Valley Points YMCA offering $1 membership deal on Presidents Day
People looking to join any of the three Valley Points YMCA locations can do so for $1 on Presidents Day. The flash sale on memberships means that people can save as much as $60.60 by joining on Monday. Valley Points YMCA CEO Mike Newell said the deal applies to all...
Body found on island 26 years ago has been identified
NORWALK, Conn. — A body found on an island off Connecticut 26 years ago has finally been identified. The Hour reports that Norwalk police on Thursday announced that using fingerprints they have figured out the identity of the man discovered April 18, 1996, on city-owned Shea Island in Long Island...
Ohio children’s hospital ends use of cats for medical procedure class
CINCINNATI — Cats will no longer be used by an Ohio children’s hospital for teaching doctors a method of examining human airways and lungs. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had complained to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center about practicing bronchoscopy procedure on cats. The animal rights group says...
Pa. man gets life for murder, attempted rape of teen cousin
CROYDON — A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted rape of his 14-year-old cousin who was stabbed dozens of times and also shot inside a home where they both lived. Colin Haag III entered his plea Thursday and was sentenced to life in prison without parole....
Pa. husband accidentally runs over, kills wife in their driveway
PALMER — Authorities say a man accidentally ran over and killed his wife in the driveway of their Pennsylvania home. Palmer Township police say the accident occurred around 3 p.m. Thursday, moments after 66-year-old Debra Mitchell got out of the car. Mitchell was walking toward the back of the vehicle...
Pa. town removes banner honoring military service of State College shooter
Bellefonte officials have removed a “hometown hero” banner that honored a mass shooter, according to WJAC. The banner depicted Jordan Witmer, 21, of Bellefonte, an Army veteran who killed three people and injured another in State College before committing suicide Jan. 24. The banner predates the shooting, and is one...
Vice president Mike Pence makes his 1st visit to Auschwitz
WARSAW, Poland — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is visiting the memorial site of Auschwitz along with the Polish president. It was the first visit for Pence, a conservative Christian, to the site where German forces murdered 1.1 million people, most of them Jews but also Poles, Roma and others,...
Top Vatican priest in Paris facing ‘sexual aggression’ probe
PARIS — A French judicial official says the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into alleged “sexual aggression” by Catholic priest Luigi Ventura, the Apostolic Nuncio to France. Confirming a report published by Le Monde newspaper on Friday, the official said the investigation will be conducted by Paris police...
Crews demolish Rostraver house to extinguish fire
Firefighters used heavy equipment to demolish a burning house in Rostraver Township Friday morning, according to the Rostraver Central Fire Department. The fire on Tyrol Boulevard started just before 3 a.m. Nobody was living at the house, which was used as a storage facility for nearby business Equipment Connection. Nobody...
HUD distributes funds to Western Pa. housing authorities
Housing authorities in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Butler counties will receive about $657,000 in federal money to support public housing residents and housing voucher program recipients so they can earn more money and reduce their dependence on public assistance and rental subsidies. The money from the Department of...
Dave McElhinny: Having health care can be ‘bittersweet’
I don’t know about you, but I think “prejudiced people are all alike.” This is what’s known as an oxymoron, a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear together. I used to think oxymoron was a term to describe a dumb person who has acne. When I mentioned...
Creator of Triangle Bar and Grill’s massive Battleship hoagie dies
It started as a gag gift in the 1960s. The Catanzano brothers, Joseph and John, were at the family’s Swissvale bar, the Triangle Bar and Grill, and made a special sandwich for their friend Tony Villiotti. They bowled in a league together, and the night of the bowling banquet was...
Former drama teacher charged with having sex with a student
WASHBURN, Mo. — A former Missouri drama teacher has been charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student at the high school. The Springfield News-Leader reports that 23-year-old Chelsie Leroy, of Washburn, was charged last week with four felonies, including two counts each of second-degree statutory rape and sexual contact...
Somerset police uncover meth lab during child-welfare check on Valentine’s Day
Somerset police discovered a meth lab operation during a child-welfare check on Valentine’s Day. Officers were dispatched to a home on the 400 block of High Street shortly after 3 p.m. on Feb. 14. When they arrived, they noticed several containers on the porch “consistent with what is used in...
Pa. medical marijuana sales top $130 million in program’s first year
Medical marijuana sales totaled more than $130 million during Pennsylvania’s first year of selling cannabis products to patients — surpassing the first-year sales of several neighboring states combined, state figures released Friday show. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bipartisan bill to legalize medical marijuana in April 2016, and sales began...
New Kensington’s Helping Families needs help of its own
A New Kensington nonprofit that aims to help families furnish their home needs a new home of its own. “We lose the building” on Feb. 21, said Leslie McLaughlin, founder and director of Helping Families, One Family at a Time. She started the group about four years ago and it...
Route 30 in North Versailles reopened after crash closed lanes Friday
A crash shut down part of Route 30 in North Versailles Friday, according to police. Westbound lanes of the highway between Broad Street and Jackman Street were closed for about two hours after a vehicle wrecked into a telephone pole. The crash occurred around 9:45 p.m., officials said. Police reported...
Risk of flooding, mudslides remains after California storm
SAUSALITO, Calif. — Authorities warn that mudslides are still possible Friday even after a damaging storm moved through California, trapping people in floodwaters, triggering a debris flow that destroyed homes, and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. The powerful system swept in from the Pacific Ocean...
Critics say EPA action plan on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ falls short
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced what officials called a historic effort to rein in a class of long-lasting chemicals that pose serious health risks to millions of Americans. But environmental groups and residents of contaminated communities said that the agency’s “action plan” is short on action,...
Norwin considers refinancing debt
Norwin can save about $360,000 if it refinances $6 million of its debt to take advantage of low interest rates, a financial adviser told school officials this week. The Norwin School Board on Monday is expected to vote on authorizing the refinancing of its debt from a 2011 bond issue....
Trump administration sued over shift in asylum policy
SAN FRANCISCO — The Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico while their cases wind through immigration courts violates U.S. law by putting the migrants in danger and depriving them of the ability to prepare their cases, a lawsuit filed Thursday by civil liberties groups claims. The lawsuit...
A 1-car crash closes the intersection of Route 819 and 286 in Bell Township
The intersection Route 819 and 286 in Bell Township was shut down Thursday night as a result of a one-vehicle crash. Westmoreland County dispatchers said the incident took place around 9:05 p.m. No injuries were reported. The road is expected to reopen as soon as emergency responders can clean up...
Feds: Brookline man admits role in cocaine ring
A Brookline man accused of assisting a drug dealer with packaging and distributing cocaine has admitted his guilt in federal court, authorities announced Thursday. Walter John Amman, III, 68, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession charges and is expected to be sentenced in June, according to a release from the...
Unity OKs tax break for volunteer firefighters
Qualifying members of volunteer fire departments in Unity and Youngstown will be eligible for a break on township taxes beginning next year, through a volunteer service credit program approved by Unity Township supervisors. “We want to help them with recruitment,” Supervisor Ed Poponick said of the fire departments. “Hopefully, this...
AP Explains: Can Trump declare emergency to build his wall?
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Trump will declare a national emergency and take other executive action to allow construction of the president’s long-promised southern border wall, after bipartisan congressional negotiations provided less than a quarter of the $5.7 billion Trump wanted to start building more than 200 miles...
