September 5, 2019 7:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities say the death of a toddler who reportedly was kidnapped near Pittsburgh last weekend has been ruled a homicide. But a cause of death for Nalani Johnson won’t be determined until officials review the toddler’s medical records and more tests are completed. Johnson, who was to turn 2 this month, was found Tuesday in a park about 37 miles east of Penn Hills, where authorities allege the girl was kidnapped Saturday evening. There were no visible signs of trauma. Sharena Islam Nancy, who authorities say had been romantically involved with the child’s father, remains in custody in Allegheny County. She’s charged with kidnapping of a minor, custodial interference and concealment of the whereabouts of a child, all felonies. No one has been charged in Nalani’s death.
September 5, 2019 3:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Within minutes of media outlets identifying the gunman who killed seven people in West Texas, a Twitter account began spreading baseless information linking the shooter to Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. The groundless conjecture was promoted online by a member of President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign advisory board. The speed of the misinformation – and how far it subsequently spread – again illustrates the eagerness of some to blame such events on political ideologies, regardless of whether the facts support that. It’s also an early indication of just how difficult it will be for campaigns to combat virulent falsehoods ahead of a 2020 presidential campaign that could to be full of them.
September 5, 2019 3:13 am
BEIJING (AP) – China’s Commerce Ministry says talks with the United States on ending their tariff war will take place in early October in Washington, later than previously planned. Thursday’s announcement followed new tariff hikes last weekend by both governments and a report that envoys were struggling to agree on a schedule for the talks, which were to have taken place this month. The Commerce Ministry said the two sides will “conduct conscientious consultations” in mid-September to prepare for the talks.
September 5, 2019 3:12 am
LONDON (AP) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson is looking for new ways to bring about a national election after rebellious British lawmakers rejected his call to trigger a snap poll. The members of Parliament also have moved to block Johnson’s plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal. The twin defeats – two in a day – are evidence that the embattled leader’s plans to lead the U.K. out of the EU are in crisis. Johnson says new elections are the only way out of Britain’s Brexit impasse, but events have spiraled out of his control. He leads a government with no majority in Parliament and may not be able to secure an election that could change that fact. Parliament turned down his motion and the prime minister indicated he would try again, saying an election was the only way forward for the country and urging opposition lawmakers to “reflect overnight and in the course of the next few days.”
September 5, 2019 3:10 am
OCRACOKE, N.C. (AP) – Forecasters say Hurricane Dorian is expected to slowly weaken as it travels near and along the coasts of South and North Carolina. In its 5 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center says Dorian has weakened slightly and remains a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Its eye is located about 45 miles southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and is moving northeast at about 10 mph. Forecasters expect Dorian’s eye to pass near or over parts of the North Carolina coast within the next 12 to 24 hours.
September 5, 2019 3:09 am
A precautionary boil water advisory for approximately 490 customers in portions of South Strabane Township has been lifted. The advisory was announced after Pennsylvania American Water experienced a loss in positive water pressure on September 2, 2019, at a water storage tank following a local water main break. Pennsylvania American Water is required to collect two consecutive rounds of samples with negative results before lifting the boil water advisory. A first round of samples collected Tuesday tested negative for contamination and the second round of samples taken Thursday morning also tested negative. This notice applies to South Strabane customers located in the following areas: Crestview Drive
East Beau Street/Eastpointe Drive/Eastwood Lane/Emerald Drive/Floral Hill Drive/Green Crescent Drive/Hilltop Road/Lakeview Drive/Manor Drive/McVehil Drive/Pleasant Hill Drive/Quarry Road/ Stonehenge Drive/Scout Drive/Tara Drive/Woodhill Drive and Woodside Drive.
September 5, 2019 3:08 am
Washington’s Mayor and all Council members have submitted a letter to Governor Wolf seeking the immediate removal of their colleague Matt Staniszewski from his position on City Council in the wake of his fourth arrest for a charge of DUI. “We have to put the public’s best interest first and right now Matt does not possess the judgement to act on matters that affect public policy,” Mayor Putnam said. Putnam submitted the letter along with Washington City Council members Monda Williams, Joe Manning and Ken Westcott. “We just hope that he gets the help he needs,” Putnam added. The three city officials made the request to the Governor’s office as the only way to remove an elected official under Third Class City Code. They also plan to contact State Senator Camera Bartolotta and State Representative Tim O’Neal and request their help in dealing with the Governor’s office. Staniszewski was arrested by Washington City Police on Monday, August 26th after he was found unconscious in a car that was blocking traffic on Wheeling Street near Shaffer Alley. WJPA News spoke with Staniszewski’s attorney Sean Logue who told us that the city’s letter requesting that the Governor remove Staniszewski from office is unconstitutional. He says there is a method for removing a councilman…it’s called an election. Logue vowed to stand by his client and defend his rights and stop what he called the “disenfranchisement” of all the city voters that kept Matt on council for over ten years.
September 5, 2019 3:06 am
CANONSBURG, Pa. (WPXI) – A communications company has withdrawn its plan to add a cell tower near schools in Washington County. Parents voiced their health concerns they had about the project. The North Strabane Zoning hearing board meeting on Wednesday was filled with residents wanting to stop the building of the tower. In August, Crown Castle Communications submitted an application to do just that. The company wanted to install a communications Antenna next door to Borland Manor Elementary and North Strabane Intermediate School. On Wednesday, Castle Communications withdrew its application. Castle Communications released a statement late Wednesday night: “Because the regulation of public utilities in the right-of-way lies solely with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, Crown Castle hereby revokes its application due to lack of jurisdiction by the Zoning Hearing Board”
September 4, 2019 1:44 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Sealed court records contain the names of hundreds of third parties who were mentioned in a civil case involving sexual abuse allegations against the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge said Wednesday. The unnamed people, including a man identified only as John Doe, will be allowed to object to the release of the documents following a painstaking review of the materials, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska said. “In some of these documents there are literally a thousand people” mentioned, Preska said, referring to a tranche of filings that includes more than two dozen depositions. The records also include hundreds of pages of investigative reports, said Jeff Pagliuca, an attorney for former Epstein girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. “There’s some work involved in this,” he said of the process the attorneys will follow in determining which names to black out. Preska scheduled Wednesday’s hearing after an appeals court in New York ordered her to review the records and release “all documents for which the presumption of public access outweighs any countervailing privacy interests.” It’s not clear who is named in the records, but an attorney for a John Doe warned in court papers Tuesday that the documents may contain “life-changing” disclosures against third parties not directly involved in the litigation. The attorney, Nicholas Lewin, requested the opportunity to be heard on the matter, citing his unnamed client’s “reputational rights.” The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already made public more than 2,000 pages in the since-settled defamation lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of several dozen women who accused Epstein of sexual abuse. Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting young women for Epstein’s sexual pleasure and taking part in the abuse, allegations Maxwell has vehemently denied. Epstein, 66, took his own life last month while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. The first release of court records, unsealed the day before Epstein’s jailhouse suicide in Manhattan, contained graphic claims against Epstein and several of his former associates. Giuffre alleges she was trafficked internationally to have sex with prominent American politicians, business executives and world leaders, some of whom she named in a deposition.
September 4, 2019 12:43 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – A judge has set an April 27 trial date in R. Kelly’s federal case in Chicago that accuses the R&B star of child pornography and obstruction of justice. But the judge said at a Wednesday status hearing the date could be moved since the 52-year-old faces similar cases in three other judicial districts. Kelly stood in court in orange jail clothes, his hands behind his back. Several supporters waved at Kelly as he was led back to jail and he nodded in their direction. Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg told the hearing that having to prepare for four trials is challenging and he wasn’t sure the singer’s legal team could ready by April. Prosecutor Angel Krull estimated a trial would last three weeks. The next hearing is Sept. 18.
