Hate crime symposium to be held at Saint Vincent
Online anti-Semitism and the prosecution of hate crimes, including the October mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the 2015 slayings at a historic African-American church in Charleston, S.C., will be among topics of a March symposium at Saint Vincent College in Unity. Robin Valeri, professor of psychology at St....
With government open again, Trump heads for Florida
PALM BEACH, Fla. — With the government open again, President Donald Trump at last headed Friday for a weekend at his happy place: his Mar-a-Lago private club on Florida’s southeastern coast. Trump typically spends many winter weekends at the Palm Beach estate, golfing at another nearby private club he owns...
Big storm sets sights on California, evacuations ordered
SAN FRANCISCO — A powerful storm bearing down on California on Friday was expected to produce heavy rainfall, damaging winds, localized stream flooding and heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, forecasters said. Evacuations were ordered or recommended in advance for residents of some of the many areas stripped bare by...
Fire destroys Buffalo Township house in Parker Road neighborhood
A Buffalo Township couple’s house along Parker Road was heavily damaged by a fire just before 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. Sarah Ehrmentrout and Brett Carson arrived their rented two-story brick home, which is along the 600 block of Parker Road, and found smoke throughout the house, a...
Virginia governor’s medical school yearbook page shows men in blackface, KKK robe
RICHMOND - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday acknowledged appearing in a “clearly racist and offensive” photograph in his 1984 medical school yearbook that shows a man in blackface next to another in a Ku Klux Klan robe. In a statement issued late Friday, Northam apologized for wearing a costume...
I-376 to close to 1 lane in both directions from Ft. Pitt Bridge to Squirrel Hill next week
Drivers traveling after-dark along Interstate 376 next week could confront delays because of overnight lane restrictions for road improvements, PennDOT officials said Friday. From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday, I-376 will be reduced to one lane in both directions at various locations between the Fort Pitt Bridge...
Rostraver man gets up to 5 years in jail for driving drunk in crash
A Rostraver man will serve up to five years in jail for driving drunk when he collided with another vehicle in which a young child rode as a passenger. John Summers, 47, pleaded guilty in November to drunk driving and related offenses in connection with the April 14, 2017, crash...
Ligonier man’s appeal in 2011 murder case rejected
First-degree murder convictions against a Ligonier man serving two consecutive life prison sentences for the 2011 killings of a Washington Township couple were upheld by a state appeals court. In a ruling issued this week, a three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a ruling issued last year by...
Work on New Stanton highway ramps will stretch into 2020
PennDOT is set this month to begin improvements to ramps and lighting at the intersection of Route 119, Toll Route 66 and the New Stanton-Youngwood Road in New Stanton. Expected to start Monday and continue through April 2020, the project will stretch between the Technology Drive exit on Route 119...
State funds OK’d for Route 119 in Youngwood, Latrobe underpasses
An overdue update of the Route 119 corridor in Youngwood and repair of deteriorating sidewalks in Latrobe railroad underpasses were among 50 Pennsylvania projects that got a boost Friday with a combined $44.5 million in funding from the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund. The $400,000 approved for Youngwood is designated for...
2 people injured in two-car crash in Allegheny Township
Two people were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries suffered in a two-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Allegheny Township. Police said the incident took place shortly before 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of the Route 56 Bypass and Towne Center Drive. The driver of one vehicle and the passenger...
Taxpayers will foot bill for expert in Derry Township murder case
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday authorized spending $9,700 of taxpayer money to hire an expert to analyze nearly 100,000 computer images connected to a Derry Township murder case. Walter Cable, 26, of Greensburg, is one of two men charged with criminal homicide for the 2017 death of 34-year-old Ronny...
Westmoreland County judge to consider Upper Burrell’s request to redistrict voting precincts
Westmoreland County officials said Friday it will begin work in March to potentially redistrict two voting precincts in Upper Burrell. Attorneys for the township and county appeared before Common Pleas Court Judge Harry Smail Jr. to address a lawsuit filed last week by Upper Burrell and 20 of its residents...
Western Pennsylvania girls officially join the Boy Scouts
Sarah Lenhart has been a Boy Scout in all but name for a long time. She started participating about eight years ago, when her older brother joined Boy Scout Troop 372 in Ligonier. She’s been part of the troop ever since. “I honestly did more, I think, than my brother,”...
State police uncover marijuana growing operation, seize 82 plants in Armstrong Township
State police said they seized 82 marijuana plants and 13 one-gallon bags of marijuana on Thursday when troopers stumbled upon a growing operation in Indiana County. Troopers went to a home on Route 156 in Armstrong Township around 2 p.m. Thursday to arrest Scott Ryan Wilson, 52, on a domestic...
Greensburg woos developers for downtown hotel project
Greensburg officials have long wanted a downtown hotel, and they’re done waiting for developers to come to them. The city and the Greensburg Community Development Corp. are directly reaching out to developers, with a request for proposals for a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. The city was recently in talks with...
Trump’s State of the Union to focus on ‘choosing greatness’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is ready to deliver his State of the Union speech following a roller-coaster will-it-or-won’t-it-happen ride. His topic is to be “choosing greatness.” White House officials say Trump is not expected to dwell on the government shutdown or on the looming Feb. 15 deadline for a...
Judge in Roger Stone case says she’s considering gag order
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday cautioned longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone not to treat the charges against him like a public relations campaign or book tour, and said she may issue a gag order in the case. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she had already...
Trump suspends arms treaty to focus on China, Russia threats
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pulling the plug on a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia, lifting what it sees as unreasonable constraints on competing with a resurgent Russia and a more assertive China. The move announced Friday sets the stage for delicate talks with U.S. allies over potential...
‘Empire’ actor says account of attack has been consistent
CHICAGO — “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett said Friday that he has been “consistent on every level” with the police during their investigation into what he says was a racist and homophobic attack on him in downtown Chicago earlier this week. In his first public comments since he says two masked...
Man gets 48-year sentence after fatal argument over popcorn
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A man who got in an argument with his cousin over popcorn and struck him in the head with a baseball bat has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for manslaughter. The Montgomery Advertiser reports 29-year-old Richard Wilson was sentenced Thursday in Johnny Waits’ 2016 death....
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh unveils massive event spaceVideo
Models dressed as tables glided across the polished floors as Rivers Casino Pittsburgh unveiled its new event center. One had Caesar vegetable rolls with Caesar sauce on the side as well as vegetable garden salad with sauce at the bottom. “Yes, they are called strolling tables,” Andrea Kleinrock-Marmion, Rivers’ vice-president...
Plum painter charged with home improvement fraud by Greensburg police
A Plum contactor is accused of taking a $1,250 down payment in 2018 for a painting project in Greensburg that he never started. Michael Cerniglia, 54, was charged with home improvement fraud by Greensburg Patrolman Regina McAtee this week. McAtee alleges in an affidavit that Cerniglia, operator of Michael’s Painting,...
Lawsuit: Pennsylvania officer coerced 2 women into sex to avoid arrest
ASHLEY — Two women who say they were coerced into sex with a Pennsylvania police officer have filed a federal lawsuit alleging he violated their constitutional rights. The Citizens’ Voice reports 29-year-old Mark Icker, of Dickson City, is facing sexual assault, official oppression and related charges alleging he pressured the...
Trump health chief asks Congress to pass drug discount plan
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s top health official asked Congress on Friday to pass its new prescription drug discount plan and provide it to all patients, not just those covered by government programs like Medicare. The plan would take now-hidden rebates among industry players like drug companies and insurers and...
