September 15, 2019 10:12 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels says they were able to “exploit vulnerabilities” in Saudi Arabia’s air defense system to stage the attack previous day on the kingdom’s vital oil installations. Muhammad al-Bukhaiti told The Associated Press on Sunday that the U.S. allegations that Iran was behind the attack reflected “political bankruptcy” of the administration in Washington. The drone attack claimed by the Houthis hit the world’s largest oil processing facility and a major oil field on Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable choke point for global energy supplies. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Iran for the attacks and said that here’s “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”
Pompeo said on Saturday that “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
September 14, 2019 9:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the House intelligence committee has issued a subpoena to the acting Director of National Intelligence, saying the director is withholding a whistleblower complaint from Congress. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said in a statement Friday evening that the committee will require that Joseph Maguire testify Thursday unless he complies with the subpoena. Schiff was mysterious about the subject of the whistleblower complaint, saying the intelligence community’s inspector general had determined it to be credible and a matter of “urgent concern.” Schiff says Maguire is required to share the complaint with Congress but won’t do so. He says he is concerned the administration is withholding the complaint “in order to cover up serious misconduct.” Maguire’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
September 14, 2019 9:17 am
LONDON (AP) – The British prime minister who called the Brexit referendum and then saw the public vote to leave the European Union says he is sorry for the divisions it has caused. David Cameron said in an interview published Saturday that he thinks about the consequences of the Brexit referendum “every single day” and worries “desperately” about what will happen next. He spoke to The Times newspaper to promote his soon-to-be-published memoir. Cameron, who had supported remaining in the EU, resigned the morning after the 2016 referendum. The 52-year-old attacked former allies Boris Johnson – the current prime minister – and Michael Gove, who helped spearhead the “Leave” campaign. Cameron says they “left the truth at home” during the campaign.
September 14, 2019 9:15 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels has claimed a drone attack on two major oil installations in Saudi Arabia. Yahia Sarie made the announcement Saturday in a televised address carried by the Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel. He said the Houthis sent 10 drones to attack an oil processing facility in Buqyaq and the Khurais oil field.
He warned attacks by the rebels against the kingdom would only get worse if the war in Yemen continues. Sarie said: “The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us.” A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the rebels since March 2015.
September 14, 2019 9:12 am
McKEESPORT, Pa. (WPXI) – Police have found a man who they say ran from the car of a woman whose body was found Thursday morning at a Park in McKeesport. Police are investigating it as a homicide. A man walking his dog found her body shortly before 10 a.m. The woman has been identified as Temeka Dallas, 43, from Monroeville. Dallas was described as wearing a yellow sundress. Her body showed signs of strangulation based on an initial examination, according to police. Police said she might have been dragged about 50 feet into the woods from the parking lot of the dek hockey complex at the park. Dallas might have died elsewhere, and her body then brought to the park in a car, investigators said. Surveillance video showed a silver 2007 Chevrolet Impala with a sunroof and rear spoiler being driven in the park near where her body was found, shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday, police said. That car belonged to the victim. The Impala was found in the parking lot of a Walmart in South Strabane Township, Washington County, on Thursday night. Police have arrested Clyde Cox, 27, and Daron Parks, 26 for being in that car, they are not charged in her death. Late Friday, police identified the other man as Ramonta Yancey, 26. Officers said he has ties to McKeesport and the east end of Pittsburgh, and he turned himself in to police without incident.
September 14, 2019 9:09 am
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (WPXI) – Multiple fire crews battled a large blaze at a former car dealership. Emergency officials said the fire was along Center Highway at Route 30 in North Huntingdon. The fire was reported shortly after 6:30 p.m. Neighbors told Channel 11 the building was in the process of being remodeled when they heard what sounded like explosions. The roof of the building collapsed from the fire. The Huntingdon Police Department also posted on social media that there are phone issues with the department from the fire. Anyone trying to reach police should instead call 911 for the time being.
September 14, 2019 4:41 am
BOSTON (AP) – “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman says she takes full responsibility for her role in the college admissions scandal and deserves her punishment. A federal judge in Boston sentenced the actress on Friday to 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and a year’s probation. Huffman was stoic in court, telling U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani she “betrayed” her daughters and her actor husband, William H. Macy. After her sentencing, she said via email: “I accept the court’s decision today without reservation.”
Huffman’s lawyer, Martin Murphy, argued that her crimes were less serious than those of her co-defendants. Huffman pleaded guilty in May to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her daughter’s SAT exam answers in 2017. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen had pushed hard for a full month’s imprisonment. Rosen says there was “simply no excuse” for Huffman’s actions.
September 14, 2019 4:40 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The opioid crisis has hit virtually every pocket of the U.S., from rural towns in deeply conservative states to big cities in liberal-leaning ones. But a curious divide has opened up. The nation’s Republican state attorneys general have, for the most part, lined up in support of a tentative multibillion-dollar settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, while their Democratic counterparts have mostly come out against it, decrying it as woefully inadequate. Exactly why this is so is unclear, and some of those involved suggested it can’t necessarily be explained by the way the Republicans have long been seen as the business-friendly party and the Democrats are sometimes more hostile to corporate America. Some of the attention has focused on the role played by Luther Strange, a Republican former Alabama attorney general who has been working for members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma.
September 14, 2019 4:32 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A $100,000 grant has been allotted to UMPC to offer tumor and germline sequencing to patients battling Ewing Sarcoma in Western Pennsylvania. The money was secured by republican representatives Jason Ortitay and Tim O’Neal. The representatives say the grant can potentially answer questions about the uptick of Ewings cases in the region, specifically in Washington County. Representative O’Neal said the meeting on cancer in the area held in Canonsburg left many unanswered questions and both reps hope that the research grant could find those answers or possibly identify the cause of the disease. There are no known environmental factors that cause Ewing sarcoma, but some residents are concerned that could be causing these issues. The Pennsylvania State Department of Health conducted a study earlier this year, and it was determined there was no cancer “cluster” in Washington County. The department is sharing their thoughts and findings on the study at the Canon-McMillan High School on October 7th.
September 13, 2019 3:50 pm
(AP) – Two people with direct knowledge of the decision, say Antonio Brown will be eligible to play for the New England Patriots. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Friday because the decision has not been announced. Brown has been accused of rape and sexual assault in a civil case in Florida. He won’t go on the commissioner’s exempt list because no criminal charges have been filed. Brown has denied the allegations by his former trainer. Players on the commissioner’s exempt list can’t play in games or practice with a team, but are still paid. The Patriots play at Miami on Sunday. The wide receiver was acquired in a trade with Oakland this month after requesting and receiving his release from the Raiders.
