Ex-cop’s attorneys join media access request at murder trial
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys for a former Minneapolis police officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed woman joined the media’s challenge Friday to a judge’s restrictions on what video evidence may be seen by the public during the trial. Hennepin County District Judge Kathryn Quaintance heard a request from a media...
Pirates make ‘bun’ of themselves in Instagram post
The Pittsburgh Pirates PR team had a bun time on social media explaining the mystery of why they appeared to run out of hot dog buns on Wednesday. They’ve tackled the problem head-on and aren’t being weenies about it. In a Friday evening Instagram post, the Pirate Parrot, one of...
Former Mt. Pleasant man loved cooking, ran a food truck
Former businessman James Lentz loved to cook, whether it was serving barbecues from his food truck at the annual Mt. Pleasant Glass Festival or joining with his wife to cook two big turkeys on Thanksgiving to feed an extended family of 40 to 50 people in his house. “He loved...
Belgium apologizes for kidnapping mixed-race African babies
BRUSSELS — The Belgian government has apologized for the country’s role in kidnapping thousands of mixed-race babies from their African mothers during colonial times. Thousands of children in what are now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi were taken away and raised in Belgian institutions. Prime Minister Charles...
Franklin Regional robotics team qualifies for FIRST World Championships in DetroitVideo
In the FIRST Robotics Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition, some high-school robotics teams are sponsored by technology titans such as Carnegie Mellon University, or have access to state-of-the-art facilities to create their robots. The FRobotics team members do their work in their mentor’s garage in Murrysville, and this year that work...
Harvard reviews sale of coach’s home to prospect’s father
BOSTON — Harvard’s longtime fencing coach sold his suburban Boston home for nearly double its assessed value to a man whose son was later admitted to the school and joined the team — a transaction now under review by the university. The coach, Peter Brand, received nearly $1 million in...
Pennsylvania’s war on opioid addiction to highlight national event
Pennsylvania’s approach to the opioid epidemic will be front and center Monday at the National Governor’s Association’s Summit for New Administrations in Washington, D.C. Gov. Tom Wolf will address the gathering on Pennsylvania’s multi-faceted attack, which the American Medical Association has highlighted as a national model for battling the opioid...
Trump sidelines immigration nominee for ‘tougher direction’
WASHINGTON — The notice to Congress from the White House was met with confusion: Why would President Donald Trump withdraw his nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Longtime border official Ron Vitiello appeared to be cruising toward confirmation. One Senate committee had endorsed his nomination and a second...
Police: Altoona man wakes to stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor
Police say an Altoona man awoke to find a stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor surrounded by torn-up sanitary napkins. Altoona police say they arrested 60-year-old Brian Smith on Thursday after the homeowner called police when he found Smith in his kitchen. The Altoona Mirror reports Smith was unconscious and...
Bill Cosby agrees to settle 7 defamation cases
Bill Cosby has agreed to settle lawsuits filed by seven women who say he defamed them when he accused them of lying about sexual misconduct allegations. Court documents filed Friday in Springfield, Massachusetts, show the two sides have negotiated a settlement since Cosby went to prison last fall in a...
Vaccine wars: Social media battle outbreak of bogus claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short. Searches of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram turn up all sorts of bogus warnings about vaccines, including the soundly...
Filings: Bill Cosby agrees to settle 7 defamation cases
Bill Cosby has agreed to settle lawsuits filed by seven women who say he defamed them when he accused them of lying about sexual misconduct allegations. Filings Friday in federal court in Springfield, Mass., show the two sides have negotiated a settlement since Cosby went to prison last fall in...
Florida businessman convicted in $1B Medicare fraud case
MIAMI — A federal jury on Friday convicted a Florida health care executive on 20 criminal counts in what prosecutors described as a $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme. Jurors reached a partial verdict after four days of deliberating the fate of Philip Esformes in one of the biggest such cases...
Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner ordered to register as sex offender
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner was ordered Friday to register as a sex offender as he nears the end of a 21-month prison sentence for having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl. A New York City judge designated Weiner a Level 1 offender under the state’s...
Hempfield grads-to-be to participate in senior walk
With about two months until seniors at Hempfield Area High School leave the district and move on to the next steps of their lives, they have one more chance to go back to where it all began. The Senior Walk gives graduating seniors the opportunity to walk the halls of...
Visiting border, Trump to push again on immigration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump headed to California on Friday in a renewed push to make border security a central campaign issue for his 2020 re-election. Trump, talking to reporters as he left the White House to head out west, denied that he changed his mind about shutting down the...
Pro-KKK editor says Alabama paper is sold, but to whom?
LINDEN, Ala. — An Alabama newspaperman who drew widespread condemnation after a recent editorial embracing the Ku Klux Klan says he has sold his little weekly paper — but the new owner’s identity and maybe even the sale itself are shrouded in doubt. The Democrat-Reporter, whose longtime editor and publisher...
Should the SAT be optional? Bribery scandal renews debate
BUFFALO — The most brazen abuses of standardized testing in the college bribery scandal could be chalked up to security lapses: the ringer hired to take the SAT, the proctors paid to look the other way, the accommodations for extra time obtained through false diagnoses of disabilities. But the scheme...
YouTuber arrested after livestreaming himself driving over 185 mph
A self-proclaimed YouTube celebrity who livestreamed himself driving in excess of 185 mph ended up being arrested by police. On March 31, Beau Alan Rogel took his 2017 Ford Mustang on the road and filmed himself speeding down a Mississippi highway, announcing the increasing speeds as he went. Apparently, someone...
Study challenges health benefits of moderate drinking
LONDON — It might just be enough to kill your buzz: A new study challenges the idea that a drink or two a day could actually be good for you. In a study conducted in China, the researchers found that moderate drinking slightly raised the risk of stroke and high...
Group says 60 killed in protests against Sudan’s president
CAIRO — Sudan’s security forces have killed at least 60 people in more than three months of street protests, an international rights group said Friday as organizers called for fresh anti-government rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities. Physicians for Human Rights said President Omar al-Bashir’s forces have attacked...
Teens get weekends in jail for racist, anti-Semitic graffiti
GLENELG, Md. — Two Maryland teens have been sentenced to jail for racist and anti-Semitic graffiti that was found at their former high school in Glenelg. News outlets report 19-year-olds Matthew Lipp and Tyler Curtiss were sentenced Thursday to 16 consecutive weekends in jail and eight consecutive weekends, respectively. Curtiss...
2 seen in surveillance at Gerald Ford grave come forward
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Police say two people suspected of defacing the gravesite of former President Gerald Ford and first lady Betty Ford have come forward and are cooperating. Grand Rapids, Michigan, police say the results of the investigation will be forwarded to a prosecutor for review when it is...
Pope’s Good Friday meditation to focus on human trafficking
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is dedicating this year’s Good Friday meditations to victims of human trafficking. The Vatican said Friday that Francis had asked an Italian nun who rescues migrant women forced to work as prostitutes to compose the meditations. They will be read aloud at the torch-lit ritual...
EU investigates video game companies over antitrust concerns
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s competition watchdog is stepping up its investigation of a U.S. video game platform and five game makers over concerns they blocked players from buying cheaper versions of games in other countries. The EU’s competition commissioner said Friday it issued a statement of objections to Valve...
