Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney easily fends off 2 challengers in primary
PHILADELPHIA — Democrat Jim Kenney is poised to keep his job as mayor of the nation’s sixth largest city after fending off two challengers in Tuesday’s primary who criticized his signature achievement: a soda tax to help provide free preschool classes. The victory all but assures Kenney will stay on...
San Francisco police chief: Journalist ‘crossed the line’
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco police chief said Tuesday that he respects the news media, but a freelance journalist whose home and office were raided by officers had “crossed the line” by joining a conspiracy to steal a confidential report. Chief William Scott addressed reporters hours after police agreed...
Dead man’s parents can use his sperm to create his child, judge rules
Months after West Point cadet Peter Zhu died from injuries sustained in a tragic skiing accident — and lost what his parents said was his dream to have children of his own — a judge has ruled that his parents may use his frozen sperm to create a child. New...
Election results: 2019 primary
Click here for the 2019 primary election results from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties....
New York moves to ensure Trump pardons can’t nix state charges
ALBANY — A presidential pardon won’t be enough to clear someone associated with the commander-in-chief of similar state charges under legislation approved by New York state lawmakers Tuesday. The bill, which now moves to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, revises the exceptions to the state’s double jeopardy law in an effort...
Housing Secretary Ben Carson confuses real-estate term with an OreoVideo
Ben Carson might do more for Oreo cookie sales than “Game of Thrones” ever did. But Carson, the housing secretary under President Trump, did not offer the promotion intentionally. On Tuesday, Carson appeared to think that a California Democrat was questioning him about the cookies during his congressional testimony, when...
House panel subpoenas Trump’s former top staffer, Hope HicksVideo
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday issued subpoenas to President Trump’s former top staffer Hope Hicks and ex-White House counsel Donald McGahn’s chief of staff as part of its expansive probe into potential abuse of power, public corruption and obstruction. The move to compel testimony from Hicks and...
Pennsylvania man accused of baiting cats with fishhooks
PLYMOUTH — A northeastern Pennsylvania man accused of baiting cats with food on fishhooks is facing animal cruelty charges. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says a stray cat was found April 8 in a vacant house with three fishhooks in its mouth. The cat was treated...
Residents describe terror, confusion during Alabama RV park shootingVideo
AUBURN, Ala. — Residents described moments of confusion and terror as a gunman fired on authorities Sunday at an Alabama mobile home park that is primarily home to college students and young couples. Residents on Tuesday said Arrowhead Park had been quiet and safe prior to the shooting that left...
Tennessee House speaker Glen Casada to resign amid text message scandal
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s embattled House Speaker Glen Casada announced Tuesday he plans to resign from his leadership post following a vote of no confidence by his Republican caucus amid a scandal over explicit text messages. The move is unprecedented in Tennessee’s modern political era. The last Senate speaker resignation came...
New laws bring confusion, uncertainty for abortion clinics
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Abortion clinics are facing protesters emboldened by a flurry of restrictive new state laws as they reassure confused patients that the laws have yet to take effect, abortion providers said. “We have actually had many people calling and say, ‘Are you open? Are you still seeing patients?...
Ken Cuccinelli joining Trump administration in immigration role
WASHINGTON — The former attorney general of Virginia, whose name had been tossed around for months for an immigration role, will be joining the Trump administration, according to a White House official. Ken Cuccinelli will be taking a position within the Department of Homeland Security, according to the person, who...
House Democrats grill HUD’s Ben Carson on plan to evict undocumented immigrants
WASHINGTON — HUD Secretary Ben Carson on Tuesday defended the Trump administration’s proposal to purge undocumented immigrants - and their U.S.-born children - from government subsidized housing, citing the years-long waiting list of millions of “legal citizens.” “It seems only logical that taxpaying American citizens should be taken care of...
Toddler dies after putting phone charger in mouth while plugged into wall
A phone charger killed a child Saturday in India. A three-year-old boy was electrocuted when he put a cell phone charger in his mouth, reports the Hindustan Times. The boy was visiting his grandmother with his mother in Uttar Pradesh’s Jahangeerabad when he found the charger plugged into the wall,...
Bomb-laden drone from Yemen rebels targets Saudi airport
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels attack a Saudi airport and military base with a bomb-laden drone, an assault acknowledged by the kingdom as Middle East tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The attack on the Saudi...
Dual briefings on Capitol Hill focus on Trump’s Iran policy
WASHINGTON — As questions mount over President Donald Trump’s tough talk on Iran, top national security officials headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to brief Congress. But skeptical Democrats sought out a second opinion, holding their own briefing with former Obama administration officials. The competing closed-door sessions Tuesday, unusual and...
Storms could bring more floods, tornadoes to Southern PlainsVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — A tornado touched down Tuesday near Tulsa International Airport, injuring at least one person and damaging about a dozen homes, amid storms in the Southern Plains that brought a deluge of rain and powerful wind, closing an interstate and flipping campers at a raceway. Storms could bring...
‘Arthur’ same-sex marriage episode not shown in Alabama
Fans of the beloved PBS show “Arthur” watched Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marry his partner in a same-sex wedding ceremony earlier this month. Fans, except for those in Alabama. Alabama Public Television chose not to air the episode titled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” and instead showed a rerun,...
Cholesterol improves in U.S. kids despite high obesity rates
CHICAGO — Cholesterol levels in children and teens improved in the latest analysis of U.S. health surveys, yet only half of them had readings considered ideal. Overall, 7% of kids had high cholesterol in surveys from 2009 to 2016. That was down from 10% a decade earlier. In children, high...
‘Medicare for All’ plans would offer more than other nations
WASHINGTON — Generous benefits. No copays. No need for private policies. The “Medicare for All” plan advocated by leading 2020 Democrats appears more lavish than what’s offered in other advanced countries, compounding the cost but also potentially broadening its popular appeal. While other countries do provide coverage for all, benefits...
WWII plane rescued from boneyard to join D-Day anniversary
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Filled with paratroopers, a U.S. warplane lumbered down an English runway in 1944 to spearhead the World War II D-Day invasion with a message for Adolf Hitler painted in bright yellow across its nose: “That’s All, Brother.” Seventy-five years later, in a confluence of history and luck,...
What Westmoreland voters need to know for Tuesday’s primary election
Westmoreland County’s nearly 236,000 registered voters head to the polls Tuesday to select from among 483 candidates running in 443 races. Voters will cast primary ballots to nominate candidates for state judge, county offices including commissioner, judge and sheriff, as well as school boards, local city and borough councils and...
Carbs: How low can we go?
“Fruit has carbs? I had no idea,” a stunned patient told me recently. She’s not the only one who doesn’t have a complete understanding of carbohydrates — the focus of our current craze for low-carb foods. I find that many people who say they “don’t eat carbs” may not really...
SisterFriend founder looks to provide feminine products, educationVideo
A young girl walks into Rachel Short’s office at Pittsburgh Colfax K-8 School in Squirrel Hill. The school nurse knows what the student wants before either says a word. “I know ‘the look,’” Short says. “I nod my head, and she knows where to go for the supplies she needs.”...
Health Happenings
Blood drives — Noon-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Christ United Methodist Church, 201 Market St., Scottdale — Noon-6 p.m. Thursday, Excela Square, Norwin, 8775 Norwin Ave., Irwin — 1-5:30 p.m., Saturday, New Life Tabernacle, 851 S. Center Ave., Hunker — 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Monday, Excela Square at Frick, 508 South Church St.,...