Expired St. Clair liquor license included in state auction
An expired liquor license in St. Clair Township, Westmoreland County, is among 25 in as many counties that are up for grabs in a March state auction. Sealed bids for the expired restaurant licenses are due to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board by noon March 25. The bids will be...
Indiana County man charged with manufacturing methamphetamine
A 39-year-old Indiana County man was charged with operating a meth lab out of his car after a traffic stop turned up what state police said was a “one-pot” method of methamphetamine production, and faces additional drug charges filed a few days later. Police pulled over Jeremy M. Clawson, 39,...
Botched SWAT raid would cost Pittsburgh $80,000 under proposed legal settlement
Pittsburgh would pay a Brighton Heights woman $80,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging city SWAT officers five years ago wrongly broke down her front door and terrorized her children after mistaking her apartment for a drug dealer’s. City Council on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would end the lawsuit filed...
40th Street Bridge ramp reopens, but another closure is expected
The ramp from the 40th Street Bridge to northbound Route 28 in Millvale has reopened, PennDOT announced around 3 p.m. Tuesday. The ramp had been closed Monday evening because of ice that came from a water line leak. Crews have removed the ice and reopened the ramp, PennDOT said. The...
State lawmakers propose property tax relief for longtime Pittsburgh homeowners
Longtime Pittsburgh homeowners could be in line for city property tax relief under legislation proposed by local state lawmakers. State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, and state representatives joined Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and city council members Tuesday in outlining the legislation dubbed Longtime Owner Occupied Tax Exemption Program. The...
Rally outside Sen. Toomey’s Pittsburgh office calls for an end to shutdown
People who rely on government assistance programs joined Democratic lawmakers Tuesday outside the Downtown office of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, to demand that he work toward ending the partial government shutdown, now in its 32nd day. Low-income workers relying on Section 8 housing vouchers and food benefits through...
Armstrong County residents invited to try new voting machines
Armstrong County residents will be able to try out new voting machines at an expo next week. The new voting system expo will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the Kittanning Township Volunteer Fire Department, 13126 Route 422. The Pennsylvania Department of State directed...
3 West Virginia students ousted, 15 disciplined for frat house fall
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University says three students are no longer enrolled at the university and 15 others have agreed to other disciplinary action after a student was injured in a fall down steps at a fraternity house. The university announced the actions Tuesday in a news release. The...
8 Pittsburgh-area Walmarts to start grocery delivery
Walmart is joining the growing number of grocery retailers that are making the move to home delivery. On Thursday, eight Pittsburgh-area Walmarts will launch a grocery delivery service that will cost $7.95 to $9.95, depending on the time of delivery. The stores are as follows: ALLEGHENY COUNTY North Versailles Robinson...
Pelosi works her health care strategy from the ground up
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is laying out her strategy on health care and first up is improvements to “Obamacare” and legislation to lower prescription drug costs. “Medicare for all” will get hearings. Pelosi and President Donald Trump have been sounding similar themes about the need to address the...
Trump moving ahead with State of the Union speech next week
WASHINGTON — The White House is moving forward with plans for President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union speech next week in front of a joint session of Congress — despite a letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi requesting he delay it. The White House sent an...
Westmoreland happenings: Jan. 23 and beyond
Classes/programs • Free family friendly gaming extravaganza, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday , Mt. Pleasant Public Library,120 S. Church St. It will include appearances by local game developers, Dungeons and Dragons One-Shot campaigns, and for a small donation, a chess tournament and a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. Guests can enjoy...
UK’s world-famous Beefeaters on strike over pensions
LONDON — Workers at the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace — including some of London’s famed Beefeaters — are on strike in a dispute over pensions. The historic attractions, among London’s most popular, remained open Tuesday despite the work slowdown, which is the second in the last two...
Tentative contract reached in L.A. teachers strike
LOS ANGELES — Contentious contract negotiations have resulted in a tentative deal between Los Angeles school officials and the teachers union that will allow striking educators to return to classrooms on Wednesday. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the deal Tuesday. He says it requires the approval of the teachers...
Man accused of Facebook post vowing to kill ‘as many girls as I see’
SALT LAKE CITY — A man is under arrest in Utah after police say he posted on Facebook about “killing as many girls as I see” the same weekend that Women’s Marches were held around the country. Jail documents filed by police in the city of Provo say 27-year-old Christopher...
Boys school shuts down amid fallout over Washington videos
COVINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky boys’ school shut down its campus on Tuesday as a precaution and a small protest was held outside their diocese as fallout continued over an encounter between white teenagers, Native American marchers and a black religious sect outside the Lincoln Memorial last week. President Donald...
Mayor Bill Peduto critical of DA’s letter challenging Pittsburgh’s proposed gun ban
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Tuesday said he was “highly offended” by a letter written by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. that questioned city council’s authority to enact a gun ban and advised council members they could face criminal charges if the legislation passes. Peduto had not...
Chevron grants to bolster STEM programs at 46 Pennsylvania schools
Several area school districts have received grants from Chevron Appalachia to either start or enhance their Project Lead The Way programs. Chevron announced $1 million in grants to schools in southwestern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio. Forty-six schools in Pennsylvania received $790,000, including the following school districts:Belle Vernon...
Dormont scout formerly with Harrison City troop holder of new Guinness World Record
After years of scouting, Charles Boone had acquired a decent collection of carabiners — those metal rings used for everything from mountain climbing to holding keys or a water bottle. By the time he had 50, he thought he might be on his way to a world record. “I had...
Poll: Disasters influence thinking on climate change
WASHINGTON — When it comes to their views on climate change, Americans are looking at natural disasters and their local weather, according to a new poll. Lately, that means record deadly wildfires in California, rainfall by the foot in Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit and the dome of smog over...
Democrats lurch left on top policies as 2020 primary begins
NEW YORK — Democratic presidential contender Julian Castro launched his campaign by pledging support for “Medicare for All,” free universal preschool, a large public investment in renewable energy and two years of free college for all Americans. That wasn’t enough for some of his party’s most liberal members. Critics on...
Afghan security service suffers heavy toll in Taliban attack
KABUL, Afghanistan — Dozens of people killed in a brazen Taliban attack on a military base were members of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, officials said Tuesday, in a severe blow to the government that already has lost control of nearly half of the country to the insurgents. At least 45 people...
Philly apartment building fire injures 3, residents flee into cold
A fast-moving fire at a Philadelphia apartment building left three people injured and sent residents fleeing into the bitter cold. The fire in the six-story building broke out around 11:30 p.m. Monday. Firefighters soon arrived and saw flames shooting out of a third-story unit. The building’s fire alarm system alerted...
Supreme Court lets military implement transgender restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to go ahead with its plan to restrict military service by transgender people while court challenges continue. The high court split 5-4 in allowing the plan to take effect, with the court’s five conservatives greenlighting it and its four...
Former Pa. Sen. Harris Wofford, activist who helped Kennedy win, dies at 92
Harris Wofford, a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, university president and lifelong crusader for civil rights who made a crucial contribution to John F. Kennedy’s slender victory in the 1960 presidential contest, died Jan. 21 at a hospital in Washington. He was 92. The cause was complications from a fall, said...
