Weather Report 12/31/19

Today- Periods of snow. Temperatures remaining steady in the mid 30‘s. High 37

Tonight- Snow showers will become more scattered overnight. Low 27

Tomorrow- Mostly cloudy early, then afternoon sunshine. High 39

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified “offensive measures” to protect the country’s security and sovereignty as he nears his end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to make major concessions to salvage a fragile nuclear diplomacy. North Korea’s state media says Kim during the ruling Workers’ Party meeting also stressed improvements in national efforts to rebuild the North’s moribund economy. A South Korean analyst says Kim urgent needs to make policy changes in the face of international sanctions and pressure such as a crackdown on North Korean workers abroad.

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iranian-backed militia says the death toll from U.S. military strikes in Iraq and Syria against its fighters has risen to 25. The militia is vowing to exact revenge for the “aggression of evil American ravens.” Monday’s announcement in Baghdad came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said U.S. military strikes targeted the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that was blamed for a rocket attack last week that killed an American contractor. Initially, 19 members of the Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, were reported killed but the militia’s spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday that the death toll rose to 25. He says 51 fighters were wounded.

HOUSTON, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a large western Pennsylvania public burial ground already thought to contain hundreds of remains actually has many more than previously thought _ and there’s a new resource available to those who believe a relative may be buried there. The (Washington) Observer-Reporter reports that Potter’s Field was believed to contain as many as 502 people, many of whom may have fallen victim to tuberculosis. But research conducted at the behest of Commissioner Harlan Shober, encompassing records kept for 66 years until 1945, concludes that more than 1,300 were likely buried there in unmarked graves.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a man was shot and wounded by police responding to a large fight in Allentown. Officers responded shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday and found a large number of people fighting and an individual on the ground near a trail of blood. Police say a 31-year-old man holding a weapon refused orders to drop it and an officer opened fire. He was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Police say he will face charges of aggravated assault against a police officer and simple assault. Police say a black replica Ruger CO2 powered BB gun was recovered.

UNDATED (AP) — Authorities say a suspect has been charged in the slaying of a 90-year-old man shot and killed outside a Pittsburgh cemetery. Police in Allegheny County say 27-year-old Anthony Miller of White Oak is charged with homicide, robbery and weapons crimes. Authorities said 90-year-old Samuel Rende was in a truck at the entrance to Calvary Cemetery when he was shot in the head at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday. Authorities said they believe the victim was “targeted.” Court documents don’t list a defense attorney and a listed number for Miller couldn’t be found Sunday.

A man armed with a knife ran into a rabbi’s home and stabbed 5 people as they celebrated Hanukkah in New York City. New York’s governor declared this to be an act of domestic terrorism fueled by hatred. Police tracked the suspect to Manhattan and made an arrest a few hours after the attack. Grafton E. Thomas was arraigned on Sunday, pleaded not guilty, and remains jailed. Bail is set at 5 million dollars.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian’s foreign minister has warned that Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is in danger of “falling apart” as neither the United States nor the European Union is complying with the accord. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the U.S. of “towing” a “destructive line” by withdrawing from the deal and imposing sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy. The 2015 deal between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. In response to the U.S. sanctions, Iran has inched its way toward violating the accord. Lavrov said Russia would demand full compliance from both the U.S. and the EU, saying otherwise the agreement should be considered “no longer existing.”

State Representative Ted Nesbit, who represents portions of Butler and Mercer Counties will be retiring from the legislature this January to become a judge in the Court of Common Pleas. Nesbit’s replacement will be picked through a special election which will be announced sometime next year.