Pa. voters will decide constitutional amendment on rights of crime victims
Voters might be excused if they are confused when they scan the ballot in Pennsylvania next month and see a question asking to amend the state constitution to include a crime victims rights amendment. The proposed amendment, dubbed Marsy’s Law, seems to echo Pennsylvania’s Crime Victims Act. That law first...
Luzerne County man who went ‘fishing for cats’ pleads guilty to animal cruelty
A Pennsylvania man accused of “fishing for cats” has pleaded guilty this week to animal cruelty charges. Kenny Rowles of Plymouth, Luzerne County, was arrested in May on accusations he baited a fishing hook to catch a neighborhood cat. The cat, Tollie, was near the brink of death when he...
IHOP patrons trash restaurant, assault staff over orange juice refillsVideo
The IHOP orange juice refill policy was apparently a surprise to a group of guests who reportedly threw a fit when they got their bill. Diners at an IHOP restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, last week were unhappy to see charges for each refill of orange juice on their check,...
Pa. college athletes could earn financial compensation under proposed bill
The paid college athlete is an idea whose time has come, say two Allegheny County lawmakers. State Reps. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Ed Gainey, D-Pittsburgh, say they plan to introduce a bill that would allow college athletes to sign endorsements, earn compensation and hire agents just like the pros....
Former N.Y. Rep. Chris Collins pleads guilty to insider tradingVideo
NEW YORK — One of President Donald Trump’s earliest supporters in Congress — former Rep. Chris Collins — pleaded guilty Tuesday to insider trading charges that he had previously dismissed as “a partisan witch hunt.” “The actions I took are anything but what a model citizen would take. I am...
Sanders raises $25M in 3rd-quarter 2020 cash, Buttigieg $19M
Bernie Sanders reported Tuesday that he raised $25.3 million over the last three months, the largest quarterly sum a Democratic White House hopeful has posted this year and an amount that ensures he will be an enduring presence in the primary. Pete Buttigieg, who entered the race as the little-known...
Trump administration loses bid to dismiss monument lawsuits
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to dismiss lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of a 2017 decision to downsize two sprawling national monuments in Utah. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan’s written decisions issued late Monday night means the legal challenges seeking to...
Sword-wielding student kills 1, wounds 9 at Finland school
A man wielding a sword and a firearm killed a woman and wounded nine others Tuesday at a vocational school inside a shopping center in central Finland, police said. The attacker was seriously wounded after police opened fire, and he was taken into custody. The police superintendent for eastern Finland,...
Pompeo, Democrats trade intimidation charges in Trump investigation
WASHINGTON — Setting a defiant tone, the Trump administration resisted Congress’ access to impeachment witnesses Tuesday, even as House Democrats warned such efforts themselves could amount to an impeachable offense. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to delay five current and former officials from providing documents and testimony in the...
Health Happenings week of Oct. 1
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host a blood drive 12:30-6 p.m.
Oct. 9, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 407 Constitution Drive, Hunker. Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • WCCC is partnering with APPRISE, the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Assistance Program, to sponsor a free Medicare presentation about the basics...
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Mild hypothyroidism may not need treatment
Dear Mayo Clinic: I recently was diagnosed with mild hypothyroidism that isn’t causing symptoms. My doctor says I don’t need treatment now, but she wants me to come back for regular checkups. Does hypothyroidism usually get worse over time? If it does, how is it treated? Answer: For mild cases...
Quinn on Nutrition: What is A2 milk?
At a recent nutrition seminar, my friend, Kristin (another registered dietitian) and I were intrigued to hear an update about a new product on the market called A2 milk. “My cousin has been intolerant to milk most of her life” she told our group. “But she found she can tolerate...
‘Cooking for One’ teaches grief survivors solo culinary skillsVideo
There are smiles and laughter all around as two dozen people gather to decorate Halloween pumpkins, enjoy fun-size candy bars and prepare and share a meal. The setting may be a bit unusual — the Frank Kapr Funeral Home Family Center in Scottdale. This second session of a new, locally...
Russia: Our approval is needed to publish Trump’s calls with Putin
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Monday that transcripts of calls between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin can only be published by mutual agreement. The White House has severely restricted the distribution of memos detailing Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, including Putin. Asked about Congress’ push for the...
Trump sought Australia’s help on Russia probe origins
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently asked the Australian prime minister and other foreign leaders to help Attorney General William Barr with an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe that shadowed his administration for more than two years, the Justice Department said Monday. The revelation underscores the extent...
Pornographic video plays on interstate billboard in MichiganVideo
DETROIT — A pornographic video played on an electronic billboard on the I-75 and M-59 interchange in Auburn Hills on Saturday night, police say. Auburn Hills Police Department started receiving calls about the graphic images at about 11 p.m., sent officers to the scene and contacted the billboard operator, Canadian-based...
How risky is eating red meat? New papers provoke controversy
NEW YORK — Eating red meat is linked to cancer and heart disease, but are the risks big enough to give up burgers and steak? A team of international researchers says probably not, contradicting established advice. In a series of papers published Monday, the researchers say the increased risks are...
House Democrats subpoena Rudy Giuliani for documents tied to Trump’s Ukraine callVideo
WASHINGTON — Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s attorney, has been issued a subpoena by House Democrats, who are investigating his attempt to have Ukraine open an investigation into former Vice President Joseph Biden. The subpoena, which was announced Monday, sets a deadline of Oct. 15 for Giuliani to provide documents...
Mt. Pleasant man enjoyed picking bluegrass
Homer Emerick enjoyed fishing in Wills Creek in Somerset County, but there wasn’t much that made him happier than sitting down with an acoustic instrument, a few friends, and doing a bit of picking. “His thing was always music,” said his son Scott Emerick of Kecksburg. “He had a violin,...
Report: Global CO2 emissions will continue to increase through 2050
In the wake of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, a federal agency is projecting that global carbon dioxide emissions from energy-related sources will continue to grow in the coming decades. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its 2019 International Energy Outlook, released last week, that global energy-related...
October events planned for Pennsylvania Wine Month
Wine lovers unite. If you needed an excuse to imbibe, now you have one. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is partnering with the state Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Winery Association to promote October as Pennsylvania Wine Month. And they are asking residents to help celebrate it. Don’t know...
Trump warns of treason, civil war; GOP congressman outraged
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is warning that the Democrat-driven impeachment proceedings and any move to oust him from office amount to “treason” and would spark a civil war, prompting outrage from a Republican congressman. Trump tweeted a conservative pastor’s comment that removing him would provoke a “civil war-like fracture”...
More violence grips Hong Kong ahead of China’s National Day
HONG KONG — Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China’s National Day holiday this week. Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid...
Dark skies: UN meeting reveals a world in a really bad mood
UNITED NATIONS — The planet is heating. Island nations are slipping away. A Pakistan-India nuclear war could be a “bloodbath.” Governments aren’t working together like they used to. Polarization is tearing us apart. Killing. Migration. Poverty. Corruption. Inequality. Sovereignty violations. Helplessness. Hopelessness. “The problems of our times are extraordinary,” Ibraham...
Electoral gains revive old dilemma for Israeli Arabs
NAZARETH, Israel — When election results confirmed that an Arab alliance had emerged as the third largest bloc in Israel’s parliament, its leader Ayman Odeh reached for the Old Testament, tweeting in Hebrew from Psalm 118 that the stone which was rejected had become the cornerstone. His message: The Arab...
