July 4, 2019 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A former police detective who fought for the extension of health benefits for Sept. 11 responders was hailed as a hero at his funeral. Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Wednesday Luis Alvarez was among the responders who did not hesitate to serve following the terrorist attacks. David Alvarez says before his father “became an American hero, he was mine.”
Pallbearers in police uniforms carried his flag-draped coffin out of the church. Alvarez died Saturday of colorectal cancer. He attributed his illness to the three months he spent digging in that rubble after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
July 4, 2019 4:08 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – An appeals court has upheld a freeze on Pentagon money to build a border wall with Mexico, casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s ability to make good on a signature campaign promise before the 2020 election. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with a lower court ruling that prevented the government from tapping Defense Department counterdrug money to build high-priority sections of wall in Arizona and New Mexico. Wednesday’s decision is a setback for Trump’s ambitious plans. He ended a 35-day government shutdown in February after Congress gave him far less than he wanted. He then declared a national emergency that the White House said would free billions of dollars from the Pentagon. The case may still be considered, but the administration cannot build during the legal challenge.
July 4, 2019 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A high-ranking Justice Department official is telling a federal judge that the Trump administration has not abandoned efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, even as the U.S. Census Bureau has started the process of printing the questionnaire without the controversial query. Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt says “there may be a legally available path” under last week’s Supreme Court decision that blocked the question, at least temporarily. Hunt made his comments on a conference call with U.S. District Judge George Hazel Wednesday afternoon, following a tweet from President Donald Trump insisting that efforts to include the citizenship question would proceed. The Justice Department had insisted to the Supreme Court that it needed the matter resolved by the end of June because it faced a deadline to begin printing census forms and other materials.
July 4, 2019 4:04 am
McCANDLESS TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) – A man is facing charges for allegedly exposing himself to people at North Park Swimming Pool in McCandless Township, police said. Christopher Steffy, 62, is accused of exposing himself at the pool on two occasions, once on Thursday, June 27 and again on Monday, July 1. When police were called to the pool Monday, Steffy was trying to leave on his bicycle and he claimed he had just been at the pool to swim laps, according to a criminal complaint. Two women were questioned about Steffy’s behavior. One of the women said she was sitting on a bench outside the men’s changing room when Steffy came to the doorway in his underwear and started swinging his hips, at which point he was exposed. “[I was] very shocked, as well with everyone else who witnessed it. It was unbelievable. We just couldn’t believe it,” one of the witnesses told 11 News. Steffy said Wednesday that the matter was a “wardrobe malfunction.” Police said Wednesday afternoon that an arrest warrant has been obtained for Steffy, who is facing charges of indecent exposure and open lewdness. “The individual in question is prohibited from entry to the county’s pools until further notice. Staff at our North Park Pool are familiar with him and will be on the lookout for him should he try to come to the facility. Similarly, information will be shared with the staff at our other pools as well,” Parks Director Andy Baechle said.
July 4, 2019 3:59 am
PAINT TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) – A Pennsylvania woman who had been missing for months was found buried at her own home this week, and Wednesday night police announced charges against her husband. In April, 46-year-old Cora Kline was reported missing, and, after a recent search of the property, state troopers found her remains under her trailer. “The troopers on scene obtained permission to search the property, and during that search we discovered what we believed to be indicators of a burial site underneath the structure of the residence,” Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Cliff Greenfield said. Investigators won’t say what led them back to her house, but they did say they identified her through photographs of her tattoos. Her husband, 48-year-old James Kline, faces criminal homicide, aggravated assault, strangulation, abuse of a corpse, simple assault, false reports to police and tampering with and fabricating evidence, according to police. Investigators say they believe James Kline strangled his wife before burying her body.
July 4, 2019 3:54 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A new Pennsylvania law says task forces that use officers from different municipalities will no longer have to comply with a requirement that each municipality pass an ordinance authorizing participation. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday signed the bill that was crafted in response to a May decision by the state Supreme Court. The new law says police and agents with the attorney general’s office can participate in task forces as long as their departments have given their consent. The bill passed both legislative chambers overwhelmingly and the task force provisions took effect immediately. The high court’s decision concerned a 2013 sobriety checkpoint in the Pittsburgh area.
July 4, 2019 3:52 am
CANONSBURG, PA – Another successful Canonsburg 4th of July Parade rolled through town, after a protest sparked controversy over the event earlier in the week. A social justice group wanted to relay the concerns of the welfare for minorities in Washington County to the public, and initially the group was looking to shut down the parade. Trey Willis of Washington led the group #Justice4ALL RALLY and claimed that the protest would be peaceful. After meeting with officials Wednesday, both sides came to a resolution to let protesters march in the parade to ensure their voices were heard. Willis has recently staged several demonstrations in connection with the shooting of a juvenile at the Regal Crown Center Theatre at Washington Crown Center Mall in North Franklin Township. Willis says the protests are designed to bring awareness to what he calls the light treatment of those accused of violence against black citizens.. The parade also commemorated former Mayor Anthony Colaizzo who recently passed away earlier this year at the age of 88. The parade committee wore Colaizzo’s signature bow ties and Panama hats during the event.
July 3, 2019 4:28 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Actor Arte Johnson, who won an Emmy for comedy sketch work on the television show “Laugh-In,” has died in Los Angeles. He was 90. Family representative Harlan Boll says Johnson died early Wednesday of heart failure following a three-year battle with bladder and prostate cancer. No services have been planned, but his ashes will be spread in a private ceremony. Johnson became known for his catchphrase “Verrry interesting” on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” The Michigan native won an Emmy in 1969 and was nominated two more times through his work on the hit show. One of his characters was Wolfgang, a cigarette-smoking German soldier who thought World War II was still going on. Johnson’s other television appearances include “Bewitched,” “The Partridge Family,” “Lost in Space” and “The Donna Reed Show.”
July 3, 2019 3:39 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania officials are accusing a medical marijuana growing company of failing to follow regulations that require it to keep records about the plants it grows. The state Health Department said Tuesday it ordered Carmichaels-based AGRiMED Industries of PA to stop harvesting or destroying plants outside the presence of an agency inspector. The department says it found during an inspection on June 6 that AGRiMED couldn’t produce records about the plants it has destroyed, or required security footage of any plants being destroyed. A company spokesman says it’s identified “numerous inaccuracies” in the findings and takes compliance matters seriously. The state says the company can continue to grow marijuana but can’t remove anything from the plants without an inspector watching. It also may not turn off security equipment without written permission.
July 3, 2019 3:24 pm
What was supposed to be a protest that would “shut down the Canonsburg Fourth of July Parade,” has now changed to a “Peaceful Presentation.” Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome tells WJPA News that he and Canonsburg Police Chief Al Coghill met Wednesday with the organizer of the #Justice4ALL RALLY, Trey Willis, and he has agreed that the group’s planned demonstration on Thursday will be a peaceful presentation. Rhome would not go into detail about exactly what that would entail, saying only that he and Willis shook hands and he’s confident that Willis will honor his end of the deal. Willis has recently staged several demonstrations in connection with the shooting of a juvenile at the Regal Crown Center Theatre at Washington Crown Center Mall in North Franklin Township. Willis says the protests are designed to bring awareness to what he calls the light treatment of those accused of violence against black citizens, pointing his finger specifically at the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Gene Vittone however, questioned Willis’ motivation, saying that Willis just completed a four to ten year jail term for his conviction on aggravated assault and robbery charges and believes he may not be a fan of the district attorney’s office.
