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...
West Point sets aside day to confront sexual harassment
WEST POINT, N.Y. — West Point has suspended classes for a day so cadets can address sexual assault and harassment after a survey found an increasing number of incidents at the academy. U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams ordered a full-day “stand-down” at the academy on Monday....
Trump tamps down expectations as he heads to Kim summitVideo
WASHINGTON — Redefining success, President Trump headed to his second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Monday, determined to tamp down expectations that he’ll achieve big strides toward denuclearization. Yet he was still eager to claim an attention-grabbing victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home....
Sheriff: 2 bodies recovered from Texas plane crash site
ANAHUAC, Texas — A southeast Texas sheriff said Sunday that two bodies have been recovered at the site where a Boeing 767 cargo plane crashed into a coastal bay. All three people aboard the Flight 3591 died, according to the plane’s owner. Crews continued to search for the third body...
Drivers rescued in Minnesota snow; Wisconsin pileup kills 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Authorities have rescued dozens of people stranded by a blizzard that howled across southern Minnesota and dumped about a foot of snow in some places. In east-central Wisconsin, one person was killed and several others injured Sunday in an interstate pileup involving more than 100 vehicles during whiteout...
The Big Number: Diet drinks linked to 23 percent increase in stroke risk in women
Swapping regular sodas for diet drinks might seem like a smart way to cut calories. But new research suggests that women who drink a lot of artificially sweetened beverages increase their risk of having a stroke by 23 percent. What’s a lot? At least two diet beverages a day for...
Ex-officials declare ‘no factual basis’ for wall emergency
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of 58 former senior national security officials will issue a statement Monday saying that “there is no factual basis” for President Trump’s proclamation of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The joint statement, whose signatories include former Secretary of State...
Trump administration considers sending more humanitarian aid for Venezuela
CUCUTA, Colombia — The day after military, police and civilian gangs loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro inflicted a brutal crackdown on Venezuelans trying to reach international shipments of food, medicine and other supplies in Colombia, U.S. officials appeared to be preparing to send more humanitarian aid to South America...
Trump extends China tariff deadline, cites progress in talks
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing “substantial progress” in weekend talks between the two countries. Trump tweeted that there had been “productive talks” on some of the difficult issues dividing the United States and China, adding that “I...
Tennessee police officer killed by hit-and-run driver
CHATTANOOGA — Tennessee officials say an officer who graduated from the police academy last month has been killed by a hit-and-run driver while checking on a hazard in a roadway. A statement from the Chattanooga Police Department says 38-year-old Nicholas Galinger was struck Saturday night while on a call with...
