Police capture Philly homicide suspect near Harvard University
A Philadelphia man suspected of killing his father has been captured near Harvard University in Massachusetts. The Ivy League school on Tuesday warned of a “potentially armed assailant” and issued a shelter-in-place advisory for the area near the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, and Massachusetts State Police...
W.Va. man sentenced to 2nd life term in I-81 slaying
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — A West Virginia man has been sentenced to a second life term in the shooting death of a motorist on Interstate 81 in central Pennsylvania more than 5½ years ago. Forty-two-year-old John Strawser Jr. of Terra Alta was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday. Authorities in Franklin County...
Senators promote law to standardize gun denial notifications
Three days after a pair of mass shootings rocked the nation, a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators is promoting legislation that would standardize procedures for gun license denials across the country. Pennsylvania is among 13 states that operate their own background checks on individuals attempting to purchase firearms using the...
Woman says Ohio gunman showed her Tree of Life shooting video on 1st date
An ex-girlfriend of the man who killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, says he showed her a video of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on their first date. Adelia Johnson said in an email to The Associated Press that she doesn’t know what would have caused him to open fire outside...
A look back at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was the home of the Pirates and the Steelers from 1970 to 2000. Built as a multi-purpose stadium to replace Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium was imploded in 2001, when the Pirates moved to PNC Park and the Steelers moved to Heinz Field. Here is a look...
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison dead at 88
NEW YORK — Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” ”Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced...
Ex-cardinal’s letters to victims show signs of grooming
VATICAN CITY — At first glance, the handwritten postcards and letters look innocuous, even warm, sometimes signed off by “Uncle T.” or “Your uncle, Father Ted.” But taken in context, the correspondence penned by disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to the young men he is accused of sexually abusing or harassing...
Trump’s America: Where politics dictate ‘racism’ definition
ERIE — It was the last morning of the workweek, and Scott Bremner, a popular talk-radio host, found himself — again — in the role of accidental referee on the issue of race. And again, the discussion was inspired by racial provocations from President Donald Trump. For one caller, critics...
Hundreds hold vigil at NRA headquarters for shooting victims
FAIRFAX, Va. — Hundreds of people held vigil outside the National Rifle Association’s headquarters in Virginia for the dozens slain in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Gun control groups including March for Our Lives organized Monday’s “Vigil for Remembrance and Change,” which sought to honor the...
Charles Manson prosecutor: Keep them all locked up forever
LOS ANGELES — Stephen Kay was a fresh-faced prosecutor just 27 years old and three years out of law school when circumstances handed him the Charles Manson “family” murder case. Over the next half-century, it would come to define his career and lead to death threats that to this day...
Sunburn tattoos? Don’t put your skin at risk, dermatologists sayVideo
Even if it’s not a good idea, somebody is bound to try it. Witness this summer’s social media buzz around “sunburn tattoos.” To create sunburn tattoos, tanners cover a portion of skin with a decal, stencil or sunscreen and then head out into the sun with the rest of their...
Does vitamin B-1 repel mosquitos?
As I sit here scratching a mosquito bite, I’m suddenly interested in a recent question from a patient. Do vitamin B1 supplements repel mosquitos? Here’s what I learned: Mosquitos transmit several diseases, including malaria and West Nile virus. And they find their hosts (you and me) mostly by their sense...
5 threats to heart health
Many people can recite the major risk factors for heart disease, the stuff of posters, public service ads and dire warnings: smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, lack of exercise. But what about air pollution, loneliness, lack of green space, lack of sleep and stress? They’re elements of...
Health Happenings – Aug. 6, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. today, Excela Square at Latrobe, 100 Excela Health Drive — 1-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Community United Methodist Church, Route 130, Irwin — Noon-4:30 p.m. Friday, Export Italian American Club, 5930 Kennedy Ave. — 1-5 p.m. Monday,...
Washington hits Venezuela with full economic embargo
President Trump late Monday signed an executive order imposing a harsh, Cuba-style economic embargo on Venezuela as part of Washington’s broad push to force leader Nicolas Maduro out of power. In a letter to Congress, Trump said the measure was necessary in light of Maduro’s “continued usurpation of power” and...
Online providers knock 8chan offline as a result of mass shooting
BOSTON — The online message board 8chan was effectively knocked offline Monday after two companies cut off vital technical services following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, whose perpetrator was linked to the site. 8chan is known for trafficking in anonymous hate speech and incitement of hate crimes. A...
Nick Cumer, Dayton shooting victim from Western Pa., was ‘someone we all could look up to’
Nick Cumer spent many long days and nights at Washington High School polishing his craft on the trombone. But, when he enrolled as a freshman at Saint Francis University, Cumer was told that the Cambria County school’s newly forming band had enough trombone players. What they needed was someone who...
‘Gentle giant’ was workplace mentor, life of the party
At age 65, Bill Marszalek could still easily bench press more than 200 pounds. A weightlifter from his teens who stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall, he cut an imposing figure. But, for those who knew him, his jovial personality, winning smile and concern for others are what really made...
Mitch McConnell campaign blasted for photos of tombstones for political foesVideo
It is not a good look for Team Mitch. The Mitch McConnell campaign tweeted an image during the weekend of a mock graveyard with the names on tombstones of the Senate majority leader’s political opponents. And the timing could not be worse. Two mass shootings where more than 30 people...
Bloody weekend renews hope of passing new gun control measures in D.C., Pennsylvania
A weekend of bloodshed, bookended by mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, may have moved the needle on gun control measures. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, says he is optimistic the bill he and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., first partnered on in 2013 to expand background...
‘MAGA bomber’ Cesar Sayoc gets 20 years for mailing explosives to Trump critics
NEW YORK — The President Donald Trump superfan who sparked a nationwide manhunt by mailing pipe bombs to prominent Democrats was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison. Cesar Sayoc sent 16 pipe bombs to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden,...
Democrats: Trump should demand Senate vote on gun bill
WASHINGTON — If President Donald Trump is serious about strengthening gun laws in the wake of two mass shootings, he should demand that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put a House-passed bill strengthening background checks up for a vote, congressional Democrats said Monday. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the...
Puerto Ricans await court decision on potential new governor
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court on Monday agreed to rule on a lawsuit that the island’s Senate filed in a bid to oust a veteran politician recently sworn in as the island’s governor. The court gave all parties until Tuesday at noon to file all necessary...
Pennsylvania school safety tip system fielded 23K reports this year
HARRISBURG — A state report released Monday said bullying, self-harm and suicide were the most common concerns fielded during the first half-year of operation for a new threat reporting system that covers Pennsylvania schools. The 21-page report by the state attorney general’s office said the Safe 2 Say Something program...
Afghan official: Policeman opens fire on colleagues, kills 7
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan policeman in the southern province of Kandahar opened fire on his colleagues, killing seven other policemen before fleeing the scene, a provincial official said Monday. The Taliban claimed the attack, saying the policeman had joined their ranks. The deadly shooting is the latest case of...
