‘Smallville’ actress Allison Mack pleads guilty ahead of sex cult trial
A “Smallville” actress accused of recruiting women into a sadistic sex cult in upstate New York pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering and conspiracy charges. Allison Mack was charged with duping women into joining NXIVM by telling them it was a self-help group. The Albany-based operation was founded by Keith Raniere,...
Felicity Huffman, 12 other parents to plead guilty in college scheme
BOSTON — Actress Felicity Huffman and a dozen other prominent parents have agreed to plead guilty in the sweeping college admissions cheating scam that has ensnared wealthy families and athletic coaches at some of the nation’s most selective universities, federal authorities said Monday. The “Desperate Housewives” star and the other...
3 American soldiers, 1 U.S. contractor killed in Afghanistan
KABUL — Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four Americans...
Bills to combat child sexual abuse move ahead in Pennsylvania Legislature
HARRISBURG — Two related bills designed to help victims of child sexual abuse received favorable committee votes in the Pennsylvania House on Monday and are poised to pass the full chamber in the coming days. The House Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly for a bill that would eliminate the statute of...
Secret Service Chief Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles leaving Trump administration, White House says
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles will be stepping down from his post, the latest in a string of departures from President Trump’s administration. Alles “has done a great job at the agency over the last two years, and the President is thankful for his over 40...
Pitt study says doctors overprescribe meds to kids through telemedicine
As telemedicine visits increase, so do the chances of overprescribing of antibiotics to children, according to a new study. Children with acute respiratory infections were prescribed antibiotics more often during direct-to-consumer telemedicine visits than during in-person appointments or urgent care visits, according to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh research reported...
Louisiana officer Jonathan Landrum cleared in fatal shooting
LAKE CHARLES, La. — The family of a 26-year-old man who was killed after threatening a store clerk with a lethal-looking BB gun plans to sue now that a Louisiana grand jury has cleared the officer who shot him. The grand jury rejected three possible charges against Lake Charles Police...
Bad idea: Pouring gas on wet ballfield, setting it on fire
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Authorities say it could cost over $50,000 to repair a Connecticut baseball diamond where somebody dumped gasoline and set it on fire to dry out the infield. Police are investigating the fire in Ridgefield in which 25 gallons of gasoline was poured on the field Saturday. First...
For some river towns, flood protection is simply too costly
CLARKSVILLE, Mo. — The window of the Bee Naturals bath-and-body shop offers a view out of a Mark Twain novel: The sprawling Mississippi River at one of its widest points lapping against a small-town Missouri waterfront as barges float by and eagles dart in the air above. But with a...
Global warming is shrinking glaciers faster than thought
WASHINGTON — Earth’s glaciers are melting much faster than scientists thought. A new study shows they are losing 369 billion tons of snow and ice each year, more than half of that in North America. The most comprehensive measurement of glaciers worldwide found that thousands of inland masses of snow...
Ex-inmate hired to lead Pennsylvania Board of Pardons
HARRISBURG — A former legislative aide who did prison time for drug and weapons offenses has taken over as secretary to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons amid efforts to streamline the clemency process, officials said Monday. Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced the appointment of Brandon Flood to the $89,000-a-year...
Historic Pennsylvania barn’s ban on same-sex weddings prompts outcry
ELIZABETHTOWN — A county tourism group is sticking by its decision to hold a meeting at a historic venue in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, despite an outcry of the locale’s policy banning same-sex weddings. The Star Barn is a top wedding spot in Elizabethtown, surrounded by farmland, orchards and vineyards in...
U.S. labels Iran Revolutionary Guard ‘terrorist organization’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. is designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a “foreign terrorist organization,” in an effort to increase pressure on the country. It is the first time that the U.S. has designated a part of another country as a terrorist organization. The designation imposes...
Spacewalking astronauts tackle battery, cable work
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts tackled battery and cable work outside the International Space Station on Monday. It was the third spacewalk in just 2 ½ weeks for the space station crew. NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques hustled through their part in battery swap-outs that...
Export metallurgist strove for perfection through science
Bill Powers was a man of science who loved his family and who took his Catholic faith seriously. His career at U.S. Steel Research and R.J. Lee Group in Monroeville spanned 54 years, during which time he obtained patents for material inside steel mill smokestacks and blast furnaces, his children...
Pittsburgh woman tapped to lead national higher education group for private colleges
No one could have predicted where Barbara Mistick’s story would go when she left college shy of a degree four decades ago. The Bethel Park native’s resume now includes a doctoral degree and stints as an entrepreneur and educator at institutions including Seton Hill University, the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh...
Suspected rhino poacher killed by elephant then eaten by lions, authorities say
Five suspected poachers entered Kruger National Park in South Africa last week to kill rhino living there, according to authorities. Only four of the men left alive. The fifth was killed by an elephant and later “devoured” by a pride of lions, park officials said in a statement. “Entering Kruger...
Trump’s choice to replace Nielsen focuses on southern border
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned amid President Donald Trump’s growing frustration and bitterness over the number of Central American families crossing the southern border. Trump announced on Sunday in a tweet that U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan would be taking over as acting...
Bernie Sanders finds himself in a new role as front-runner
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is quieting critics who questioned whether he could recapture the energy of his upstart 2016 campaign, surpassing his rivals in early fundraising and establishing himself as an indisputable front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Less than two months into his second White House...
Supreme Court mulls rule change over malpractice suits, Pa. counties where filed
More than 100 malpractice lawsuits were filed in Westmoreland County courts since 2011 that claimed improper cardiac procedures were performed at Excela Health facilities a decade ago. Many of those cases might have been filed in other counties had a proposed change to court rules being weighed by the state...
Pennsylvania man gets 3 to 6 years in Russian roulette death
LOCK HAVEN — A man has been sentenced to three to six years in prison on charges related to a game of Russian roulette that killed another man in central Pennsylvania. Fifty-five-year-old Randy Hill was sentenced last week after pleading guilty in Clinton County to reckless endangering and drug counts...
17-foot, 140-pound python captured in Florida park
Researchers last week captured and killed the largest Burmese python to be removed from Big Cypress National Preserve in the Florida Everglades, according to wildlife officials. The 17-foot, 140-pound female snake — an invasive species devastating to native wildlife — was discovered using a new tracking approach that leans on...
Q&A: Popular weed killer’s alleged link to cancer spreads concern
Clumps of dandelions have popped up in your yard, so you reach for a bottle of Roundup, the popular weed killer. It is known for being very effective, but its main ingredient, glyphosate, is getting a lot of attention because of lawsuits alleging links to cancer. In late March, a...
2 South Carolina men charged with killing, burying women
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Two South Carolina men have been charged with murder after sheriff’s deputies found two bodies buried at a house just outside Spartanburg, authorities said. The arrests were made after one of the suspects shot himself in the head in front of deputies, survived, and subsequently told deputies...
Uganda police say kidnapped U.S. woman and driver are freed
KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan police said on Sunday they had rescued an American woman and her driver who had been kidnapped by gunmen in a national park. The two “are in good health” and “in the safe hands” of security officials, police said in a Twitter update. Although authorities provided...
