Sheriff: Vandals targeted teen for interracial relationship
GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina sheriff says the vandalism of two vehicles is being investigated as a hate crime stemming from an interracial relationship between two teens. A Wednesday release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says that on Dec. 27 a white family’s minivan was found spray-painted with...
Sanders contrite as 2016 aides face harassment allegations
NEW YORK — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his chief lieutenants are offering contrition as some of his 2016 campaign staffers face allegations of sexual harassment that threaten to derail a second White House bid before it begins. Hours after a New York Times report detailed allegations of unwanted sexual...
Police: 17-year-old girl arrested after police car joyride
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Authorities say a 17-year-old girl took a police cruiser on a joyride following a traffic stop early on New Year’s Day in western Michigan. Grand Rapids police say the girl was a passenger in a minivan that was pulled over about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday following a...
WCCC professor pushed disability rights
Mary Ellen Beres was a champion of people with disabilities before disability rights was a national priority. Mrs. Beres was a student support counselor and professor for special populations at Westmoreland County Community College for 30 years, retiring in 2015. During her career, she worked to make WCCC a more...
22 injured when bus overturns on Mississippi interstate
JACKSON, Miss. — A Greyhound bus driver has been charged with driving under the influence after the bus overturned on an interstate highway in Mississippi and caused injuries that sent nearly two dozen passengers to hospitals. Jackson Police Sgt. Roderick Holmes said in a news release the wreck happened about...
Boy stayed up to watch Netflix, saved family from fire
MINQUADALE, Del. — A 13-year-old boy who defied his mom by staying up late to watch Netflix is credited with saving his family from the fire that destroyed their Delaware home. The News Journal reports that Angela Marie Borden said in a Facebook post that her son, Damir, was still...
Carrie Ann Inaba gets host gig on ‘The Talk’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carrie Ann Inaba is no longer a temp on “The Talk.” The CBS daytime show announced Wednesday that Inaba has joined the panel of hosts, moving up from recurring guest host. “The Dancing With the Stars” judge replaces Julie Chen, who left the talk show in...
90 DUI arrests made by state troopers in region during 4-day New Year’s period
State police arrested 90 people for driving under the influence on roads in the region during the four-day New Year’s holiday. Troopers also cited 939 motorists for speeding in the area including Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The enforcement period stretched from Saturday to New Year’s Day,...
Krispy Kreme delivers doughnuts to officers over pastry loss
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Krispy Kreme has stepped in to comfort Kentucky police officers mourning the loss of a doughnut truck that caught fire. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the company and a police escort delivered dozens of doughnuts to the city police department Wednesday afternoon. Officer Kyle Mounce says no one...
Nancy Pelosi elected House speaker again as government shutdown continues
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives, which includes 63 new Democrats, on Thursday elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker for a second time. A new era of divided government arrived in Washington, as Democrats took control of the House amid a partial government shutdown now in its second week....
China lands spacecraft on ‘dark’ side of moon in world first
BEIJING — China’s burgeoning space program achieved a first on Thursday: a landing on the so-called dark side of the moon. Three nations — the United States, the former Soviet Union and more recently China — have sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth, but...
Teen charged with homicide in 2018 North Braddock shooting
A 15-year-old boy will be charged with homicide stemming from a November 2018 shooting after a ruling this week by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Taymar Smith was arrested Nov. 18 for the shooting death of another teen in North Braddock on Nov. 18. Smith admitted to police he...
Early morning McKeesport fire under investigation
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating an early morning fire in McKeesport. Crews responded just after 2 a.m. to an incident at a three-story apartment building along 5th Avenue, WPXI reported. No one was injured but some residents will be displaced by the damage. Flames were shooting from a...
Lindsey Graham: If Trump gives in on shutdown, it’s ‘probably the end of his presidency’
WASHINGTON — With the government shutdown, President Donald Trump has put himself in an impossible position. He’s tied his support for a solution entirely to securing billions of dollars to build a wall on the Mexican border. House Democrats say that’s a total non-starter. Meanwhile Trump has rejected compromise deals...
Former Vandergrift church transforming into children’s play, learning center
The former Trinity United Presbyterian Church along Vandergrift’s Franklin Avenue has a new owner who has plans to transform the stately sanctuary into an educational performance programs in the worship area and a children’s indoor play area in the basement. Chloe Kruse, 29, of Vandergrift, bought the building at 262...
Greensburg woman sent to prison for sex trafficking young girl
A Greensburg woman will serve up to 20 years in prison for selling sexual encounters with a 3-year-old girl. Rebecca Shadle was sentenced Thursday after she pleaded guilty in September to trafficking of a minor for sexual purposes, child endangerment, aggravated indecent assault and conspiracy. Prosecutors said Shadle allowed men...
Police seek car in Jeannette hit-and-run
Police in Jeannette and surrounding communities are looking for a vehicle that was involved in a hit-and-run Thursday evening. Westmoreland County 911 said nobody was hurt in the crash on the 500 block of Harrison Avenue in Jeannette. A female driver in her 20s fled from the scene after two...
Ex-Trump club worker’s name was left off Secret Service vetting list, she says
A former kitchen employee at one of President Trump’s golf clubs in New Jersey said her superiors kept her name and those of other undocumented workers off a list of people to be vetted by the Secret Service before a Trump visit to the club in 2016. Emma Torres, 43,...
2 alleged drug dealers arrested at Dormont apartment with
$220K in cocaine, meth
Law enforcement officials arrested two Dormont residents after authorities seized more than $220,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamines from their apartment. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday the apprehension of Ivan Organista-Gomez, 41, and Fabiola Romero-Dorante, 33, of Texas Avenue, Dormont. They’re charged with criminal conspiracy, possession with intent...
Police charge 15-year-old Philadelphia mom after newborn found dumped in trash
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police on Wednesday charged a 15-year-old girl with murder because she allegedly placed her newborn son in the trash in a North Philadelphia street. The girl, Jani Morris, was arrested when the infant’s body was discovered Monday night, police said. She was charged with murder, endangering welfare...
NASA: Icy object past Pluto looks like reddish snowman
LAUREL, Md. — A NASA spacecraft 4 billion miles from Earth yielded its first close-up pictures Wednesday of the most distant celestial object ever explored, depicting what looks like a reddish snowman. Ultima Thule, as the small, icy object has been dubbed, was found to consist of two fused-together spheres,...
Mexico finds flayed god temple; priests wore skins of dead
MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state...
6 die in Denmark’s worst train accident since 1988
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Six passengers were killed when a Danish train sustained damage while crossing a bridge that was closed to cars because of high wind Wednesday, and authorities investigated if falling cargo from a freight train caused Denmark’s deadliest railway accident in 30 years. Authorities said the two trains...
Trial slated next week for Manor Township woman in hatchet killing of husband
A 43-year-old Manor Township woman is scheduled to stand trial in Armstrong County Court on Monday, Jan. 7 for the 2017 hatchet attack and, ultimately, death of her husband. Melanie Sue Snyder is accused of the early morning hatchet attack on her husband, Thomas Snyder, in their small Garretts Run...
No deal to end shutdown; Trump says ‘could be a long time’
WASHINGTON — The shuttered parts of the federal government were no closer to being reopened Wednesday after President Trump and congressional leaders met for the first time since the shutdown began nearly two weeks ago. “I don’t think any particular progress was made today, but we talked,” Senate Majority Leader...
