More than $35,000 raised for family of children who died in South Union fire
A fundraiser for the family of two children who died Tuesday in a house fire in South Union surpassed its $35,000 goal in less than 24 hours. The GoFundMe page set up by Shienna Ross of Uniontown continues to raise money in memory of siblings RyLeigh Paige Weasenforth, 7, and...
Fla. father accused of burning son to teach him lesson about fire
HOLLY HILL, Fla. — Police say a Florida father burned his 4-year-old son with a lighter to teach him a lesson about not being careless with fire. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports Jesse Colaw, 26, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated battery on a child. An arrest report says...
Tourism to be focus of new Westmoreland County visitor center on Route 119
Westmoreland County will open a visitor center next month as part of a renewed push to promote tourism. On Thursday, county commissioners are expected to approve an $81,000 contract with the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau to operate the facility in a plaza on Route 119, north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s motorcade heads out on day 2 of China trip
BEIJING — The motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un headed out Wednesday morning to an unannounced destination on the second full day of a visit to China that has been shrouded in secrecy but is seen as part of preparations for a possible second summit with President Trump....
Pelosi, Schumer respond to Trump speech on border security
Transcript of remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in response to President Trump’s address Tuesday on border security, as provided by Pelosi’s office: PELOSI: Good evening. I appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to the American people tonight about how we can end this...
Pennsylvania politicians react to Trump’s national border security address
President Trump’s nationally televised address on border security Tuesday night called on Congress to approve his plan to build a $5.7 billion steel wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and put an end to the second-longest U.S. government shutdown. “The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason...
Trump’s address about security on the U.S. southern border
A transcript of President Trump’s Tuesday night address about security along the U.S. southern border, as provided by the White House: My fellow Americans: Tonight, I am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents...
New clue points to intoxication in crash that killed Michigan family
DETROIT — A new clue found in the truck that smashed head-on into an SUV on I-75, killing a family of five from Northville, Mich., suggests that the driver may have been intoxicated, Kentucky police said Tuesday. “There was some evidence recovered in the vehicle that might lead us to...
Downed tree closes Route 30 eastbound near Derry
The eastbound lanes of Route 30 were shut down for a couple hours around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after a downed tree landed on the roadway. The eastbound side of the highway is temporarily closed between Route 217 and the causeway over Loyalhanna Creek. Emergency crews also reported downed wires...
Braddock council postpones vote to appoint interim mayor
Following a heated public comment period, Braddock Council voted Tuesday to delay the scheduled appointment of an interim mayor. “There was so much controversy from the residents, I couldn’t see us in good conscience going through with the process,” Councilman Robert Clanagan, who made the initial motion to postpone the...
Oldest person in the U.S. dies at 114
Lessie Brown, a 114-year-old Ohio woman who was believed to be the oldest person in the United States, died Tuesday, her grandson said. Brown, who had been living with one of her daughters, died at the home in Cleveland Heights, Ronald Wilson said. Brown said in 2013 it was God’s...
Contractor: Water line relocation nearing end on Route 981 in LatrobeVideo
Ligonier Construction crews hope to wrap up water line relocation work on Latrobe’s Lloyd Avenue during the week of Jan. 14, weather permitting. The contractor has been working, on and off, since November — restricting daytime traffic to a single, alternating lane on a section of Lloyd south of Unity...
Tarentum Council considering renaming community garden for Pastor Greg Blythe
Tarentum Council is considering renaming the borough’s community garden. The existing Friendship Garden, from which people are free to take whatever fruits and vegetables they want or need, could be renamed to honor Pastor Greg Blythe. Blythe, pastor of Abundant Joy Fellowship, was one of the founders of the garden,...
Turkey’s Erdogan blasts John Bolton on bid to shield Syrian Kurds
ISTANBUL — White House national security adviser John Bolton traveled to Turkey this week to talk with Turkish officials about working together on President Trump’s plan to quickly withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Instead, he got an earful. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who declined to meet with Bolton, scolded...
Watch: Trump to address nation, press for wall as shutdown continues
Fighting for advantage in the government shutdown battle, President Trump aims to use a prime-time address Tuesday night to convince Americans he needs billions of dollars from Congress for his long-promised border wall to resolve security and humanitarian problems he contends have reached a crisis pitch. His remarks were to...
Washington governor, NYC mayor push expanded health coverage
SEATTLE — Washington’s governor and New York City’s mayor unveiled major initiatives Tuesday to expand health insurance coverage, the latest moves by key Democratic leaders to address Trump administration health policies they say are keeping people from getting the care they need. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a likely presidential candidate,...
Rite Aid to close Irwin store in February
Rite Aid will close its pharmacy and store on Main Street in Irwin early next month, a decision made after an evaluation of its business, the Camp Hill-based pharmacy chain said. Rite Aid’s last day of normal operations in Irwin is expected to be Feb. 4, at which time the...
Candidates sought to fill Tarentum Council vacancy
Tarentum Council is looking to fill an empty seat. In an email Tuesday afternoon, Councilwoman Rhonda Dzugan informed the borough she would be resigning from the seven-member council because she is unable to fulfill her duties. Council will vote to accept her resignation during its meeting starting at 6 p.m....
Gas station canopy topples in Monroeville
The canopy over gas pumps at a Sunoco gas station along Haymaker Road in Monroeville toppled over Tuesday evening, trapping two vehicles but injuring no one. Both vehicles under the canopy, a car and a pickup truck, were empty during the collapse that occurred about 5:30 p.m., according to Monroeville...
Squirrel Hill man raises funds for anti-gun groups in parallel with Pittsburgh rally
A Squirrel Hill man created a Facebook page centered on Monday’s armed gun rally outside Pittsburgh City Hall and raised nearly $3,000 in donations for anti-gun groups. Ron Gaydos, who lives three blocks from the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, where a mass shooting occurred in October, said...
Tarentum man faces drug, gun charges in connection with police chase
A Tarentum man is accused of leading police on a chase through Arnold and New Kensington last year before crashing his SUV into another vehicle and injuring three people. Jaquay Karohn Primus, 22, was arraigned Tuesday on felony charges of aggravated assault, drug possession, receiving stolen property and illegally possessing...
Warhawk fighter plane joins World War II program at Westmoreland air show
A restored Air Force P-40 Warhawk fighter plane will join the high-flying spectacle May 25-26 at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. The World War II-era aircraft will be featured in the “Tora! Tora! Tora!” program during the 2019 Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland County Airshow. The plane and the program...
Pittsburgh’s Peduto ‘not offended’ by criticism aimed at him by gun activists
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said he wasn’t offended by insults directed at him Monday by gun-rights activists rallying outside City Hall, including claims that he is a “traitor” and “commie” for pushing for tighter gun regulations. Peduto on Tuesday said he purposely avoided the building during the rally on the...
Democrats demand Mnuchin hold off on easing sanctions tied to Deripaska
WASHINGTON — Seven new Democratic chairmen of House committees demanded Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hold off on the planned easing of sanctions against three companies tied to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. “As the chairs of committees with oversight jurisdiction over the U.S. response to Russia’s attempts to interfere...
Kellyanne Conway, Jim Acosta clash outside West Wing
WASHINGTON — The Trump White House and CNN did battle again on Tuesday, with Kellyanne Conway calling reporter Jim Acosta a swear word during a sharp exchange outside the West Wing. The exchange began when the network’s chief White House correspondent asked the longtime confidant and adviser to Donald Trump...
