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...
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned on Sunday amid the administration’s growing frustration and bitterness over the number of Central American families crossing the southern border, two people familiar with the decision said. President Trump thanked her for her work in a tweet and announced U.S. Customs and...
4 adults, 2 kids shot and wounded at Chicago baby shower
CHICAGO — Two men who opened fire on a crowd of people gathered for a baby shower, wounding six people, including two children, may have acted in retaliation for an earlier gang conflict, police said Sunday. Authorities have only “shards of information” about what happened at the family gathering in...
Chief of staff says Dems will ‘never’ see Trump tax returns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats will “never” see President Donald Trump’s tax returns, said White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday, as a new front opened in the confrontation between the administration and Congress. Mulvaney accused Democrats of engaging in a “political stunt” and wanting “attention” after the chairman...
Smoking pot vs. tobacco: What science says about lighting up
NEW YORK — As more states make it legal to smoke marijuana, some government officials, researchers and others worry what that might mean for one of the country’s biggest public health successes : curbing cigarette smoking. Though there are notable differences in health research findings on tobacco and marijuana, the...
After 2016 loss, Democrats know they need white male voters
UPPER ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — When he moved to Pennsylvania about five years ago, it was a coin toss which party Brian Heitman would register with. No longer. Since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, Heitman, who is 42 and white, has become a reliable Democrat. Last week, he voted for...
Senate GOP game plan means more Trump nominees, fewer bills
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell says the Senate will be in the “personnel business” this year. But the majority leader’s focus on confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees is coming at the expense of any big legislative priorities. Nearly 100 days into the new Congress, the drive to confirm is adding more...
French priest’s 150-year-old heart being venerated in NYC
NEW YORK — The 150-year-old heart of a French priest is on a U.S. tour — a Roman Catholic relic with New York City as its latest stop. It was on display Saturday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, where both the faithful and the curious lined up to...
Maldives leader celebrates victory in parliamentary election
MALE, Maldives — Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s party is leading in the vote count in the parliamentary election and has already declared a landslide victory that could give him a free hand in efforts to restore political freedoms and tackle corruption. The official results are expected late Sunday. Solih’s...
Erie Catholic diocese will open files to priest sex abuse victims
The Catholic Diocese of Erie, which recently settled a $2 million clergy sexual abuse complaint, is making “relevant” internal files available to abuse survivors for the asking, church officials said. The policy has been in effect since the diocese launched its compensation fund for abuse survivors in February, said Pittsburgh...
Trump: Democrats would ‘leave Israel out there’
LAS VEGAS — President Trump warned on Saturday that a Democratic victory in 2020 could “leave Israel out there,” as he highlighted his pro-Israel actions in an effort to make the case for Jewish voters to back his re-election. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump...
Connecticut Medical Examiner seeks to ID bodies from 1944 circus fire
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut’s medical examiner is seeking to exhume two female bodies found after the 1944 Hartford circus fire in an attempt to identify at least one of them. Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill told The Hartford Courant he is hoping modern DNA testing can put a name...
Judge rules New York county can’t ban unvaccinated children from schools, parks
Ten days after a New York county banned unvaccinated children from public places in an effort to stem the rise of measles cases, a state judge put the injunction on hold. “Children are hereby permitted to return to their respective schools forthwith and otherwise to assemble in public places,” Judge...
South Florida teacher faces suspension for showing videos with nudes
The pictures displayed by a high school art teacher showed nudity, for sure. The question is whether they were artistic or obscene. Brenda Fischer, a veteran teacher at Western High School in Davie, Fla., faces a three-day suspension for showing her students a video with nude models in positions that...
Trump to make case for Jewish voters to back his 2020 bid
LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump is set to make the case for Jewish voters to back his re-election as he takes a victory lap with Republican donors in Las Vegas. Trump is appearing at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which supported his 2016 campaign and is...
