January 17, 2020 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has opened in the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says new evidence reinforces the need for senators to call additional witnesses. Pelosi warned senators not to become “all the president’s henchmen.” Trump derided the proceedings anew as a “hoax.” All the senators stood on Thursday and swore an oath of “impartial justice” as jurors for the historic proceeding. Chief Justice John Roberts presided in his black Supreme Court robe. The full trial will begin next week.
January 17, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court will decide ahead of the 2020 election whether presidential electors are bound to support the popular vote winner in their states or can opt for someone else. Advocates for the court’s intervention say the issue needs urgent resolution in an era of intense political polarization and the prospect of a razor-thin margin in a presidential election, although so-called faithless electors have been a footnote so far in American history. The justices probably will hear arguments in April and should issue a decision by late June.
January 17, 2020 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Texas-based pipeline giant that is heavily penalized in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay another $2 million in fines for spilling drilling fluids into a reservoir during construction on a 350-mile multibillion-dollar pipeline carrying highly volatile natural gas liquids. The consent agreement was made public Thursday after it was signed Jan. 3. The state Department of Environmental Protection says 208,000 gallons of drilling fluids spilled into Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County in 2017 during construction on Energy Transfer’s Mariner East pipelines. Construction on the Mariner East pipelines has drawn more than $15 million in fines and several temporary shutdown orders.
January 17, 2020 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos reached a new high in revenue last year, a record boosted by an aggressive new expansion of gambling authorized in 2017. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Thursday that revenue at the state’s 12 casinos, as well as through fantasy sports contests and video gambling terminals at truck stops, rose in 2019 by $146 million, or 4.5%, to above $3.4 billion. It was the fifth straight calendar year that casino revenue grew in Pennsylvania. The 2019 figures had the first results from online gambling and sports betting. Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos are No. 2 in the nation in gross revenue, after Nevada’s. The news wasn’t so good at The Meadows. Total revenue was down 13%. Revenue generated by slot and table games were also down.
January 17, 2020 4:08 am
ARNOLD, Pa. — (WPXI) – One person is dead after a shooting in Westmoreland County Thursday evening, and police are now searching for the shooter. Police were investigating the scene along 17th Street in Arnold, and one report claims the victim was found inside the apartment and died from at least one gunshot wound. Police blocked off the streets near Riverside Drive. Police have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Marion Gatti, who is still on the run and considered armed and dangerous. His warrant is for one charge of criminal homicide. The victim has not yet been identified, and the investigation is ongoing.
January 16, 2020 1:31 pm
CANTON, N.C. (AP) – The Avengers may have gained a canine sidekick after a North Carolina family’s dog gave birth to a bright green puppy named “Hulk.” Haywood County resident Shana Stamey says her white shepherd, Gypsy, delivered eight puppies Friday. Gypsy’s labor was going smoothly until the fourth puppy came out as a small, but mighty tuft of lime green fur. Stamey told news outlets she was initially worried, but a local animal hospital manager says there’s a normal explanation for the odd coloration, and it doesn’t involve gamma rays. She says Hulk was likely stained by liquids inside the stomach. His color will fade, but his superpower, deemed by Stamey as an “aggressive appetite,” will likely remain. (Photo: usatoday.com)
January 16, 2020 12:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress opened the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Thursday, with House Democrats reading the formal charges from the well of the U.S. Senate. Later Chief Justice John Roberts, who is to preside at the trial, will administer the oath to senators who will serve as jurors and swear to deliver “impartial justice.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said new evidence reinforces the need for senators to call witnesses. She warned them not to become “all the president’s henchmen.” The full trial will begin next week.
January 16, 2020 8:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a new North American trade pact that rewrites the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Passage of the measure gives President Donald Trump a major policy victory before senators turns their full attention to his impeachment trial. The measure goes to Trump for his signature. It would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA. It tore down most trade barriers and triggered a surge in trade. But Trump and other critics blamed NAFTA for encouraging U.S. companies to move their manufacturing plants south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican laborers.
January 16, 2020 6:41 am
North Strabane Township police are investigating the death of a man found near the Interstate 79 overpass at the intersection of Weavertown Road and Hook Street. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 45 year old Carlo Bonadio was pronounced dead just before 8 p.m. Wednesday night. No trauma was detected and the death is not believed to be suspicious. A cause and mannner of death are pending.
January 16, 2020 4:31 am
The alleged ring leader in a motorcycle/ATV theft ring has been arrested. Police said Karon Smith was behind burglaries in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties, totaling more than $150,000. Investigators said the suspects smashed their way into businesses throughout 2019. Troopers said Smith and his group did “smash and grab” burglaries, always renting a U-Haul. Surveillance video always caught multiple suspects jumping out and smashing the business’ glass door out with a sledgehammer before stealing multiple motorcycles, dirt bikes and ATVs. Each suspect would then run out, driving the vehicles away in just three minutes. According to police, Triple A Motorsports is one of at least five other identical smash and grabs connected to Smith. In January 2019, troopers said his group stole $35,000 worth of bikes from All-Pro Motorsports in Moon Township. But that wasn’t the end. They are accused of the following burglaries: $18,000 at Triple A in March. $36,000 at West Hills Honda in April. $48,000 at Tri-State Powersports in Smith Township in July. $13,000 at Xtreme Sports in Claysville. So far, three suspects in the ring have been arrested. The Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting this case and says more arrests are coming.
