By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) — The last time Haiti was thrust into turmoil by assassination was 1915, when rebels beat to death President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, triggering a nearly two-decade U.S. military intervention. But the era of gunboat diplomacy is long over and the U.S. is unlikely to deploy troops in the aftermath of the brazen slaying of President Jovenel Moïse. But the Biden administration may nonetheless find itself dragged into the country’s increasingly violent political conflict. It’s been building — if largely ignored by Washington — for months and is now expected to deepen further, with the immediate path forward blurred by intrigue.

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to reorganize into an entity whose profits will be used to combat the U.S. opioid crisis got a big boost as 15 states have dropped their objections to the new business model. The agreement from state attorneys general was disclosed in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing late Wednesday. It includes those who had most aggressively opposed Purdue’s original settlement proposal. To win the support, the company agreed to make more documents public and members of the Sackler family who owns it will kick in more money.

By DAVID McHUGH and RAF CASERT Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has fined major German car manufacturers $1 billion because they colluded to limit the development and rollout of car emission-control systems. The European Commission said Thursday that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen along with its Audi and Porsche divisions avoided competing on technology to restrict pollution from gasoline and diesel passenger cars. Daimler wasn’t fined after it revealed the cartel to the EU Commission. It was the first time the commission imposed collusion fines over holding back the use of technical developments, not a more traditional practice like price fixing. Volkswagen says it is considering an appeal to the European Court of Justice.

By RUSS BYNUM and CURT ANDERSON Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Tropical Storm Elsa is carving a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake. One person was killed in Jacksonville, Florida, when a tree fell onto a car. And a spokesperson for Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia says a possible tornado struck a park for recreational vehicles on the base, hospitalizing about 10 people. A tropical storm watch extended up the East Coast to Massachusetts.

Story by Beaver County Radio Correspondent, Sandy Giordano.

(Hopewell Township, PA) – BEAVER COUNTY 9-1-1 reported that power lines were down in the  area of Crestmont Shopping Center and the road was closed earlier this morning. Quick action by Duquesne Light Company allowed the road to be reopened a short time ago, according to  Beaver County 9-1-1.

Story by Beaver County Radio Correspondent, Sandy Giordano.

(Aliquippa, PA) – Alex Scott, and his public works crew will begin street sweeping on August 2 and will continue until the end of the month. He told the council at Wednesday night’s meeting. An effort will be made to sweep the streets twice. He reported that work on Christine Drive should be complete by Friday. He said beginning the week of July 26  the storm water project on 4th Avenue between Jefferson and Madison Street on Plan  11 will take a few weeks to complete. He asked council to  request applicants for part time work and turn them in to City Administrator Sam Gill. A Duquesne Light pole in the area of CVS at Brodhead and Mill  Street was struck by lightning, and he is in contact with them to replace it.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT is announcing lane restrictions on Route 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) in Sewickley, Glen Osbourne, Haysville, and Glenfield boroughs, Allegheny County today, weather permitting.

Single-lane restrictions will occur on Route 65 in each direction between Walnut Street in Sewickley Borough and the I-79 Neville Island Bridge in Glenfield Borough from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Crews from Lindy Paving will conduct field review work.

Please use caution if driving in this area.

Tears, prayer mark end to search for Florida condo survivors
By TERRY SPENCER and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — A somber moment of silence marked the end of the search for survivors of a Florida condominium collapse. Rescue workers stood at solemn attention and clergy members hugged a line of local officials. The ceremony Wednesday night came after authorities said the rescue mission would now shift to an effort to recover remains from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condo tower in Surfside, just outside Miami. The death toll stood at 54 late Wednesday. Officials said 86 people are unaccounted for, although detectives are still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is suing the Pittsburgh Zoo in federal court over the upcoming Asian Lantern Festival in August.

The Cleveland zoo says that the Pittsburgh Zoo does not have the right to use the phrase “Asian Lantern Festival.” They are claiming that they own the trademark to that particular wording after kicking off an “Asian Lantern Festival” with Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc. in 2018.

Cleveland Zoo says in the suit that Pittsburgh Zoo officials are using the Asian Lantern Festival name without permission, and potentially confusing visitors of both attractions.

TSA screened over 10.1 million during Fourth of July weekend, advises enrollment in TSAPreCheck®  

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 10.1 million travelers over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, which includes traveler screenings from July 1 to July 5. This milestone represents 83% of travel volume for the same 5-day holiday period in 2019.

Thursday, July 1 was the busiest air travel day of the weekend, with TSA screening 2,147,090 people, which was 103% of the 2,088,760 travelers screened on Thursday of the 2019 Fourth of July weekend.

Also on July 1, TSA screened almost 458,000 TSA PreCheck® travelers, the highest number of TSA PreCheck screenings in one day since the beginning of the pandemic. Over the course of the long weekend, 99.7% of passengers in standard screening lanes waited less than 30 minutes, and 99% of TSA PreCheck passengers waited less than 5 minutes. Travelers interested in PreCheck are encouraged to begin their enrollment online before visiting one of the 440+ conveniently located TSA enrollment centers around the country to complete the application process. TSA PreCheck members are not required to remove their shoes, belts, or light outerwear items at the checkpoint, and can also keep laptops, 3-1-1 compliant liquids, aerosols and gels inside their carry-on bags.

“This holiday weekend, TSA saw over 10 million passengers travel safely through security checkpoints. With some airports already exceeding 2019 travel volumes and many not far behind, we expect the summer to remain busy for travel,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “However, there were 70 firearms intercepted this weekend. We continue to remind passengers to pack mindfully and help us avoid the dangers, delays and consequences that accompany a gun or weapon detected at a security checkpoint.”

As travelers prepare to embark on a trip, they may submit questions about TSA policies and procedures via Twitter at @AskTSA or via Facebook Messenger to a team of TSA employees who provide real-time responses in, on average, under 3 minutes during core travel hours.

A mask mandate remains in place for all passengers traveling on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. For more information about COVID-19 guidance, please visit the CDC website. For the latest airport security screening procedures, please visit tsa.gov/coronavirus.