Trump administration wants to reimburse Taliban’s travel expenses
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked Congress earlier this year for funds to reimburse Afghanistan’s Taliban for expenses the insurgent group incurs attending peace talks, according to a spokesman for the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. The money would cover the Taliban’s costs for expenses such as...
Trump signs order to protect networks from foreign espionage, likely targeting ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks in a move that gives the federal government broad powers to bar American companies from doing business with certain foreign suppliers — including the Chinese firm Huawei. Trump...
Facial recognition software under fire;
PennDOT’s been using it for years
You may not know whether you have a double in Pennsylvania. But if you’re applying for a driver’s license or a state photo identification, PennDOT will let you know. The agency uses facial recognition software, as do dozens of other agencies across the nation. Images of each of the 10.1...
Officials approve phased retirement for state university professors
State officials and faculty members at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities have approved a voluntary phased-retirement program. The agreement, ratified by the oversight board of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, comes as the faculty union and the State System gear up for contract talks and state officials continue work...
State offers student loan repayment for opioid treatment specialists
Healthcare practitioners who treat opioid addiction in 30 highly affected Western Pennsylvania counties — including Allegheny and Westmoreland — may be eligible for student loan aid under a new $5 million program designed to boost treatment options in the region. Those eligible to participate in the new program through the...
Judge rejects Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal
A Pennsylvania judge systematically snubbed all of Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal in a lengthy new opinion that the comedian and his wife blasted as racist Wednesday. Judge Steven O’Neill, who presided over the sex assault trial that led to Cosby’s conviction last year, said in his 143-page response that...
Immigrant soldiers now denied U.S. citizenship at higher rate than civilians
WASHINGTON — Immigrants serving in the U.S. military are being denied citizenship at a higher rate than foreign-born civilians, according to new government data that has revealed the impact of stricter Trump administration immigration policies on service members. According to the same data, the actual number of service members even...
Ohio teen loses 115 pounds while walking to school every day
An Ohio student will graduate 115 pounds lighter than when he started high school. Michael Watson, 18, of Canton decided two years ago to do something about his weight. He was 6 foot, 4 inches tall and tipped the scale at 335 pounds, reports CNN. “My self-confidence was zero,” Watson...
Lawsuit filed to stop Ohio abortion ban after 1st heartbeat
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics sued Wednesday to thwart Ohio’s latest and most restrictive abortion law, an anticipated move that’s part of a national anti-abortion strategy to challenge the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The lawsuit is similar to legal fights in several southern states that recently...
Students in Colorado shooting face murder, other charges
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Two students suspected of shooting nine classmates, one fatally, in their Colorado charter school appeared in court Wednesday to face dozens of criminal charges that included murder, attempted murder, theft and arson. The charges were filed on the same day a memorial service was scheduled for...
Larry Kudlow chewed out by Trump for admitting tariffs hurt American consumers
Larry Kudlow is finding out the hard way that pleasing the Donald and telling the truth is a tough balancing act. The White House economics czar reportedly got chewed out by President Trump for admitting that American consumers will pay the price for the White House’s tariff-happy trade war. “Trump...
Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban: ‘Nobody’ can beat Trump ‘right now’
Billionaire “Shark” and Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban told CNBC that none of the 22 Democratic candidates for president in 2020 has a shot at taking the office from President Donald Trump. When asked by CNBC’s Scott Wapner which of the Democrats have the best shot at beating Trump, Cuban...
These events have led to heightened tensions between U.S., Iran
Tensions between the United States and Iran have soared in recent weeks, with Washington dispatching warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf, and Tehran threatening to resume higher uranium enrichment. The tensions come a year after President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers and restored...
Pennsylvania boosts student-loan aid to bolster opioid fight
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is devoting $5 million in federal grants to a student-loan repayment program in high opioid-use areas where there’s a shortage of substance-abuse treatment professionals. The application period opened May 1 and runs through June 3. An administration spokesman says the new program is fairly...
Lawsuit: Johnstown practice, hospital covered for pedophile pediatrician
EBENSBURG — A civil suit says a Pennsylvania pediatric practice knew that one of its physicians was a threat to molest young patients but covered it up. The suit says Laurel Pediatric Associates in Johnstown knew at least two decades ago that Dr. Johnnie Barto’s patients were in “serious danger,”...
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host open house
The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host an open house May 18 for those with an interest in flight-related careers. Representatives from Endeavor Air will be at the school’s main campus, at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, to talk with prospective students. PIA President Suzanne Markle said the...
Police: 5-year-old brings crack cocaine to Philadelphia preschool
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are investigating after a 5-year-old boy brought about two dozen vials of crack cocaine into a preschool at a Roman Catholic church. Police say the boy told a teacher’s aide at St. Cyprian Children’s Center that the person who handed him the bag told him to...
Chicago-area police warn of ‘zombie raccoons’ with distemper
RIVERSIDE, Ill. — The warning about “zombie raccoons” may sound like something out of a bad television show, but a suburban Chicago police department says they present serious dangers to family pets. The critters are called zombies because those carrying the distemper virus often stagger on their hind legs and...
Mom runs inside burning home to rescue kids; all 3 die
TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida woman ran back into her burning apartment after realizing her two children hadn’t made it out. All three died in the fire. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a Wednesday morning news conference that the woman and another adult living in the...
Family questions how inmate jailed 17 months got pregnant
ROCKFORD, Ala. — Relatives of a jailed Alabama woman are questioning how the woman became pregnant. Al.com reports 26-year-old Latoni Daniel has been jailed for 17 months and is set to give birth to her first child this month. The U.S. National Guard veteran became pregnant while at a Coosa...
American Express buys restaurant reservation service Resy
NEW YORK — American Express is buying the online reservation startup Resy, the latest move by AmEx to establish and maintain a foothold for its card members in some of the world’s most desired restaurants. AmEx and Resy declined to disclose the terms of the deal. However, Resy announced it...
Doctor charged with driving drunk, striking pedestrians
BOSTON — Authorities have charged a prominent Massachusetts doctor with driving drunk, striking three pedestrians in a crosswalk and then leaving the scene. Dr. Michael Watkins, a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, was released on $1,500 bail after pleading not guilty Tuesday to charges including assault and battery by...
Judge: Florida newlywed lost at sea declared dead
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A judge has declared a missing Florida newlywed dead, almost two years to the day she disappeared while honeymooning in the Bahamas with her husband. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Scott Suskauer’s May 9th order declares that 41-year-old Isabella Hellman is presumed dead...
Kamala Harris wants ban on importing AR-15-style assault weapons
NASHUA, N.H. — Kamala Harris wants to ban the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons by executive action if elected president. On Wednesday, the Democratic senator from California is set to detail her proposal to stop importing the weapons until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can analyze whether...
Democrats may fund parts of Trump’s $4.5B border request
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are signaling a willingness to include major elements of President Trump’s $4.5 billion request for humanitarian and security needs on the U.S.-Mexico border in an unrelated, widely backed disaster aid bill that appears to finally be breaking free of a partisan logjam. Democratic aides said Tuesday...
