October 22, 2019 12:28 pm
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – WPIAL officials said they found “credible evidence” during their investigation into alleged racism at a boy’s soccer match but have decided not to punish Connellsville and Taylor Allderdice high schools. A spokesperson for the high school sports governing agency said the situation is “an opportunity to educate and heal instead of punishing either school” or athletes. A letter was sent around following a Labor Day weekend soccer match between the programs where racial and homophobic slurs were allegedly said. WPIAL officials have mandated the schools enact anti-discrimination, diversity and sensitivity training for the boys’ soccer teams and coaching staffs. This is not the first time these types of accusations have been levied against the Connellsville high school soccer program. During a match with Penn Hills in 2018, there were claims of racial slurs said on the field. WPIAL officials investigated and found the claims credible, but they could not be proven.
October 22, 2019 10:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A State Department official has told Congress that U.S. military aid to Ukraine was withheld until the country’s leader agreed to investigate a gas company tied to Joe Biden’s family. That’s according to a copy of diplomat William Taylor’s opening statement to House impeachment investigators Tuesday. The statement was obtained by The Washington Post and published online. Taylor says Ambassador Gordon Sondland told him “everything” Ukraine wanted from the United States, including a visit with President Donald Trump and millions of dollars in security aid, was dependent on the country agreeing to investigate the gas firm Burisma and the 2016 U.S. election. Taylor said a White House official told him the same thing. Democrats say the testimony points to what Trump has long denied: a quid pro quo for an investigation of his political rival. (Photo: CNN)
October 22, 2019 9:43 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – Police in Pennsylvania say they are looking for someone who bought a used cellphone with a fake $1 million bill and then attacked a woman when he was confronted. Scranton police say Alexis Brown agreed to sell her used iPhone 6S for $100 to a buyer she met online. When the two met, the buyer handed Brown a roll of bills. She gave him the phone and he walked away. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports the roll contained two $1 bills, one $10 bill and a phony $1 million bill. Brown told her girlfriend, Bonnie Wolo, about the fake bill and Wolo tracked the buyer down. When she tried to grab the phone, he punched her in the face before running off. Brown says the buyer was between 16 and 20 years old.
October 22, 2019 9:40 am
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has been hospitalized after a fall at his home in Plains, Georgia. A statement from The Carter Center says Jimmy suffered “a minor pelvic fracture” on Monday, but remains in good spirits and looks forward to recovering at home. Carter Center spokeswoman Deanne Congileo told The Associated Press that she had nothing more to add to the statement. Carter already fell once at his home earlier this month, leaving the 95-year-old with 14 stitches and bruising around his left eye. Despite that, he still showed up to help build a home with Habitat for Humanity the next day in Nashville, Tennessee. He used a cane when he rallied volunteers that morning.
October 22, 2019 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are “afraid” of the chief impeachment investigator, following a failed effort to censure him. Pelosi said “the GOP has not even tried to deny the facts” of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democrats. In a statement, Pelosi added a stiff defense of Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the “the person of whom the President is most afraid.” She issued the statement after majority Democrats blocked a Republican effort to censure Schiff. Schiff later tweeted that Republicans will be remembered for lacking the courage to confront Trump. So, he said, “they consoled themselves by attacking those who did.” Republicans are criticizing Schiff in part for the secretive way he is conducting the impeachment investigation, which includes some classified material.
October 22, 2019 4:16 am
BOSTON (AP) – Actress Lori Loughlin (LAWK’-lin), her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and nine other parents face new charges in the college admissions scandal. Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that the parents were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. The charge accuses the parents of attempting to bribe officials at an organization that receives federal funding. They are accused of paying bribes to get their children admitted to the University of Southern California. They already face charges of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. Loughlin and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to previous charges and have not yet commented on the new charge.
October 22, 2019 4:14 am
TORONTO (AP) – Opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh says he has congratulated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will be a constructive participant in the new Parliament. Trudeau’s Liberal party was projected to win the most seats in the 338-seat Parliament in Monday’s national elections. That outcome would give it the best chance to form a government. Still, the Liberals were poised to fall short of a majority, meaning they will have to rely on an opposition party to stay in power. Trudeau is expected to rely on the leftist New Democrat for support at times to pass legislation.
October 22, 2019 4:07 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Pennsylvania court has ruled that a woman fired for showing a video of naked men to co-workers isn’t eligible for unemployment compensation. A Commonwealth Court panel found that while the video was meant as a joke, Sharon Rodriguez violated policies at the Philadelphia-based clothing firm where she worked. The judges noted Rodriguez was off-duty when she sent the video via text to a co-worker in March 2018, but she also discussed the video at work with another colleague and played it for her when asked. The second co-worker reported Rodriguez to a manager, leading to her firing. An unemployment compensation referee initially sided with Rodriguez. But that ruling was overruled by the state Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.
October 22, 2019 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Legislation heading toward a vote in Pennsylvania would overhaul some aspects of how voters cast ballots while delivering much of the money counties need to buy voting machines ahead of next year’s presidential election. A measure that emerged Monday from closed-door negotiations would eliminate the ballot option for straight party-ticket voting, let any voter mail in a ballot and move the voter registration deadline closer to the election. It’s part of a deal to approve $90 million in aid for voting machines that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf wanted counties to buy. The new bill doesn’t deliver all of Wolf’s election-reform priorities. Republicans wanted to eliminate the straight-party voting option, amid worries that suburban Republican lawmakers will suffer from a voter backlash against President Donald Trump next year.
October 22, 2019 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – In preparation for President Donald Trump’s visit to Downtown Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, the city announced some security measures that will impact a lot of people. Several streets surrounding the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where Trump will speak at the Shale Insight conference, will be closed Wednesday after the morning rush hour – that will likely cause heavy delays during the evening commute. The conference is open to the public. People can register for a free general admission pass, on a first-come, first-served, basis. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich recommended in a release that people who work downtown should consider working from home that day or leaving early. Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, Ed.D. announced that 12 schools will be closed Wednesday.
