February 23, 2020 7:53 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Students at the University of Pittsburgh are fighting to protect the planet. All night long Friday, members of the campus’ Fossil Free Pitt Coalition stayed up calling on the school to not invest in fossil fuels. They occupied the main floor of the famous Cathedral of Learning. The school’s board of trustees is set to meet on Feb. 28 to vote on this issue. “It is heavily toxic, it damages communities (and) it poisons our water and soil – not just all over the world but especially right her in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Anais Peterson, the organizer of this event. According to the group, Pitt hasn’t been transparent regarding its multi-billion endowment, and organizers cite an investigative report from The Guardian – which accused the university of investing millions into the fossil fuel industry.
February 23, 2020 7:51 am
ASPINWALL, Pa. (WPXI)— Six people were taken to the hospital after a crash involving a Port Authority bus in Aspinwall. Emergency responders said the crash happened on the on-ramp of the Highland Park Bridge from Freeport Road around 3 p.m. Saturday. Police, firefighters and medics all were called to the crash. PAT officials confirmed a PAT bus and another car collided. It’s unclear what caused the crash, but officials said six people were taken via ambulance to the hospital. Their conditions were not released.
February 23, 2020 7:44 am
APOLLO, Pa. (WPXI) — Crews rushed to a Westmoreland County park after reports that a raft overturned, sending several people into the water Saturday afternoon. Emergency officials pulled two teens out of the semi-frozen lake after their inflatable raft tipped over. The boys were in the water for about a half hour before they could be pulled out. Rescuers were unsure of what caused the boat to lose air and it was unclear if the ice on the water was to blame. The water was estimated to be about 30 degrees and 15 feet deep where the boys were. The incident occurred at the lake at Northmoreland Park. The lake is 17 acres and stocked every by the fish and boat commission. Canoeing and kayaking is only allowed between May and October. Park officials said no watercraft is allowed on the water at this time of year. The two teens were taken to an area hospital to be treated for cold-water exposure.
February 23, 2020 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal judge is starting the process of figuring out how the Harrisburg Roman Catholic Diocese will remain functioning and able to pay its bills while its 2-day-old bankruptcy filing inches ahead. The judge heard from lawyers for the diocese and the bankruptcy trustee about the church’s intertwined financial operations, including the widespread use of its federal employer identification number by schools, parishes and other entities. An attorney for the diocese says it’s located 79 bank accounts for such diverse uses as a high school cafeteria and a basketball boosters’ club. The exact balances in those accounts haven’t yet been established.
February 22, 2020 4:14 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The jury deliberating in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial has indicated that it is deadlocked on the most serious charges. Jurors asked Friday if they could be hung on two counts of predatory sexual assault while reaching a unanimous verdict on other charges. After consulting with prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers, Judge James Burke told the jury of seven men and five women to keep working toward a unanimous verdict on all charges. Weinstein’s lawyers said they would accept a partial verdict, but prosecutors said no and Burke refused to allow it. Weinstein is facing charges stemming from allegations that he raped two women and sexually assaulted a third. Weinstein has maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.
February 22, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials and experts say that hopes for ending America’s longest war hinge on maintaining a weeklong fragile truce in Afghanistan that will be difficult to assess and fraught with pitfalls. In a country that has been wracked by violence for more than 18 years, determining if the agreement has been violated will be a tough task. And there are a number of other groups and elements in the country that would love to see the deal fall through. The weeklong “reduction in violence” agreement began at midnight Friday local time. If successful, it will be followed by the signing of a peace accord on Feb. 29.
February 22, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Just weeks into the 2020 election cycle, intelligence officials have concluded that Russia already is actively interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign. Intelligence experts say Russia is not only hoping to help President Donald Trump, as in 2016, but also to help the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race. The intelligence experts say the Russians have a deeper motive than just reelecting Trump. They want to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the U.S. elections and stir general chaos in American politics. Lawmakers were told in a classified briefing last week that Russia is taking steps aimed at helping Trump, and Sanders acknowledged Friday that he was briefed last month.
February 22, 2020 4:10 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea has reported a six-fold jump in viral infections in four days to 346, most of them linked to a church and a hospital in and around the fourth-largest city where health workers scrambled to screen more than 9,000 worshipers. There’s concern that the death toll, currently at two, could grow. The vice health minister says virus patients with signs of pneumonia or other serious condition from the Cheongdo hospital were transferred to other facilities, 17 of them critical. He says the outbreak entered a serious new phase, but still expressed hope it can be contained to the southeastern Daegu region. In some positive news, China’s daily count fell to 397 cases, though another 109 people died of the disease.
February 22, 2020 4:09 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) -Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is lumping the “Democratic establishment” in with the corporate and Republican one and saying they can’t stop him. Sanders is the favorite in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses after winning New Hampshire and essentially tying for first in Iowa. His rivals and some party centrists have become alarmed that the self-declared democratic socialist could win the nomination as his opponents split the non-Sanders vote.Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. In Nevada he has stressed his independence from the party. On Friday night he went further yet. He said the establishment was “getting worried” about a multiracial coalition that wants higher wages and health care.
February 22, 2020 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Penn State and the family of former head football coach Joe Paterno say they have resolved “outstanding issues.” The chairman of the university board read a statement at a meeting Friday announcing the deal. The school says it has agreed to pay “certain of the Paterno family’s expenses” and wishes to move forward. The amount was not disclosed. The statue of the revered coach will not return to its place outside the football stadium. It ends a lawsuit against Penn State by Paterno’s son Jay over a university-commissioned report into the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. Joe Paterno died in 2012.
