Final Pennsylvania county OKs new paper-trail voting system
A decision this week by Dauphin County to purchase new paper-trail voting systems means all 67 Pennsylvania counties have taken action under a state law that helps fund the upgrades, the Wolf administration said Tuesday. Officials called the vote a milestone toward ensuring the integrity of the state’s future elections....
Business relations, cancer charity held personal meaning for Norwin civic leader
Margaree Pertle was strong in her commitment to causes that benefited others, including the fight against cancer. Pertle, who founded the Norwin Relay for Life 15 years ago, took part in the yearly fundraising walk around the Norwin Knights track in North Huntingdon to raise money for cancer research —...
Trump signs law to reduce robocalls, though they won’t end
NEW YORK — An anti-robocalls measure signed into law Monday by President Donald Trump should help reduce the torrent of unwanted calls promising lower interest rates or pretending to be the IRS, though it won’t make all such calls disappear. The new law gives authorities more enforcement powers and could...
Judge orders Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook case
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax. Jones is being sued for defamation in Austin, Texas, by the parents...
Happy 2020: Server at Michigan restaurant gets $2,020 tip
ALPENA, Mich. — The restaurant bill was $23. But the tip at a small-town restaurant in Michigan was much larger: $2,020. “Things like this don’t happen to people like me,” server Danielle Franzoni told The Alpena News. Franzoni, 31, got the tip while working Sunday at Thunder Bay River Restaurant...
Cheers, tears, prayers for 2020: A new decade is ushered in around the world
Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a decade that will be remembered for the rise of social media, the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement and, of course, President Donald Trump. A look at how the world is ushering in 2020: ——— AUSTRALIA More than a million people descended...
Raging wildfires trap 4,000 at Australian town’s waterfront
PERTH, Australia — Wildfires burning across Australia’s two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country’s east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season. About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of...
West Virginia governor fires 34 prison guard trainees who gave Nazi salute
CHARLESTON, W. Va. — West Virginia’s governor has fired 34 correction officer trainees who were photographed giving a Nazi salute, and he fired their instructor. He also says four instructors are being suspended without pay. Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced his decision Monday after receiving a report from state investigators...
Protesters attack U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after airstrikesVideo
BAGHDAD — Angered by deadly airstrikes targeting an Iran-backed militia, dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area in one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent...
Study: Structured, salary-only plan for physicians is a model for pay equity
Gender pay equity in the field of medicine remains elusive. Gender-based pay differences have been shown to persist, even when controlling for experience, clinical productivity, academic rank and other factors. These inequities result in significantly lower lifetime earnings, job burnout and negative attitudes toward work, and adverse effects on the...
For most people, drinking plain water is the best way to stay hydrated
Question: I’ve heard that alkaline water is better at rehydrating your body than nonalkaline, or plain, water. Is this true? Answer: In short, for most people, plain water is better. But first, it’s important to understand the definition of alkaline water. Scientists use pH to describe how acidic or basic...
Take it outside: Winter exercise is a snap with the right gear
It’s New Year’s Eve — time once again to make a resolution to do something better in the new year. Starting with Halloween candy, continuing with the Thanksgiving feast and finishing off with holiday indulgences in December, it’s no wonder that many of our resolutions have to do with getting...
Health Happenings: Week of Dec. 30
Classes/programs • Excela Health offers classes to aid people with diabetes in meal planning. Classes meet 1-
3 p.m. Jan. 7 in Excela Square at Latrobe.
Details: 724-537-1049 • Excela Health fitness classes for the mind, body and spirit at Westmoreland Hospital, 532 W. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg, unless otherwise noted: —...
Trump ally Erik Prince may have broken Venezuela sanctions
MIAMI — Erik Prince, a major Republican donor and founder of controversial security firm Blackwater, has been referred to the U.S. Treasury Department for possible sanctions violations tied to his recent trip to Venezuela for a meeting with a top aide of President Nicolas Maduro, two senior U.S. officials said....
Greensburg’s MedCare Equipment expands with new Somerset affiliation
Greensburg-based MedCare Equipment Company is expanding its service area and adding about 20 employees through a new affiliation with Somerset Med Services. On Wednesday, the Greensburg firm, which provides home medical equipment and respiratory therapy services in affiliation with the local Excela Health health care system, is set to conclude...
Board issues letter to Lancaster County judge over his traffic stop behaviorVideo
HARRISBURG — A written reprimand from the entity that investigates claims of judicial misconduct in Pennsylvania was made public Monday, describing a county judge’s behavior, captured on video, challenging a patrolman who stopped his SUV. The Judicial Conduct Board’s ” letter of counsel ” to Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge...
Judge dismisses impeachment suit from ex-White House aide Charles Kupperman
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from a former White House official who had challenged a congressional subpoena in the impeachment inquiry involving President Donald Trump. Charles Kupperman, a former deputy national security adviser, sued in October after being subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in...
Church organist, music teacher left behind legacy of song
Frances Kintigh could play everything from a Bach cantata to a Scott Joplin rag on her baby grand piano, but the hymns she provided accompaniment for were her favorite form of musical expression. “She loved the songs of the church,” said her daughter, Patricia Kintigh. “Wonderful Words of Life” was...
Alabama police chief apologizes for officer’s ‘homeless quilt’ post
MOBILE, Ala. — A police chief in the south Alabama city of Mobile is apologizing for an officer’s social media post appearing to ridicule homeless people that was shared widely over the holidays. The Facebook post showed two Mobile Police officers, holding what the post called a “homeless quilt” made...
Kansas officer resigns, faked story of expletive on his coffee cupVideo
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — A Kansas police officer has resigned after he admitted to making up a story that a McDonald’s employee wrote an expletive and the word “pig” on a coffee cup, the police chief announced Monday. Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said at a news conference that the...
Report: West Virginia cadets gave Nazi salute as ‘sign of respect’
CHARLESTON, W. Va. — Correction officer trainees in West Virginia regularly gave the Nazi salute “as a sign of respect” for their instructor in the weeks prior to the release of a photo of the cadets with arms raised that triggered widespread outrage, state investigators said in a report Monday....
Prosecutors: Boyfriend shot and killed Michigan State student while playing with gun
CHICAGO — A Michigan State University student home for winter break was shot and killed by her boyfriend as he played with a revolver in a South Side apartment, prosecutors said Monday. Lafayette Hodges, 18, held his hands to his head as he appeared in court on charges of involuntary...
Father who made kids panhandle for drug money gets 20 years
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A judge sentenced a New Mexico father to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of forcing his children to panhandle to get him money for drugs. The office of Attorney General Hector Balderas said Monday the man was sentenced in Albuquerque, nearly three months after...
With births down, U.S. had slowest growth rate in a centuryVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — The past year’s population growth rate in the United States was the slowest in a century because of declining births, increasing deaths and the slowdown of international migration, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. grew from 2018 to 2019 by almost...
New overtime rule affects 61,000 in Pennsylvania
A new year could mean additional earnings for thousands of Pennsylvanians as a new federal rule guaranteeing overtime pay goes into effect. The rule that takes effect Wednesday guarantees time-and-a-half payments to nearly all hourly employees who work more than 40 hours per week as well as most salaried workers...
