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,...
Cops: Man inappropriately touched 2 Greensburg girls, had child pornography
A Jeannette man remained jailed in Westmoreland County on Tuesday on allegations he had inappropriate contact with two girls while he temporarily stayed at a Greensburg apartment last year, city police reported. Police arrested Gerald A. Helzel, 24, last week following a report made to the state child abuse hotline....
Stacey Abrams to give Democrats’ response to State of Union
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Schumer told reporters Tuesday that he asked Abrams three weeks ago and he was “delighted” when she accepted. The role elevates Abrams...
Medical helicopter crashes in Ohio remote woods, killing 3
CINCINNATI — A medical helicopter crashed Tuesday in a remote wooded area on its way to pick up a patient, killing all three crew members, authorities said. Survival Flight medical transportation reported around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday losing communication with a helicopter flying from the Mount Carmel Hospital in Grove City...
Hempfield proposes public safety committee; police coverage could be examined
Almost a year after Hempfield’s fire bureau came into fruition, township supervisors are looking to establish a public safety commission — with police coverage being one area of potential focus. While the seven-person commission is far from being formed, Township Manager Jason Winters presented a conceptual plan that focuses on...
Pentagon to send thousands more troops to southern border, mostly for surveillance
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is preparing to dispatch several thousand more U.S. troops to the southern border as the military shifts its operations there from improving security at ports of entry to the vast areas between them that are less controlled, defense officials said Tuesday. Acting defense secretary Patrick M....
Mitch McConnell warns against early exit from Syria, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Islamic State and al-Qaida militants still pose a “serious threat” to the United States and cautioned the Trump administration against an early exit from Syria and Afghanistan. The comments by McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to be a pushback against the...
U.N.: More than 130 migrants appear to be missing off Djibouti
JOHANNESBURG — More than 130 migrants were thought to be missing after two boats capsized Tuesday off the tiny East African nation of Djibouti, the U.N. migration agency said. Local police had found five bodies and search efforts were underway, the U.N. statement said. Witnesses said the boats were overloaded...
Wolf calls for tougher gun laws after synagogue shooting
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf is renewing his call for lawmakers to pass legislation expanding background checks on firearms in Pennsylvania and end an exception for shotguns, sporting rifles and semi-automatic rifles that are sold at gun shows. The Democratic governor’s statement Tuesday comes three months after a truck...
Illinois State Police say driver caught going 115 mph in the snow ‘ridiculous’
The Illinois State Police posted a photo of a speeding ticket along with some words of warning to Facebook on Monday. The post starts with the alleged offense: 115 mph in a 35 mph zone. Then goes on to warn other speeders and concerned citizens: “If you think we don’t...
Westmoreland happenings: Feb. 2 and beyond
Fundraisers • Have A Heart Buffet Pasta Palooza is planned 1-4 p.m. Feb. 10 host by the Humane Society of Westmoreland County at Lakeview, Route 30 Greensburg. Cost: $25. Tickets: 724-837-3779. • 80’s party band Velveeta will perform 7 p.m. Feb. 16 in Harrison City VFD, 1010 Mill St. Cost:...
Sheriff: Louisiana suspect confesses to killing 5; used dad’s gun
BATON ROUGE, La. — The 21-year-old man accused of killing five people including his parents in a multi-parish shooting over the weekend before fleeing to his grandmother’s house has confessed, authorities said Tuesday. Dakota Theriot told authorities he used a gun he stole from his father, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason...
Hate-crime charges added against accused synagogue gunman Robert Bowers
A federal grand jury has added 13 hate-crime charges to the indictment against Robert Bowers, accused gunman in the Oct. 27 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill. Bowers, 46, of Baldwin Borough, originally faced 44 federal charges in the anti-Semitic attack that left 11...
Chief: Injured Houston officer shot 3 times in line of duty
HOUSTON — Houston’s police chief says one of four narcotics officers shot while serving a search warrant at a suspected drug house has been struck by gunfire two other times during his career. Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday that the 54-year-old police supervisor, whose name hasn’t been released, was...
Pittsburgh police officer performs CPR, saves baby who wasn’t breathing
A Pittsburgh infant is expected to make a full recovery after she was saved by a police officer Sunday. Pittsburgh police Officer Aaron Conner was among the officers who responded to the 5700 block of Centre Avenue for a call about a 3-week-old child who was not breathing after inhaling...
Pennsylvania resumes push to recognize Eastern hellbender
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Senate is resuming a push to make the Eastern hellbender the state’s official amphibian, an effort to highlight the plight of a creature whose numbers researchers say are declining because of pollution in rivers and streams. The bill emerged unanimously Tuesday from a Senate committee. A...
‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett victim in possible hate attack
“Empire” star Jussie Smollett was hospitalized Tuesday in Chicago after he was targeted by two attackers who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him and tied a rope around his neck. The incident is being investigated by the Chicago Police Department as a possible hate crime, chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi...
Ohio pastor pleads guilty to sex trafficking of teen girls
TOLEDO, Ohio — A second of three Ohio ministers accused of enticing teenage girls to have sex with them has pleaded guilty. Cordell Jenkins agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to federal charges that include child sex trafficking. Federal authorities say he was among three Toledo-area pastors who paid teenage girls...
Gov. Wolf objects to proposed Title IX changes
One day before the deadline for comments, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf went on record opposing the federal government’s proposed rollbacks in regulations governing allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault in schools and colleges. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Wolf voiced concerns Tuesday about proposed...
FBI finds no specific motive in Las Vegas shooting
LAS VEGAS — A high-stakes gambler who rained a hail of gunfire down on a crowd of country music fans, killing 58, took any specific motive for the 2017 attack to his grave, the FBI said Tuesday as it concluded the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S....
Murrysville activating shelter plans for Wednesday, Thursday
With wind chills plunging below zero on Wednesday and Thursday, Murrysville is making a warming center available both days on an as-needed basis. Anyone in need of emergency shelter should contact police Capt. Chuck Tappe at 724-309-2369 or ctappe@murrysvillegov.org and request assistance. “If I receive a call, I will notify...
Insulin cost in focus as Congress opens drug price hearings
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican lawmaker said Tuesday that he plans to investigate the “unacceptable” cost of insulin, as Congress opened hearings on high prescription drug prices and how government might put the brakes on a pharmaceutical industry used to setting its own terms. “I have heard stories about people...
Police: Trafford man intimidated victim by calling her 157 times after assault arrest
A Trafford man is being held without bail after police said he made 157 phone calls to a woman who he previously was arrested for assaulting. Authorities said Nigel Christopher Hogan, 29, threatened the woman on Sunday to not testify against him at a hearing today or “she would regret...
Cops: Women tried to steal $3K worth of merchandise at Hempfield Walmart
Two 20-year-old women were arrested early Tuesday by state police trying to flee the Walmart store in Hempfield without paying for $3,276 worth of items. Megan M. Bender of Connellsville and Julie L. Thomas of New Stanton were arraigned on charges of robbery, retail theft and harassment following the incident...
