Most Americans see nation on the wrong track, new poll reveals
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — The state of the union is dark. A large majority of Americans say they are pessimistic about the state of the country and few expect things will get better in the year ahead, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs...
Opinions split on proposal to start deer season on the Saturday after Thanksgiving
Black Friday would become Buck Eve under a proposed change to Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season given preliminary approval this week by the state Game Commission. The start of the season would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead of the following Monday, which has been opening day for more than 50...
Democratic candidates face political risks when pressed on health care specifics
When Sen. Kamala D. Harris spoke about health care at a CNN forum Monday evening, she threw her support behind a “Medicare-for-all” plan, sounding similar to other candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. But when pressed for details, the senator from California explained the idea in a way most Democrats...
Grant for homeless placement comes at the right time for Feeding the Spirit in Greensburg
A $10,000 grant from Dominion Energy could not have come at a better time for Greensburg nonprofit Feeding the Spirit. With subzero temperatures on the way Wednesday and Thursday, President Debbie Thackrah said group members had already spoken with eight people about finding them a place for relief from the...
Sub-zero temperatures cancel most schools for Wednesday
Most Western Pennsylvania schools have canceled classes and activities Wednesday in anticipation of sub-zero temperatures. Allegheny County courts and district attorney’s office will be closed as well. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will be closed Wednesday through Friday. The National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh branch has projected temperatures Wednesday could...
Tyson chicken nuggets recalled, may contain rubber
Tyson Foods is recalling more than 36,400 pounds of chicken nuggets that may be contaminated with rubber. Announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the recall applies to 5-pound plastic packages of Tyson White Meat Panko Chicken Nuggets with a “best if used by”...
Goodwill and Girl Scouts team up for regional clothing drive
Girls Scouts of Western Pennsylvania and Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania will team up next month to collect clothing. The gently used items will be sold by Goodwill to provide job training and education to help people with barriers to gain employment. It will also be a service project for the...
Fatal Carrick fire intentionally set, police say
A White Hall native died in an intentionally set fire in a vacant house in Carrick last August, Pittsburgh police said Tuesday. Martin Thomas Boehm, 53, died in an Aug. 17 fire. However, his remains were not found until three days later by a cadaver dog after police learned Boehm...
Suggestions sought for Allegheny Parks’ mascot nameVideo
Allegheny County Parks is looking for the public’s help to name its new chipmunk mascot. Park patrons got a chance to meet the oversized rodent representative during Saturday’s Boyce Park Snowfest. Visit the county parks Facebook page to submit a name suggestion. The winning name will be announced on Feb....
Arnold, Pittsburgh churches team up to boost pierogi powerVideo
It’s a pierogi-making partnership to best foodie rivals. Teaming up are two Ukrainian Catholic churches: St. Vladimir in Arnold and St. John the Baptist in Pittsburgh’s South Side, whose iconic Byzantine domes often are photographed against the city’s skyline. The union of these two ethnic food powerhouses is for good...
Woman with baby dies from falling down NYC subway stairs
NEW YORK — A young mother has died after falling down stairs at a Manhattan subway station while holding her 1-year-old daughter in a stroller. Malaysia Goodson, of Stamford, Conn., fell down the stairs at a midtown Manhattan station at around 8 p.m. Monday, police said. Goodson was unconscious when...
British Parliament says Britain shouldn’t leave EU without Brexit deal
LONDON — The British Parliament on Tuesday sought to assert control over Brexit, declaring its opposition to leaving the European Union without a deal and voting to send Prime Minister Theresa May back to Brussels to reopen talks with European leaders. But the measures are nonbinding and aspirational. They do...
Justice Department watchdog wants to investigate Alex Acosta’s plea deal with serial sex abuser
MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general urged Congress on Tuesday to allow him to investigate Alex Acosta — the former U.S. attorney in Miami whose controversial 2008 plea deal with a politically connected serial sex abuser has led to calls for Acosta to resign as secretary of...
Tarentum man accused in jitney robbery deemed ‘danger to society’
A Tarentum man accused of robbing and threatening to shoot a jitney driver over the weekend remained in Allegheny County Jail without bond Tuesday. A judge deemed him a danger to society, according to court records. Vern Alexander Connor Jr., 36, was arraigned early Tuesday by District Judge Regis Charles...
Greensburg Beverage acquired by Johnstown-based beer distributor
Greensburg Beverage is now known as Inco-Greensburg, after it was acquired by a Johnstown-based beer distributor. On Monday, Inco Beverage began delivering products to Greensburg Beverage’s customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Washington and Fayette counties, according to a news release. “We kept the majority of the employees, and that was one...
Don White, GOP state senator, leaving seat in middle of term
State Sen. Don White said that when he came to the Pennsylvania Legislature, he was 50 years old but felt like he was 30. “I was full of energy, anxious to do a good job,” he said Tuesday in a video posted to his website. These days? “Now I’m 69...
Excela to preview new Frick family practice office in Mt. Pleasant
Excela Health will hold an open house 11-4 Feb. 13, allowing community members to preview the new, consolidated Excela Square Frick Family Medicine practice in Mt. Pleasant. Slated to open to patients Feb. 18 on the first floor of the Excela Square at Frick building, the practice will bring together...
Property debate sparks spat between Latrobe mayor, manager
The changing of locks on an office door at the municipal building and the sale of a blighted property by the Westmoreland County Land Bank brought a rift between Latrobe’s mayor and its city manager public. “You don’t report to anybody,” Mayor Rosie Wolford told Wayne Jones. “None of us...
Westmoreland assistant public defender announces candidacy for Monessen district judge
Assistant Westmoreland County Public Defender Jack Manderino on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the open district judge seat in Monessen. Manderino, 55, son of the late state House speaker Jim Manderino, has served as a lawyer in Westmoreland County and in Pittsburgh for the last 30 years. “I want to...
Youngwood woman charged with assaulting mother rejects plea deal
A Youngwood woman awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting her elderly mother over the television volume during a Steelers preseason football game rejected a plea bargain deal Tuesday that would have required her to serve up to four years in prison. Defense attorney Tim Dawson said his client, Delores Amorino, has...
Derry man gets probation after guilty pleas in 3 cases
A Derry man will serve six years on probation after pleading guilty Tuesday to a series of charges involving three different cases, including allegations he made threats to employees at a magisterial district judge’s office in 2017. Police said all three cases against Paul Barsoum, 54, occurred during a one-week...
New Kensington man to serve up to 50 years in jail on child pornography charges
A New Kensington man was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 50 years in prison for the possession of more than 20,000 images of child pornography. Joshua Pottle, 37, was convicted of 40 felony counts in October following a three-day jury trial in which he was accused of having pictures...
Swissvale woman charged in infant’s Tylenol overdose
Allegheny County police on Tuesday charged a Swissvale woman with child endangerment and assault in connection with an incident in which an infant suffered organ failure after a Tylenol overdose. The child, who was 19 months old at the time of the incident, was admitted to UPMC Children’s Hospital of...
Chicago police investigating report of assault on ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett
Chicago police said Tuesday they received a report of a “possible racially-charged assault and battery” involving an actor on the television show “Empire.” Police say two people approached a 36-year-old man at about 2 a.m. Tuesday as he was walking and got his attention by yelling racial and homophobic slurs....
Pittsburgh Council approves $62M bond issuance for capital projects in 2019
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a $62 million bond issuance for capital improvements in 2019. The money will be used for such things as street paving, facility improvements and equipment listed in the city’s 2019 capital budget. Members also approved the hiring of Clark Hill, a Downtown law firm,...
