Report: 2019 natural gas prices lowest in 3 years
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that natural gas prices in 2019 were the lowest in the last three years. That won’t come as a surprise to Marcellus shale gas drillers, who spent much of 2019 adjusting to a low-price market. Analysts believe low prices...
Lawmakers approve Brexit bill, U.K. on course for Jan. 31 exit
LONDON — Britain passed a major milestone on the road to Brexit when the House of Commons on Thursday approved a bill authorizing the country’s departure from the European Union at the end of the month. Lawmakers voted by 330-231 to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which sets the terms...
Ex-Pa. mayor on prison life: Spin class, teaching and law books
The former mayor of a Pennsylvania city who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for public corruption told a newspaper his life behind bars is “kind of like being mayor but for a lot less money.” Former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has spent more than a year at a low-security...
U.S. officials: ‘Highly likely’ Iran shot down Ukrainian jetliner
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. officials said Thursday it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid...
Timeline: A look at tensions between U.S., Iran since 2018
Iran is sending mixed signals as tensions with the U.S. appear to ease. President Hassan Rouhani has warned of a “very dangerous response” if the U.S. makes “another mistake,” and a senior commander has vowed “harsher revenge” for the killing of a top Iranian general. Both sides appeared to step...
Samoan fruit bat coming to U.S. quarters
A new quarter is headed into circulation next month and it may qualify as the cutest quarter yet. The quarter, part of the America the Beautiful series, has a reverse-side depiction of a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging upside-down in a tree with her pup. The coin is scheduled for...
Republicans ‘got greedy’ in drawing Pennsylvania congressional maps, documents say
PHILADELPHIA — A trove of documents recently released by the daughter of a deceased GOP strategist includes some clues about what Republicans were thinking almost a decade ago when they redrew Pennsylvania’s congressional maps in a way that was later ruled unconstitutional. The documents, compiled at least partly amid the...
Iran says Ukrainian plane was on fire, tried to turn back
TEHRAN, Iran — The crew of a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people on board, never made a radio call for help and were trying to turn back for the airport when their burning plane went down, an initial Iranian investigative report said Thursday. Ukraine, meanwhile,...
Statue mocking Donald Trump torched in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — A wooden statue mocking U.S. President Donald Trump was burned to the ground Thursday in Slovenia, the birthplace of his wife Melania, authorities said. The nearly eight-meter (26-foot) high construction, erected last year in a village in northeast of Slovenia, showed Trump with his trademark hair style,...
McConnell, Pelosi stand firm as impeachment remains frozen
WASHINGTON — The standoff over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial deepened as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will be “no haggling” with Democrats as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demands for more details and witnesses. McConnell’s Senate majority has the leverage Republicans need to launch Trump’s trial toward swift...
Baby dies after being put in backpack; Texas man charged
LUBBOCK, Texas — A West Texas man accused of putting his girlfriend’s 10-month-old daughter in a backpack and leaving her in a car trunk for five hours was charged Wednesday with capital murder. Trevor Marquis Rowe of Lubbock was arrested Tuesday night for the death of Marion Jester-Montoya. He was...
Fewer than a quarter of U.S. voters can find Iran on a world map
Iran so far away — but that’s no excuse. Despite the United States being on the brink or war with Iran, fewer than a quarter of American voters can find the 81-million person nation on a world map. According to a poll by Morning Consult/Politico, that number leaps only slightly...
IRS’ failure to collect from tax cheats could cost you $3,000 a year
WASHINGTON — The average U.S. household is paying an annual surtax of more than $3,000 to subsidize taxpayers who aren’t paying all they owe, a new report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service found. Reduced funding for the Internal Revenue Service has led to lower staffing levels and fewer audits, which...
Arizona official quits amid charges he paid women to give up babies
PHOENIX — An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the United States. The resignation of Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen occurred when leaders in the...
Allegheny County judge says parents can sue diocese over abuse reporting
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that parents of children in the Roman Catholic Church and survivors of sexual abuse by clergy members can move forward with a lawsuit against the Diocese of Pittsburgh alleging that it has not fulfilled its obligations under state law to report child sexual...
Pennsylvania’s senators split on reasons behind killing of Iranian general
A lengthy closed-door briefing by top Trump administration officials Wednesday left senators deeply divided along party lines over whether the president’s assertions of imminent threats were sufficient grounds for killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, told reporters that Trump’s decision was merited and undoubtedly saved...
House to vote Thursday on curbing Trump actions against IranVideo
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi set a House vote for Thursday on limiting President Donald Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran as Democratic criticism of the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general intensified. Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the plan in a one-page statement that said last week’s drone...
Idaho resort looks for skier after avalanche; 2 others die
KELLOGG, Idaho — Officials were searching Wednesday for a missing skier at an Idaho resort where a series of avalanches killed two skiers and injured five others the day before. The Silver Mountain Resort was closed Wednesday “to focus all available resources on the search,” the resort said on Facebook....
Indiana teen gets 65 years in pregnant schoolmate’s killingVideo
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A 17-year-old northern Indiana boy has been sentenced to 65 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a schoolmate who was pregnant with his child. St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hurley sentenced Aaron Trejo on Tuesday to 55 years for murder and 10 years...
Milwaukee teen: Man started shooting after snowball hit carVideo
MILWAUKEE — One of two Milwaukee children who were shot by a man because they threw a snowball at his car said he didn’t expect the driver to retaliate. “I didn’t think twice,” 13-year-old Nicholas Johnson told “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday. Johnson said he didn’t see the driver react...
Army warns about fraudulent text messages about a military draft
The Army has issued a fact check on fake texts. The Army released a statement this week saying it has been made aware of fraudulent text messages that have informed people they have been selected for the military draft, even though the United States did away with the draft in...
Ag secretary announces $1 million grant program at Pa. Farm Show
If agriculture is to remain one of Pennsylvania’s top industries, then farms have to succeed as businesses. That was the message at the Pennsylvania Farm Show’s Public Officials Day in Harrisburg, where Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced the latest grant to be funded by the 2019 Farm Bill. The $1...
6 island birds at the National Aviary that will make you forget about wintertime in Pittsburgh
In January, with the holidays behind us, the gray reality of winter sets in. It’s a time when many people dream of an escape to a tropical island paradise. If that’s not in the cards this year, there’s a little piece of the tropics on Pittsburgh’s North Side that can...
Red Cross blood donors can qualify to win Super Bowl trip
With a post-holiday, critical need for donations, the American Red Cross is asking donors to begin the new year by giving blood or platelets. As a sign of appreciation and a special incentive, those who donate blood or platelets through Jan. 19 will be entered in a chance to win...
Trump vows new sanctions on already heavily sanctioned IranVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration will immediately impose new economic sanctions on Iran in response to Iranian missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq. “As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on...
