Products made of threatened African wildlife sold at U.S. expo
RENO, Nev. — Photos and video taken by animal welfare activists at a recent trophy hunting convention show an array of products crafted from the body parts of threatened big-game animals, including boots, chaps, belts and furniture labeled as elephant leather. Vendors at the Safari Club International event held last...
Trump offers a ‘Dreamers’ deal for border-money proposal
WASHINGTON — In a bid to break the shutdown impasse and fund his long-promised border wall, President Donald Trump on Saturday offered to extend temporary protection for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. But while Trump cast the move as a “common-sense compromise,” Democrats were quick to...
Pittsburgh’s Women’s March goes off as planned despite storm threat
Chanting slogans such as “Build bridges not walls,” “This is what democracy looks like,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” hundreds of people took part in the third annual Women’s March on Washington in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. Despite predictions of a winter storm hitting...
Shutdown leads to delays in lawsuits against government
RICHMOND, Va. — During the longest-ever government shutdown, the federal judiciary has remained open, allowing the wheels of justice to keep turning in most criminal cases. But many civil cases have come to a halt because the U.S. Department of Justice doesn’t have enough attorneys working to handle them. Judges...
Black teen’s family laments sentence given to white officer
CHICAGO — The explosive video of a white Chicago officer shooting a black teenager 16 times shocked consciences around the world with footage of Laquan McDonald getting gunned down as he walked away from police. The graphic images of McDonald crumpling to the street while bullets kept striking him stirred...
Officials see better financial days for the beleaguered Penn Hills School District
Days after Penn Hills School District’s plunge into financial recovery status, state lawmakers and district officials are touting optimism that state intervention will catapult the debt-ridden district out of its dire straits. “Locally, we feel we have exhausted all reasonable options to manage the burden of our crushing debt, most...
Leechburg’s former Addison House to reopen with new name, new ownersVideo
Leechburg’s Addison House Restaurant and Lounge may soon welcome customers again — with a new name and without alcohol. The popular First Street eatery shut its doors in 2012 in the midst of financial difficulties after the tragic death of co-owner Laura Stettmier in an October 2011 plane crash in...
Exhibit of important papers marks MLK’s 90th birthday
ATLANTA — A collection of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers on display in Atlanta provides insight into the slain civil rights leader’s thought processes as he drafted some of his most well-known speeches and notable sermons. “The Meaning of Hope: The Best of the Morehouse College Martin Luther...
Westmoreland bus system operator racks up more fines, tops $100K in penalties since October
Fines leveled against the Ohio-based private company that operates the bus and paratransit programs for the Westmoreland County Transit Authority have now topped $100,000 in four months. The authority imposed $20,000 more in damages against National Express Transit for continued maintenance and operation failures in December. Authority operations director Meghan...
Donegal Township sawmill tour highlights changing lumber industry
A complex, noisy network of blades and belts turned logs into dowels before a crowd of excited onlookers Saturday. “I feel like Willy Wonka in the chocolate factory,” sawmill manager Patrick Cannin said as he showed off stacks of thousands of dowels piled high behind him. They will be used...
George W. Bush delivers pizza to his unpaid Secret Service detail and calls for shutdown to end
George W. Bush has been an unintentional beneficiary of the Trump administration, his reputation buoyed with the benefit of time and an unpopular president from his own party. On Friday, he continued to embrace the role of good guy, with a photo of himself delivering pizzas to his Secret Service...
Strike by Los Angeles teachers enters fifth day amid talks
LOS ANGELES — Teachers picketed and rallied Friday as a strike against the giant Los Angeles Unified School District extended to a fifth day with a new round of contract negotiations underway. Drums, whistles, shouts and honks from supportive drivers echoed through downtown as groups of teachers and backers walked...
Recalled Johnsonville pork patties may contain rubber
Wisconsin-based Johnsonville, LLC, has recalled more than 48,000 pounds of flavored raw pork patties because they may be contaminated with black rubber. The frozen ground pork patties, packaged in 24-ounce cartons, are labeled “Johnsonville Grillers Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Flavor.” Produced on Sept. 27 and Oct. 17 and 18, they...
Neo-Nazi publisher ordered to turn over personal information
HELENA, Mont. — A judge has ordered the publisher of a neo-Nazi website to reveal his net worth and identify any phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts and technology he used when he called for his readers to unleash a “troll storm” on a Montana woman. U.S. Magistrate Judge...
Trump and Pence give surprise addresses at anti-abortion March for Life
WASHINGTON — President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence surprised thousands of protesters demonstrating against abortion on the Mall in Washington by making unannounced speeches at Friday’s March for Life. Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, strode onstage to the delighted cheers of a roaring crowd carrying antiabortion posters and...
20 dead, 60 burned in fire at tap on Mexico fuel pipeline
MEXICO CITY — A huge fire exploded at a pipeline leaking fuel in central Mexico on Friday, killing at least 20 people and badly burning 60 others as locals collected the spilling gasoline in buckets, officials said. The leak was caused by fuel thieves illegally tapping the pipeline in a...
Pittsburgh area expecting up to 3 inches of snow
Plow crews are at the ready, milk and bread have been purchased in mass quantities, and now the region is waiting to see what the expected winter storm will bring. Pittsburgh and much of Westmoreland County are expected to receive 1 to 3 inches of snow, while northern counties such...
Police: Sheriff shoots suspect in Pittsburgh Family Dollar robbery, possibly connected to Penn Hills heist
An Allegheny County deputy sheriff shot a robbery suspect during a gun battle inside a Family Dollar store in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood Friday night, a little more than an hour after the Penn Hills Family Dollar was robbed. Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Mike Pilyih said the county sheriffs and Pittsburgh...
Syria attack victims include daughter of US police official
ALBANY, N.Y. — One of the four Americans killed in a suicide bomb attack in Syria this week was a Navy sailor and married mother of two whose father is a high-ranking officer in the New York State Police, officials said Friday. The Pentagon identified three of the four Americans...
In rare move, Mueller’s office denies BuzzFeed report that Trump told Cohen to lie about Moscow project
WASHINGTON - Special Counsel Robert Mueller III’s office on Friday denied an explosive report by BuzzFeed News that his investigators had gathered evidence showing President Donald Trump directed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about a prospective business deal in Moscow. “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to...
Video shows Arizona officer opening fire as teen runs away
TEMPE, Ariz. — A suburban Phoenix police chief on Friday called it “tragic” that an officer shot and killed a 14-year-old burglary suspect ahead of her department releasing video that showed the officer opening fire as the boy ran away. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir said she called a news...
Greensburg Salem grad’s life was farming
Robert E. Smith Jr. operated a dairy farm in Salem Township at a time when family-owned farms were common. As many as 20 dairy farms dotted the region, but now the number is closer to five. The well-known struggles of dairy farmers concerned Smith, who operated Lone Star Dairy for...
Norwin faces possible $1 million budget deficit
Norwin school officials are facing a possible $1 million deficit when they tackle the 2019-20 budget this spring, even if taxes are raised about 2.4 mills, the maximum the state will allow. The school board is expected to consider a resolution Monday that will put a cap on any real...
Border Patrol arrests 376 who dug under barrier in Arizona
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — A group of 376 Central Americans was arrested in southwest Arizona, the vast majority of them families who dug short, shallow holes under a barrier to cross the border, authorities said Friday. The group dug under a steel barrier in seven spots about 10 miles east...
PPG reaches $7.65 million health-benefit settlement with union retirees
A settlement between PPG and retirees from 13 of its facilities, including those from Springdale, Creighton, Ford City and Greensburg will mean an additional $7.65 million in medical benefits and continued health care coverage. A group of retirees filed suit against PPG in 2005 on behalf of past, current and...
