Decorated officer served as diplomat around the world, settled in North Huntingdon
Paul Flebotte’s superior officers often used words like “quiet” and “unassuming” in his performance evaluations. His mild manners didn’t stop him from becoming a decorated officer who served in some of the military’s top diplomatic positions. “He was one of the most humble and dedicated individuals, who never sought accolades,”...
New Jersey judge sorry for telling woman to sell nude photos to PlayboyVideo
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey judge is sorry for suggesting a woman sell nude photos of herself to “Playboy” founder Hugh Hefner. Middlesex County Assignment Judge Alberto Rivas made the comment in a dispute involving the girlfriend of a married man and his wife. The girlfriend was seeking to...
Trump likens buying Greenland to ‘a large real estate deal’Video
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday the idea of buying Greenland from Denmark has been discussed within his administration because of the strategic benefits for the United States and suggested that the semi-autonomous territory is a financial burden to Denmark. Surprise and confusion greeted a Wall Street Journal report last...
Kathleen Blanco, Louisiana’s governor during Katrina, diesVideo
BATON ROUGE — Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who became the state’s first female elected governor only to see her political career derailed by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, has died. After struggling for years with cancer, Blanco died Sunday in hospice care in Lafayette. She was 76. “Our...
Police: Ohio man accused of threat to Jewish center arrested
NEW MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Police say a man accused of making what they believe was a threat to a Jewish center in Ohio on Instagram has been arrested on telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing charges. New Middletown police say they arrested 20-year-old James Reardon, Jr., at his home Saturday in...
Iranian tanker sought by U.S. heads to unknown destination
GIBRALTAR — An Iranian supertanker hauling $130 million worth of light crude oil that the United States suspects to be tied to a sanctioned organization has lifted its anchor and begun moving away from Gibraltar, marine traffic monitoring data showed late Sunday. The trail left by GPS data on Marinetraffic.com,...
Officials seize $2.3M worth of marijuana mixed with jalapeno peppers in California
SAN DIEGO — Officials say they seized $2.3 million worth of marijuana mixed in with a shipment of jalapeño peppers at a Southern California port. A Customs and Border Protection K-9 unit alerted officers to a shipment of peppers Thursday at the Otay Mesa cargo facility in San Diego. A...
Centre County man killed while cutting down trees, death ruled accidental
STATE COLLEGE — Authorities say a man was killed while cutting down trees for firewood in central Pennsylvania. State police in Centre County say the man was cutting trees in Penn Township when a tree fell on him at about 7 p.m. Friday. Coroner Scott Sayers identified the man as...
French waiter fatally shot for making customer wait too long for sandwich
A waiter was shot and killed Friday night by a customer at a restaurant in the suburbs of Paris because he was too slow with an order. The alleged gunman, who a witness said lost his temper “as his sandwich wasn’t prepared quickly enough,” fled the scene and is still...
Major players shaping troubled Afghanistan’s future
KABUL, Afghanistan — Saturday night’s devastating attack on a wedding in Afghanistan’s capital comes amid huge uncertainty about the country’s future. The United States and the Taliban say they are nearing a deal to end America’s longest conflict, one that has lasted a generation and left tens of thousands dead....
‘Ground zero’: Portland remains focus of divided country
PORTLAND, Ore. — With both the left and the right declaring victory following a long-hyped rally that had Portland, Oregon, on edge it seems the liberal city will continue to be a flashpoint in an increasingly divided country. City officials were mostly relieved that a downtown gathering Saturday of more...
Severe thunderstorm warning until at least 3 p.m. Sunday
Conditions exit for severe thunderstorms to pop up in a huge part of the state from east of Pittsburgh to Bradford through this afternoon until 4:45 p.m. , according to the National Weather Service. Weather service meterologist Pat Will said a warning is in effect until 3 p.m. Westmoreland, Armstrong,...
‘Miracle house’ in Ohio draws pilgrims amid sainthood push
CANTON, Ohio — Late in the summer of 1939, crowds of strangers started showing up at Rhoda Wise’s house next to a city dump in Ohio after she let it be known that miracles were occurring in her room. Eight decades later, people still make pilgrimages to the wood frame...
Backers of rural dental care find something to smile about
AUGUSTA, Maine — It can be hard to keep smiles healthy in rural areas, where dentists are few and far between and residents often are poor and lack dental coverage. Efforts to remedy the problem have produced varying degrees of success. The biggest obstacle? Dentists. Dozens of countries, such as...
Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow plays down fears of looming recessionVideo
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — President Trump’s top economic adviser is playing down fears of a looming recession after last week’s sharp drop in the financial markets and predicting the economy will perform well in the second half of 2019. Larry Kudlow said in Sunday television interviews that consumers are seeing...
Jeffrey Epstein’s purported madam now a focus in sex abuse cases
MIAMI — She’s been called Jeffrey Epstein’s madam, the woman who recruited girls for his sexual appetites, and at times his social planner and household organizer in places ranging from New York to Palm Beach, Florida. Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of a British publishing magnate who died under mysterious circumstances,...
Sheriff: Florida man dumps dirt on girlfriend with tractor
CRESTVIEW, Fla. — A Florida man used a front-end loader to dump a large bucket full of dirt on a car with his girlfriend inside, authorities said. Hunter Mills, 20, was charged with felony criminal mischief, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said. The girlfriend was not hurt. Mills invited his...
Phoenix looks to be next big city with citizen police review
PHOENIX — Dozens of people, mostly African Americans, huddled around tables scattered across a church gymnasium on a recent evening, discussing past run-ins with Phoenix police officers and ways to hold them accountable. In a city still stinging from a video of officers pointing guns and cursing at a black...
From tusks to tails, nations eye trade in endangered species
GENEVA — From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind’s exploitation of the planet’s fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the...
Florida vacation home invaded by vomiting vultures
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A New York couple’s luxurious vacation house in Florida has been taken over by dozens of black vultures that are vomiting and defecating everywhere. The Palm Beach Post reports the Casimano family can’t even visit the $702,000 home they purchased earlier this year in the...
Woman thought she had kidney stones, gave birth to tripletsVideo
A South Dakota woman who recently gave birth to triplets says she didn’t find out about her pregnancy until she went to the hospital with what she thought were kidney stones. KOTA-TV reports Dannette Giltz, of Sturgis, gave birth to the healthy triplets on Aug. 10. Giltz says that despite...
At least 63 dead in wedding party blast in Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide-bomb blast ripped through a wedding party on a busy Saturday night in Afghanistan’s capital and dozens of people were killed or wounded, a government official said. An Afghan official Sunday said at least 63 people died as a result of the suicide bomber’s detonating explosives...
California woman gets jail for dumping puppies in trash
INDIO, Calif. — A Southern California woman authorities caught on surveillance video in April dumping a bag of 3-day-old puppies into a trash can has received jail time after changing her plea to guilty. Deborah Culwell was sentenced this week to 365 days in county jail — reduced to 174...
Officer resigns after 2 hurt by truck at immigration protestVideo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An officer at a detention center resigned Friday amid investigations into a truck that drove through a group protesting federal immigration policies. The resignation of Capt. Thomas Woodworth from the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility was announced in a brief statement from the center in Central Falls,...
Doctors warn of fallout from new immigration rule
CHICAGO — Diabetics skipping regular checkups. Young asthmatics not getting preventive care. A surge in expensive emergency room visits. Doctors and public health experts warn of poor health and rising costs they say will come from sweeping Trump administration changes that would deny green cards to many immigrants who use...
