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.
November 13, 2019 1:52 pm
(AP) – Record throngs of travelers are expected to jam into airports over the Thanksgiving break and airlines are adding hundreds of flights a day in response. The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that it expects to screen more than 26.8 million passengers between Nov. 22 and Dec. 2, a 4% increase over last year. The busiest days figure to be the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. The lightest day? That’s expected to be the holiday itself. TSA says it will offer overtime to screeners to keep checkpoints adequately staffed.
November 13, 2019 4:27 am
Two people escaped a house fire overnight in Nottingham Township. A total of five fire companies responded to the blaze at 83 Barr Road just after 11 p.m. Finleyville Fire officials tell our news partners at Channel-11 that the fire began in the chimney. Two adults were alerted by smoke detectors and got out safely. It took fire crews nearly forty-five minutes to bring the fire under control. The fire was contained to the chimney area but the home was uninhabitable because of smoke and water damage. The Red Cross is now assisting.
November 13, 2019 4:20 am
It was a busy afternoon for North Franklin Supervisors on Tuesday. The afternoon started with what was described as a contentious meeting between property owners of Bob Evans, Guttman Oil, and Rite Aid on W. Chestnut Street. All parties tried to hammer out an agreement to repair a failed storm water pipe that has caused flooding in the area since 2017. An agreement was not reached and supervisors made it clear that they want the issue cleared up before anyone is injured due to the flooding that regularly occurs after a rainstorm. Supervisors describe the property owners for Guttman Oil and Bob Evans to be cooperative, but Rite Aid’s land owners are seemingly trying to tie the issue up in the courts. Supervisors will meet again with all parties next week. In other township business, supervisors got good news from an arbitration case involving former Police Officer Jerry Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh filed a grievance against the township in 2018 for a suspension of 30 days due to allegations of sexual harassment. The arbiter found that the suspension was reasonable and decided in favor of North Franklin Township. In other police department news, the arbitration case against the police union continues. A decision is hoped for in January of 2020. Supervisor Bob Sabot looks at the issue as the union trying to hold the citizens hostage. Supervisors will wait out the contract until the end of 2020 if necessary. If an agreement is reached or the contract expires, North Franklin will then look into subcontracting for police protection.
