Library of spider silk could hold secrets for new materials
NEW YORK — A scientist at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is creating a sort of “silk library” that could be the key to designing newer and better materials. Cheryl Hayashi has collected spider silk glands of about 50 species, just a small dent in the more...
A$AP Rocky found guilty of Sweden assault, won’t face prison
STOCKHOLM —A Swedish court on Wednesday found American rapper A$AP Rocky guilty of assault for his role in a June 30 street brawl in Stockholm that drew the close attention of President Donald Trump. Though the 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, and his two bodyguards were found...
Trump official Ken Cuccinelli: Statue of Liberty poem refers to EuropeansVideo
WASHINGTON — A top Trump administration official said Tuesday that the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country is about “people coming from Europe” and that America is looking to receive migrants “who can stand on their own two feet.” The comments from Ken Cuccinelli,...
Trump amplifies conspiracy theories from perch of presidency
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — With a pair of weekend retweets, President Trump amplified an unfounded conspiracy theory. It was hardly the first time. His political career began the same way. Trump has a long history of spreading falsehoods drawn from the conservative fringe. His unlikely rise to the White House was...
Gov. Wolf calls for sweeping reforms for charter schools in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday vowed to level the playing field between Pennsylvania’s traditional public schools and charter and cyber charter schools. He said the latter lack accountability and transparency and are draining millions of dollars from struggling school districts. Calling the state’s 22-year-old public charter school law flawed and...
Fire chief: There was a lack of smoke detectors at Erie day careVideo
ERIE — There weren’t enough working smoke detectors at a Pennsylvania home day care center where a fire killed five children, the fire chief said Tuesday. There was one detector in the attic of the Harris Family Daycare in the lakeside city of Erie, Fire Chief Guy Santone told a...
Thieves try to sell stolen comic book collection at victim’s own comic shop
A St. Louis, Missouri, comic book enthusiast was heartbroken when his entire collection was stolen. Luckily for him, the suspects selected his comic store to try unloading the rare books. Martin Casas got the bad news last week. His personal collection of 3,000 comic books had been swiped when thieves...
California Rep. Duncan Hunter’s criminal trial rescheduled for January
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter won’t go on trial until next year on corruption charges that involve the spending of campaign cash on vacations, extramarital affairs and other items, a U.S. judge decided Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan changed the trial date from Sept. 10 to...
50 old TVs mysteriously appear on neighborhood’s porches
RICHMOND, Va. — Police in Virginia say more than 50 television sets have been mysteriously placed on front porches in a neighborhood outside Richmond. Henrico County police Lt. Matt Pecka said residents found older model televisions outside their front doors Sunday morning. He told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that video from...
Video catches Amazon driver making delivery, taking bike
A Florida home’s surveillance camera caught an Amazon driver delivering a package and then taking a bicycle that belongs to the homeowner’s daughter. The bike was resting against some trash cans on the driveway of the home in Mount Dora, an Orlando suburb. TV station WESH reported Tuesday that the...
22 states sue Trump administration over new coal rules
A coalition of 22 Democratic-led states has sued the Trump administration over its decision to ease restrictions on coal-fired power plants. In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eliminated the its Clean Power Plan and replaced it with a new rule that gives states more leeway in deciding required upgrades...
Man invites police to help mow lawns in all 50 states
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama man who traveled to all 50 states to mow lawns for free says he’s traveling cross-country again to bring together police officers and the community. Rodney Smith Jr. tweeted Monday to announce his “Mowing with Cops” tour will start Wednesday in Apopka, Fla. Smith says...
U.S. appeals court hands truckers defeat in Pennsylvania Turnpike toll suit
HARRISBURG — High tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike do not violate the right of truckers and other motorists to travel between states, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, upholding a lower-court dismissal of a lawsuit against state agencies and officials. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Pennsylvania’s use...
Penn State police K-9 handler placed on leave after report of animal abuse
A Penn State police officer was placed on administrative leave in July after the department received a report of possible animal abuse by one of its K-9 handlers, a university official said Monday. The department immediately referred the report to state police, which is investigating the report, university police public...
Multiple women say opera star Placido Domingo sexually harassed them
For decades, Placido Domingo, one of the most celebrated and powerful men in opera, has tried to pressure women into sexual relationships by dangling jobs and then sometimes punishing the women professionally when they refused his advances, numerous accusers told The Associated Press. Regarded as one of the greatest opera...
Wild California freeway shootout leaves officer, gunman dead
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California Highway Patrol officer was killed and two officers others wounded during a “long and horrific gun battle” at a traffic stop on a freeway near Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday. The driver of a pickup who reached into his vehicle for a rifle and opened...
Angry wasps help German police nab fleeing fugitive
A fugitive in Germany has been nabbed thanks to the help of angry wasps. Oldenburg police said the unusual sting operation took place Monday after officers tried to arrest a 32-year-old man to serve an outstanding 11-month custodial sentence. The suspect, whose name wasn’t released, fled from police and jumped...
Firework crashes through home during pyrotechnics convention
Officials say a firework rocket that was launched during a show for the Pyrotechnics Guild International convention landed in a Wyoming home and sparked a small fire. The Gillette News Record reports the rocket broke through the roof of the Gillette home about 2 miles from the event center where...
World War II vet caddied on same golf course where his father was killed by lightning
Mel Cirincione caddied at the 1935 U.S. Open, on the same Oakmont golf course where his father was killed by a lightning strike only a year earlier. His father Frank was cutting grass on the seventh tee July 20, 1934, when he was struck and knocked 4 feet back from...
Chaos at Hong Kong airport as protests disrupt flights for 2nd day in a row
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s international airport suspended all check-ins for the second day in a row Tuesday as thousands of protesters blocked passengers and occupied terminals in a mass demonstration. More than 300 flights had already been canceled Tuesday following Monday’s airport shutdown due to a similar protest. Hong...
Fortnite world champ swatted at Pennsylvania home
POTTSGROVE — The Pennsylvania teen who won $3 million as the first Fortnite World Cup solo champion has been swatted. Kyle Giersdorf was live-streaming on Saturday when his father interrupted the 16-year-old to say armed police were at the door of their Pottsgrove home. Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Albert Werner...
A year later: Pennsylvania report on Catholic sex abuse still making an impactVideo
Mark Rozzi was surprised to receive the first one, and then another letter from the Allentown Catholic Diocese. The letters were a reminder that the deadline to apply for the compensation fund for victims of child sexual abuse was fast approaching. The 48-year-old Berks County Democrat, who has served in...
Nearly 600 priests, lay people have been publicly named in Pa. sex abuse scandal
The 2018 grand jury identified 301 priests who had sexually assaulted and abused hundreds of children over the past several decades. As large as that number is, the true scope is much higher. Last year’s grand jury report has been the largest in scale, covering six of the state’s eight...
These mannequins aren’t for fashion. They’re for medical training
Lying on the table, surrounded by two nurses, a woman shrieks in pain, “There’s something horribly wrong!” She’s in labor, and nurse Shanti Fernandez is helping to deliver her baby. While another nurse assures her that everything will be fine, Fernandez pulled out a healthy baby boy — made of...
Health Happenings – Aug. 13, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Star Auto Mall, Route 30, Hempfield — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, St. Vincent Parish Grove, 320 Monastery Drive, Unity — 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday , New Alexandria Senior Center for Active Adults, 207 W....
