TribLive stories, Page 2359
Michael Cohen hired tech firm to rig polls in Trump’s favor
Michael Cohen paid a tech firm with ties to Jerry Falwell’s evangelical college to rig online polls in President Trump’s favor. Trump’s former fixer paid John Gauger, the IT tech at Liberty University and the head of RedFinch Solutions, with a bag of cash and a boxing glove — and...
House floor erupts when lawmaker shouts ‘Go back to Puerto Rico’
WASHINGTON — The House floor erupted Thursday after Congress adjourned for the week when an unidentified Republican congressman yelled a controversial and potentially racially charged remark across the aisle as Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas was at the podium. “Go back to Puerto Rico!” the lawmaker shouted, punctuating a stream of...
Government contractors to lose out on shutdown pay, dragging down economy
Like others caught up in the government shutdown, Brent Langdon has been cutting back on spending and is worried about his next mortgage payment. Yet unlike the hundreds of thousands of federal workers affected by the funding impasse, Langdon can’t look forward to eventually getting back pay because he is...
Total lunar eclipse meets supermoon Sunday night
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Here comes a total lunar eclipse and supermoon, all wrapped into one. The moon, Earth and sun will line up this weekend for the only total lunar eclipse this year and next. At the same time, the moon will be ever so closer to Earth and...
Laurels & lances: Mobility, community and an Amber Alert
Laurel: To the Joy Riders. The community biking program wants to bring together cyclists like the Mighty Tri Girls and Total Chaos — two Pittsburgh-area groups whose members train for triathlons — with individuals who have limited mobility. The result would be almost symbiotic. Using tandem bikes that have integrated...
Additional water system costs upset some Springdale officials
Unforeseen costs on the $7.5 million Springdale water system renovations are leaving some Springdale Council members unhappy. Change orders totaling nearly $41,000 were brought to council this week. Of that amount, at least $29,000 were unexpected costs. In addition, another unforeseen turn of events may result in council having to...
Man arrested in Carnegie on drug charges
An anonymous tip led to the arrest of a wanted man in Carnegie Jan. 16 on charges of felony drug possession. Rocco Vincent Colonello, of Valencia, had previously evaded police during a separate incident in Franklin Park, according to an incident report. Carnegie police apprehended Colonello outside a residence at...
Allegheny Township to push for state, federal consensus on stormwater
Allegheny Township officials want the state and federal governments to decide what agency should be contacted about problems with stormwater. The idea, they say, is to give local officials a central resource to tap for a quick resolution when dealing with drainage problems and issues that often create flooding. The...
Letter to the editor: Shutdown will reveal truths
There are two things this government shutdown will reveal. One is how not well-off things are for the average American, and that a large percentage of people live paycheck to paycheck, with a thin line between comfort and poverty. Less than 50 percent of Americans have more than $1,000 in...
Letter to the editor: TEACH bait & switch
Letter-writer Jeanne Snyder (“TEACH grants should be paid back,” Jan. 1, TribLIVE) should be proud of her son’s accomplishment of graduating from Penn State using grants, scholarships and loans. He found a job and started making payments toward the loans. Snyder states that education majors should pay for their education...
Letter to the editor: Peduto’s plans won’t make us safer
Regarding Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and his efforts to confront the gun problem(s) as he perceives them (“What’s next for Pittsburgh’s controversial gun-regulation proposals,” Jan. 8, TribLIVE), I think his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, his brain seems unable to find that place. Additional legislation in cities throughout...
Recalls of romaine, Goldfish are only the tip of the contamination iceberg
If it feels like you’re reading about a new food recall practically everyday, it’s not all in your head — or stomach. A report released Thursday by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund found that recalls of food have increased 10 percent since 2013, with meat and poultry incidents soaring 67...
Rudy Giuliani: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between Trump campaign and Russia
Rudy Giuliani claimed Wednesday night that he “never said there was no collusion” between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia leading up to the 2016 presidential election. In a remarkable, and at times contentious, interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, the president’s lawyer appeared to contradict his own past statements about...
Deteriorating Arnold building creates problems for neighboring property
Arnold Volunteer Fire Company 2 is asking city council to demolish a Fifth Avenue structure that is damaging a building it owns. Chris O’Leath, who recently stepped down as Company 2 chief after five years, spoke to council on behalf of the company to request 1708 Fifth Ave. be torn...
Lawrenceville Distilling selling absinthe named for legendary haunted house
The Green Fairy is alive and well in Pittsburgh. Lawrenceville Distilling recently debuted its own brand of absinthe, after years of research and experimentation and approval by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Nicknamed “The Green Fairy,” it became notorious for its hallucinogenic effects. The Swiss spirit...
Pine Community Center to celebrate 10th birthday with special event
The Pine Community Center will mark its 10th birthday at the end of the month and they’re celebrating in the week leading up to the big day with free classes, giveaways and more. The actual birthday “party” will be Jan. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m., said Joni Patsko, the...
Longtime teacher celebrates birthday
Patricia McGrath of Collier celebrates her birthday Jan. 21. Mrs. McGrath taught for 30 years at St. Luke’s and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Carnegie. She is the wife of the late Jack McGrath, mother of Sharon, Sean, Keith (Jami), Jerry, Matthew and the late Colleen McGrath, and the...
New high school at CV gets rave reviews from students, teachers
Laughter — and lots of chatter — can be heard across the large commons area at the new Chartiers Valley High School, one week after the school’s opening. Principal Patrick Myers smiles as he looks down from a hallway two floors above, that’s encompassed by a railing and open to...
Pet Palace moving into Newbury Market
One of the newest plans for Newbury Market will not benefit the humans in the area at all. Their pets, if they could talk, might tell another story. Pet Palace, a boarding, daycare and grooming facility, is the third confirmed tenant for the South Fayette market. Newbury Market’s project manager...
Royal Caribbean bans passengers for life for jumping off Symphony of the Seas balcony
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Royal Caribbean has banned a group of men from Vancouver, British Columbia from ever traveling with the cruise line again after one of them jumped off a ship’s deck and posted a video of the stunt on social media. Nick Naydev posted the video on Instagram...
Keller Williams brings ‘Pettygrass’ to Byham TheaterVideo
When Tom Petty died suddenly on Oct. 2, 2017, singer Keller Williams was in the studio recording his latest album, “Sans.” “I couldn’t really focus,” says Williams, a multi-genre-crossing singer who is performing at the Byham Theater on Jan. 20. “It was definitely a shock. … He was very much...
ACLU: Government mistakenly wanted to deport U.S. veteran
DETROIT — A Marine veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder was held for three days for possible deportation before federal authorities learned that he was a U.S. citizen born in Michigan, lawyers said Wednesday. Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, 27, lives in the Grand Rapids area. He was released on Dec. 17 from a...
Georgia man plotted attack on White House, authorities say
ATLANTA — Federal authorities Wednesday arrested a Georgia man they said was plotting to attack the White House but instead got entangled with the FBI. Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, of Cumming was taken into custody in Gwinnett County while allegedly trying to exchange his vehicle for explosives. He later appeared...
Building inspectors find code violations at R. Kelly studio, including evidence of use as residence
CHICAGO — Building inspectors on Wednesday identified a number of code violations at R. Kelly’s Chicago recording studio, finding evidence that the industrial space was used as a residence even though it was not zoned for that purpose, the city Buildings Department announced. A team of inspectors spent about an...
‘Where’s Mitch?’ As shutdown grinds on, Dems accuse McConnell of ducking members of Congress
WASHINGTON — Furloughed federal workers have displayed their unpaid bills at Mitch McConnell’s Senate office in protest. House freshmen marched to his office Wednesday to urge a vote. And he’s drawn the ire of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the newest star of the Democratic Party. Yet through it all, the Senate majority...
