February 14, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal prosecutors have declined to charge former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, closing an investigation into whether he lied to federal officials about his involvement in a news media disclosure. That’s according to a statement from McCabe’s legal team on Friday. The decision resolves a criminal investigation that spanned more than a year and began with a referral from the Justice Department’s inspector general, which said McCabe repeatedly lied about having authorized a subordinate to share information with a newspaper reporter for a 2016 article about an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Prosecutors told McCabe’s lawyers they decided “not to pursue criminal charges” against him after careful consideration.
February 14, 2020 2:45 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A lawyer recently sworn in as district attorney in southwestern Pennsylvania is asking the state Supreme Court to rule that county child welfare officials investigating complaints about him don’t have legal authority to compel him to take a drug test. Greene County District Attorney David Russo says mandatory drug tests and a home inspection without probable cause would violate his constitutional rights. The Children and Youth Services agency in neighboring Fayette County, brought in to handle Russo’s case, has argued that investigators looking into child abuse claims should be able to require drug tests, as can be ordered during child custody disputes. Oral argument is scheduled for March.
February 14, 2020 2:19 am
Every year the Washington County Chamber of Commerce presents its State of the Economy panel discussion. Leaders in economic development and forecast gather to look back on the previous year and try and take a peek into what may lie ahead. This year Mekael Teshome, Vice President of the Pittsburgh office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (pictured) offered his thoughts on what the nation and the seven county metropolitan Pittsburgh region may expect. Energy is important to Washington County and he says his outlook is not one of a boom because low prices for gas will probably keep energy development weak. Teshome addressed weaknesses in unemployment in the region particularly in manufacturing and transportation but pointed to positive areas of employment growth particularly in professional services and in the automation/robotics industry. He said that those trends reflected nationwide trends. Stefani Pasham, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development addressed business owner’s issues with brain drain and described her efforts to keep college graduates from leaving the Pittsburgh region. Washington County Commissioners pointed to over $500,000,000 dollars of business development and the creation of nearly one-thousand jobs as pointing the county in the right direction for future years.
February 13, 2020 2:49 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Two former Ohio State football players have pleaded not guilty to holding a woman against her will and raping her. Defensive backs Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint made an initial appearance Thursday in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus. Their attorneys entered the pleas on their behalf. Both were kicked off the team Wednesday after the charges came to light. The accuser told police that on Feb. 4th she was having consensual sex with Riep before Wint came into the room and both forced her into sex. Riep is a cornerback entering his senior season. Wint is a redshirt senior who would have been in the mix at safety.
February 13, 2020 12:37 pm
DETROIT (AP) –
A Pittsburgh-area official accused of obstructing police at a Detroit hotel has pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace and was placed on probation. The charge is a misdemeanor. Prosecutors say the case could be dismissed if Chelsa Wagner completes the six-month probation without any problems. Wagner is a Democrat and the elected controller in Allegheny County. She was accused of interfering with police as officers tried to remove her husband from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel last March. Hotel staff had called 911 to report that Mosley was unruly during a dispute over registration and a room key.
February 13, 2020 12:30 pm
(WPXI) – A toddler was in the back seat of her father’s SUV when he crashed into a Pittsburgh police vehicle and two other vehicles while drunk, authorities said. Three officers were in the police vehicle when the crash happened shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Columbo Street and North Negley Avenue, police said. None of the officers were hurt. When two officers got out of their vehicle, they ordered the man driving the SUV to stay parked and remain inside. Instead, 43-year-old Mario Plowden drove away and nearly hit the officers, according to police. Police followed the SUV into the city’s Morningside neighborhood, where Plowden stopped on King Avenue and was arrested, officials said. Plowden, according to police, admitted he was driving under the influence, telling officers he had some drinks on Broad Street. He had to be held up by officers and was then given a breathalyzer test. Police found Plowden’s young daughter when they went to search the SUV. They said the girl was in the back seat and her car seat was not anchored down. She was not hurt, but she was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to be evaluated before being given to her mother.
February 13, 2020 9:56 am
The publisher of the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and dozens of other newspapers nationwide is filing for bankruptcy protection. McClatchy Co. said it will continue to run normally as it pursues approval of its restructuring plan under Chapter 11. Its 30 local newsrooms are operating as usual. McClatchy expects fourth-quarter revenue of $183.9 million, down 14% from a year earlier. Its 2019 revenue is anticipated to slide 12.1% from the previous year. The publisher’s origins date to 1857 when it first began publishing a four-page paper in Sacramento, California, following the California Gold Rush. That paper became The Sacramento Bee.
February 13, 2020 8:58 am
A man had to be rescued from his vehicle after it became stranded along a flooded portion of Marianna Ten Mile Road in West Bethlehem Township near Rudnick’s. Washington County 9-1-1 says three people were in the vehicle. Fire crews from Marianna and Lone Pine along with State Police responded. No identities have been released. The flooding resulted from heavy rains overnight. Officials are reminding motorists not to drive through flooded out roads.
February 13, 2020 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Michael Bloomberg says none of the other candidates in the Democratic primary field had answers when asked in last week’s debate why they’re better prepared than he is to take on President Donald Trump. Bloomberg campaigned in Nashville on Wednesday to mark the first day of early voting in Tennessee. The billionaire former New York City mayor says he has “workable and achievable plans” and knows how to get work done. He says he could provide health insurance to everyone by building on “Obamacare” and without massive tax increases. That’s a clear distinction with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary and has championed “Medicare for All.”
February 13, 2020 4:20 am
DENVER (AP) – Sen. Bernie Sanders’ strong showing in Democrats’ presidential contests in Iowa and New Hampshire is worrying members of the party back in Congress. Their concern: that the Vermont independent is a self-proclaimed socialist who embraces programs like Medicare for All. And that could scare away the very moderate voters that Democrats will need to protect their majority in the House and to give them a shot at gaining enough seats to win Senate control. Democrats are holding numerous nervous huddles about Sanders and his impact on them, but many say there’s little they can do but watch the primaries and hope.
