U.S., North Korean envoys to meet in Hanoi ahead of summit
HANOI, Vietnam — U.S. and North Korean special envoys are to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, to make final preparations for a second summit next week between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. U.S. Special Envoy for North Korea Steve Biegun was to arrive in Hanoi...
Putin sternly warns U.S. against putting missiles in Europe
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin sternly warned the United States against deploying new missiles in Europe, saying Wednesday that Russia will retaliate by fielding new weapons that will take just as little time to reach their targets. While the Russian leader didn’t say what specific new weapons Moscow could...
Family of Covington teen sues Washington Post for $250 million
The family of the Kentucky teen who was involved in an encounter with a Native American advocate at the Lincoln Memorial last month filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post on Tuesday, seeking $250 million in damages for its coverage of the incident. The suit alleges that The Post...
Pennsylvania among top third of states in taxpayer accuracy
A little under 6 percent of Pennsylvania taxpayers are spot-on when it comes to figuring their federal income tax. That is, when they file their returns with the IRS, they’re neither due a refund nor required to submit a payment. That’s not a very big percentage, but it’s enough to...
U.S. mining sites dump 50 million gallons of fouled wastewater daily
RIMINI, Mont. — Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with arsenic, lead and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the United States and into surrounding lakes and streams without being treated, the Associated Press has found. That torrent is poisoning...
Brexit accord is already being hammered out, Spain says
A new Brexit agreement is already being hammered out in Brussels, according to Spain’s foreign minister, as the bloc seeks reassuring language that can convince British members of Parliament to back the deal. Prime Minister Theresa May is heading back to Brussels on Wednesday, seeking changes to the divorce agreement....
State patrol: Ohio prison inmates planned possible escape, riot
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The State Highway Patrol says inmates at an Ohio maximum security prison were plotting “a possible escape attempt and possible riot” when the plan was interrupted. The patrol is investigating the Feb. 12 incident in which authorities confiscated three fake handguns, drawings of handguns, and a fake...
Former Congressman Shuster joins lobbying firm
If anyone had any doubts about the speed of the revolving door in Washington, D.C., rest assured it still is spinning. Politics PA reports that Bill Shuster, the former Republican congressman from Bedford County who opted not to seek re-election last year, has a new gig in the nation’s capital...
Missouri official investigates day care ‘fight club’ claims
ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is launching his own investigation of a St. Louis day care center where two workers were accused of facilitating a “fight club” among small children, his office said Wednesday. The announcement came two weeks after St. Louis prosecutors dropped criminal charges against...
‘Firefall’ phenomenon wows visitors to Yosemite’s El Capitan
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — California’s Yosemite National Park is again wowing visitors and photographers with its annual “firefall.” Every February for a few days, the setting sun illuminates Horsetail Fall to make it glow like a cascade of molten lava. The natural wonder draws scores of people to Yosemite...
Wisconsin school ends cheerleading awards for body parts
KENOSHA, Wis. — A Wisconsin high school is ending cheerleading awards given annually to girls with the largest breasts or buttocks — dubbed “Big Booty” and “Big Boobie” — after the American Civil Liberties Union demanded action following repeated complaints from parents and a former coach to school and district...
Trump administration to cancel $929 million in California high-speed rail funding
The fate of California’s high-speed rail project was cast into further doubt Tuesday when the Department of Transportation announced plans to cancel $929 million in grant funds, a move that some viewed as political payback. The action marks an escalation in the battle between President Trump and the state of...
Trump nominates Jeffrey Rosen for deputy attorney general to replace Rod Rosenstein
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday nominated Jeffrey Rosen, a longtime litigator and deputy transportation secretary, to replace Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general. In his current post, the 60-year-old Rosen serves as the Department of Transportation’s chief operating officer and is in charge of implementing the department’s safety and...
Top ethics watchdog rejects Wilbur Ross’s financial disclosure form
WASHINGTON — The top federal ethics watchdog has rejected Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s 2017 financial disclosure form. The Office of Government Ethics declined to certify Ross’s latest financial disclosure because after reporting that he had sold off his shares in BankUnited Inc. that year, he actually sold the stock in...
Former Philly homicide detective charged with rape, intimidation in course of his investigations
PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia homicide detective was arrested Tuesday and accused of grooming and sexually assaulting male witnesses during criminal investigations, then intimidating them to keep them silent — part of what prosecutors concluded was a pattern of misconduct during nearly a decade in one of the Police Department’s...
Judge OKs suit aimed at halting Obama library in Chicago
CHICAGO — A federal judge gave the green light Tuesday to a parks-advocacy group’s lawsuit that aims to stop for good the delayed construction of former President Barack Obama’s $500 million presidential center in a Chicago park beside Lake Michigan. Supporters of the project had hoped the court would grant...
Murrysville Army vet enjoyed fishing, camaraderie
Ronald Germanoski carried the lessons — and more importantly, the camaraderie — he learned in the Boy Scouts well into manhood. “When he was young, he was in the Boy Scouts, and he dropped out just a few merit badges shy of becoming an Eagle Scout,” said his son Brian,...
Storm prompts vehicle, speed restrictions on PA turnpike, interstates
State transportation officials will prohibit some commercial vehicles and all motorcycles and recreational vehicles from a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Wednesday morning as a winter storm could bring a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to challenge travelers. Beginning at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the following traffic will...
Mysterious attack claims lives of 6 llamas near Kentucky zoo
LOUISVILLE — Authorities believe a “large animal” is responsible for an attack that killed six llamas on a farm near a zoo in Kentucky. Louisville Llama Farm owner Caroline Willette tells the Courier Journal she awoke Monday morning to blood and tufts of wool spread around her property. Five llamas...
Man pleads guilty in rape, murder of Pennsylvania teen
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in the rape, murder and dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl, and the victim’s adoptive mother has agreed to plead guilty and serve a life sentence. Jacob Sullivan, 46, pleaded guilty to all charges in the 2016 death of Grace Packer....
Smoking can damage eyesight by age 35, study suggests
Smoking cigarettes has long been known for its ability to damage eyesight, on top of the harm it causes to the lungs, heart, and other organs. But a new study suggests that smoking can impair vision far earlier than is commonly thought. Heavy smokers with an average age of 35...
Gettysburg College trustee quits over Nazi uniform photo
GETTYSBURG — A Pennsylvania college trustee apologized and announced his resignation Tuesday after a student found a 1980 yearbook photo in which the trustee wore a Nazi uniform at a fraternity event. Gettysburg College President Janet Morgan Riggs said in an email to the college community that Bob Garthwait decided...
Thousands rally in France to oppose recent anti-Semitic acts
PARIS — Rallies against anti-Semitism attracted crowds of thousands in Paris and other French cities Tuesday following a series of aggressive acts with Jewish targets, including a cemetery where about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas overnight. In the French capital, former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy joined a...
Pressure builds to get civilians out of last IS-held enclave
AL-OMAR OIL FIELD BASE, Syria — Dozens of trucks arrived Tuesday at the outskirts of a besieged enclave held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, signaling renewed efforts to evacuate hundreds of civilians trapped in the militants’ last patch of territory along the Euphrates River. A spokesman for...
AP source: FBI had backup plan to save Russia probe evidence
WASHINGTON — The FBI developed a backup plan to protect evidence in its Russia investigation soon after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in the event that other senior officials were dismissed as well, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The plan was crafted in the...
