October 31, 2019 2:49 pm
(AP) – The number of U.S. vaping illnesses has jumped again, reaching more than 1,800 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that 1,888 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in 49 states. That includes 37 deaths in 24 states. The total is 284 higher than what the government reported last week and a larger increase than seen in several weeks. Officials say the previous slowdown could have been caused by reporting delays. The outbreak appears to have started in March. No single ingredient, electronic cigarette or vaping device has been linked to all the illnesses. Most who got sick said they vaped products containing THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana. Health officials urge people to avoid vaping, particularly products containing THC and purchased off the street.
October 31, 2019 6:38 am
A Pittsburgh woman and owner/operator of two Peters Township massage parlors is facing charges following an investigation into suspected prostitution and human trafficking. State Police have charged 50 year old Feng Yu Sun with 8 counts of promoting prostitution and 4 counts of prostitution and related offenses. According to investigators, employees at Pink Body Works Asian Massage along Washington Road and Health Spa II along E. McMurray Road were offering sexual services to customers. Police used undercover operations and also located hundreds of advertisements for the massage parlors on various adult escort web sites. THey also found several online forums where customers posted reviews and detailed their sexual experiences at the parlors. Police executed search warrants Wednesday. Five Asian females at the locations were positively identified and were found to be in the country legally. Yu Sun is to face a preliminary hearing November 5.
October 31, 2019 4:18 am
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) – Santa Ana winds are expected to linger for a final day after driving more than a dozen wildfires through California, sending thousands fleeing and burning nearly up to the walls of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Firefighters managed to tamp down or at least partially corral fires that for the past few days surged through tinder-dry brush in both the north and south, destroying dozens of homes. But much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties remain under a National Weather Service red flag warning of extreme fire danger through Thursday evening because of bone-dry humidity and the chance of winds gusting to 70 mph (112 kph) in the mountains. Fire crews worked through the night to make sure a fire that burned dangerously near the Reagan library Wednesday and prompted thousands to flee doesn’t re-erupt.
October 31, 2019 4:18 am
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) – A Pakistani official says the death toll from a horrific train fire that broke out after a cooking gas stove used by passengers for cooking breakfast exploded has risen further to 71. Kaleem Ullah, an official with the district emergency services, says another 43 people are injured, with 11 still in critical condition following the blaze on the train traveling in eastern Punjab province on Thursday morning. Survivors said it took the train nearly 20 minutes to come to a halt after the fire broke out and passengers began screaming for help. Some pulled at emergency cords that weave through the train to notify the conductor. Thursday’s tragedy underscores how Pakistan’s dilapidated train system is badly in need of repairs and maintenance.
October 31, 2019 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a vote to approve ground rules for their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump is a solemn but necessary duty for lawmakers. In a floor speech before Thursday’s vote, Pelosi said, “This is not any cause for any glee or comfort.” Standing next to a large U.S. flag in the well of the House, Pelosi said the impeachment inquiry was necessary to defend the Constitution and prevent an abuse of power by Trump. “The times have found each and every one of us in this room,” Pelosi said. She urged lawmakers to vote in favor of the impeachment rules “to protect the Constitution of the United States. What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.” The investigation is focused on Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine to investigate his Democratic political opponents by withholding military aid and an Oval Office meeting craved by the country’s new president.
October 31, 2019 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A former top national security adviser to President Donald Trump has arrived on Capitol Hill to testify in the House impeachment inquiry. Tim Morrison handled Russian and European affairs at the White House’s National Security Council before resigning his position a day before Thursday’s hearing. Morrison, a defense hawk and former top Republican staff member on Capitol Hill, was aligned with Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton and raised concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to Ukraine. The impeachment inquiry is focused on Trump’s effort to have Ukraine investigate Democrats and a potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, while the administration was withholding military aid to the Eastern European ally. It’s illegal to seek or receive foreign help in U.S. elections. Trump says he did nothing wrong.
October 31, 2019 4:14 am
The fire marshall will investigate a house fire Thursday morning in Peters Township. The blaze broke out just before 4 a.m. in the 200 block of Windermere Court. According to reports from the scene, a husband and wife were inside at the time and called 9-1-1. They made it out safely. Firefighters reported heavy flames when they arrived on the scene. The fire was finally brought under control just before 7 a.m. No other information is being released at this time. (Photo: WPXI)
October 31, 2019 2:54 am
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office says the Humane Society of the United States has seized more than one-hundred cats that were living in a former church in Donora and at another property in Monessen. Authorities say the owner of the cat sanctuary is 41-year-old Chris Harr who was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and released on bond. Authorities say the cats were taken from the former St. mary’s Roman Catholic Church at 320 Second Street and are being taken to an undisclosed safe location. (Photo: WPXI)
October 31, 2019 2:19 am
A rainy forecast is forcing many communities to move their trick-or-treat dates. The National Weather Service out of Pittsburgh says there is a one-hundred-percent chance of rain forecast for Thursday (Halloween) along with gusty winds. The following is a list of changes for trick-or-treat:
City of Washington: Saturday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
McDonald Borough: Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.
Burgettstown: Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.
Independence Township: Saturday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Bentleyville: Saturday from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Smith Township: Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.
Centerville: Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Township: Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.
According to Facebook and website posts from Chartiers Township; Canton Township; Claysville; East Washington; North and South Strabane Townships; Peters Township; Charleroi; Canonsburg and Finleyville, trick-or-treat times will not be changing and will remain the same as previously announced.
October 30, 2019 5:54 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – Molson Coors Brewing Co. is laying off 500 workers worldwide and restructuring its operations as it faces declining beer sales. The company expects to save $150 million by closing offices in Denver and making Chicago its North American headquarters. Its brewery in Golden, Colorado, will remain. Molson Coors says it needs to streamline and bring new products to market more quickly, like the canned wine and hard coffee it introduced this year. It’s also dropping “Brewing” from its name to emphasize that it makes more than beer.
