Mike Diebold’s pending release from jail irks some Leechburg residents
Former Leechburg police Chief Mike Diebold’s plan to move into his mother’s Siberian Avenue home after his expected release from prison on Sunday is irking some residents, who say the convicted sex offender shouldn’t be allowed to live there because it’s too close to three schools. But there’s nothing they...
Sanders says White House wants shutdown deal
WASHINGTON — White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration wants to negotiate a government shutdown deal but is not saying how much President Donald Trump wants as a “down payment” on his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall. Sanders spoke to reporters at the White House on Friday, a day...
Coast Guard halts search for missing Royal Caribbean crewmember
MIAMI — The Coast Guard has ended the search for a crewmember from a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s coast. According to the Royal Caribbean cruise line, co-workers saw the 26-year-old crewmember go overboard from the Majesty of the Seas early Thursday. The ship was about 40...
New Florence man accused of shooting woman with BB gun
A New Florence man faces aggravated assault charges after police say he shot a 24-year-old woman multiple times with a BB gun. State police charged Allen K. Palmer, 31, with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. During an altercation at a Climax Road residence in West Wheatfield on Tuesday ,...
Price of Forever stamps to increase to 55 cents
Nothing is forever, including the price of stamps. Starting Jan. 27, the price of Forever stamps is expected to increase by five cents, from 50 cents to 55 cents, according to a release from the United States Postal Service. Other mailing and shipping services also are expected to increase. For...
North Allegheny student grows massive cabbage, earns $1,000 scholarship
If she were so inclined, Lily Ries could probably use the cabbage she grew in 2018 to make a life-sized version of pigs-in-a-blanket — with actual pigs. Ries, 9, now a fourth-grader at Peebles Elementary School in the North Allegheny School District, earned a $1,000 scholarship as the Pennsylvania winner...
Japan court upholds sterilization to register gender change
TOKYO — Human rights and LGBT activists on Friday denounced a ruling by Japan’s Supreme Court upholding a law that effectively requires transgender people to be sterilized before they can have their gender changed on official documents. The court said the law is constitutional because it was meant to reduce...
Pakistan to ease restrictions on visas to promote tourism
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has announced plans to ease visa restrictions for tourists from 90 countries, including the U.S. and Europe, in a bid to revive its tourism sector, decimated by years of negligence and problems with militants. Cabinet minister Fahmida Mirza announces the plans on Friday in Islamabad. She pledged...
2 UN peacekeepers killed in attack in central Mali
BAMAKO, Mali — The spokeswoman for the United Nations mission in Mali says two Sri Lankan peacekeepers have been killed after their convoy struck an explosive device in the central Mopti region. Myriam Dessables says the blast occurred early Friday in the Douentza area. She says several other people were...
NATO chief says missile pact in danger after Russia talks
BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday that Russia shows no sign of respecting a major Cold War-era missile treaty and that the future of the pact is in danger as the United States readies to start pulling out of it next week. “The treaty is now in jeopardy...
4 dead in shootings at State College bar, home
STATE COLLEGE — A gunman opened fire at a hotel bar in State College, killing a man and wounding two other people, then broke into a home where he fatally shot another man before killing himself, authorities said. Authorities said a fourth victim died Friday, according to the Centre Daily...
Video shows brutal knife attack on helpless Ohio inmates
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A newly released video shows the brutality of an Ohio inmate’s knife attack on four prisoners who were handcuffed to a table and unable to defend themselves. The video obtained by the Associated Press reveals for the first time the extent of the victims’ injuries and raises...
Trump associate Stone arrested, faces obstruction charge
WASHINGTON — Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, was arrested Friday morning in the special counsel’s Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. The seven-count indictment against Stone, a self-proclaimed “dirty trickster,” is the first criminal case in months from special counsel...
Weekend snow, frigid temperatures coming to Pittsburgh region
More snow and chilly temperatures are on the way. Between 1 and 3 inches of snow is expected to fall in the Pittsburgh area through Sunday, with up to an inch expected on Sunday, National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Rackley said Friday morning. “(We’re) not really looking at a whole...
Snow showers expected to blast parts of Western PA could affect Friday’s commute
More snow is on the way for Western Pennsylvania. And that snow could impact Friday morning driving conditions. A special weather statement issued early Friday morning by the National Weather Service said a band of moderate to heavy snow showers could affect visibility and cause hazardous conditions along some area...
Report forecasts continued robust growth in U.S. energy production, exports
For the first time in almost 70 years, the U.S. will export more energy than it imports in 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The projection was part of the agency’s “Annual Energy Outlook 2019” report, released on Thursday. The report, which based its findings on a “reference case”...
12-year-old boy charged in slaying of South Texas boxer
UVALDE, Texas — Police say a 12-year-old boy has been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a boxer at the victim’s South Texas home. Uvalde police said Thursday that the boy is charged in the slaying of John Duane VanMeter and is being held at a juvenile...
Energy Department taps Penn State researchers to help modernize U.S. power grid
Penn State announced Thursday it is one of 10 universities selected nationwide to work on a project for the U.S. Department of Energy to modernize the nation’s power grid. The Penn State team of researchers chosen for the department’s Grid Optimization Competition’s first challenge is led by Uday V. Shanbhag,...
Deputy running for Westmoreland sheriff’s post
A Hempfield man who has served as a Westmoreland County deputy sheriff for eight years now wants to run the office. Sam Pilato, 56, announced he will be a Republican candidate in the May primary seeking the job as county sheriff. “If elected (my) mission is to return the sheriff’s...
Upper Burrell asks court to order voting redistricting
Upper Burrell officials on Friday filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order Westmoreland County to redraw the township’s two voting districts. Township supervisors filed the court action, along with a petition from 20 registered voters, contending that 75 percent of the town’s residents are forced to vote in one...
As shutdown ends, workers have little faith about future
Federal workers who have gone a month without getting paid during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history expressed relief Friday that a deal had been reached to end the impasse, but are worried they’ll be in the same spot in a few weeks. Ivan Tauler and his wife spent...
Pittsburgh area is getting its 2nd Wahlburgers restaurant
Wahlburgers, a restaurant founded by celebrity brothers Paul, Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, will soon open its second Pittsburgh area location. The new spot will be at the cafe entrance of the Mall at Robinson, 100 Robinson Centre Drive in Robinson Township. It’s expected to open this summer. The first Wahlburgers...
Hours weighed as rec board takes over Latrobe Farmers Market
The Latrobe Farmers Market will be under new management this summer, but patrons may not notice much change. Organizers intend to meet Monday to discuss dates and times for the market, now that Latrobe-Greater Latrobe Parks & Recreation has taken over operation of the popular event from the Latrobe Community...
White House grants S.C. foster care group waiver to deny gays, Jews
The Trump administration granted a waiver to South Carolina this week allowing the state to provide federal funding to a foster care agency that works only with Protestant foster parents. In its decision, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was approving the request from Gov. Henry...
Suspect in 4 slayings accused of selling victims’ jewelry
CARSON CITY, Nev. — A suspect in four fatal shootings in Nevada was accused in court Thursday of being in the U.S. illegally and possessing weapons and selling jewelry stolen from some of the dead. Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, a 19-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, appeared before a judge in Carson...
