October 23, 2019 11:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) –
President Donald Trump says Turkey has informed the U.S. it will make “permanent” a five-day cease-fire in Syria. In response, he says he’s directing the lifting of economic sanctions on Turkey. Claiming success at the U.S.-brokered effort, Trump said Wednesday, “this was an outcome created by us.” The cease-fire required Kurdish forces formerly allied with the U.S. against the Islamic State group to move out of a roughly 20-mile zone on the Turkish border. Trump says, “We’ve saved the lives of many, many Kurds.” Trump says nearly all U.S. troops will be leaving Syria but some will remain to safeguard oil fields in Syria. Russian forces have since begun joint patrols with Kurdish forces along the Turkish-Syrian border. Trump says if Turkey breaches the cease-fire the sanctions could be reimposed.
October 23, 2019 7:37 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI)- More than 4,000 customers in the South Hills were without power for several hours Wednesday, according to West Penn Power. Areas affected by the outage included Bethel Park, Elizabeth Township, Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills, South Park and Upper St. Clair. South Park Elementary Center was closed because of the outage, the South Park School District’s superintendent said, and Gill Hall Elementary School in the West Jefferson Hills School District was also closed, the district’s website said. According to West Penn Power’s website, the cause of the outage is “equipment damage.”
October 23, 2019 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans brought House Democrats’ impeachment investigation to a halt as around two dozen GOP House members stormed into a closed-door deposition with a Defense Department official. Democrats said the move compromised national security as some of them brought electronic devices into a secure room. The GOP maneuver delayed a deposition with senior Defense Department official Laura Cooper until mid-afternoon Wednesday, about five hours behind schedule.
October 23, 2019 4:17 am
BEIRUT (AP) – Once again, Syrian President Bashar Assad has snapped up a prize from world powers that have been maneuvering in his country’s multifront wars. Without firing a shot, his forces are returning to towns and villages in northeastern Syria where they haven’t set foot for years. Analysts say that Assad was handed a victory by President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. Then they say he got another win from a deal struck between Turkey and Russia, Damascus’ ally.
October 23, 2019 4:16 am
LONDON (AP) – U.K. police are revising their theories about a truck found in southeast England with 39 bodies inside, saying it traveled from Belgium to England, not from Ireland as they thought earlier. Essex police said Wednesday that their earlier statement that the truck went from Ireland to Wales was incorrect. They now say it went from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in England via a ferry. The 39 people were found dead early Wednesday at an industrial park in southeast England. Details about the victims have not been released except that one was a teenager. The 25-year-old driver of the truck, who was from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. (Photo: CNN)
October 23, 2019 4:14 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Health officials say a restaurant worker in northern West Virginia has contracted hepatitis A. The Monongalia County Health Department says in a news release the worker at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Morgantown was potentially contagious between Sept. 30 and Oct. 16. The statement says while the risk of contracting hepatitis A from a food worker is low, vaccinations are being offered to people who consumed food at the restaurant within the past two weeks. Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver and is spread through food, water and objects tainted by feces, or through close contact. Infection can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says West Virginia has had more than 2,500 hepatitis A cases since last year.
October 23, 2019 4:13 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – President Donald Trump will be in Pittsburgh Wednesday to speak at the Shale Insight Conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Ahead of his afternoon arrival, protesters took to downtown streets, prompting police in riot gear to make arrests. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said fourteen protesters were arrested after they blocked off the ramp from the Fort Pitt Bridge and refused to move after warnings. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action said allies are protesting President Trump’s visit within days of the commemoration of one year since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. “We’re here to tell Trump: #OurSolidarityWill protect each other and defeat your white nationalism,” a post on the groups Facebook page said. The final protester who was sitting in the middle of a downtown Pittsburgh street has also been taken into custody.
October 23, 2019 4:09 am
Business was anything but usual for North Strabane Supervisors in their legislative meeting. In a public comment session that lasted nearly 90 minutes, residents raised issues from the Majestic Hills landslide to the proposed cellular antenna from Crown Castle, Inc. Doug Grimes, one of the displaced residents of Majestic Hills spoke for the affected residents of the landslide asking that supervisors double down on efforts to support their needs and try and bring the disaster to a conclusion. Grimes stated that they are under extreme financial stress and all residents want is to be made whole. Supervisors in comments later in the meeting reiterated that no matter what, the residents of Majestic Hills are the primary focus of concern. Township Solicitor Gary Sweat reported that the case is in the pleading stage and under the aggressive schedule of Judge Michael Lucas. In other public comment, concerned residents in the Borland Manor neighborhood pleaded their case to supervisors regarding a small cell antenna proposed to be installed near the Borland Manor Elementary School and North Strabane Middle School. Solicitor Gary Sweat explained that the PA Supreme Court ruled that installations such as the one proposed by Crown Castle are covered under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission and the FCC and both of those bodies preempt any action by local municipalities. Supervisors are continuing to study the matter to see if Crown Castle can stop the installation or find a more suitable location for the antenna.
October 23, 2019 4:05 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. – (WPXI) – A high-ranking member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club has been arrested and charged in a bar beating. Michael Barringer is accused of ordering the beating of a former club member who prosecutors said nearly killed the man. A total of seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the investigation. In April, Charleroi police were called to the Slovak Club for man who was unconscious and bleeding. Prosecutors said Barringer is the third-highest ranking member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club and that he ordered the man’s beating to “send him a message.” Prosecutors said Barringer also hired a private investigator, who is a retired state trooper. They said he paid the investigator $2,500 to approach the victim’s family and offer them a settlement. Retired state trooper James Baranowski told the victim and his wife they would be taken care of financially and guaranteed their safety in exchange for them not pursing the criminal case, prosecutors said. Barringer’s defense attorney argued that Baranowski was not offering a bribe, but offering the family a civil option that would have involved lawyers and helped the family. A judge dropped the obstruction charge. Barringer will go to trial for felony intimidation of a victim and intimidation.
October 22, 2019 12:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that a virus is to blame for a mysterious illness that can start like the sniffles but quickly paralyze children. The paralysis is very rare. U.S. health officials have confirmed 590 cases over the past five years. Finding the cause is key to better care or developing a vaccine. But doctors seldom can find the chief suspect in patients’ spinal fluid. So University of California, San Francisco researchers instead tested how the immune system fought back. They found clear signs that an enterovirus, a common seasonal virus that specialists have suspected, was indeed the culprit. The research was published Monday in Nature Medicine.
