Using banned pesticide that sickened family nets man prison
WILMINGTON, Del. — The ex-manager of a pest-control company in the U.S. Virgin Islands has been sentenced to a year in prison for poisoning a Delaware family with a banned pesticide. The News Journal reports 59-year-old Jose Rivera was charged with knowingly using methyl bromide in the St. John condominium...
Greensburg-based government workers file suit to leave union
Three Pennsylvania state employees based in Greensburg are suing their union after trying unsuccessfully to resign their membership last year. The employees, all three of whom work for the state Department of Labor & Industry, say they have U.S. Supreme Court precedent on their side, including last year’s controversial 5-4...
Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald nominates his economic development director to airport authority
Allegheny County Economic Development Director Lance Chimka has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the county Airport Authority board of directors. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s nomination was presented at a county council meeting Tuesday. The nomination will now be reviewed by the council’s committee on appointment review before a...
Threat at Chartiers Valley High School not credible, say police, district officials
A threat made against the Chartiers Valley High School on Wednesday was not credible, according police and officials at the district. Evening activities at the school will happened as planned, but Superintendent Johannah Vanatta urged parents to check with coaches. The school will be open Thursday. “As always, the security...
N.Y. enacts new protections for abortion rights
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state enacted one of the nation’s strongest protections for abortion rights Tuesday, a move that state leaders say was needed to safeguard those rights should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly passed the bill Tuesday, the 46th anniversary...
Amid wall debate, pope says fear of migration ‘makes us crazy’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said Wednesday that fear of migration is “making us crazy” as he began a trip to central America amid a standoff over President Donald Trump’s promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and a new caravan of migrants heading north. Francis was asked by reporters about...
Pennsylvania drivers can bring documents to PennDOT to pre-verify for ‘REAL ID’
Pennsylvania drivers are getting information in the mail about pre-verifying for “REAL ID.” The identifications, in the form of a new driver’s license or photo identification card, will be available this spring, according to the postcard PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the agency is sending to all customers. REAL ID-compliant...
Body found encased in frozen Pa. pool
NEW HOPE — Police say a body was found incased in ice in a pool in Pennsylvania. Authorities say the body was discovered Tuesday at a business in New Hope. Police say the body had to be cut from the pool, and they are investigating the victim’s identity and cause...
Covington Catholic reopens amid criticism over videotaped encounter
PARK HILLS, Ky. — A Catholic boys’ school widely criticized after a confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is reopening under the watchful eye of law enforcement in Kentucky. News outlets reported that a letter sent to parents details extra safety measures being taken as classes resume at Covington...
Galveston police capture pair of runaway emus
GALVESTON, Texas — Police in coastal Texas have captured a pair of runaway emus that had been on the lam for a day after escaping their owner’s backyard. Emus aren’t permitted in Galveston, but police say a man recently brought the large, flightless birds to the island after the death...
Crash with injuries reported in same spot as fatal vehicle crash in Hazelwood
At least one person was injured in a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday morning around the border of Hazelwood and Greenfield, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. The crash was reported shortly before 7:30 a.m. at Irvine Street and Greenfield Avenue, Allegheny County 911 dispatchers said. It is the some spot where a...
Giant ice disk equipped with webcam after surviving storm
WESTBROOK, Maine — Maine’s giant spinning ice disk that quickly gained international fame survived the weekend winter weather that pummeled New England and now has its own webcam. The webcam in Westbrook monitors the disk that’s been spinning in the Presumpscot River for more than a week and continues its...
South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg joins 2020 presidential race
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Democrat Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid, according to a video and email announcement obtained by The Associated Press. “The reality is there’s no going back, and there’s no such thing as ‘again’...
Ascend rock climbing gym expands to Bridgeville location
America’s climbing craze continues to catch on in the Pittsburgh area. Ascend, a rock climbing gym on the city’s South Side, announced on Facebook that they are opening a second location in Bridgeville. The new facility will be part of Newberry Market, a mixed use development in South Fayette Township....
Poll: Support for ‘Medicare-for-all’ fluctuates with details
WASHINGTON — “Medicare-for-all” makes a good first impression, but support plunges when people are asked if they’d pay higher taxes or put up with treatment delays to get it. The survey, released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, comes as Democratic presidential hopefuls embrace the idea of a government-run...
Dueling Senate bills would end shutdown in different ways
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders agreed to hold votes this week on dueling proposals to reopen shuttered federal agencies, forcing a political reckoning for senators grappling with the longest shutdown in U.S. history: Side with President Donald Trump or vote to temporarily end the shutdown and keep negotiating. Senate Majority Leader...
Police: Uniontown woman used potted tree during assault
A Fayette County woman is accused of attacking someone with a tree over the weekend, according to state police. Ronita Lynn Calloway, 32, of Uniontown, was arguing with someone in South Union at 12:34 p.m. Saturday when she allegedly grabbed a tree by its trunk and ripped it out of...
Traffic blocked on I-79 north after tractor trailer overturns
Traffic was blocked along I-79 north early Wednesday after a tractor-trailer hauling soft drinks overturned between the Crafton and Coraopolis exits, officials said. The crash was reported at 5 a.m. at mile marker 63.5. At 9:15 a.m., traffic cameras showed traffic getting past the rolled over tractor-trailer in one lane....
Upper Burrell police warn of phone scam
Scammers pretending to be Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) representatives are calling people and asking them for donations, Upper Burrell police warn. Police shared information about the scam on Facebook Tuesday, warning people not to provide the scammers with any financial or personal information. “DO NOT give out any financial...
Bethel Park School District cancels classes for Wednesday
Bethel Park High School will be closed Wednesday due to a sprinkler malfunction, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The malfunction occurred on Tuesday and resulted in an evacuation, WPXI-TV reported. A phone call went out to parents, notifying them that the needed cleanup was extensive enough that the school...
Arizona nurse arrested in rape of incapacitated woman who gave birth
PHOENIX — A nurse who was supposed to be looking after an incapacitated woman at a long-term health care facility has been charged with raping her, weeks after the patient stunned her caregivers and family by giving birth to a baby boy , Phoenix police said Wednesday. Investigators arrested Nathan...
Explosion near U.S. Consulate in Geneva; no injuries
GENEVA — An electrical fault triggered an explosion Wednesday near the U.S. Consulate in Geneva, police and officials said. The U.S. Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, issued a security alert over the blast, but no one was injured. “The explosion was linked to an electrical junction box, cooled by...
Structural engineer to evaluate Derry Township home hit by pickup truck
A pickup truck has been lodged in the side of Jesse Noel’s Derry Township home for the last two days. Noel and his wife, Sandy, were waiting Wednesday morning for a structural engineer to assess the damage while coping with the fallout after the truck slammed into their living room...
Cops: Mom spanked other parents’ kids with a belt, wooden spoon at sleepover
A Florida woman faces child abuse charges after police say she spanked other parents’ children at a sleepover she was hosting. “One girl mentioned that she was hit in the knee with a wooden spoon, and another one said that she was hit with a shoe,” Fred Jones of the...
Penn Township seeks volunteers for planning commission, library board
Penn Township needs a few residents who are willing to serve on local boards. The township is looking for alternate members for its planning commission and the Penn Area Library board of trustees, with two vacancies on each board. The planning commission meets on the first Tuesday of every month...
