Nancy Pelosi elected House speaker again as government shutdown continues
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives, which includes 63 new Democrats, on Thursday elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker for a second time. A new era of divided government arrived in Washington, as Democrats took control of the House amid a partial government shutdown now in its second week....
China lands spacecraft on ‘dark’ side of moon in world first
BEIJING — China’s burgeoning space program achieved a first on Thursday: a landing on the so-called dark side of the moon. Three nations — the United States, the former Soviet Union and more recently China — have sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth, but...
Teen charged with homicide in 2018 North Braddock shooting
A 15-year-old boy will be charged with homicide stemming from a November 2018 shooting after a ruling this week by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Taymar Smith was arrested Nov. 18 for the shooting death of another teen in North Braddock on Nov. 18. Smith admitted to police he...
Early morning McKeesport fire under investigation
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating an early morning fire in McKeesport. Crews responded just after 2 a.m. to an incident at a three-story apartment building along 5th Avenue, WPXI reported. No one was injured but some residents will be displaced by the damage. Flames were shooting from a...
Lindsey Graham: If Trump gives in on shutdown, it’s ‘probably the end of his presidency’
WASHINGTON — With the government shutdown, President Donald Trump has put himself in an impossible position. He’s tied his support for a solution entirely to securing billions of dollars to build a wall on the Mexican border. House Democrats say that’s a total non-starter. Meanwhile Trump has rejected compromise deals...
Former Vandergrift church transforming into children’s play, learning center
The former Trinity United Presbyterian Church along Vandergrift’s Franklin Avenue has a new owner who has plans to transform the stately sanctuary into an educational performance programs in the worship area and a children’s indoor play area in the basement. Chloe Kruse, 29, of Vandergrift, bought the building at 262...
Greensburg woman sent to prison for sex trafficking young girl
A Greensburg woman will serve up to 20 years in prison for selling sexual encounters with a 3-year-old girl. Rebecca Shadle was sentenced Thursday after she pleaded guilty in September to trafficking of a minor for sexual purposes, child endangerment, aggravated indecent assault and conspiracy. Prosecutors said Shadle allowed men...
Police seek car in Jeannette hit-and-run
Police in Jeannette and surrounding communities are looking for a vehicle that was involved in a hit-and-run Thursday evening. Westmoreland County 911 said nobody was hurt in the crash on the 500 block of Harrison Avenue in Jeannette. A female driver in her 20s fled from the scene after two...
Ex-Trump club worker’s name was left off Secret Service vetting list, she says
A former kitchen employee at one of President Trump’s golf clubs in New Jersey said her superiors kept her name and those of other undocumented workers off a list of people to be vetted by the Secret Service before a Trump visit to the club in 2016. Emma Torres, 43,...
2 alleged drug dealers arrested at Dormont apartment with
$220K in cocaine, meth
Law enforcement officials arrested two Dormont residents after authorities seized more than $220,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamines from their apartment. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday the apprehension of Ivan Organista-Gomez, 41, and Fabiola Romero-Dorante, 33, of Texas Avenue, Dormont. They’re charged with criminal conspiracy, possession with intent...
Police charge 15-year-old Philadelphia mom after newborn found dumped in trash
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police on Wednesday charged a 15-year-old girl with murder because she allegedly placed her newborn son in the trash in a North Philadelphia street. The girl, Jani Morris, was arrested when the infant’s body was discovered Monday night, police said. She was charged with murder, endangering welfare...
NASA: Icy object past Pluto looks like reddish snowman
LAUREL, Md. — A NASA spacecraft 4 billion miles from Earth yielded its first close-up pictures Wednesday of the most distant celestial object ever explored, depicting what looks like a reddish snowman. Ultima Thule, as the small, icy object has been dubbed, was found to consist of two fused-together spheres,...
Mexico finds flayed god temple; priests wore skins of dead
MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state...
6 die in Denmark’s worst train accident since 1988
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Six passengers were killed when a Danish train sustained damage while crossing a bridge that was closed to cars because of high wind Wednesday, and authorities investigated if falling cargo from a freight train caused Denmark’s deadliest railway accident in 30 years. Authorities said the two trains...
Trial slated next week for Manor Township woman in hatchet killing of husband
A 43-year-old Manor Township woman is scheduled to stand trial in Armstrong County Court on Monday, Jan. 7 for the 2017 hatchet attack and, ultimately, death of her husband. Melanie Sue Snyder is accused of the early morning hatchet attack on her husband, Thomas Snyder, in their small Garretts Run...
No deal to end shutdown; Trump says ‘could be a long time’
WASHINGTON — The shuttered parts of the federal government were no closer to being reopened Wednesday after President Trump and congressional leaders met for the first time since the shutdown began nearly two weeks ago. “I don’t think any particular progress was made today, but we talked,” Senate Majority Leader...
Liberal revolt threatens to derail House Democrats on their first day in charge
WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders faced the prospect of a liberal rebellion on their first day in charge after prominent Democrats said they would oppose a package of rules changes endorsed by incoming speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said they would vote...
U.S. Catholic bishops to pray over clergy sexual abuse scandal
MUNDELEIN, Ill. — U.S.-based Roman Catholic bishops are gathering Wednesday for a weeklong retreat near Chicago on the church sexual abuse scandal that organizers say will focus on prayer and spiritual reflection and not formulating policy. The retreat begins a day after The Associated Press reported that the Vatican blocked...
Sheriff: Unknown if race was factor in Texas girl’s slaying
HOUSTON — A Texas sheriff said Wednesday that he’s aware of claims by activists that a weekend shooting that killed a 7-year-old black girl was racially motivated but adds that it remains unclear what prompted the shooting and investigators are considering all possibilities. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during...
Hospital price lists go public online
A new federal mandate could make it a little easier for health care consumers to shop around, or at least get a clearer idea of what hospitals charge. A rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that took effect Tuesday requires all hospitals to publish standard price lists...
Autism Speaks meeting will lay out 2019 plans, volunteer opportunities
Officials from Autism Speaks will get together to begin planning the 2019 Pittsburgh Autism Speaks Walk on Tuesday, Jan. 8, and they want to hear from the public. The organization will host a 2019 Pittsburgh Committee Interest Night, 6 p.m., Tuesday at its Pittsburgh office, 15 27th St. in the...
Daryl Dragon, of ‘The Captain and Tennille,’ dead at 76
NEW YORK — Daryl Dragon, the cap-wearing “Captain” of “The Captain and Tennille” who teamed with then-wife Toni Tennille on such easy listening hits as “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love,” died Wednesday at age 76. Dragon died of renal failure at a hospice in Prescott, Ariz., according...
Penn State moves to trademark the Happy Valley nickname
STATE COLLEGE — It’s sometimes called State College and sometimes University Park, but Penn State wants to ensure it holds the trademark when it’s called Happy Valley. The Centre Daily Times reported Wednesday the university asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month to trademark the term that refers...
Smoky flight over Greensburg was fun practice run for aerobatic pilot
Greensburg-area residents who saw a small plane flying in circles and leaving a smoke trail in its wake Sunday afternoon weren’t witnessing a pilot in distress, a skywriter or an out-of-season crop duster. Pilot David Kahley, who has been flying small planes for more than 40 years, said he made...
The Housing Authority of Pittsburgh helped 21 families purchase homes in 2018
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh in 2018 helped 21 low-income families – five more than in 2017 – purchase homes. Mayor Bill Peduto’s office reported the families purchased homes ranging in price from $67,500 to $143,500 in Hazelwood, the North Side, Lincoln-Larimer, the South Side, the Hill...
