Former Westmoreland museum chairman loved art, family
If there was a painting of Western Pennsylvania anywhere in the world, chances are Bruce Wolf could track it down. The former natural gas executive loved art, especially works that depicted his beloved hometown of Pittsburgh. “One of his goals was to collect and retain artwork of Western Pennsylvania and...
Fluoridation the subject of dental association’s annual 3rd-grade poster contest
The Pennsylvania Dental Association wants the state’s third-graders to help mark the 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation — the addition of fluoride to public drinking water. Third-grade students are invited to submit a poster built around the association’s 2020 theme: “Fluoride in Water Prevents Cavities!” After Dr. Frederick McKay...
EU pressures Iran on atom deal in last-ditch bid to save it
BRUSSELS — Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on Iran to stop violating its landmark nuclear deal in a last-ditch effort to resolve their differences through talks while also starting a process that could bring back punishing U.N. sanctions on Tehran. The three European Union countries are...
6 guards, 15 others charged in Rikers Island bribery case
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against six New York City correctional officers accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes to smuggle drugs to inmates at the Rikers Island jail complex. Fifteen other people, including several inmates, also were charged in criminal complaints unsealed in U.S. District...
Chemical plant explosion in Spain kills 1, injures at least 6
MADRID — A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant in northeastern Spain killed one person and gravely injured at least six others Tuesday, regional authorities said. A local government spokesman for the port city of Tarragona, where the plant is located, said a preliminary investigation indicated the force of the...
U.S. drinking more now than just before Prohibition
NEW YORK — Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What’s more, it’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall again. That’s the picture painted by federal health statistics, which show a rise in per-person consumption and increases in emergency room...
Big Ben, big bucks: Brexit bell plan hits financial hurdle
LONDON — Will Big Ben bong for Brexit? Not unless British taxpayers cough up the bucks. The bell of Britain’s Parliament has been largely silent since 2017 while its iconic clock tower undergoes four years of repairs. Brexit-backing lawmakers are campaigning for it to strike at the moment Britain leaves...
High court skeptical of New Jersey ‘Bridgegate’ convictions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed broadly skeptical Tuesday of the convictions of two people involved in New Jersey’s “Bridgegate” scandal where officials created a massive traffic jam to punish a mayor who refused to endorse then-governor Chris Christie’s reelection. The justices suggested during arguments that the government had overreached...
Nancy Pelosi sets Wednesday votes to send impeachment to Senate
WASHINGTON — The House is set to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, and pressure was mounting Tuesday on senators to call fresh witnesses for the historic trial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the next steps after meeting privately with House Democrats...
Mexico can’t sell presidential jet, tries odd sales pitches
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador has made selling off the luxurious presidential jet a centerpiece of his austerity program, but there’s just one problem: Nobody, it seems, wants to buy the white elephant. López Obrador said Tuesday the Boeing Dreamliner will be returned to Mexico after...
Report: 21% drop expected in 2020 natural gas impact fee
A state agency is predicting a 21% drop in natural gas impact fee revenue in 2020, largely because of falling natural gas prices. The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office estimates that impact fee collections will total $198.2 million this year — down from $251.8 million last year. The 2019 fee must...
Bus falls into sinkhole on road in China; 10 dead or missingVideo
BEIJING — A bus plunged into a sinkhole on a city street in northwestern China, killing at least six people and leaving four missing, authorities said. Some 1,000 emergency workers and 30 vehicles were sent to the site, the emergency management bureau in the city of Xining said. A crane...
Winter heat having odd effect on Outer Banks wild horses
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Freakishly warm January temperatures are having a strange effect on the wild horses roaming North Carolina’s Outer Banks, prompting a warning to drivers. The notoriously independent horses are sleeping on the beaches at night — in the path of recreational vehicles. “Please be careful!” the Corolla Wild...
Binge drinking linked to heart damage, study finds
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association indicates there may be a link between binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption and heart damage. Reuters reported that researchers analyzed data from nearly 3,000 adults from northwest Russia. They found that heavy drinking was associated with increased levels...
What really works for dry winter skin, according to dermatologists
Your skin doesn’t like winter. The combination of cold air outside and heated air inside often leads to dry, itchy, scaly skin. There’s plenty of advice on the web about what to do and plenty of heavily marketed products that claim they’ll solve this seasonal problem, often at a hefty...
Health Happenings: Week of Jan. 13
Classes/programs • Unplug and Recharge is held between noon-12:45 p.m. Tuesdays in January at Excela Square at Frick; Wednesdays at Westmoreland Hospital and Thursdays at Latrobe Hospital. The sessions use exercise and yoga techniques. Details:
excelahealth.org Meetings • Tour of the Family Additions Maternity Center is planned 2 p.m. Sunday...
Cybersecurity: Russians hacked company key to Ukraine scandalVideo
BOSTON — A U.S. cybersecurity company says Russian military agents successfully hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the scandal that led to President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Russian agents launched a phishing campaign in early November aimed at stealing the login credentials for employees of Burisma Holdings, the...
Third horse rescued in Kentucky where 20 others were killed
PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A third horse has been rescued from a strip mine site in Kentucky where 20 horses were found fatally shot. The filly was captured by Dumas Rescue on Saturday and taken to the Kentucky Humane Society, news outlets reported. The horse is believed to be the daughter...
Pennsylvania orders gas well plugged in fight over methane
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Monday told Range Resources that it must fix a Marcellus Shale natural gas well “once and for all” that it maintains has leaked methane since 2011 and contaminated groundwater and streams in north-central Pennsylvania. Wolf’s Department of Environmental Protection in 2015 issued —...
Off-duty Los Angeles County detective struck by car, killed after helping woman
LOS ANGELES — An off-duty sheriff’s detective was struck and killed by a car after she helped an elderly woman cross a street in Los Angeles, authorities said. The accident occurred Sunday in the Valley Village neighborhood as Detective Amber Leist was returning to her car after assisting the woman,...
Pennsylvania cranks up PR campaign to boost census response
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s second lady, Giselle Fetterman, will help lead a campaign to raise awareness of this year’s Census Bureau count and encourage residents to respond to the census, state officials said Monday. Fetterman, whose husband is Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, said she will tour the state, making stops in...
Trump use of doctored Pelosi-Schumer photo draws Muslim ire
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump circulated a fake image on Monday depicting congressional Democrats’ top-ranked leaders in traditional Muslim attire in front of the Iranian flag, drawing criticism that he was promoting Islamophobic tropes. The manipulated photo retweeted by Trump showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader...
Justices turn away appeal of women who went topless at beach
CONCORD, N.H. — The U.S. Supreme Court is leaving in place the public nudity convictions of three women who removed their bathing suit tops on a New Hampshire beach as part of a global campaign advocating for the rights of women to go topless. The justices declined Monday to review...
Mt. Pleasant Township man remembered for love of family, people
While growing up among coal-mining families in the Standard Shaft neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant Township, Frank Jackson loved being around people, but he had no desire to meet them at the bottom of a mine. “That was not for him,” said his daughter Kristina Behan of Pensacola, Fla. “When he...
Mueller investigation witness George Nader pleads guilty on child sex charges
ALEXANDRIA, Va. —A key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation will be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of child sex trafficking and possessing child pornography. Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, 60, entered a plea deal Monday in federal court in Alexandria....
