Sen. Cory Booker joins the 2020 presidential race
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said Friday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president, adding his name to a growing and increasingly diversified field of 2020 candidates intent on taking on President Trump. Booker made his announcement via an email and video to supporters, and he had...
Missing Maryland man found dead in West Virginia
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Police in Hagerstown, Md., say a missing man has been found dead in Berkeley County, W.Va. News outlets report Hagerstown police say the body 27-year-old Christopher Turner was found Wednesday. Police say the manner and condition of the body indicated that Turner was killed. Police say Turner’s...
3 students killed in South Africa school walkway collapse
JOHANNESBURG — At least three students are dead after a walkway collapsed at a school outside Johannesburg, a South African official said Friday, and 23 were injured. Panyaza Lesufi, the head of education for Gauteng province, posted the toll on Twitter shortly after the collapse at the Hoerskool Driehoek high...
Snow causing slick road conditions in Pittsburgh region
A wintry blend of light snow, fog and mist is creating slick road conditions for motorists throughout the region Friday morning. Traffic on I-376, the Turnpike, Route 28, I-79 and elsewhere crawled as cars took it slow and crews cleaned up crashes. Roads remained treacherous in spots throughout the morning...
Hong Kong court denies male status to 3 transgender men
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s High Court has refused to allow three transgender men to be recognized as males on their official identity cards because they have not undergone full sex-change operations. Friday’s ruling was seen as a blow to the fledgling LGBT movement in the semiautonomous Chinese city of...
Lawsuit: Pennsylvania officer coerced 2 women into sex to avoid arrest
ASHLEY — Two women who said they were coerced into sex with a Pennsylvania police officer filed a federal lawsuit alleging he violated their constitutional rights. Mark Icker, 29, of Dickson City is facing sexual assault, official oppression and related charges alleging he pressured the two women into performing oral...
Human toll of cold: more than 2 dozen dead, hundreds hurt
CHICAGO — The dangerous cold and heavy snow that hobbled the northern U.S. this week has retreated, but not before exacting a human toll: more than two dozen weather-related deaths in eight states and hundreds of injuries, including frostbite, broken bones, heart attacks and carbon monoxide poisoning. In Illinois alone,...
The best hot peppers, from mild to wild
Question: We want to grow lots of hot pepper varieties in our garden this year to share with friends. Are some varieties better than others for growing here in Pittsburgh? Answer: There are hundreds of different hot pepper varieties out there, with a huge diversity of heat levels. Hot peppers...
Abortion quickly becomes key issue in Virginia politics
RICHMOND, Va. — A pitched debate about late-term abortions in Virginia erupted into all-out political warfare Thursday as Republicans — including President Donald Trump — sought to capitalize on Democratic missteps. Republicans accused Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, a folksy pediatric neurologist who is personal friends with many GOP lawmakers, of...
20 charged in Chinese birth tourism crackdown
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Dongyuan Li’s business was called “You Win USA,” and authorities say she coached pregnant Chinese women on how to get into the United States to deliver babies who would automatically enjoy all the benefits of American citizenship. Over two years, the now-41-year-old raked in millions through...
Irwin man boosted Blind Association using sales skills
Lawrence J. Helkowksi won salesman of the year honors three years in a row while working for Peoples Gas. After he retired from a 33-year career with the utility, he put his persuasive skills to work for the Westmoreland County Blind Association, serving as its president and CEO. As a...
Freeze adds layer of complication for farmers, livestock
RIPON, Wis. — On the coldest day in two decades on his fifth-generation dairy farm, Chris Pollack grabbed a thick, black hose from the barn and ventured into the subzero cold, where his beef cattle were chomping cud and waiting for water. The power had briefly gone out the previous...
St. Louis police chief angered over prosecutor allegations
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis prosecutor’s criticism of how police investigated a male officer’s alleged Russian roulette-style fatal shooting of a female colleague drew an angry response Thursday from Police Chief John Hayden. Hayden, speaking at a news conference, raised his voice and pounded his fist in responding to...
Proposed rules would shake up drug pricing by ending rebates to middlemen
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday proposed bringing transparency to one of the most secretive aspects of drug pricing by ending the widespread practice of rebates to middlemen — an effort to reduce what consumers pay for prescription medicine. Under draft rules announced by Health and Human Services Secretary...
Intelligence officials were ‘misquoted’ after public hearing, Trump claims
WASHINGTON — A day after ridiculing his top intelligence officials as “passive and naive” and claiming they were ignorant about world affairs, President Trump on Thursday said the media had fabricated a conflict, and that the officials were “misquoted” by the press after a public congressional hearing that was carried...
Yes, ‘frost quakes’ are actually a thing, but nothing to worry about
The polar air and rapid freeze of the Northeast and Midwest has prompted reports of “frost quakes” or “ice quakes.” Typically, the uncommon geological phenomenon characterized by a booming sound and caused by the sudden cracking of frozen soil or rock is reported in places like Alaska — not Dillsburg,...
2 congressmen ask for Jared Kushner’s security clearance to be revoked
WASHINGTON — Democratic Reps. Donald S. Beyer of Virginia and Ted Lieu of California sent a letter Thursday to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney asking him to immediately strip senior adviser Jared Kushner of his security clearance. A recent NBC News report revealed that White House security...
Westmoreland courthouse space applications now online
Residents seeking to hold public events in meeting rooms and the courtyard in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse can now submit applications online. County officials on Thursday issued a revised policy that will take effect Feb. 1 to allow online applications and other minor changes to the reservation process...
Border agency announces largest-ever fentanyl bust
PHOENIX — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Thursday their biggest fentanyl bust ever, saying they captured nearly 254 pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid from a secret compartment inside a load of Mexican produce heading into Arizona. The drug was found hidden Saturday morning in a compartment under...
Poor weather cited in delayed Ligonier Township bridge reopening
Severe winter weather is being blamed for a delay in reopening a state bridge that has been under construction since April on Route 711 in Ligonier Township. The bridge over Mill Creek was expected to open in January. Project officials are now projecting both lanes of the bridge will be...
Senate vote rebukes Trump on Syria, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — In a bipartisan rebuke to President Trump, the Senate voted 68-23 on Thursday to advance an amendment that would oppose withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan. The amendment by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell occurs after Trump called for a drawdown of troops in both of...
Hempfield to review past votes, but supervisors balk at state audit
Despite claims by one of its own, state investigators will not examine whether Hempfield supervisors have voted on issues outside the public eye — including on reaching a $125,000 union settlement agreement and other matters. The Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Office can only audit a township’s pension funds and use of...
Region getting break from winter blast
Count John Dean of Jeannette as one of the few people in the region who are unhappy that the polar vortex that left Western Pennsylvania in sub-zero temperatures this week will slowly disappear. “I don’t mind this at all. I’ve been waiting for this (cold weather) all winter long,” said...
‘Got away with one’: Judge dismisses DUI charges for Greensburg woman’s driveway crash
A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday dismissed drunken driving charges against a Greensburg woman who was arrested in her own driveway following a collision with a neighbor’s car. Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled in favor of Mary Britz, 58, who Greensburg police charged after she crashed into a car...
Allegheny Health Network reports $3.3B in operating revenue, up 6.9% from 2017
Allegheny Health Network took in $3.3 billion in revenue last year, up 6.9 percent from 2017, as the health care provider and hospital system moves on aggressive expansion plans to reach more patients, financial statements filed Thursday show. Total operating revenue in 2018 increased by $213 million from the previous...
