November 14, 2019 4:19 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Garth Brooks has won the Entertainer of the Year honor at the Country Music Association Awards. Brooks won the top award on a night when the contributions of women to country music were front and center, starting with a powerful opening performance from some of country music’s biggest female stars. Carrie Underwood, who co-hosted and performed during Wednesday’s show, was the lone female nominee in the Entertainer of the Year category. Brooks singled out Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs during his acceptance speech as some of the country artists he respected the most. Brooks performed his song “Dive Bar” during Tuesday’s ceremony. This post has been corrected to remove a mention of the song “Old Town Road.”
November 14, 2019 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Several more witnesses set to testify in the House impeachment hearings are expected to say they too worried about President Donald Trump’s push for Ukraine to investigate Democrats as the U.S. withheld military aid. On Friday, lawmakers will hear from the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who was ousted in May at Trump’s direction.
Of the eight witnesses to testify next week is a National Security Council official, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who said he raised concerns in the White House about Trump’s push for investigations.
Democrats have scheduled a private deposition for Friday with the political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, David Holmes. An official familiar with the matter said Holmes is the one who overheard Sondland and Trump discuss Ukraine conducting investigations.
November 14, 2019 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – With historic impeachment hearings underway, Democrats and Republicans are hardening their arguments over the actions of President Donald Trump as they set out to win over a deeply polarized American public. Democrats say Wednesday’s extraordinary public session in the House revealed a striking account of Trump abusing his office. They point to pressing the newly elected president of Ukraine for political investigations of rival Democrats, all while holding up needed military aid. While Democrats use the words “bribery” and “extortion,” Republicans counter that the hearing showed none of that. They say the two seasoned diplomats at the witness table had, at best, second-hand accounts of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine’s president. Republicans maintain there was no pressure and note that eventually the aid flowed, though only after Congress intervened.
November 14, 2019 4:11 am
WASHINGTON CO., Pa. – (WPXI) – A woman said she’s called 911 and Pennsylvania State Police for over a week about several abandoned cars on Interstate-79. Kathy Williams commutes from Washington County to the city every day. She said several abandoned cars are sitting on the shoulder of I-79 North – one is near the Bridgeville exit, and another is on the shoulder near Collier. Williams told our news partners at Channel 11 the most dangerous vehicle on the interstate is an abandoned van sitting right up against the ramp to Exit 60 at Crafton/Moon Run. She said every single day, drivers think that van is in traffic trying to exit, so cars line up behind it — only to realize it’s abandoned and they need to get around it. “People have swerved to get back on the highway to get back off the highway to get off the highway. It’s really scary,” Williams said. Adding to the problem, some of the abandoned cars are really tough to see late at night or when snow is covering them.
November 14, 2019 2:49 am
A federal judge has sentenced a Washington County businessman to a one year and one day term in federal prison for conspiracy to defraud the IRS and filing a false bankruptcy declaration in connection with his companies. According to a report in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab also gave 71-year-old George Retos a two-year probationary term when he gets out of prison. Retos, who owns Prime Plastics and Plastic Power in Washington, had pleaded guilty last year to the IRS and bankruptcy fraud charges, and also accepted responsibility for a wire fraud charge in another scheme to fleece Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system. Authorities alleged that instead of paying the IRS, Retos spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in business funds from both of his companies by issuing business checks to himself and his family in addition to debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals at the Meadows in Washington County and a casino in Las Vegas.
November 14, 2019 2:33 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Police in West Virginia say they have identified another source of suspected heroin-laced vaping solutions that sickened two high school students. Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston on Thursday said an ongoing investigation of the overdoses has led to charges against 23-year-old Tristan Clay Anderson. Authorities say officers pulled Anderson over Wednesday night and found more than two pounds of marijuana in his car. Officers then served a search warrant at his home and found 25 more pounds of marijuana, over 70 bottles of concentrated THC oils and more than 300 vaping cartridges. Anderson has been charged with possession with the intent to sell. A court clerk says he has not yet hired a lawyer. Police last week said they also identified an underage high school student as a suspect.
November 13, 2019 5:37 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – Hyatt Hotels Corp. is the latest hotel company to say it’s removing small bottles from its bathrooms in an effort to reduce waste. Hyatt says it is shifting to large, multi-use bottles for shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion at its 875 hotels worldwide. The Chicago-based company says the transition will be complete by June 2021. Hyatt is also cutting down on the use of plastic water bottles at meetings and events and increasing the number of water stations in its hotels so guests can refill their own bottles. Marriott International and Holiday Inn owner IHG announced similar moves in August.
November 13, 2019 4:47 pm
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police have confirmed that a body found in July in a southern Oregon ravine was that of missing actor Charles Levin, who played numerous roles on television comedies such as “Seinfeld” and “Night Court.” The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that police reports confirmed the body as the 70-year-old actor. His death was ruled as accidental. Police were contacted July 8 by Levin’s son Jesse, who reported his father missing. He was last seen June 27. His car was found July 13, with the remains of his dog, a pug named Boo Boo, inside. A body was found outside the car and was believed to be Levin’s, but police didn’t confirm the identity until this week. Levin played a character who performs circumcisions on a “Seinfeld” episode.
November 13, 2019 4:39 pm
JACKSON, Mo. (AP) – A rescued puppy is attracting a lot of attention because of his cute resemblance to a unicorn. The nearly 10-week-old puppy, named Narwhal, has a tail-like appendage growing from his forehead. Narwhal was rescued over the weekend and sent to Mac’s Mission in Jackson, which specializes in fostering animals with special needs. Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen says Narwhal doesn’t notice the extra tail and is otherwise a happy, healthy puppy. Although it looks like a tail, Narwhal cannot wag it. Steffen says the rescue group has been flooded with requests from people wanting to adopt Narwhal since his picture hit social media. But he’ll remain at Mac’s Mission so his caretakers can be sure the tail doesn’t grow out of proportion to his face and cause him problems.
November 13, 2019 2:30 pm
HONG KONG (AP) – University students from mainland China and Taiwan are fleeing Hong Kong, while those from three Scandinavian countries have been moved or urged to leave as college campuses become the latest battleground in the city’s 5-month-long anti-government unrest. Marine police used a boat Wednesday to help a group of mainland students leave the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which remained barricaded by demonstrators after violent clashes with police a day earlier.
