Police: Vehicle falls off rail tracks into Beaver County park, killing 2
ROCHESTER — Authorities say a sport utility vehicle fell nearly 15 feet off railroad tracks in Western Pennsylvania into a park, killing two men. Police in Rochester said the car was being driven along the Norfolk Southern tracks intentionally Saturday, then apparently slid and rolled down a hill, landing on...
Protesters pushed back at New York federal jail where power went out
NEW YORK — Some demonstrators protesting the lack of heat and electricity at a federal detention center in New York City attempted to enter the facility Sunday, and witnesses said guards drove them back with pushes, shoves and pepper spray. A reporter and photographer for The Associated Press were at...
Democrats fear Northam incident will hurt 2020 message
WASHINGTON — A racist photo in Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s yearbook entry has become a national political concern for Democrats, threatening to complicate their bid to draw a sharp contrast with President Trump and the Republican Party on race ahead of the 2020 election. As Northam defied a nationwide chorus...
White House claims Trump’s tan is the result of ‘good genes’
An official statement from the White House on President Trump’s complexion is that his skin color is the result of “good genes,” a senior administration official told The New York Times. Despite his orange glow and white around his eyes, the White House insisted he did not go under the...
Annual? Perennial? Biennial? All those seed catalog terms explained
As you look through all the seed catalogs arriving in your mailbox and dream about the garden season to come, you may find yourself a bit confused about certain terms you find in those catalogs. Some seed catalogs have small glossaries in the back or other notes that define what...
Pittsburgh Gun Show attendees not keen on new gun laws, favor Saturday start to buck season
As the Pennsylvania Game Commission took the use of semiautomatic rifles for big game hunting off the table Friday, patrons at the Pittsburgh Gun Show were not spooked by the controversy surrounding the firearm, whether for hunting or a ban proposed by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. Local gun owners weren’t...
Police: One shot in argument between tow truck drivers in Pittsburgh
An argument between two truck drivers responding to an accident Saturday in Pittsburgh led to a shooting, police said. The shooting occurred at 3:40 p.m. in the 900 block of Washington Boulevard near Shetland, according to Alicia George, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman. An earlier accident on Washington Boulevard drew multiple...
Update: Missing elderly man sought by Pittsburgh police found safe
A missing 67-year-old man from Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood has been found, according to Pittsburgh police. Ronald Simmons was located and is safe, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Police announced around 4:30 p.m. Saturday that they needed the public’s help in locating Simmons. He was in need...
TSA officer jumps to his death at Orlando airport
ORLANDO, Fla. — An officer from the Transportation Security Administration jumped to his death from a balcony inside Florida’s busiest airport Saturday, creating panic that brought some security checkpoints to a halt for hours and caused serious delays. Panicked passengers rushed past checkpoints leading to about half of the gates...
Study says Philly court reporters not accurate with black dialect
PHILADELPHIA — There are times in court when Qawi Abdul-Rahman, a Center City-based defense attorney, gets the sense that folks listening didn’t understand a piece of testimony. “You get it all the time, truthfully,” Abdul-Rahman said. He’s been concerned that the true meaning of statements like “I don’t fool with...
Specious claims by lawmakers dog Pennsylvania’s noncitizen voter search
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two Pennsylvania state lawmakers are making a disputed claim in a long-running effort by elections officials to determine how many non-U.S. citizens had registered to vote over the years. On Tuesday, the lawmakers said there had been confirmation that 11,198 foreign nationals had illegally registered to vote....
Hashtag stirs debate over role of Christian schools in U.S.
NEW YORK — For their supporters, the thousands of Christian schools across America are literally a blessing — a place where children can learn in accordance with biblical teachings, untainted by the secular norms of public schools. To critics, many of these Christian schools venture too often into indoctrination, with...
Parents of 2 Parkland victims want Pulitzer for local paper
PASADENA, Calif. — Two parents who lost daughters in last year’s Parkland, Florida, school shooting are calling for their local newspaper to win the Pulitzer Prize, saying the South Florida Sun Sentinel has stayed on the story to demand accountability long after the national media left. The parents, Ryan Petty...
Judge: Companion of late gorilla Koko must go back to zoo
CINCINNATI — A male silverback gorilla loaned to a California group in 1991 as a possible mate for Koko, the gorilla who astounded the world by learning sign language, must be returned to a zoo in Cincinnati, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Friday. Judge Richard Seeborg’s ruling said...
Parents sue 28 former Penn State fraternity members in son’s death, settle with the university
The parents of Tim Piazza, who died after an alcohol-fueled fraternity pledge party at Pennsylvania State University two years ago, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against 28 former members of the fraternity, but settled with Penn State without filing a lawsuit, their lawyer said. Neither the university nor Jim and Evelyn...
New Mexico ceremony marks ‘horrible’ discovery of bodies
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The notes are written on paper tags, tributes to the nine women, two teenage girls and unborn child found buried 10 years ago atop a New Mexico mesa. One bears a stick-figure angel and a message from a woman who says the victims watch over her. Another...
Vandergrift resident working as concierge for former Steeler Hines Ward at Super Bowl
Casey Allen is a junior at the University of Tennessee at Martin majoring in marketing with a minor in sports business. But this week, sports business is the major. Allen is in Atlanta for the week for Super Bowl LIII, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday between the New...
Police: 2 men dead in Apollo in murder/suicide
An unidentified Apollo man shot another man dead early Saturday and then committed suicide, state police said. Police did not identify either man by name. They said the suspect was a 33-year-old resident of the home in the 500 block of Terrace Avenue. The victim, who was shot twice, was...
Virginia Democrat says Gov. Northam won’t resign; he doesn’t think racist yearbook photo is him
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia Democrat who has spoken with Gov. Ralph Northam has told The Associated Press that the governor now does not believe he was in a racist picture in his 1984 medical yearbook and has no immediate plans to resign. The official was not authorized to speak...
Woman pinned beneath vehicle following Derry Township crash
Emergency crews are on the scene of a crash on Route 22 near its intersection with Rushwood Road in Derry Township, just east of New Alexandria, where dispatchers say a woman is pinned beneath her vehicle. The crash was reported shortly after 10 a.m., and emergency officials also reported that...
Police identify victim of fatal shooting early Saturday in Homestead
A 22-year-old man has died after he was shot early Saturday morning in Homestead. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identifed the victim as Tre-quan Embry of Homestead. Police were called to the 300 block of East 17th Avenue at 12:37 a.m. on Feb. 2 for a report of shots...
Lawyers: New York City inmates stuck in freezing cells
NEW YORK — Hundreds of inmates at a federal jail in New York City have spent days in cold, dark cells amid frigid weather and without access to visitors or email, attorneys for the inmates said Friday. Lawyers from the Federal Defenders office said there’s been limited electricity, heat and...
Arrest warrant turns up marijuana growing operation in Indiana County
State police serving an arrest warrant in Indiana County ended up discovering more than 80 marijuana plants and 13 gallon bags of marijuana at an Armstrong Township home. Troopers initially responded Jan. 31 to a home on the 1000 block of Route 156 to serve an arrest warrant for Scott...
Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow, predicting early spring
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Members of Punxsutawney Phil’s inner circle revealed spring is coming early.Handlers for Pennsylvania’s most famous prognosticating groundhog say he didn’t see his shadow when the sun rose Saturday. The festivities have their origin in a German legend that says if a furry rodent casts a shadow on...
$9 million awarded to Allegheny County infrastructure projects
Communities across Allegheny County will receive more than $9 million in state money for transportation and other infrastructure projects. The money comes from the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Friday. Projects were selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation based on intended safety benefits, regional economic...
