October 17, 2019 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A former western Pennsylvania church administrator has pleaded guilty to stealing 1.2 million that prosecutors say he and his wife used to pay for vacations, sports tickets and other personal expenses Fifty-year-old David Reiter pleaded guilty Wednesday to receiving stolen property, theft, forgery, access device fraud, tampering with records and unlawful use of a computer. He pleaded no contest to conspiring with his wife, who faces trial next year. Allegheny County prosecutors say the money was stolen over the course of about 17 years from the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair, where Reiter had been administrator since 2001. David Reiter will be sentenced Jan. 14. Common Pleas Judge Jeffery Manning signed a restitution order Wednesday requiring him to pay back more than $1.2 million.
October 17, 2019 3:31 am
State Police in Greene County are investigating a fatal accident that happened early Wednesday morning. Troopers say 21-year-old Ryan Matthew Lohr was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling west on Route 21 near the intersection with Oak Forest Road around one o’clock, when he climbed on top of the car and was riding on the roof. Police say Lohr fell off the car and into the path of another vehicle. Police say he was killed instantly.
October 16, 2019 3:13 pm
Two of Independent Professional Baseball’s oldest and most established Leagues are pleased to announce that they will join forces. Beginning with the 2020 season, five former members of the Can-Am League will merge into the Frontier League. Members of the Frontier League and the new teams from the Can-Am League will make up the 14 team circuit. The New Jersey Jackals, Quebec Capitales, Rockland Boulders, Sussex County Miners and Trois-Rivieres Aigles will play in the Can-Am Division. The Washington Wild Things and Lake Erie Crushers will join the Division as well. The seven remaining teams will make up the West Division of the Frontier League. Those teams are the Evansville Otters, Florence Freedom, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers, Southern Illinois Miners, and the Windy City ThunderBolts. The Washington Wild Things will play in the Can Am Division, which will take them to the New Jersey Shore and north into Quebec City in Canada. Wildthings owner Stu Williams is excited about the new league but looks to other possibilities that baseball teams can take advantage of. He would like to see about putting together a concert series that would play in each of the 14 cities in the league. The New League will be known as the Frontier league and they will play a 96 game schedule beginning on May 14th and ending on the Sunday before Labor Day.
October 16, 2019 11:47 am
DETROIT (AP) – The United Auto Workers and General Motors have reached a tentative contract agreement that could end a monthlong strike that brought the automaker’s U.S. factories to a standstill. The deal was hammered out Wednesday but it won’t immediately end the strike by more than 49,000 workers. They’re likely to stay on the picket lines at least a few more days until union committees vote on the deal. The entire membership also must vote. Details of the four-year agreement have yet to be released. Workers left their jobs early Sept. 16. They wanted a bigger share of GM’s profits, job security and a path to permanent jobs for temporary workers. The company wanted to reduce labor costs so they’re closer to U.S. factories run by foreign automakers.
October 16, 2019 5:50 am
The Washington opioid overdose coalition met publicly last night to discuss various topics pertaining to the opioid epidemic in Washington county. Six different speakers discussed how addiction and overdoses are being handled in the area. Executive director of the Washington drug and alcohol commission and co-chair of the Washington opioid overdose coalition, Cheryl Andrews explained that the group will be meeting next month (11/15) to build on the next three years. Research Specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, Program Evaluation and Research Unit, Dane Miller shared pertinent information regarding Washington County data, while also displaying how the county is ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the state. Amy Kisner, Certified Recovery Specialist with the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission spoke from a recovery perspective. Kisner discussed her thoughts on the correlation between mental health issues and opioid usage. In 2019, overdose deaths in Washington county are down 24 percent compared to last year.
October 16, 2019 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has overwhelmingly voted its bipartisan condemnation of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria. Despite stark divisions over Democrats’ Trump impeachment inquiry, Democrats and Republicans banded together Wednesday and approved a nonbinding resolution by 354-60 vote. The resolution states Congress’ opposition to the troop pullback and says Turkey should cease its military action in Syria. And the measure says the White House should present a plan for an “enduring defeat” of the Islamic State group. Many worry that IS may revive itself as Turkish forces attack Syrian Kurds holding the extremists. The House debate was extraordinary for the intensity of lawmakers’ opinions. Republicans called the troop withdrawal “disastrous” and a “catastrophe.” Democrats criticized Trump directly, with Rep. Seth Moulton saying Trump “has taken the side of dictators and butchers.”
October 16, 2019 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says “all roads seem to lead to Putin” when it comes to President Donald Trump. The California Democrat told reporters Tuesday that nevertheless, she’s not going to call for a formal House vote on impeachment. Trump has said that without a vote, the ongoing impeachment inquiry is “illegitimate.” But Pelosi says “we’re not here to call bluffs” and “this is not a game to us.” She adds that when it comes to Trump, “all roads seem to lead to” Russian President Vladimir Putin. The House’s lead investigator, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, says the White House has ordered the Defense Department to not comply with a subpoena for documents. He says such moves mean “the case for obstruction of Congress continues to build.”
October 16, 2019 4:18 am
HONG KONG (AP) – China says it will take countermeasures after the U.S. House of Representatives passed three bills showing support for protesters in Hong Kong. China’s foreign ministry said Wednesday in a statement posted to its website that the issues facing Hong Kong right now are not “so-called human rights and democracy,” but rather violence. China said the House “ignores the facts, inverts black and white” and applies double standards to crimes like arson and vandalizing shops in the name of human rights and democracy. If the bill is passed, China says, it will not only damage Sino-U.S. relations, but also harm U.S. interests in Hong Kong. The semi-autonomous Chinese city has been rocked by anti-government demonstrations for four months.
October 16, 2019 4:16 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to surmount U.S.-led sanctions he says have inflicted “many hardships and trials” on his country. State media on Wednesday showed Kim riding a white horse to climb Mount Paektu. The highest peak on the Korean Peninsula is considered sacred by North Koreans, and Kim often visited the mountain before making major decisions such as his 2018 entrance into diplomacy with Seoul and Washington. The Korean Central News Agency says Kim also visited nearby construction sites and complained about sanctions imposed on his country because of its nuclear weapons program. He was quoted as saying “the pain the U.S.-led anti-(North Korea) hostile forces inflicted upon the Korean people … turned into their anger.” The North Korea-U.S. nuclear talks broke down earlier this month.
October 16, 2019 4:15 am
The Federal Communications Commission has approved the $26.5 billion combination of Sprint and T-Mobile on a 3-2 party-line vote. The wireless merger still faces opposition from a coalition of state attorneys general, who argue the deal is bad for competition. The companies won’t merge while litigation persists. The antitrust trial is scheduled to start in New York in December, an unusual situation given that the Trump administration’s Justice Department approved the deal. The FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, a Republican, backed it months ago citing the companies’ promise to build out a next-generation 5G network to many rural areas, improving internet access. The Democratic commissioners say going from four to three major wireless companies will mean higher prices for consumers. They say it will be difficult to enforce promises made by T-Mobile and Sprint.
