August 31, 2019 9:08 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued two more penalties to Sunoco Pipeline LP totaling more than $313,000 for violations resulting from construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline here in Washington and Westmoreland Counties. The DEP says Sunoco was fined for violations of the Clean Streams Law and Dam Safety and Encroachment Act for violations during construction activities in 10 counties. Horizontal drilling resulted in unauthorized discharges of drilling fluids consisting of bentonite clay and water, also known as inadvertent returns, to an unnamed tributary to Peters Creek in Nottingham Township; an unnamed tributary to Little Chartiers Creek in North Strabane Township in Washington County; and an unnamed tributary to Sewickley Creek in Sewickley Township in Westmoreland County. Sunoco failed to implement practices to minimize erosion and sedimentation at the sites, while also failing to temporarily stabilize all areas of the sites upon completion of earth disturbance activities at the sites. State agencies have issued more than 80 violations for more than $13 million in penalties during the project.
August 31, 2019 4:18 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah man has been found guilty of running a multimillion-dollar opioid ring that sent hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly pills across the country from his suburban basement. A US jury reached the verdict Friday after deliberating less than a day in the case against 29-year-old Aaron Shamo. Prosecutors say he was the kingpin of the ring that peddled fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl to thousands of people. Authorities say the ring helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic and the 2016 bust ranked among the country’s largest. The jury deadlocked and made no finding on a charge that Shamo sold the drugs that caused the overdose death of a 21-year-old California man. The defense acknowledged that Shamo was selling drugs but argued that he couldn’t have run the operation alone and there wasn’t proof he caused the overdose.
August 31, 2019 4:16 am
MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Dorian has gained fearsome new muscle as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, bearing down on the Bahamas as it edges closer to Florida’s east coast.
Millions of people in Florida, along with the state’s Walt Disney World and President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, are in the potential crosshairs of the hurricane. Forecasters said Dorian gained Category 4 strength late Friday, clocking top sustained winds of 140 mph. Forecasters say it’s still too early to tell whether Dorian would make a direct hit on the state’s east coast or inflict a glancing blow. They note some computer models predict a late turn to the north that would have Dorian hug the coast.
August 31, 2019 4:14 am
FOX CHAPEL, Pa. (AP) – A 5-year-old girl has been killed in an all-terrain vehicle crash that also left her father and older sister hospitalized. Allegheny County police say the accident in Fox Chapel occurred around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The 37-year-old father was driving the ATV in the family’s front yard with his children as passengers when one of the girls reached up and hit the throttle. The ATV then sped forward, crashed over a hillside and struck a tree. The 5-year-old was taken to a hospital but died there a short time later. Her father and 8-year-old sister both suffered undisclosed minor injuries and were hospitalized in stable condition. The names of the children and their father have not been released. Authorities say the crash remains under investigation.
August 31, 2019 4:12 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Traci McDonald-Kemp was sworn in Friday in Washington County Court as the county’s newest judge. McDonald-Kemp won both the Democratic and Republican Primary in May and in June, the state Senate unanimously approved her appointment. McDonald-Kemp’s name though will still appear on the ballot in the November general election as she runs for a full ten-year term. McDonald-Kemp, who is 48-years-old, is the first black woman to take the oath of office as a judge on the bench of Washington County’s Common Pleas Court.
August 30, 2019 12:44 pm
After several reprieves, the Sears store at Washington Crown Center will be closing. Store officials say it will shut its doors in December. The Washington Crown Center Sears was one of the last two remaining stores in the immediate area to stay open amid a plethora of shutdowns across the country. The other remaining store is at the Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield Township. There has been no word yet on when the store’s liquidation sale will begin.
August 30, 2019 10:49 am
DETROIT (AP) – Ford is recalling more than 550,000 trucks and SUVs in North America because seat backs may not properly restrain people in a crash. The recall covers certain 2018 through 2020 F-150 pickups, 2019 and 2020 Super Duty trucks, 2018 and 2019 Explorer SUVs, and 2019 and 2020 Expedition SUVs. All have manual driver or front passenger seat-back recliner mechanisms. Also included are some 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs with rear seats with manual seat-back mechanisms. Ford says the trucks may not have a third pawl needed for seat strength, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Ford says it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries. Dealers will inspect seat structures and replace them if needed. Most are expected to pass. Owners will be notified starting Oct. 7.
August 30, 2019 7:56 am
CHICAGO (AP) – A lawyer says singer R. Kelly is enduring “cruel and unusual punishment” by being held in solitary confinement in a Chicago jail on sexual misconduct charges. Defense attorney Steve Greenberg on Thursday filed a motion asking a judge to order the Federal Bureau of Prisons to allow the entertainer to interact with other inmates of the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center. In the motion, Greenberg told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber that the 52-year-old Kelly is being held on the most restrictive floor of the jail. He contends the floor is where inmates are sent for violating the facility’s rules, which Kelly hasn’t done. Prison officials have pointed to Kelly’s “alleged offense and notoriety” as a reason to keep him in solitary. Leinenweber, who ordered Kelly held without bond in July, is to take up the motion next week. Kelly is accused of sexual misconduct in Illinois, Minnesota and New York, in addition to federal charges.
August 30, 2019 7:53 am
HELSINKI (AP) – The first legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has failed in a Scottish court. The Court of Session in Edinburgh refused Friday to take legal action to prevent Johnson from suspending Parliament for several weeks during part of the period ahead of the Brexit deadline on Oct. 31. The decision in Scotland’s highest civil court is a setback for a cross-party group of legislators seeking to broaden the period for parliamentary debate in a bid to prevent a disorderly departure from the European Union by Britain.
Two other legal cases are still in progress. One is in Northern Ireland and the other is in London. Former Prime Minister John Major is seeking to join the case in London to argue against suspension.
August 30, 2019 4:38 am
State Police are investigating after a Washington man died Thursday night at Consol Energy’s Enlow Fork Mine along Dry Run Road in Prosperity. The Washington County Coroner’s office says a long wall gave way and collapsed on top of 25 year old Tanner McFarland around 6 p.m. He was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m. A cause and manner of death are pending. No other information is being released at this time.
