Texas police officer killed by man fleeing traffic stop
NASSAU BAY, Texas — A Houston-area police sergeant was killed when a man wanted on a domestic violence warrant broke free from police while being handcuffed, fled from a traffic stop and struck her with his vehicle, police said. The search continued early Wednesday for the man, who police said...
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is Time ‘person of the year’
NEW YORK — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was named Time’s “person of the year” Wednesday, becoming at age 16 the youngest person to whom the U.S. magazine has given the title. Thunberg emerged as the face of the youth climate movement after she started skipping school once a week...
As Newtown students grow up, some turn to activism
NEWTOWN, Conn. — They were children themselves when they lost siblings, friends, and schoolmates in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Too young to comprehend the massacre, they spent years in shock and denial. Seven years later, some young people in Newtown, still struggling with the trauma, are emerging as...
Jersey City’s mayor says gunmen targeted kosher market
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The mayor of a New Jersey city said Wednesday that authorities believe gunmen targeted a kosher market during a furious shooting that killed six people and filled the streets with the sounds of heavy gunfire for hours just across the Hudson River from New York City....
Richmond gets a new soaring statue, this one with dreadlocksVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — A massive bronze sculpture of a young black man with dreadlocks astride a muscular horse was permanently installed Tuesday in Virginia’s capital city, not far from one of the country’s most prominent displays of Confederate monuments. Thousands of people crowded the lawn of the Virginia Museum of...
3 charged with running $722M cryptocurrency scam
NEWARK, N.J. — Three men were charged with running a cryptocurrency mining operation that officials labeled a “high-tech Ponzi scheme” that bilked investors out of $722 million, federal officials announced Tuesday. Matthew Goettsche, 37, was arrested Tuesday in Colorado, while Jobadiah Weeks, 38, was taken into custody in Florida and...
Betsy DeVos: Defrauded students may only get partial loan relief
Students who are cheated by their colleges will receive full loan forgiveness only if they end up earning far less than their peers, while others will receive relief between 25% and 75% of their debt under new rules unveiled Tuesday by the U.S. Education Department. The policy is a departure...
Analysis: White House says Trump warned Russian envoy Sergei Lavrov. But did he?Video
WASHINGTON — For three bewildering years, President Donald Trump has flatly dismissed, joked about or simply brushed aside Russia’s well-documented intervention in America’s 2016 presidential election. In July 2018, during a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland, Trump stopped just short of saying he believed Putin’s denials more...
Pennsylvania trooper shot and wounded in Tioga County, prompting standoff
ELKLAND — A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot and wounded Tuesday afternoon at a home in a rural area near the border with New York state, prompting a standoff with the barricaded gunman that lasted into the evening, authorities said. Troopers were conducting a welfare check at the home in...
Feds’ rules threaten Pennsylvanians’ food stamps, state claims
HARRISBURG — Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians stand to lose food stamps or see their benefits reduced under three sets of changes to the program being advanced by the Trump administration, state officials said Tuesday. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration opposes all three changes, saying that the federal government is simply...
Yough teacher, coach taught loyalty and integrity
As a longtime teacher, athletic director and coach, Angelo J. Delaini Jr. earned the respect of students in the Yough School District. “It’s funny how many people have come up to me over the years, or even just in the last few days… who always speak of him very highly,”...
DA: Ex-municipal official in Chester County stole $3M from taxpayersVideo
WEST CHESTER — A former township official outside Philadelphia stole more than $3 million from taxpayers, using some of embezzled funds to fund a lavish lifestyle that included trips to Italy and France and shopping sprees for designer clothing and jewelry, authorities said Tuesday. Lisa Moore, 46, the former manager...
Final full moon of the decade to peak at 12:12 on 12/12
The moon will appear full for the final time this decade on Dec. 12 at 12:12 a.m., according to NASA. A full moon in December is known as the Cold Moon in the Northern Hemisphere. Numerologists may have something to say about all the twelves in the date and time,...
Pentagon orders review of international student vettingVideo
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Tuesday ordered a broad review of vetting procedures for international students who participate in training on U.S. military installations and demanded the process be strengthened, in direct reaction to last week’s deadly shooting at a Pensacola Navy base by a Saudi aviation student. The memo...
William Barr: FBI’s Russia investigation based on ‘bogus narrative’Video
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr leveled blistering criticism at how the Russia investigation was conducted, saying Tuesday that it was based on a “bogus narrative” that the Trump campaign might have conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Barr spoke to NBC News one day after the release...
Pittsburgh area leads state in ‘widespread’ flu outbreak, health data show
More than half of the flu cases reported in Pennsylvania so far this season are in the Greater Pittsburgh area, with Allegheny County having the most of any county in the state in a season that is off to an early start. A total of 4,424 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza...
Finland gets world’s youngest prime minister, a woman age 34
HELSINKI — Finland became the country with the world’s youngest sitting head of government Tuesday when the Nordic country’s parliament chose a 34-year-old woman who is a prolific user of social media and a keen advocate for environmental issues as prime minister. Lawmakers in the 200-seat Eduskunta voted 99-70 to...
Discover the magic inside these 10 Downtown Irwin businesses
Holidays are meant to be magical: the twinkling lights, the thrill of a little mistletoe, and the warm gratification of gifting the perfect presents to friends and family. Of course, with online shopping that experience has become somewhat less enchanting. What better way to bring back the magic of the...
6 killed in New Jersey gunbattle, including police officerVideo
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Six people, including a police officer and three bystanders, were killed in a furious gun battle Tuesday that filled the streets of Jersey City with the sound of heavy fire for hours, authorities said. The dead included the two gunmen, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly...
Women seek access to strip clubs in constitutional battle
ORLANDO, Fla. — A lawsuit over women’s right to enter strip clubs unaccompanied by men is making Florida cities and counties worry about the future of their local civil-rights laws. An Orlando area strip club denied two Alabama women access because its policy required women to enter with men to...
Justices seem to favor insurers’ Obamacare claims for $12B
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Several justices indicated their agreement with arguments from the insurers that...
George Laurer, inventor of ubiquitous UPC, dies at 94
WENDELL, N.C. — George J. Laurer, whose invention of the Universal Product Code at IBM transformed retail and other industries around the world, has died. He was 94. A funeral was held on Monday for Laurer, who died Thursday at his home in Wendell, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh....
So, what’s next in the impeachment process?Video
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on two articles of impeachment by the end of the week, sending them to the House floor for a vote by Christmas. Next would come a Senate trial, likely in 2020. Here’s what to expect next in the impeachment process:...
Chile combs Antarctic for missing plane with 38 aboard
SANTIAGO, Chile — Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing Antarctic seas on Tuesday, hunting for a Chilean Air Force transport plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to a base on the frozen continent. Seven hours after contact was cut off, the Air Force declared the plane...
Chinese migrants found hiding in appliances at U.S. crossing
SAN DIEGO — Eleven Chinese migrants were discovered hiding in furniture and appliances inside a truck stopped by agents as it entered the U.S. from Mexico at a Southern California border crossing, federal officials said. At least one person was crammed inside a washing machine and another was curled up...
