December 21, 2019 4:39 am
Former WPXI meteorologist Kevin Benson will stand trial on multiple charges related to his arrest for drunk driving. Benson, during his preliminary hearing on Friday, waived his charges to court. The 60-year-old Benson, who lives in Cecil, faces misdemeanor DUI charges, along with three counts of drunken driving and four traffic violations in connection with a September incident in South Strabane Township in Washington County. Authorities say a motorist had called 911 to report an erratic driver traveling north on Interstate 79 near the interchange with Interstate 70. Blood test results found that Benson’s blood alcohol content was .31 – almost four times the legal limit of .08. Police say the results also showed an inactive metabolite found in cocaine. Benson is due in court for a hearing at the Washington County Courthouse on March 26th. He remains free on $2500 unsecured bail.
December 21, 2019 4:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is blasting a prominent Christian magazine that published an editorial arguing that he should be removed from office. The essay in Christianity Today cited what it called Trump’s “blackened moral record.” Trump tweeted that the publication would prefer a radical left nonbeliever who “wants to take your religion & your guns.” The magazine was founded by the late Billy Graham. Some of Trump’s strongest evangelical supporters, including Graham’s son, rallied to his side and against the publication. Their pushback underscored Trump’s hold on the evangelical voting bloc that helped propel him into office.
December 21, 2019 4:33 am
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed off on nearly $1.4 trillion in spending that will keep the government funded through Sept. 30. The spending measures add roughly $400 billion to the deficit over the next decade. they include money for the president’s U.S.-Mexico border fence, pay raises for military and civilian federal workers, and funding for election security grants. The signing of the massive spending measures spares Washington the possibility of a partial government shutdown. Trump spent last Christmas in Washington while he was at loggerheads with Democrats over funding for the border fence.
December 21, 2019 4:31 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has escaped the chill of Washington and his impeachment to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Florida with family and friends. One thing he isn’t celebrating is the delay in his Senate impeachment trial. Trump flew to his Palm Beach resort on Friday, two days after the House impeached him. But the Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders have yet to agree on trial procedure. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn’t plan to send the two articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate until she knows more about the process. One of Trump’s Republican allies says he’s “mad as hell” about the development.
December 21, 2019 4:26 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s jobless rate crept up slightly in November, even as the number of nonfarm jobs hit a new record high. The state Labor and Industry Department said Friday the rate last month was 4.3%, up one-tenth of a percentage point from October. The national rate dropped slightly in November, to 3.5%. Pennsylvania has nearly 6.1 million jobs and is seeing the largest increase in leisure and hospitality employment.
December 21, 2019 4:25 am
DETROIT (AP) – A Pittsburgh-area official accused of obstructing police at a Detroit hotel will face a second trial in April on the felony charge. A jury in November couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of Chelsa Wagner, the elected controller in Allegheny County. She was acquitted of disturbing the peace, a separate misdemeanor. Wagner, a Democrat, was accused of interfering with police as officers tried to remove her husband from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel last March. They were in Detroit to attend a concert. A judge set a new trial for April 20.
December 20, 2019 4:55 pm
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – A police chief in North Carolina says a deadly shooting at a city building was an act of “workplace violence.” Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson says the gunman at a city building was killed during a gunfight with police officers who responded to the scene. She says the gunman was a 61-year-old city employee who shot and killed another employee whom he had targeted. Another city employee and a police officer were also wounded.
December 20, 2019 2:41 pm
(AP) – Health officials say they believe the “vast majority” of cases in the U.S. vaping illness outbreak have been tied to vitamin E acetate. That’s a thickening agent added to illicit THC vaping liquids.áOfficials also said Friday that vaping illnesses can get worse, even deadly, after patients leave the hospital and doctors should check on patients within two days of sending them home. The nation’s outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries continues. But new cases are on the decline. More than 2,500 cases have been reported across the nation. There have been 54 deaths.
December 20, 2019 11:32 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut Kameron Kelly after his arrest Friday morning outside a South Side bar. Kelly, the Steelers reserve safety, is facing multiple charges following an alleged altercation with police at a bar. The 23-year-old Kelly has been charged with two counts of making terroristic threats and one count of resisting arrest. Authorities say they were called to the bar after an employee reported Kelly was becoming disorderly. Police say the employee told them Kelly had threatened to punch him for skipping Kelly’s selection on the jukebox. The situation escalated when an officer stepped on the foot of Kelly’s female companion. Police say Kelly began resisting arrest and was punched multiple times by an officer.
December 20, 2019 7:27 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – At least one person is presumed dead and another is missing in an explosion and fire that rocked a Philadelphia neighborhood. More than 100 firefighters battled flames that shot out the tops of the homes in south Philadelphia. Three row houses collapsed, and two others sustained heavy damage. Firefighters tried rescuing someone trapped in the debris but were unable to reach the victim. Officials say a second person in an adjacent building remains missing. The cause is under investigation.
