October 22, 2019 4:07 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Pennsylvania court has ruled that a woman fired for showing a video of naked men to co-workers isn’t eligible for unemployment compensation. A Commonwealth Court panel found that while the video was meant as a joke, Sharon Rodriguez violated policies at the Philadelphia-based clothing firm where she worked. The judges noted Rodriguez was off-duty when she sent the video via text to a co-worker in March 2018, but she also discussed the video at work with another colleague and played it for her when asked. The second co-worker reported Rodriguez to a manager, leading to her firing. An unemployment compensation referee initially sided with Rodriguez. But that ruling was overruled by the state Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.
October 22, 2019 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Legislation heading toward a vote in Pennsylvania would overhaul some aspects of how voters cast ballots while delivering much of the money counties need to buy voting machines ahead of next year’s presidential election. A measure that emerged Monday from closed-door negotiations would eliminate the ballot option for straight party-ticket voting, let any voter mail in a ballot and move the voter registration deadline closer to the election. It’s part of a deal to approve $90 million in aid for voting machines that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf wanted counties to buy. The new bill doesn’t deliver all of Wolf’s election-reform priorities. Republicans wanted to eliminate the straight-party voting option, amid worries that suburban Republican lawmakers will suffer from a voter backlash against President Donald Trump next year.
October 22, 2019 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – In preparation for President Donald Trump’s visit to Downtown Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, the city announced some security measures that will impact a lot of people. Several streets surrounding the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where Trump will speak at the Shale Insight conference, will be closed Wednesday after the morning rush hour – that will likely cause heavy delays during the evening commute. The conference is open to the public. People can register for a free general admission pass, on a first-come, first-served, basis. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich recommended in a release that people who work downtown should consider working from home that day or leaving early. Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, Ed.D. announced that 12 schools will be closed Wednesday.
October 22, 2019 3:08 am
A Washington man has been sentenced to fifteen to thirty-years in a state correctional facility on four separate cases, after pleading guilty to a variety of crimes, including several deliveries of heroin, possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and terroristic threats. State Police say the cases involving William Shaw date back to December of 2015 and involve undercover purchases of heroin, the discovery of various other drugs, domestic assault with a firearm, and a threatening letter from Shaw to his wife while he was in prison on unrelated charges.
October 21, 2019 2:51 pm
State Police are investigating the death of a Charleroi man Monday morning in Finleyville. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 25-year-old Dominic Salvio jumped from the southbound span of the Joe Montana Bridge on Route 43 in Union Township. His body was found at the intersection of Route 88 and Ginger Hill Road. Emergency responders were called out around nine-thirty but the coroner’s office has not yet released a cause of death, nor the time of death. They say both are under investigation.
October 21, 2019 1:17 pm
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – In preparation for President Donald Trump’s visit to Downtown Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, the city announced some security measures that will impact a lot of people. Several streets surrounding the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where Trump will speak at the Shale Insight conference, will be closed Wednesday after the morning rush hour – that will likely cause heavy delays during the evening commute. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich recommended in a release that people who work downtown should consider working from home that day or leaving early. He also suggested city schools allow early dismissals for students. Traffic will also be affected by rolling road closures to accommodate Trump’s motorcade as he travels to and from the convention center. The specific timing and exact road closures will be released closer to the event.
October 21, 2019 9:47 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – State attorneys general who are negotiating with drug companies say they’re confident that other state and local governments will sign on to a settlement in principle with five companies over the opioid crisis. The announcement from the top state government lawyers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas came hours after two Ohio counties said they had settled their lawsuits against a drugmaker and the three distributors to avert the first federal trial on the opioid crisis. Opening statements in the Cleveland trial had been scheduled for Monday. The plan being hammered out by the attorneys general was worked on last week. It would be worth up to $48 billion over time in cash and treatment drugs. Paul Hanly, a lead lawyer for local governments, said it was the same deal that was already rejected. He said the companies should pay more.
October 21, 2019 4:39 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. – (WPXI)- Open your windows, flush soapy water down sewer drains and call 911 if you’re feeling sick: That’s what people living in Charleroi are being instructed to do as officials say “there is nothing more the fire department can do” following gas fumes seeping up through sewers. According to a post on social media, fire officials said they were called Friday for a smell of gasoline at a home. As the day went on, more people started calling about the smell in their homes. Fire officials said they were able to track down the source of the gasoline leak but at this point, they are not able to do much more. Fire officials said the smell was being reported all along McKean Avenue and was moving into other areas.
October 21, 2019 4:24 am
BEIRUT (AP) – An international aid group says about 70,000 children have been displaced since the start of the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria. The United Nations has said more than 176,000 people have been uprooted. Save the Children says many of the displaced have sought shelters in two dozen schools in Hassakeh city, southeast of the area where Turkey had launched an offensive earlier this month. The aid group says power lines of a water station have been damaged by fighting, so there is no steady flow of water to the city and its surrounding areas. That’s left both the displaced and city residents dependent on water trucks. The organization’s Syria response team director, Sonia Khush, called for unrestricted access to children in need. She said in a statement late Sunday that residents of northeastern Syria had already been reliant on humanitarian aid before the violence and were in acute need. A cease-fire has been negotiated by the United States, securing a reduction in violence. However, it ends Tuesday.
October 21, 2019 4:19 am
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) – A pioneer in marketing CBD as a health product has acknowledged selling large quantities of synthetic marijuana which was secretly added to vapes, sickening dozens of people. Janell Thompson helped popularize CBD, the cannabis extract that isn’t supposed to get users high. CBD products from a Southern California company Thompson co-founded were in Oscar nominee gift bags in 2014. Federal prosecutors say that’s also when she started selling synthetic marijuana, known as spice or K2. Thompson pleaded guilty last month to allegations of supplying synthetic marijuana nationwide. Vapes spiked with the street drug poisoned more than 40 people in North Carolina, including around military bases. Prosecutors also tied Thompson to a product called Yolo!, which sickened at least 33 people in Utah. Thompson didn’t respond to requests for comment.
