Michael Cohen to be publicly questioned on hush payments and Trump’s truthfulnessVideo
WASHINGTON — House Democrats plan to publicly question Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, on issues including Trump’s business interests and compliance with tax laws, as well as hush-money payments to women during the 2016 election. The scope of the widely anticipated hearing planned for Wednesday by the House...
Trump Organization asks House panel to stop probes, citing alleged conflict of interest
WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the Trump Organization has asked the House Judiciary Committee to cease any investigations related to it, claiming that the panel’s work has been tainted by its hiring of an outside lawyer whose firm has represented Trump’s company. In a letter Monday to House Judiciary Committee...
Anti-vaxxers face backlash as measles cases surgeVideo
The resurgence of measles across the United States is spurring a backlash against vaccine critics, from congressional hearings probing the spread of vaccine misinformation to state measures that would make it harder for parents to opt out of immunizing their children. In Washington state, where the worst measles outbreak in...
Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic charged with child sex abuse, convicted in Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia — The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy’s credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top...
Lawmakers, first responders sound alarm on 9/11 fund
WASHINGTON — More than 17 years after the 9/11 attacks, first responders and their advocates were back at the Capitol on Monday urging Congress to ensure that a victims’ compensation fund does not run out of money. Members of the New York delegation, joined by first responders, survivors and family...
United Methodist Church on edge of breakup over LGBT stand
ST. LOUIS — The United Methodist Church teetered on the brink of breakup Monday after more than half the delegates at an international conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy. Their favored plan, if formally approved, could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave...
Pennsylvania GOP lawmaker opens door to minimum-wage deal
HARRISBURG — A top Republican lawmaker is opening the door to raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, but he also insisted Monday that Democrats lower their sights from a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf that would give the state among the nation’s highest. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, would not define...
Ohio court hears grisly details after guilty plea in 4 slayings
IRONTON, Ohio — The way the killer told it, the young boy was the second of the four relatives slain. The boy’s mother was already dead, and he was asking too many questions, so the guy sent the kid to a bedroom with the false promise of finding a video...
Laurel Valley slates kindergarten registration
Laurel Valley Elementary School is seeking to register 3- and 4-year-olds who live in the district for kindergarten this fall. Registration and K4 screening will be held at the school Mar. 25-26. Parents should call the school office at 724-235-2723 to make an appointment. Admission to kindergarten is recommended for...
Rep. Joyce calls for repeal of medical device tax
Saying a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices is stifling healthcare research and development, first-term Congressman John Joyce, R-Altoona, on Monday said he will cosponsor legislation to repeal the tax before it is reinstated for the 2020 calendar year. The tax was first implemented in 2013 as an effort to...
Jeremy Corbyn says Labour would back a second Brexit referendum
LONDON — Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, announced on Monday evening that his bloc in Parliament would support a second referendum to stop what he called “a damaging Tory Brexit.” While Labour Party activists have been pushing their leader for months to publicly back another public...
Acme man pursued life with passion
Charles E. Leeper Jr. gave 100 percent to everything he did — including his construction business, his family, and his long list of hobbies. “He would always have some kind of activity that he would be interested in, or some new hobby or something,” said his daughter, Connie Leeper Baker....
FDA takes fresh look at whether opioids are effective for chronic pain
The Food and Drug Administration will require drug companies to study whether prescription opioids already on the market are effective in quelling chronic pain — another step in the government’s efforts to rein in use of the narcotics that spawned the drug epidemic. Some studies already indicate that opioids are...
‘Target practice’: Critics slam NRA’s headline next to Pelosi, Giffords photo in magazine
WASHINGTON — Next to a photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Arizona lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords were the words “Target Practice.” It was the headline of a story in the National Rifle Association’s American Rifleman magazine, where the author, chief NRA lobbyist Chris Cox, criticized newly introduced bipartisan...
U.S. Navy warships will again fly Union Jack after 17 years
NORFOLK, Va. — After nearly 17 years, U.S. Navy warships will return to flying the Union Jack, replacing the First Navy Jack flown in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. News outlets report Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson issued an order Thursday calling for the blue banner...
Pennsylvania GOP lawmaker opens door to minimum-wage deal
HARRISBURG — A top Republican lawmaker is opening the door to raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, but he’s also insisting that Democrats lower their sights. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said Monday that Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest proposal isn’t reasonable and not worth discussing. Corman wouldn’t define what he views as...
High winds cut power, inundate Lake Erie shoreline with iceVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — High winds howled through much of the nation’s eastern half for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mountains of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. Wind gusts of hurricane force — 74 mph...
Indictment: Man killed brother’s family over missing money
FREEHOLD, N.J. — Suspicious of his brother over missing money from two companies they owned at the New Jersey shore, Keith Caneiro emailed two business associates last fall, saying he was going to cut off further payments to his brother, Paul. The next day, Keith Caneiro, his wife and their...
Snake in dryer gives Florida woman ‘near death experience’
SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — A Florida woman says she “about had a near death experience” when she opened her dryer and saw a snake curled up in her laundry. Tampa’s Fox 13 News reports Amanda Wise was almost finished unloading the dryer in her garage on Sunday when she saw...
Ex-Rome mayor convicted in corruption case
ROME — Italian news reports say a former Rome mayor has been convicted of corruption and illegal financing and sentenced to six years in prison. The ANSA news agency quoted Gianni Alemanno as saying Monday’s “verdict is wrong. We’ll surely appeal,” and adding, “I’m innocent.” The court also ordered him...
Ex-campaign worker for Trump sues over unwanted kiss claim
MIAMI — A former worker on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign claims in a lawsuit that he abruptly grabbed her by the hand and kissed her during a Florida meeting with staff and volunteers. Alva Johnson contends in the federal lawsuit filed Monday that Trump made the unwanted advance in...
Vietnam vows ‘maximum level’ security for Trump-Kim summit
HANOI, Vietnam — With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on an armored train barreling through China toward Vietnam’s capital, and President Donald Trump about to board a jet for Hanoi, Vietnamese officials scrambled Monday to finish preparations for a rushed summit that will capture global attention. Officials in Hanoi...
Should drug dealers be charged with murder? States ponder
STAFFORD, Conn. — Having lost his 29-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose, Dean Palozej believes dealers who peddle drugs that kill should be locked up for a very long time — for the rest of their life, in some cases. A state representative who heard the story felt the same...
Seton Hill grad’s university tree map is legacy to alma materVideo
Anyone making the long, winding drive leading to the campus of Seton Hill University may have wondered about the trees lining the entrance. Wonder no more. They are London planetrees, and they are among 52 tree species that contribute to the Greensburg school’s bucolic appearance. Those species include sugar, silver,...
Expectations low as Trump looks for win in NKorea summit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will head into his second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un having reframed what would make a successful summit, lowering expectations for Pyongyang’s denuclearization while eager to declare a flashy victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home. Trump was the driving...
