Apollo 11 but also looking forward to its future moon plans. At the end of the program, Bridenstine revealed the new logo for the moon program, called Artemis after the twin sister of Greek mythology’s Apollo.
Besides Wapakoneta and Kennedy, the program went live to Johnson Space Center in Houston, home to Mission Control; the U.S. Space and Rocket Center next door to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
In Houston, Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham said the moon landings will be remembered hundreds of years from now and Armstrong, in particular, will go down in history.
“Here we are 50 years later, and I never in my life could have projected this amount of interest and association with what we were doing back then,” Cunningham said.
In Wapakoneta, former astronaut Don Thomas recalled how he invited fellow Ohioan Armstrong to one of his four space shuttle launches in the 1990s. Not only did Armstrong show up, Thomas said the moonwalker met with him the day before liftoff and promised to stick around as long as it took the shuttle to fly.
“It was the thrill of my life to have him there for the launch,” Thomas said.
__
AP reporter Zeke Miller contributed from Washington.
___
Follow AP’s full coverage of the Apollo 11 anniversary at: https://apnews.com/Apollo11moonlanding
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United States’ Moon Landing. Looking for a fun way to celebrate? Join the Beaver County Amatuer Astrologists on Saturday July 20 at Brady’s Run Park Baseball Fields at 7 p.m.

Beaver County Radio News Intern, Kristian Biega, has more on the story…