Tropical Storm Arthur crawls closer to North Carolina coast
MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Arthur is crawling closer to the North Carolina coast, amid threats of some minor flooding and rough seas as the system moves off the Southeast seaboard. Arthur formed Saturday off Florida, marking the sixth straight year a named storm has developed before the official June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season.The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning for North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Sunday. At 2 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm’s center was located about 185 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Arthur had top sustained winds of 45 mph as it moved north-northeast.

MIAMI (AP) — Life-threatening surf and rip currents will spread along U.S. East coast beaches in the days ahead as Tropical Storm Arthur kicks up ocean swells offshore, the National Hurricane Center warned on Monday.
It’s another early start for the Atlantic hurricane season: Arthur formed Saturday in waters off Florida, marking the sixth straight year that a named storm has developed before June 1.
The Hurricane Center said Arthur is expected to move near or just east of the coast of North Carolina, where up to 5 inches of rain was expected in spots Monday before turning away from the East Coast Tuesday.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm’s center was located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) south-southwest of Morehead City, North Carolina. Arthur had top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving to the north-northeast at 14 mph (22 kph).
A tropical storm warning was issued for parts of North Carolina’s coast, from Surf City to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, and heavy rainfall is expected for much of the eastern part of the state, said Michael Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Newport, North Carolina.
“But the main threat that we’re really trying to get out there is that there is enhanced risk for dangerous rip currents both today and tomorrow. So, any folks who want to try to go to the beach and get in the water, we have a high risk out for most of our beaches,” Lee said.
The weather service said eastern North Carolina should prepare for some localized flooding and dangerous marine conditions along the coast.
“Minor inundation from storm surge is possible for very low-lying areas adjacent to the ocean, sounds, and rivers, with overwash of dunes and flooding of properties and roadways possible for locations where dune structures are weak,” mainly north of Cape Lookout, the weather service said.
While there may be a component of warming waters and climate change in other pre-June storms, Arthur is more of a subtropical storm system than a traditional named storm and its water is cooler than what’s usually needed for storm formation, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
A lot of these out-of-season storms are weak fleeting ones that meteorologists can see now because of satellites and better technology and would have been missed in earlier times, Klotzbach said.
Local forecasters in the Bahamas said showers have lingered over the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which are still struggling to recover after being hit by a Category 5 hurricane last year. Patients are being cared for in tents in Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian damaged the island’s hospital.
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Associated Press writer Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.

(PITTSBURGH, PA) – Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) issued the following statement following the U.S. House of Representatives vote on H.R. 6800:

 “People in western Pennsylvania and all over the country have sacrificed a lot during this crisis.  They expect us to put politics aside, work together, and focus on defeating the coronavirus.  This bill is not focused, it was rushed to a vote too fast, and it doesn’t help us accomplish that core mission.

 “We need bipartisan action to get people the money they need to survive while we defeat this virus, and we need to make sure the money is spent effectively.  We have bipartisan support for funding our state and local governments as they perform more testing, plan to reopen schools, and protect the most vulnerable, including residents of our nursing homes.  We have bipartisan support for helping the unemployed, underemployed, and underpaid with direct payments.

 “So let’s fight this battle together on common ground.  Let’s pass a bill focused on those priorities.  Let’s give the American people confidence that while they sacrifice, we are spending their tax dollars on the essentials and making constant progress against the virus.

 “More than 85,000 of our fellow Americans are dead.  More than 30 million have lost their jobs.  Partisan fights have never looked smaller.  We need to go back to the negotiating table immediately and work on a bill that can actually pass and will actually help the people who desperately need it.”

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa,Pa.) Sheldon Jeter, Jr., 22 of Aliquippa is lodged in the Beaver County  Jail without bond on a criminal homicide charge in the death of Tyric Pugh, 30,  from Aliquippa..  At 11:41 p.m. Friday night Aliquippa Police  were dispatched to an area of Kiehl St. after it was reported by citizens  a man  was found lying on the roadway. When Aliquippa Police arrived on scene  it was determined the  victim was found to have multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead Aliquippa Police requested the fire department respond to the scene and  that PSP   assume the primary investigation into Pugh’s homicide.. A press conference will be held at 11:30 a.m. today at  the PSP’s Beaver Barracks.

Obama criticizes virus response in online graduation speech
By JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama criticized some U.S. leaders overseeing the coronavirus response as he delivered an online commencement speech for graduates of historically black colleges and universities. Obama told graduates that the pandemic shows many officials, as he put it, “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” Obama spoke during a two-hour livestreaming event broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. At one point he said that “more than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing.” He did not name any individual officials.

Investigators open criminal probe into LA explosion
By STEFANIE DAZIO and FRANK BAKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police and fire investigators have launched a criminal probe into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in Los Angeles that injured a dozen firefighters. They’re trying to determine what might have sparked the blast that shot a ball of flames out of the downtown building Saturday and sent crews running for their lives. Eight firefighters remained hospitalized Sunday: two were in critical condition, but all are expected to survive. A fire captain described the business where the explosion occurred as a maker of “butane honey oil.” Butane is an odorless gas that is used to extract the chemical THC from cannabis to create a highly potent oil.

Surveillance images of suspect in teen slaying released
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Authorities in western Pennsylvania are asking for help from the public in identifying a suspect wanted in the slaying of a teenager gunned down on a street near Pittsburgh. Allegheny County detectives say 16-year-old Marcus Wells Jr. of Pittsburgh was shot several times near an intersection in Wilkinsburg. First responders tried to save him, but the county medical examiner’s office said he died of a gunshot wound to the chest. County police on Friday released surveillance images of a man wearing a dark-colored hoodie and dark shoes and armed with a black handgun. Anyone with information is asked to call county police.

Car slams into closed convenience store, killing 1; 2 hurt
VALENCIA, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a car slammed into a convenience store in western Pennsylvania, killing one woman and injuring two others. Police in Butler County say the the car crashed into the closed CoGo’s on Route 8 in Middlesex Township at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday. Police said one 39-year-old passenger died in the crash while another 36-year-old passenger was critically injured. The 37-year-old driver was taken to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh with injuries described as moderate. Patrolman Bryan Costanzo told the Butler Eagle that the car crashed through bricks and front glass left of the door, destroying the front aisles. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.