Authorities: 4 foster kids die in West Virginia house fire
CLAY, W.Va. — Authorities in West Virginia say four foster children have been killed in a house fire. Deputy State Fire Marshal Jason Baltic tells news outlets the fire destroyed the home Saturday night in Clay. The state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Children and Families said...
Many of Trump’s advisers tried to derail Syria withdrawal
WASHINGTON — President Trump dispatched national security adviser John Bolton on a cleanup mission a week ago, with a three-day itinerary in Israel that was intended to reassure a close ally that Trump’s impulsive decision to immediately withdraw troops from Syria would be carried out more slowly and with important...
Analysis: Stagecraft won’t win shutdown battle for Trump
WASHINGTON — Military salutes. Heaps of contraband. Oval Office optics. President Trump, who has long put a premium on stagecraft, is discovering he cannot resolve the partial government shutdown simply by putting on a show. With the standoff over paying for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico wall dragging on, the president’s Oval...
Judge blocks Trump birth control coverage rules in 13 states
OAKLAND, Calif. — A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked Trump administration rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Judge Haywood Gilliam granted a request for a preliminary injunction by California,...
Anderson’s planned retirement to make it tough for GOP to regain power among Westmoreland commissioners
Westmoreland County Republicans expect the path to reclaim a majority on the board of commissioners will be more difficult this year with the impending retirement of popular incumbent Charles Anderson. Anderson announced last week he would not seek another term in office, leaving the local GOP with a huge hole...
Trade war’s wounded: Companies improvise to dodge cost hikes
WASHINGTON — In Rochester, N.Y., a maker of furnaces for semiconductor and solar companies is moving its research and development to China to dodge President Trump’s import taxes — a move that threatens a handful of its 26 U.S. jobs. In California’s San Joaquin Valley, the CEO of a company...
Wintry mix of snow, freezing rain pummels mid-Atlantic
RICHMOND, Va. — A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the Midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents. Virginia State Police said the driver...
Graham says Trump isn’t giving in on southern border wall
WASHINGTON — A leading Senate Republican close to President Donald Trump says Trump isn’t giving in on his demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the issue that’s caused the partial government shutdown that’s now in its fourth week. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he encouraged Trump during a telephone...
Monroeville man sought for allegedly stealing car in Indiana County
State police are looking for a Monroeville man charged with stealing a car in Indiana County. Police allege Dakar Allen Jones, 46, took a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am coupe from a Blairsville woman at about 5 a.m. June 3, outside the Eat’n Park restaurant on Oakland Avenue in White Township....
Rostraver crash sends 3 to area hospitals
Three motorists were taken at area hospitals for treatment following a two-vehicle collision Sunday on Route 51 in Rostraver Township. The crash happened around 12:45 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the highway, near Willowbrook Plaza. Two patients were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. A third was taken...
Grandfather: Wisconsin teen in ‘good spirits’ after rescue
BARRON, Wis. — The grandfather of a 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl says she’s in “exceptionally good spirits” after being found nearly three months after authorities say she was kidnapped during a home invasion that left her parents dead. Jamye Closs had been missing for nearly three months when she approached...
DNA of wolf declared extinct in wild lives on in Texas pack
DALLAS — Researchers say a pack of wild canines found frolicking near the beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast carry a substantial amount of red wolf genes, a surprising discovery because the animal was declared extinct in the wild nearly 40 years ago. The finding has led wildlife biologists and...
Trump dodges question on whether he has worked for Russia
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump avoided giving a direct answer when asked if he currently is or has ever worked for Russia after a published report said federal law enforcement officials were so concerned about his behavior after he fired James Comey from the FBI that they began investigating whether Trump...
Snow blankets Pittsburgh region, temperatures to remain freezing
Western Pennsylvania residents are digging out Sunday morning after the first measurable snow fall of 2019 hit overnight. Shannon Hefferan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said the Pittsburgh region saw, on average, about 3 inches of snow overnight Saturday into Sunday. Hefferan said the area hit the...
Beef-friendly Nebraska eyes regulations on the word ‘meat’
LINCOLN, Neb. — More than four months after Missouri became the first U.S. state to regulate the term “meat” on product labels, Nebraska’s powerful farm groups are pushing for similar protection from veggie burgers, tofu dogs and other items that look and taste like real meat. Nebraska lawmakers will consider...
Millsboro lumber store considered total loss in Saturday fire
Firefighters suspect a wood-burner heating system may have sparked a blaze that destroyed the main retail building of Millsboro Lumber and Hardware Saturday afternoon in Washington County. No one was injured. The East Bethlehem Township business was evacuated when an employee reported the fire at about 2 p.m., East Bethlehem...
State police are looking for suspect in Somerset County bar break-in
State police are looking for a suspect who took money and alcoholic beverages during a break-in early Thursday at a bar in Boswell, Somerset County. An unidentified white male suspect entered a rear window between 2:50 and 3 a.m. at Merchants Restaurant and Lounge, 325 Main St., broke into a...
Pope to parents: It’s OK to fight, just not in front of kids
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis offered new parents a bit of advice Sunday, telling them it’s perfectly normal to fight, but just not in front of the children. Francis warned of the “anguish” of children who see their parents fight during a ceremony to baptize 27 newborns, an annual tradition...
A brief guide to Rep. Steve King’s ‘long history of racist statements’
With nearly two decades of Steven Arnold King as a national political figure, the American public has become well-acquainted with the Groundhog Day-like parameters of the Steve King news cycle. 1. King, R-Iowa, says or tweets something widely viewed as racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist, or he insults immigrants, blacks, Latinos,...
Democrats say they will step up investigations after new reports on Trump and Russia
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats Sunday pledged heightened scrutiny of President Trump’s dealings with Russia, spurred by news reports of extraordinary secrecy surrounding his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the opening in 2017 of an FBI counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump worked on behalf of the Kremlin. Trump’s Republican...
Richland woman uses rare cancer diagnosis to help others, spread awareness
Ten years ago, Jean Diesch finally got the answer she had been looking for after suffering for years from chronic pain and fatigue. Diesch, then in her early 50s, was diagnosed with a form of a rare blood cancer called a myeloproliferative neoplasms — or MPN for short — that...
As birth rates drop, hospitals are rethinking how babies are delivered
The region’s top health care providers are taking different approaches to delivering babies as birth rates continue to drop. UPMC is consolidating its services to one of its main specialty hospitals and using telemedicine to provide services to those outside of the city, while Allegheny Health Network is focusing on...
Human and financial costs mount as shutdown enters fourth week with Trump threatening longer standoff
WASHINGTON — The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history ground into a fourth week Saturday with President Trump showing fresh defiance on Twitter, congressional Democrats firmly resolved to resist his calls for a border wall, and unpaid workers caught in the middle. “We will be out for a long...
Get the scoop on growing tomatoes from seed
Everyone loves growing tomatoes, but not everyone takes the time to start their own plants from seed. Most gardeners head to their favorite local nursery and pick up a few transplants when planting time arrives. But, starting your tomatoes from seed means you’ll have a far wider selection of varieties...
Clean Slate law offers offenders a fresh start without public criminal record
Pennsylvania state court officials are preparing a massive initiative that could pave the way for courts across the country to offer people convicted of minor offenses a fresh start outside the shadow of their past. In late June, Pennsylvania officials plan to begin running a computer program that will flag...
