8 days after cyberattack, Baltimore’s network still hobbled
BALTIMORE — More than a week after a cyberattack hobbled Baltimore’s computer network, city officials said Wednesday they can’t predict when its overall system will be up and running and continued to give only the broadest outlines of the problem. Baltimore’s government rushed to take down most computer servers May...
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio adds his name to the Democratic presidential field
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, the twice-elected chief executive of the nation’s largest city, will announce on Thursday that he is joining the Democratic field of presidential candidates, according to two people involved in his campaign preparations. De Blasio is expected to make a public announcement during an appearance...
Wisconsin lawmakers recognize Jayme Closs as ‘Hometown Hero’
Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who was kidnapped after her parents were brutally murdered in their home last October, was recognized for her bravery by the state’s lawmakers Wednesday. Closs was missing for nearly three months until she escaped her captor in January. #FBI Milwaukee salutes Wisconsin teenager Jayme...
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin optimistic on trade battles
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the U.S. is making progress on lifting tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, potentially overcoming a key hurdle toward approval of a trade agreement among the three countries. Addressing another contentious trade issue, Mnuchin said he expects...
‘Time for us to live for him’: Slain Colorado student remembered
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Nearly 2,000 people turned out Wednesday for a memorial service to honor the Colorado teenager who was killed while charging one of the two gunmen who opened fire inside a high school and shot nine people just days before graduation. A line of Jeeps and trucks...
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs abortion ban into law
MONTGOMERY — Alabama’s Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every...
Trump administration wants to reimburse Taliban’s travel expenses
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked Congress earlier this year for funds to reimburse Afghanistan’s Taliban for expenses the insurgent group incurs attending peace talks, according to a spokesman for the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. The money would cover the Taliban’s costs for expenses such as...
Trump signs order to protect networks from foreign espionage, likely targeting ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks in a move that gives the federal government broad powers to bar American companies from doing business with certain foreign suppliers — including the Chinese firm Huawei. Trump...
Facial recognition software under fire;
PennDOT’s been using it for years
You may not know whether you have a double in Pennsylvania. But if you’re applying for a driver’s license or a state photo identification, PennDOT will let you know. The agency uses facial recognition software, as do dozens of other agencies across the nation. Images of each of the 10.1...
Officials approve phased retirement for state university professors
State officials and faculty members at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities have approved a voluntary phased-retirement program. The agreement, ratified by the oversight board of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, comes as the faculty union and the State System gear up for contract talks and state officials continue work...
State offers student loan repayment for opioid treatment specialists
Healthcare practitioners who treat opioid addiction in 30 highly affected Western Pennsylvania counties — including Allegheny and Westmoreland — may be eligible for student loan aid under a new $5 million program designed to boost treatment options in the region. Those eligible to participate in the new program through the...
Judge rejects Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal
A Pennsylvania judge systematically snubbed all of Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal in a lengthy new opinion that the comedian and his wife blasted as racist Wednesday. Judge Steven O’Neill, who presided over the sex assault trial that led to Cosby’s conviction last year, said in his 143-page response that...
Immigrant soldiers now denied U.S. citizenship at higher rate than civilians
WASHINGTON — Immigrants serving in the U.S. military are being denied citizenship at a higher rate than foreign-born civilians, according to new government data that has revealed the impact of stricter Trump administration immigration policies on service members. According to the same data, the actual number of service members even...
Ohio teen loses 115 pounds while walking to school every day
An Ohio student will graduate 115 pounds lighter than when he started high school. Michael Watson, 18, of Canton decided two years ago to do something about his weight. He was 6 foot, 4 inches tall and tipped the scale at 335 pounds, reports CNN. “My self-confidence was zero,” Watson...
Lawsuit filed to stop Ohio abortion ban after 1st heartbeat
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics sued Wednesday to thwart Ohio’s latest and most restrictive abortion law, an anticipated move that’s part of a national anti-abortion strategy to challenge the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The lawsuit is similar to legal fights in several southern states that recently...
Students in Colorado shooting face murder, other charges
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Two students suspected of shooting nine classmates, one fatally, in their Colorado charter school appeared in court Wednesday to face dozens of criminal charges that included murder, attempted murder, theft and arson. The charges were filed on the same day a memorial service was scheduled for...
Larry Kudlow chewed out by Trump for admitting tariffs hurt American consumers
Larry Kudlow is finding out the hard way that pleasing the Donald and telling the truth is a tough balancing act. The White House economics czar reportedly got chewed out by President Trump for admitting that American consumers will pay the price for the White House’s tariff-happy trade war. “Trump...
Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban: ‘Nobody’ can beat Trump ‘right now’
Billionaire “Shark” and Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban told CNBC that none of the 22 Democratic candidates for president in 2020 has a shot at taking the office from President Donald Trump. When asked by CNBC’s Scott Wapner which of the Democrats have the best shot at beating Trump, Cuban...
These events have led to heightened tensions between U.S., Iran
Tensions between the United States and Iran have soared in recent weeks, with Washington dispatching warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf, and Tehran threatening to resume higher uranium enrichment. The tensions come a year after President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers and restored...
Pennsylvania boosts student-loan aid to bolster opioid fight
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is devoting $5 million in federal grants to a student-loan repayment program in high opioid-use areas where there’s a shortage of substance-abuse treatment professionals. The application period opened May 1 and runs through June 3. An administration spokesman says the new program is fairly...
Lawsuit: Johnstown practice, hospital covered for pedophile pediatrician
EBENSBURG — A civil suit says a Pennsylvania pediatric practice knew that one of its physicians was a threat to molest young patients but covered it up. The suit says Laurel Pediatric Associates in Johnstown knew at least two decades ago that Dr. Johnnie Barto’s patients were in “serious danger,”...
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host open house
The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host an open house May 18 for those with an interest in flight-related careers. Representatives from Endeavor Air will be at the school’s main campus, at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, to talk with prospective students. PIA President Suzanne Markle said the...
Police: 5-year-old brings crack cocaine to Philadelphia preschool
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are investigating after a 5-year-old boy brought about two dozen vials of crack cocaine into a preschool at a Roman Catholic church. Police say the boy told a teacher’s aide at St. Cyprian Children’s Center that the person who handed him the bag told him to...
Chicago-area police warn of ‘zombie raccoons’ with distemper
RIVERSIDE, Ill. — The warning about “zombie raccoons” may sound like something out of a bad television show, but a suburban Chicago police department says they present serious dangers to family pets. The critters are called zombies because those carrying the distemper virus often stagger on their hind legs and...
Mom runs inside burning home to rescue kids; all 3 die
TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida woman ran back into her burning apartment after realizing her two children hadn’t made it out. All three died in the fire. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a Wednesday morning news conference that the woman and another adult living in the...
