September 24, 2019 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House is moving forward with official impeachment inquiry, saying “no one is above the law.” Pelosi says she made the announcement after meeting with House chairmen and members of the Democratic caucus. The announcement comes as more than a dozen Democrats, many of them moderates, have endorsed impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Democrats have questioned whether Trump improperly used his office to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s family. The administration is withholding a whistleblower complaint at least partly related to that matter from Congress.
September 24, 2019 4:13 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Pacific Gas & Electric is shutting off power to 27,500 people in Northern California to reduce the risk of wildfires in the face of hot, dry weather and gusty winds that could knock down power lines. The utility announced Monday evening that it’s turning off the electricity for customers in Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties in the Sierra Nevada. The power will stay off until conditions are safer – which could be several days. Strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures are forecast in the region through Wednesday. More than 9,000 customers affected by the PG&E shutoff are in Butte County, where the utility’s power lines were blamed for a wildfire last year that killed 86 people and virtually destroyed the town of Paradise. Meanwhile, Southern California Edison is considering proactively shutting off power to 41,000 customers.
September 24, 2019 4:12 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are urging Iran to enter talks about a new arrangement to bolster the fraying nuclear deal Tehran struck with the West in 2015 – though they said they still supported that agreement, which the U.S. has withdrawn from. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for Iran “to accept negotiation on a long-term framework for its nuclear programme as well as on issues related to regional security, including its missiles programme and other means of delivery.” Johnson went further, saying U.S. President Donald Trump should strike a new deal with Tehran. Johnson told NBC that “there’s one guy who can do a better deal … and that is the president of the United States. I hope there will be a Trump deal.”
September 24, 2019 4:10 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has struck near Puerto Rico, rousing and scaring many from their sleep in the U.S. territory. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck late Monday 49 miles (79 kilometers) off the island’s northwest coast at a shallow depth of 6 miles. Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Kiara Hernández tells The Associated Press that there are no immediate reports of damage. The quake was felt across Puerto Rico and is the strongest to hit the island in recent years.
September 24, 2019 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of providing a white powdery substance tainted with fentanyl at an after-party in Pittsburgh, leading to the death of three men.
Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri says Peter Rene Sanchez Montalvo was arrested Monday on federal charges of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Authorities say Montalvo goes by the name Carlos. No information on an attorney for him was available. Togneri says he had been at a bar earlier and invited some patrons to an after-party at an apartment where he’d been staying. Federal prosecutors say the partygoers believed the white substance was cocaine. The medical examiner’s office has initially determined it contained the powerful opioid fentanyl. It’s unclear who alerted emergency authorities, who arrived at the building to find several people dead or in need of medical help.
September 24, 2019 4:04 am
Police and fire communications will be greatly improved in Peters Township. Council unanimously approved $387,000 in funding to replace its radio communications systems for the police and fire departments. Equipment currently in use is anywhere from 15 to 18 years old and replacement parts are scarce. The purchase was made through the state’s COSTARS program. COSTARS is a purchasing cooperative that takes advantage of negotiated discounts for certain equipment needs. Lauer pointed out that Peters Township was able to negotiate an additional discount saving taxpayer even more money. Lauer expects the system to be in place by the end of the year.
September 24, 2019 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A Pittsburgh-area doctor has been accused of giving out opioids in exchange for sex. Emilio Ramon Navarro, 58, of Coal Center is facing 29 counts total — 28 for controlled substance violations and 1 for health care fraud. According to investigators, Navarro began distributing oxymorphone and oxycodone to a person identified as “A.W.” in April 2018 and continued to do so for a year, receiving sexual favors in return. Navarro was arrested Monday morning and has already made his first appearance in federal court. The Department of Justice said he operates a private family practice in Perryopolis. If convicted, Navarro could face 20 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both for each count of the drug violations, plus an additional 10 years and $250,000 in fines for the fraud charge.
September 24, 2019 3:52 am
State Police are investigating a burglary that occurred at the North Franklin Township Municipal Building on September 14th. Troopers say surveillance video shows what appears to be a man breaking into the building around six a.m. through a window. Police say he stole about one-hundred and twenty-dollars in cash and possibly a ring of keys that belongs to local businesses.
September 24, 2019 3:42 am
State Police are expected to be called in to inspect a dump truck that was involved in a crash that heavily damaged a home, a car and a house. Authorities say a teenager driving a dump truck owned by Tri-State Welding in Charleroi, sideswiped a car Monday in Speers, before traveling through a house at 906 Anne Avenue. Authorities say the incident started just before eleven a.m. on Maple Avenue, near the Speers, Interstate 70 Interchange, when the truck, loaded with stones, sideswiped the car and then slammed into the house, destroying half the building and coming to rest on its side. The collision left the kitchen and living room exposed. A resident of the home, nineteen-year-old Jason Viatale was evacuated from the house with no injuries. He was in a basement bedroom at the time of the crash. The truck driver and two women in the car were taken to Mon Valley Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be minor injuries. (Photo: WPXI)
September 23, 2019 5:47 pm
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone announced Monday that Lavonne Williams, 39, from Ohio was sentenced by Judge Valarie Costanzo to 16 to 32 years in a state correctional institution. Williams was convicted in April following a jury trial of five felony charges and three misdemeanor charges including possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, possession of firearms prohibited, and possessing a firearm with altered manufacturer number. Detectives with the Washington County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force were conducting an ongoing investigation into illegal drug trafficking in various locations including 171 Jollick Manor in the City of Washington. Detectives made a series of controlled purchases of narcotics and obtained search warrants for several residences located in the City of Washington. All warrants were executed on June 9, 2017 which resulted in numerous arrests. Specifically in the investigation targeting Williams a safe was found in his residence which contained cocaine in rock form, marijuana, $2,600 in U.S. Currency, approximately 5 bricks of heroin laced with fentanyl, pills, a S& W 32 caliber revolver, a Walther 32 caliber handgun with obliterated serial number, and a box of ammunition. Vittone said Williams, who has an extensive criminal record in Ohio was a person prohibited from possessing firearms under the law.
