Slain man’s brother frustrated by 23-year wait for justice
POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — Chris Parks is ready to stop checking the number of days since his brother was murdered. For more than two decades he’s periodically tracked how many days go by before the two men convicted of killing him are executed. On Thursday, when the second is scheduled...
Dairy farmers rally in support of returning whole milk to schools
Pennsylvania dairy farmers and their supporters rallied in Harrisburg on Tuesday in support of restoring whole milk as an option for school lunches. The protesters were scheduled to gather in the rotunda of the State Capitol at 11 a.m. Tuesday for the “Dairy Day for PA Healthy Kids” rally, following...
Man accused of throwing iguana found competent for trial
PAINESVILLE, Ohio — A man accused of pulling an iguana from under his shirt and throwing it at an Ohio restaurant manager has been found competent to face trial on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and animal cruelty. Arnold Teeter also agreed to surrender the injured lizard in exchange for...
Germany’s Angela Merkel says she’s OK after shaking at ceremony
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared unsteady and was visibly shaking Tuesday as she greeted the new Ukrainian leader in the hot sun in Berlin, saying later that she clearly hadn’t drunk enough water. Merkel’s whole body visibly shook and she pursed her lips as she tried to contain...
Hong Kong protesters slam leader’s apology, demand she quit
HONG KONG — Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers and activists rejected a new apology Tuesday by the city’s leader over a highly unpopular extradition bill, demanding that she quit and that the legislation be scrapped completely. Lam’s plea for “another chance” drew a chorus of criticism, though members of pro-Beijing political...
Trump, outsider-turned-insider, sells self as rebel for 2020
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump captured the Republican Party and then the presidency in 2016 as an insurgent intent on disrupting the status quo. As he mounts his bid for reelection, Trump is offering himself as the outsider once again — but it’s a much more awkward pitch to make...
Father of boy killed in Sandy Hook massacre wins defamation suit
HARTFORD, Conn. — The father of a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre has won a defamation lawsuit against the authors of a book that claimed the shooting never happened — the latest victory for victims’ relatives who have been taking a more aggressive stance against conspiracy theorists....
Trump threatens to deport millions beginning next week
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is threatening to remove millions of people living in the country illegally on the eve of formally announcing his re-election bid. In a pair of tweets Monday night, Trump said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would next week “begin the process of removing the...
Connellsville woman TOPS queen in weight lossVideo
Losing more than 100 pounds is a laudable accomplishment. Keeping it off for a year is crown-worthy, according to TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). TOPS recently named Kim Leistner, 58, of Connellsville its 2018 Pennsylvania Queen. Leistner dropped 107.5 pounds over about two years, her scale sliding from...
How is fibromyalgia diagnosed?
Dear Mayo Clinic: Is there a specific test to definitively diagnose fibromyalgia? If not, how do doctors confidently diagnose this disorder? Answer: No one test can be used to diagnose fibromyalgia. But unlike in the past, fibromyalgia is no longer a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that all other conditions...
Why you should quit smoking even after a cancer diagnosis
Dear Mayo Clinic: My father, who is 68, just started treatment for bladder cancer. He’s been a smoker since his 20s, and his oncologist is strongly encouraging him to quit. It seems like trying to stop smoking now, while he’s going through chemotherapy, will just add more stress to a...
Health happenings
Blood drives — 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Laurel Podiatry Associates, 235 Humphrey Road, Pineview Place, Suite 4, Greensburg — 1-5:30 p.m. Friday, North Huntingdon Town House, 11279 Center Highway, Irwin — 1-6:30 p.m. June 26, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church,
501 Fairfield Drive, Hempfield Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs...
Couple want Phoenix officers fired who pointed guns over shopliftingVideo
PHOENIX — A man and his pregnant fiancée said Monday that they want Phoenix to fire the officers who pointed guns and yelled profanities at them because their 4-year-old daughter took a doll from a store. Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper, who are black, said at a news conference that...
Lawyers: Files sent by Alex Jones to Newtown victims contained child porn
HARTFORD, Conn. — Lawyers for the families of children and adults killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School disclosed Monday that child pornography was found in electronic files sent to them by conspiracy theorist Infowars host Alex Jones. The pornography was found in email metadata files Jones’ attorneys turned over to...
McConnell: I don’t know why Jon Stewart is ‘all bent out of shape’ on 9/11 victims fundVideo
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., responded Monday to comedian Jon Stewart’s criticism of his handling of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, saying that he didn’t know why Stewart was “all bent out of shape.” McConnell’s comments, made in an interview with “Fox & Friends,” were made one day...
U.S. sending more troops to Middle East as Iran tensions mount
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday ordered another 1,000 American troops to the Middle East, moving to bolster security in a region reeling from hostile attacks on commercial ships that the U.S. has blamed on Iran. Officials said the deployment includes security forces and troops for additional surveillance and intelligence...
Off-duty police officer saves man after explosion levels New Jersey homeVideo
An explosion leveled a home Monday in northern New Jersey, injuring the lone person inside who was pulled from the burning rubble by an off-duty police officer. The blast, which was caused what authorities said was a gas leak, felt like a “sonic boom,” CBS New York reports. Ridgefield Mayor...
Dozens of Jimmy Buffett fans fall ill in Dominican Republic
The list of people who have fallen ill while in the Dominican Republic keeps growing. The latest tally comes from a group of Jimmy Buffett fans — members of the Central Oklahoma Parrothead Association. Oklahoma news station KFOR talked with Dana Flowers, a member of the group, who said people...
She wanted a Mariah Carey cake and got Marie Curie instead
Call it a case of mis-cake-n identity. A woman in England, named Siobhan, told her co-workers that, for her birthday, she would like a cake with the likeness of one of her favorite singers: Mariah Carey. However, what she was presented with was not the woman who’s been awarded a...
Masked gunman killed after shootout at Dallas courthouseVideo
DALLAS — An Army veteran wearing a mask and carrying more than 150 rounds of ammunition for his high-powered rifle was shot dead Monday after he opened fire outside a busy federal courthouse in downtown Dallas, authorities said. Federal officers killed 22-year-old Brian Isaack Clyde after he approached an entrance...
Strong earthquake hits southern China
BEIJING — A strong earthquake hit Sichuan province in southern China late Monday night and some people were injured, officials and news reports said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 5.9 and hit about 12 miles from the city of Changning in Sichuan. It was centered at...
Egypt TV says ousted president Morsi dies in court
CAIRO — Egypt’s state TV says the country’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died. The state TV says the 67-year-old Morsi was attending a session Monday in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died. His body was taken to...
Suicide bombers kill at least 30 in northeastern Nigeria
DAKAR, Senegal — Suicide bombers killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more in northeastern Nigeria late Sunday, unleashing the deadliest blasts this year in a region plagued by extremist violence. Two women and a man detonated explosives in a tea hall where people had gathered to watch soccer...
Coroner: Shooter in triple murder-suicide was fired from job
WYALUSING — A man who killed his mother, stepfather and another man before taking his own life in northern Pennsylvania had recently been fired from his job and stopped taking medications, a coroner said. Authorities in Bradford County have said Jesse Lee Northrup, 31, shot Edwin Bidlack, 54, who installed...
Women can’t park cars, men can’t change diapers: Britain bans ads depicting stereotypes
The question was plastered throughout London’s subway system, and so was the model doing the asking. Clad in a tiny yellow bikini, her rib cage clearly visible, the woman squinted her eyes, pursed her lips and mused, “Are you beach body ready?” The ad peddling a weight-loss product got a...
