November 4, 2019 12:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is proposing easing more Obama-era protections on contaminants from coal-fired power plants. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a proposal Monday overhauling a 2015 rule on release of contaminated wastewater from power plants. The EPA says the change will save $175 million annually in compliance costs. Environmental groups say relaxing of the rule will allow more dumping of dangerous heavy metals from coal plants. It’s the latest Trump administration regulatory rollback for U.S. coal and coal-fired power plants. The U.S. coal industry is suffering in market competition against cheaper natural gas and renewables, and has sought a series of regulatory breaks. Another proposal due out shortly is expected to extend some deadlines for closing unlined coal dumps near groundwater.
November 4, 2019 7:48 am
TERRA ALTA, W.Va. – (WPXI) – Police are searching for a couple considered armed and dangerous after a murder Sunday in West Virginia, the Preston County Sheriff’s Office said. Aaron Hoard, 33, of Morgantown, is suspected of shooting and killing Grant Felton, 38, at a bar in Terra Alta, authorities said. Hoard’s girlfriend, Machaela Jeffries is believed to be helping him avoid arrest. Hoard and Jeffries might have their 1-year-old child with them. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Hoard drives a black 2018 Dodge Ram. Authorities said anyone who sees the couple should call 911 and not attempt to contact them.
November 4, 2019 4:27 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal appeals court in New York says President Donald Trump’s tax returns can be turned over to state criminal investigators. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came Monday. It is certain to be further appealed. The decision upholds a lower-court ruling rejecting Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block his accountant from letting a grand jury see his tax records from 2011. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. sought the records in a broader probe that includes payments made to buy the silence of two women who claim they had affairs with the president before the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s lawyer told the three-judge appeals panel this month that Trump is immune from state criminal law even if he shoots someone because he’s president. (Photo: CNN)
November 4, 2019 4:26 am
CHICAGO (AP) – McDonald’s ousted CEO Steve Easterbrook will receive 26 weeks of pay but forfeit millions in unvested stock options as part of his severance agreement. McDonald’s Corp. announced Sunday that Easterbrook was fired for having a consensual relationship with an employee. McDonald’s forbids managers from having romantic relationships with subordinates. Easterbrook’s 2018 compensation totaled $15.9 million. That included $1.3 million in salary and the rest in stock options and incentive payments. Under his severance agreement, Easterbrook will be eligible for a prorated incentive payment for the 2019 fiscal year. He can also exercise stock options that have vested or will vest within three years. At the end of 2018, Easterbrook had unvested options worth $21.8 million. Easterbrook is also forbidden from working for a competitor for two years. (Photo: CNN)
November 4, 2019 4:25 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Authorities say they have now contained 70% of the wildfire northwest of Los Angeles known as the Maria fire. They say firefighters are being helped by the cooler temperatures and lighter winds. Crews are checking buildings for damage. The blaze has burned nearly 15 square miles (39 sq. kilometers) of dry brush and timber. The fire began Oct. 31 during dry winds that fanned fires across the state.
November 4, 2019 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The whistleblower who raised alarms about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and touched off the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans. That from the whistleblower’s lawyer. The offer made over the weekend to Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the intelligence committee, was aimed in part at fending off escalating attacks by Trump and his GOP allies who are demanding the whistleblower’s identity be revealed. It would allow Republicans to ask questions of the whistleblower without having to go through the committee’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Mark Zaid, the whistleblower’s attorney, said the whistleblower would answer questions directly from Republican members “in writing, under oath & penalty of perjury.”
November 4, 2019 4:21 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Police in West Virginia say they have identified a source of suspected heroin-laced vaping solutions while investigating overdoses that sickened two high school students. Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston says in a news release an underage high school student has been identified as a suspect. Preston says detectives obtained a search warrant that resulted in the recovery of more than 100 charged vaping solutions, packaging materials, marijuana and empty vaping cartridges that were being filled with the suspected solution. Preston says one of the vaping pens was confirmed to be contaminated with heroin and other dangerous chemicals. Morgantown police spokesman Andrew Stacy says he didn’t know whether the two students remain hospitalized and that the exact source of the vaping pens that made them sick last week remains under investigation.
November 4, 2019 4:20 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – Police say a woman has died of injuries she sustained during a home invasion last week at a western Pennsylvania residence. Allegheny county police say two men wearing ski masks entered the Penn Hills residence in search of money at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Local police were called after gunshots were reported. Police said the men were gone by the time officers arrived, but 46-year-old Tiffany Williams was found badly beaten inside the home. Police say she was taken to Forbes Regional Hospital, where she died of her injuries on Saturday. County police were requested by Penn Hills police on Sunday to investigate. Authorities are asking anyone who heard or saw anything to call investigators.
November 4, 2019 4:19 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – After four years of testing, the Pennsylvania Turnpike says it plans to move ahead with a $129 million project to become a completely cashless toll system in two years, eliminating hundreds of toll collecting and auditing positions along the way. Turnpike chief executive officer Mark Compton told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week that “the goal is to have the system completely cashless by the fall off 2021.” Toll booths will still be at some exit ramps until 2026 to record E-ZPass signals or photograph license plates so bills can be mailed to drivers. The jobs of the 600 remaining toll collectors and toll auditors will be eliminated, but officials say they will have the opportunity to move into other turnpike jobs or to take classes at the turnpike’s expense.
November 4, 2019 4:17 am
Weavertown Road in North Strabane Township has reopened following a water main break over the weekend. That same break disrupted service for about 300 customers. A spokesman said the break involved a 12-inch main and forced traffic to be rerouted. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers tell us traffic is back to normal this morning. About 300 customers in the area had their water service affected but that was expected to be back on line by Sunday evening.
