October 23, 2019 4:09 am
Business was anything but usual for North Strabane Supervisors in their legislative meeting. In a public comment session that lasted nearly 90 minutes, residents raised issues from the Majestic Hills landslide to the proposed cellular antenna from Crown Castle, Inc. Doug Grimes, one of the displaced residents of Majestic Hills spoke for the affected residents of the landslide asking that supervisors double down on efforts to support their needs and try and bring the disaster to a conclusion. Grimes stated that they are under extreme financial stress and all residents want is to be made whole. Supervisors in comments later in the meeting reiterated that no matter what, the residents of Majestic Hills are the primary focus of concern. Township Solicitor Gary Sweat reported that the case is in the pleading stage and under the aggressive schedule of Judge Michael Lucas. In other public comment, concerned residents in the Borland Manor neighborhood pleaded their case to supervisors regarding a small cell antenna proposed to be installed near the Borland Manor Elementary School and North Strabane Middle School. Solicitor Gary Sweat explained that the PA Supreme Court ruled that installations such as the one proposed by Crown Castle are covered under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission and the FCC and both of those bodies preempt any action by local municipalities. Supervisors are continuing to study the matter to see if Crown Castle can stop the installation or find a more suitable location for the antenna.
October 23, 2019 4:05 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. – (WPXI) – A high-ranking member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club has been arrested and charged in a bar beating. Michael Barringer is accused of ordering the beating of a former club member who prosecutors said nearly killed the man. A total of seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the investigation. In April, Charleroi police were called to the Slovak Club for man who was unconscious and bleeding. Prosecutors said Barringer is the third-highest ranking member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club and that he ordered the man’s beating to “send him a message.” Prosecutors said Barringer also hired a private investigator, who is a retired state trooper. They said he paid the investigator $2,500 to approach the victim’s family and offer them a settlement. Retired state trooper James Baranowski told the victim and his wife they would be taken care of financially and guaranteed their safety in exchange for them not pursing the criminal case, prosecutors said. Barringer’s defense attorney argued that Baranowski was not offering a bribe, but offering the family a civil option that would have involved lawyers and helped the family. A judge dropped the obstruction charge. Barringer will go to trial for felony intimidation of a victim and intimidation.
October 22, 2019 12:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that a virus is to blame for a mysterious illness that can start like the sniffles but quickly paralyze children. The paralysis is very rare. U.S. health officials have confirmed 590 cases over the past five years. Finding the cause is key to better care or developing a vaccine. But doctors seldom can find the chief suspect in patients’ spinal fluid. So University of California, San Francisco researchers instead tested how the immune system fought back. They found clear signs that an enterovirus, a common seasonal virus that specialists have suspected, was indeed the culprit. The research was published Monday in Nature Medicine.
October 22, 2019 12:28 pm
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – WPIAL officials said they found “credible evidence” during their investigation into alleged racism at a boy’s soccer match but have decided not to punish Connellsville and Taylor Allderdice high schools. A spokesperson for the high school sports governing agency said the situation is “an opportunity to educate and heal instead of punishing either school” or athletes. A letter was sent around following a Labor Day weekend soccer match between the programs where racial and homophobic slurs were allegedly said. WPIAL officials have mandated the schools enact anti-discrimination, diversity and sensitivity training for the boys’ soccer teams and coaching staffs. This is not the first time these types of accusations have been levied against the Connellsville high school soccer program. During a match with Penn Hills in 2018, there were claims of racial slurs said on the field. WPIAL officials investigated and found the claims credible, but they could not be proven.
October 22, 2019 10:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A State Department official has told Congress that U.S. military aid to Ukraine was withheld until the country’s leader agreed to investigate a gas company tied to Joe Biden’s family. That’s according to a copy of diplomat William Taylor’s opening statement to House impeachment investigators Tuesday. The statement was obtained by The Washington Post and published online. Taylor says Ambassador Gordon Sondland told him “everything” Ukraine wanted from the United States, including a visit with President Donald Trump and millions of dollars in security aid, was dependent on the country agreeing to investigate the gas firm Burisma and the 2016 U.S. election. Taylor said a White House official told him the same thing. Democrats say the testimony points to what Trump has long denied: a quid pro quo for an investigation of his political rival. (Photo: CNN)
October 22, 2019 9:43 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – Police in Pennsylvania say they are looking for someone who bought a used cellphone with a fake $1 million bill and then attacked a woman when he was confronted. Scranton police say Alexis Brown agreed to sell her used iPhone 6S for $100 to a buyer she met online. When the two met, the buyer handed Brown a roll of bills. She gave him the phone and he walked away. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports the roll contained two $1 bills, one $10 bill and a phony $1 million bill. Brown told her girlfriend, Bonnie Wolo, about the fake bill and Wolo tracked the buyer down. When she tried to grab the phone, he punched her in the face before running off. Brown says the buyer was between 16 and 20 years old.
October 22, 2019 9:40 am
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has been hospitalized after a fall at his home in Plains, Georgia. A statement from The Carter Center says Jimmy suffered “a minor pelvic fracture” on Monday, but remains in good spirits and looks forward to recovering at home. Carter Center spokeswoman Deanne Congileo told The Associated Press that she had nothing more to add to the statement. Carter already fell once at his home earlier this month, leaving the 95-year-old with 14 stitches and bruising around his left eye. Despite that, he still showed up to help build a home with Habitat for Humanity the next day in Nashville, Tennessee. He used a cane when he rallied volunteers that morning.
October 22, 2019 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are “afraid” of the chief impeachment investigator, following a failed effort to censure him. Pelosi said “the GOP has not even tried to deny the facts” of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democrats. In a statement, Pelosi added a stiff defense of Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the “the person of whom the President is most afraid.” She issued the statement after majority Democrats blocked a Republican effort to censure Schiff. Schiff later tweeted that Republicans will be remembered for lacking the courage to confront Trump. So, he said, “they consoled themselves by attacking those who did.” Republicans are criticizing Schiff in part for the secretive way he is conducting the impeachment investigation, which includes some classified material.
October 22, 2019 4:16 am
BOSTON (AP) – Actress Lori Loughlin (LAWK’-lin), her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and nine other parents face new charges in the college admissions scandal. Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that the parents were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. The charge accuses the parents of attempting to bribe officials at an organization that receives federal funding. They are accused of paying bribes to get their children admitted to the University of Southern California. They already face charges of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to previous charges and have not yet commented on the new charge.
October 22, 2019 4:14 am
TORONTO (AP) – Opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh says he has congratulated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will be a constructive participant in the new Parliament. Trudeau’s Liberal party was projected to win the most seats in the 338-seat Parliament in Monday’s national elections. That outcome would give it the best chance to form a government. Still, the Liberals were poised to fall short of a majority, meaning they will have to rely on an opposition party to stay in power. Trudeau is expected to rely on the leftist New Democrat for support at times to pass legislation.
