November 6, 2019 4:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The State Department’s third-ranking official is expected to tell Congress that political considerations were behind the agency’s refusal to deliver a robust defense of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. People familiar with the matter say the highest-ranking career diplomat in the foreign service, David Hale, plans to tell congressional impeachment investigators on Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other senior officials determined that defending Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch would hurt the effort to free up U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. Hale will also say that the State Department worried about the reaction from Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also one of the strongest advocates for removing the ambassador. The officials are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
November 6, 2019 3:59 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s bitter race for governor went into overtime as Democrat Andy Beshear declared victory while Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, a close ally of President Donald Trump, refused to concede with results showing he trailed by a few thousand votes. Kentucky has some sorting out to do before inaugurating its next governor. With 100% of precincts reporting, Beshear – the state’s attorney general and the son of Kentucky’s last Democratic governor, Steve Beshear – had a lead of 5,333 votes out of more than 1.4 million counted, or a margin of nearly 0.4 percentage points. The Associated Press has not declared a winner. In competing speeches late Tuesday, Beshear claimed victory while Bevin refused to concede. Bevin hinted there might be “irregularities” to look into but didn’t offer specifics.
November 6, 2019 1:08 am
Washington County Election Results
Washington County Republicans won control of the Board of Commissioners and every row office on the general election ballot with unofficial results in from all 180 precincts late Tuesday night. Incumbent Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan was elected to a seventh term with 23,489 votes, most among the four candidates. Democrat Larry Maggi was second with 21,662, followed by Republican Nick Sherman (20,342) and incumbent Harlan Shober, Jr. (17,845). Sherman passed Shober about one-third of the way through the evening and increased his margin over the two-term Democrat through the rest of the night.
District Attorney Gene Vittone easily turned back his Democrat challenger, Jacob Mihalov, 28,200 to 16,277, to win a third four-year term as the County’s chief prosecutor.
Republican James Roman edged Suzanne Archer, 22,468 to 21,709 to take over for the retiring Register of Wills Mary Jo Poknis.
Longtime Democrat Treasurer Francis King is also retiring. His office will be taken by Republican Tom Flickinger, a 23,142 to 21,075 winner over Deputy Treasurer Lisa Carpenter.
An audit outlining nearly $100,000 dollars in unaccounted for funds in the Clerk of Courts Office and an on-going State Police investigation into the matter, proved far too much for Democrat incumbent Frank Scandale to overcome, losing to former Washington City Mayor Brenda Davis, 24,158 to 18,618. Davis’ vote total was second only to Vittone.
A newcomer to the county political scene, two-term West Pike Run Township Supervisor Laura Hough defeated incumbent Democrat Prothonotary Joy Schury Ranko, 22,544 to 21,388. Hough trailed until the 120-precinct tally then put enough distance on the 17-year office veteran to win.
Jim Saieva will succeed David Mark as Magisterial District Judge (27-1-01) in Canonsburg, Chartiers, Houston and Canton, beating Chuckie Tenney, 3,029 to 2,905.
Incumbent County Coroner Tim Warco was unopposed, joining Maggi as the only Democrats to win county-wide races. Traci McDonald-Kemp was officially elected as the County’s newest Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Eric Porter and Michael Manfredi won unopposed elections to succeed retiring Magisterial District Judges and Joshua Kanalis was reelected to his magistrate post.
Greene County Election Results
Greene County results in contested races mirrored those in Washington County. Republicans Mike Belding and Betsy Rohanna-McClure finished 1-2 in the race, more than a thousand votes ahead of Democrat incumbent Blair Zimmerman. Fellow Democrat incumbent Dave Coder was a distant fourth.
In-fighting between rival Democrats opened the door for Republican David Russo to win the District Attorney’s race over Jessica Phillips and a hearty write-in campaign by Patrick Fitch. Phillips beat Fitch in the primary election to be listed on the ballot. Combined, the two Democrats garnered 5,700 votes, far more than Russo’s plurality of 3,371.
The other Greene County Row Offices were filled by unopposed candidates including Clerk of Courts, Treasurer, Controller, Register of Wills/Recorder of Deeds and Prothonotary. Incumbent Sheriff Marcus Simms was elected to vacancy left by the death of Brian Tennant. The Sheriff position will be on the ballot again in 2021 for a full, four-year term.
November 6, 2019 12:42 am
All numbers are unofficial and do not include write-ins, provisional or absentee ballots. Only contested races (not including write-in candidates) are listed.
Vote for 1 unless otherwise listed.
Avella Area, Region III (vote for 2)
Summer Miller (R) 239, Jeffrey Devenney (R) 181, Terry Jacobs (D) 180
Bentworth (vote for 5)
John Marchezak (D/R) 1,321, Betty Bellicini (D/R) 1,115, Nancy Brady (D/R) 1,110, Adam McMurray (D/R) 1,092, Michael Manning (R) 859, Colleen Webeck (D) 791
Chartiers-Houston (vote for 5)
Richard Caumo (D/R) 1,544, Michael Kolovich (D/R) 1,516, Laurie Popeck (D/R) 1,511, Jay Johnson (D/R) 1,507, Christopher Hess (R) 1,456, Joseph Politan (D) 1019
Fort Cherry (vote for 5)
Louis Ursitz (D/R) 1,193, Jodi Nation McKay (D/R0 1,157, Juliann Sepesy (D/R) 1,153, Melinda Longstretch Errett (D/R) 1,098, Beverly Ann Schwab (D/R) 901, Cory Matchett (Ind) 784
McGuffey, Region II (vote for 2)
Scott Harden (R) 591, Zonie Shingle Jackson (D/R) 518, Jason Kern (D) 349
Ringgold At-Large, 4 years (vote for 3)
Gene Kennedy (D/R) 3,460, Harley Bobnar (R) 2,716, William Stein, Jr. (R) 2,697, Gail Glaneman (D) 2,508, Jason Gerard (D) 2,350
Ringgold At-Large, 2 years
Harley Bobnar (R) 2,794, Gail Glaneman (D) 2,488
Washington (vote for 5)
John Campbell (D/R) 1,770, Marsha Pleta (D/R) 1,613, Amy Roberts (D/R) 1,578, Dana Shiller (D/R) 1,551, Karen Ruby (D) 1,229, Troy Breese (R) 946
November 6, 2019 12:30 am
All numbers are unofficial and do not include write-ins, provisional or absentee ballots. Only contested races (not including write-in candidates) are listed.
Vote for 1 unless otherwise listed.
City of Washington–Mayor
Scott Putnam (D) 1,058, Mark Kennison (R) 905
City of Washington–Council (vote for 2)
Ken Westcott (D) 1,106, Joe Pintola (D) 1,000, Joe DeThomas (R) 776, Dana Hammond (R) 703
City of Monongahela–Mayor
Gregory Garry (D) 592, Claudia William (R) 335
City of Monongahela–Council (vote for 2)
Kenneth Kulak (D) 529, Daryl Miller (D) 487, Chad DeSantis (L) 376
Amwell Township Supervisor
Dee Frazee, Sr. (R) 431, James Ross (D) 372
Buffalo Township Supervisor
James Arbore, Jr. (D) 256, Tim Doman (R) 237
Burgettstown–Borough Council, 4 years (vote for 2)
Phillip Esno (D) 182, Annie Hull (R) 111, Kenneth McKinney (D) 90, James McGuiddy, Jr. (R) 87
Cecil Township Supervisor
Cindy Fisher (D) 1,831, Darlene Barni (R) 1,523
Chartiers Township Supervisor
Bronwyn Maggi-Kolovich (D) 1,068, Anthony Spin (R) 1,010
East Bethlehem Commissioner At-Large
Jason Henck (D) 245, Marta Jo McCombs (R) 219
Hopewell Township Supervisor, 2 years
Rick Moore (R) 161, John Miller (D) 95
Marianna–Borough Council, 2 years (vote for 2)
Timothy Burnsworth (D) 41, Fremont Lesnick (R) 41, Anita Kadlecek (D) 30, Stephen Matiyasic (R) 16
McDonald–Borough Council, 4 years (vote for 4)
Thomas McQuillan (D) 207, Tom Rockwell (D) 189, Elmo Cecchetti II (D) 185, Phillip Boggs (R) 182, Michael Schaal (R) 169
New Eagle–Borough Council, 4 years (vote for 2)
Saundra Bobnar (R) 222, Tanya Chaney (D) 216, William Sherry (R) 212, Barry Williams (D) 194
North Charleroi–Borough Council, 4 years (vote for 3)
Cynthia Randall (R) 162, Carrie Zeletski (D) 149, David Diess (D) 120, Joseph Duche (D) 114, Stacey Wolfe (R) 100
North Franklin Township Supervisor
Mike Quinn (R) 669, Richard Haskey (D) 415
North Strabane Township Supervisor
Emily Holmes (D) 1,763, Robert Balogh (R) 1,619
Peters Township Council At-Large (vote for 2)
Frank Kosir, Jr. (R) 3,078, Robert Lewis (R) 3,006, Julie Bramer Cantrell (D) 2,091
Robinson Township Supervisor
Christopher Amodeo (R) 199, Rodger Kendall (D) 188
South Franklin Township Supervisor
Robert Leibhart (R) 486, Mark Knestrick (D) 215
South Strabane Township Supervisor
Mark Murphy (R) 1,439, Kathy Pienkowski (D) 994
Union Township Supervisor, 6 years
Charles Trax (R) 734, Robert Dooley (D) 466
Union Township Supervisor, 2 years
Charles Trax (R) 696, Robert Dooley (D) 500
West Bethlehem Township Supervisor, 6 years
David Garland (D) 278, Ed Roth (R) 106
West Bethlehem Township Supervisor, 2 years
Lars Lange (D) 246, Maria Pinkney (R) 140
West Finley Township Supervisor
David Martin (R) 120, Mark Adams (D) 101
West Pike Run Township Supervisor
Dale Tiberie (D) 220, Joyce Morich Cherok (R) 189
November 5, 2019 10:21 am
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) – Police in Maryland say a man fatally stabbed another customer outside a Popeye’s restaurant in a fight over the recently re-released chicken sandwich. Prince George’s County police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan told news outlets the two men were waiting in line at an Oxon Hill Popeye’s Monday night when one of the men accused the other of cutting in front of him in a line specifically for ordering chicken sandwiches. Police say the fight spilled outside where one of the men stabbed the other. Police say the 28-year-old victim was from the Washington area. He was taken to a hospital, where he died less than an hour later. Donelan said police are looking for the suspect and have called on him to surrender. The victim and the suspect’s identities haven’t been released.
November 5, 2019 7:20 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – The nine women and children killed by cartel gunmen in northern Mexico lived in a farming community known as La Mora, where experts say residents identify as Mormons but consider themselves independent and separate from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The community’s roots lie in the church’s banning of polygamy in the late 19th century, when families established colonies in remote northern Mexico to continue the practice. Cristina Rosetti is an expert in Mormon fundamentalist groups and said Tuesday that today some La Mora residents still practice polygamy while others do not. Residents believe in the main Mormonism tenants, but there is little organized religious practice. Gunmen killed three women and six children traveling in three vehicles from La Mora on Monday. The victims were U.S. citizens. (Photo: CNN)
November 5, 2019 4:25 am
BEIRUT (AP) – A senior Turkish official says Turkey has captured the older sister of the slain leader of the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria, calling the arrest an intelligence “gold mine.” Little is known about the sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Turkish official said that the 65-year-old known as Rasmiya Awad was captured in a raid Monday on a trailer container she was living in with her family near the town of Azaz. The area is part of the region administered by Turkey. The official said the sister was with her husband, daughter-in-law and five children. The adults are being interrogated, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity In line with government protocol. Al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid in the nearby province of Idlib last month.
November 5, 2019 4:23 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s president says Tehran will begin injecting uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges, the latest step away from its nuclear deal since President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord over a year ago. President Hassan Rouhani made the statement in an address carried live by Iranian state TV on Tuesday. Under Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, these machines are supposed to spin without gas injection. Rouhani says the machines, at its nuclear facility in Fordo, will be injected with the uranium gas as of Wednesday. There was no immediate comment from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. Iran on Monday doubled the number of advanced IR-6 centrifuges now in operation in another violation of the nuclear deal.
November 5, 2019 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House claims the release of two transcripts Tuesday shows “there is even less evidence” for impeachment that previously thought. Press secretary Stephanie Grisham says the testimony of Gordon Sondland, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union, didn’t “identify any solid source” for his acknowledgement that he understood by September that American aid to Ukraine was linked to a public statement promising to investigate corruption in the country. Grisham concludes, “No amount of salacious media-biased headlines, which are clearly designed to influence the narrative, change the fact that the President has done nothing wrong.”
