Trib appeals decision to delay release of juror names from Sheriff Held’s public corruption trial
The Tribune-Review on Tuesday filed an appeal of a judge’s order delaying the public release of the names of jurors who served in last month’s public corruption trial of Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held. Senior Common Pleas Judge Timothy Creany in late December ruled the names will remain private until...
Westmoreland happenings: Jan. 10 and beyond
Church events • Orders are being taken through Monday for soups to be picked up Jan. 19 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 101 N. Fourth St., Youngwood. Choice of soups: vegetable beef, chicken noodle, and bean with ham. Cost: $5 quart. Orders: 724-837-1647. • Bingo, with early bird, 12:30...
Man in custody after hours-long standoff in Pittsburgh’s St. Clair Village
An hours-long SWAT situation Tuesday in Pittsburgh’s St. Clair Village neighborhood ended peacefully, authorities said. The situation began about noon when detectives were serving a warrant at a home on Kohne Street, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Alicia George. The man inside, wanted for aggravated assault, refused to come out,...
Samuel Snipes, lawyer for 1st blacks in Levittown, Pa. dies
MORRISVILLE, Pa. — A lawyer who held off an angry mob while representing the first black family to move into the all-white development of Levittown, Pennsylvania, has died. Samuel Snipes was 99. His family says Snipes died Dec. 31 at his family farm in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. In 1957, Snipes represented...
Alaska guide pleads guilty to herding grizzly bears toward clients
NOME, Alaska — A master hunting guide from Alaska had his license revoked for life after pleading guilty to using employees on snowmobiles to herd grizzly bears toward clients. Alaska State Troopers say in a statement that Brian Simpson of Fairbanks was charged in 2017 with two counts of “aiding...
Fact check: Do ex-presidents actually support Trump’s border wall?
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s recent claim that his predecessors endorsed his idea of a wall at the Mexican border got no support from the ex-presidents’ club. Trump stated in a Rose Garden news conference Friday: “This should have been done by all of the presidents that preceded me. And...
Pros and cons of mail-order pharmacies
CVS does it. Walgreens does it. Now Amazon is getting in on the act. They’re all dispensing drugs by mail. With nearly 3 in 5 American adults taking at least one prescription drug, odds are your health insurer has steered you toward a mail-order pharmacy. And, if they haven’t, they...
Winter storm blasts Europe; 13 dead amid heavy snow, gusts
BERLIN — Deadly winter weather blasted Europe for yet another day Tuesday, trapping hundreds of people in Alpine regions, whipping up high winds that caused flight delays and cancellations and raising the risks of more deadly avalanches in the mountains. At least 13 people have been killed in weather-related accidents...
New York meteorologist fired after appearing to say racial slur on air
Was it jumbled words or a racial slur? A meteorologist at a Rochester, N.Y., television station was fired after appearing to insert a derogatory term for black people between Luther and King when describing the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. WHEC chief meteorologist Jeremy Kappell claims he didn’t...
Westmoreland County commissioner Anderson won’t seek re-election
Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson announced Tuesday he will retire at year’s end and will not run for re-election this year. Anderson, a Hempfield Republican, was first appointed to commissioner in 2008 and served a four-year stint as board chairman until the GOP lost its majority in 2015. “I’ve been...
Oceania cruise crewman smuggled cocaine in his pants and sandals, feds say
MIAMI — Federal agents noticed something was weird with the way a crew member walked off Oceania Cruises’ Riviera cruise ship at the Port of Miami the day after New Year’s Day. Wilford Thobourne had a “stiff gait as he walked on the dock” that was likely caused by the...
Russian lawyer who met Trump Jr. charged in unrelated case
NEW YORK — A Russian lawyer who became a focal point of the investigation into whether there was collusion between Russians and President Donald Trump’s election campaign was charged with obstruction of justice Tuesday in an unrelated case in New York. Natalya Veselnitskaya was accused in an indictment of submitting...
Man accused of hiding video camera inside women’s room at North Huntingdon plant
A 32-year-old Irwin man was arrested this week for allegedly hiding a motion-activated video camera inside a women’s restroom of the North Huntingdon electrical parts manufacturing plant where he worked. Nicholas R. Traill was arraigned before District Judge Wayne Gongaware on charges of invasion of privacy, burglary, possession of obscene...
Boston Marathon bombing survivor who lost her leg is struck by car
A young woman who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing faces another long recovery after being struck by a car Saturday night in Boston in an accident that has left her “in disbelief” and asking, “how does this even happen?” Adrianne Haslet was in a Commonwealth Avenue crosswalk...
What’s next for Pittsburgh’s controversial gun-regulation proposals
The armed protest Monday outside the City-County Building in Pittsburgh’s Downtown remained peaceful but pointed to an emotional and protracted battle ahead as the city clashes with gun rights activists. City Council has introduced a series of bills banning semi-automatic rifles and some firearms, ammo and accessories within city limits....
Florida woman accused of fatally beating husband with a cane
PACE, Fla. — Investigators say an 86-year-old Florida woman fatally beat her 89-year-old husband with a walking cane. Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Officials say Ramona Maxine Lund is charged with murder and is being held in the jail’s infirmary on $250,000 bond as authorities work together to evaluate whether she...
Right place, right time: Jeannette first responders save man’s life during training exercise
Don Mahoney was right where he needed to be. The Butler County man’s interest in space made him a perfect fit to offer his time at the Heinz History Center’s Destination Moon exhibit. But little did he know, the 65-year-old man was about to get help from Jeannette EMS and...
Networks to air Pelosi, Schumer rebuttal to Trump
NEW YORK — Television networks airing President Donald Trump’s Oval Office speech on his proposed border wall and the partial government shutdown have also committed to airing the Democratic response to the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say they will make the case themselves....
She bragged to a man on a dating app about poaching deer. He was a game warden.
As a game warden for Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation, Cannon Harrison is used to working on investigations that take months and months. Catching poachers – whose illegal deeds often take place under the cover of night, in remote areas far from any road – frequently means relying on anonymous...
DA: Girl made video of dad coaching her to lie about assault
A terrified 13-year-old girl secretly recorded video of her father coaching her to lie about having been physically assaulted by him — and managed to slip the evidence to prosecutors on the eve of his trial in Pennsylvania, authorities said Tuesday. The videos show Deyon Taylor, 56, instructing his daughter...
Kevin Hart sorry for homophobic tweets: ‘We thought it was OK to talk like that’
The long-running Oscars controversy continued Monday when Kevin Hart apologized to the LGBTQ community for his homophobic tweets. The funnyman dropped out as Oscars host after past tweets were revisited on social media less than a month ago. Hart has since made public statements about his remarks, but Monday’s comments...
3 wines to enjoy in the relaxed moments of January
With the hectic holiday season behind us, January’s more relaxed pace creates perfect moments to enjoy casual homemade dinners. Try pairing the following traditional New Year dishes with these delicious wines: American Southern tradition calls for enjoying “Hoppin’ John” in the new year. This scrumptious delicious dish features black-eyed peas...
The reality on the border: How much will a wall really help?
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says there is a security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border that can be addressed only by spending $5.7 billion on a wall. Democrats have flatly refused to agree to the funding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the wall an “immorality.” Trump will address the nation...
Europe’s top rights court to hear Belgian euthanasia case
LONDON — Europe’s top human rights court has agreed to hear a case being brought against Belgium by a man whose mother was euthanized in 2012 for depression, the second case that implicates one of Belgium’s leading euthanasia doctors. In a statement Tuesday, lawyers for Tom Mortier said they brought...
Eyeing 2020, Kamala Harris addresses prosecutorial past in memoir
WASHINGTON — As she nears a decision on whether to seek the presidency, Sen. Kamala Harris is taking on what could be a hurdle in a Democratic primary: her past as a prosecutor. In her memoir published Tuesday, the California Democrat describes herself as a “progressive prosecutor” and says it’s...
