November 20, 2019 2:00 am
DETROIT (AP) – A jury has acquitted a Pittsburgh-area elected official of disturbing the peace but couldn’t reach a verdict on a felony charge of obstructing police at a Detroit hotel. Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner was accused of interfering with police as officers tried to remove her husband, Khari Mosley, from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel last March. They were in Detroit to attend a concert. The jury delivered the verdict Wednesday. It’s not known if Wagner will face a second trial. Hotel staff had called 911 to report that Mosley was alone and unruly in the bar. Police say Wagner was drunk in her room and that she boasted about her job. She denied being drunk during her testimony Tuesday. Wagner, a Democrat, was recently re-elected to a third term.
November 19, 2019 5:15 pm
CLEVELAND (AP) – A judge overseeing 2,500 federal lawsuits related to the nation’s opioid crisis has scheduled a trial for late next year over the role played by major pharmacy chains. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland ruled Tuesday that he would hear a case next October brought by Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio against CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, HBC and Discount Drug Mart. He also recommended that other cases be transferred to Chicago, San Francisco and Oklahoma. He plans to transfer a case soon to West Virginia. Polster was scheduled to hear a case last month, but most parties settled. Talks continue toward a possible national settlement that could end all the lawsuits related to the epidemic, which has killed more than 400,000 in the U.S. since 2000.
November 19, 2019 4:25 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – New York has joined the ranks of states suing the nation’s biggest e-cigarette maker. Attorney General Letitia James today announced the lawsuit against San Francisco based JUUL Labs. It alleges the company used deceptive and misleading marketing of its e-cigarettes, contributing to a youth vaping epidemic.
November 19, 2019 4:20 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Two jail guards charged with falsifying prison records the night Jeffrey Epstein killed himself have pleaded not guilty. A grand jury indictment made public Tuesday accused guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas of failing to perform checks on Epstein every half hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to show they had. Noel and Thomas will both be released on $100,000 bond. A lawyer for Thomas, Montell Figgins, said earlier Tuesday both guards are being “scapegoated.” Epstein was found dead in his cell in August as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide. Federal prosecutors say security camera footage proves Jeffrey Epstein was alone in his cell the night he killed himself. The 66-year-old financier’s death in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges prompted conspiracy theories from people who don’t accept the official ruling that the death was a suicide.
November 19, 2019 1:34 pm
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – A group of criminals are targeting women in our area and across the country, in order to steal purses and money. Financial institutions have dubbed them the “Felony Lane Gang.” The criminals take bank cards and IDs, dress up like the person they’ve stolen from and use the lane farthest away from the teller’s window to steal money. Police say they’ve struck in more than 30 states. They work in groups and often recruit women to impersonate a victim by wearing disguises. The gang is so widespread across the country, a group of moms have now formed their own task force on social media to get the word out. They post photos of suspects smashing and grabbing from state to state. In 2016, the FBI said the Felony Lane Gang was responsible for smash and grabs, and identity fraud in more than 34 states. The agency’s best advice for anyone going to the gym early in the morning is to not have any personal belongings visible in their car. Police were able to identify one of the suspects, Emily Helmer from Florida, who is also wanted in Philadelphia by three different police departments. Bethel Park police said Helmer couldn’t help them identify any of her accomplices, claiming she only knows the men by their nicknames.
November 19, 2019 12:19 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Disney says its new Disney Plus streaming service doesn’t have a security breach, but some users have been shut out after hackers tried to break into their accounts. The news site ZDNet found stolen account usernames and passwords selling for $3 on underground hacking forums. Disney’s streaming service costs $7 a month or $70 a year. Disney says there’s no indication of a security breach on Disney Plus. It says it takes the privacy and security of users’ data seriously. It’s likely hackers found email and password combinations re-used by Disney Plus subscribers after they’d previously been stolen from other online services. Disney Plus hasn’t said how many subscribers have had security problems. The new service attracted 10 million subscribers the day it launched earlier this month.
November 19, 2019 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – As impeachment hearings resume on Capitol Hill, House Democrats are preparing to choose who will lead the powerful Oversight and Reform Committee. The panel plays a key role in the ongoing impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Three veteran lawmakers, including the acting chairwoman, Carolyn Maloney of New York, are seeking to replace the late Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who died last month. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and Gerry Connolly of Virginia also are seeking the post. The House Democratic Steering Committee will make a recommendation on Tuesday, with the full caucus set to vote Wednesday. Maloney lost out to Cummings as the committee’s top Democrat a decade ago. She’s seen as the front-runner this time around. Now 73, Maloney is her in 14th term representing Manhattan.
November 19, 2019 4:18 am
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – An attack on a family party in California’s Central Valley that left four people dead and six wounded has spurred shock and fear in the close-knit Hmong community. Police say at least two gunmen entered a Fresno backyard Sunday evening and fired at a group of men watching football on TV outdoors. The dead include Xy Lee, a well-known Hmong singer and musician. Police haven’t identified a motive or suspects. They say the victims haven’t been linked to gangs. Police Chief Andrew Hall says the shooters appeared to target the house but fired randomly at the victims. About 25,000 Hmong, an ethnic group originally from Laos, live in Fresno. Community members say the shooting has left them wondering what happened and how they can protect themselves and their families from further violence.
November 19, 2019 4:17 am
BOSTON (AP) – “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband are contesting expanded charges against them in the college admissions bribery scandal. Lawyers for Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli entered not guilty pleas on their behalf Tuesday to charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. Earlier this month, the couple waived their right to appear in federal court in Boston to answer to the latest counts. Prosecutors added the bribery charge for 11 parents who previously pleaded not guilty in the case. Another 19 parents have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so. Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as fake athletic recruits. Their daughters no longer attend USC. The couple previously pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering.
November 19, 2019 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman says there is no ambiguity that President Donald Trump wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to commit to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden on a July phone call. Vindman testified in a House impeachment hearing that there was no ambiguity about Trump’s use of the word “Biden” in the phone call, which is at the heart of the Democrats’ impeachment probe. Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate the former vice president and his son, Hunter Biden, who was linked to a gas company in Ukraine. In contrast, the hearing’s other witness said Vice President Mike Pence did not request the investigations in his own conversations with Zelenskiy. Jennifer Williams, a State Department employee detailed to Pence’s office, said he never brought up the investigations. (Photo: CNN)
