May 14, 2019 6:43 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities say a western Pennsylvania professor working as an Uber driver has been charged with holding two women against their will in his vehicle over the weekend. Thirty-six-year-old Richard Lomotey is charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and harassment. Pittsburgh police said Lomotey picked the women up early Saturday and was supposed to drive to Penn Hills, but veered from the route, pulled over, said “You’re not going anywhere” and tried to lock the doors, but the women escaped. Penn State-Beaver says Lomotey is an assistant professor but has been placed on leave following the “deeply troubling” allegations. Uber called the alleged actions “unacceptable” and said his access to the app has been removed. Court documents don’t list a defense attorney and a listed number for Lomotey couldn’t be found Monday.
May 14, 2019 6:41 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The attorney general of Pennsylvania says he’s filing a lawsuit accusing a pharmaceutical giant of fueling the opioid epidemic. Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office said it would announce details of the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon. Pennsylvania is one of the states hardest hit by opioid addiction. Shapiro’s office two years ago joined with dozens of other states to investigate companies that make and distribute opioid painkillers. Several Pennsylvania counties have already sued drugmakers, and a federal judge in Cleveland is overseeing more than 1,500 lawsuits filed by local governments, American Indian tribes and others against the opioid industry. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says opioids, including prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, were involved in a record 48,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2017.
May 14, 2019 6:38 pm
MOSCOW (AP) – U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of their talks in Russia that he hopes that the U.S. and Russia can mend their relations and find areas of mutual cooperation. Pompeo said in televised remarks at the meeting venue in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that he has come to Russia because President Donald Trump is “committed to improve this relationship.” He said that each country wants to protect its interests but that there are areas for mutually beneficial cooperation, including the fight against terrorism. Pompeo said that an improved relationship, damaged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and U.S. sanctions against Russia, “will be good not only for our two countries but for the whole world as well.”
May 14, 2019 6:37 pm
Peters Township Council is still trying to figure out just what to do about an aquatics facility. Council held a public hearing recently and was unable to really come to some consensus. What the meeting did do is bring out more questions than answers. Several self described younger residents attended the meeting and voiced strong support for a pool. Council is struggling with just what to build and when. Councilman David Ball wonders if spending $11 million dollars on an outdoor facility used 3 months a year is the right idea. Should a year round facility be under consideration? Council Chairman Frank Kosir is looking to make sure that what is built is what best suits residents now and in the future. He wants to make sure that whatever is built is something that everyone can be proud of 20 years from now. In an effort to answer some of these questions, council did authorize a marketing survey to be done.
May 14, 2019 6:37 pm
BEIJING (AP) – U.S. trade officials have issued a $300 billion target list of Chinese imports including laptop computers for more tariff hikes, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing.
The U.S. Trade Representative said the list is aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump’s threat to extend punitive 25% duties to all Chinese goods shipped to the United States. The release follows Beijing’s announcement of tariff hikes on $60 billion of American imports in response to U.S. higher duties imposed on Chinese imports last week in an escalation of their fight. The U.S. list includes laptop computers, industrial equipment and a range of farm goods. The USTR noted it excludes pharmaceuticals and rare earths. The flurry of penalties and retaliatory moves has deepened concerns the dispute will hobble economic growth, shaking financial markets.
May 14, 2019 6:30 pm
Witness testimony in the civil trial against the NCAA took a small detour as Judge Michael Lucas granted a departure from the order of witness presentation. Defense for the NCAA called Dr. Robert Harbaugh, Director of Penn State Institute of Neurosciences to the stand. Testimony took all day as the defense used Harbaugh’s expertise to refute testimony from last week given by Dr. Julie Schwartzbard. Harbaugh’s testimony centered on reports indicating that there is no known cause of ALS, and that other documentation was not available during the playing career of Matt Onyshko, a former football player at California University of Pennsylvania and the plaintiff in this case. Under cross examination, an opinion expressed by Dr. Harbaugh was highlighted. In previous interviews, Harbaugh stated that removing facemasks from football helmets could positively influence the decrease of concussions in football as players would be reluctant to use their heads while tackling for fear of doing other damage. Harbaugh indicated that he agreed with the idea as presented by other football coaches he consulted with. Testimony resumed this morning.
January 31, 2019 9:33 am
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s governor has fired 34 correction officer trainees who were photographed giving a Nazi salute, and he fired their instructor. He also says four instructors are being suspended without pay. Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced his decision Monday after receiving a report from state investigators that the trainees regularly gave the Nazi salute “as a sign of respect” for their instructor in the weeks prior to the release of the photo. Its release earlier this month triggered widespread outrage. A three-page executive summary was released Monday detailing the state’s inquiry into the controversial image. (Photo: CNN)
November 17, 2023 2:45 am
A Washington County man who faced charges of child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and child endangerment received his punishment. After a three day jury trial, Jerome Stewart, 40 of Elco was convicted on 11 of 12 counts that he faced. Stewart was accused of sexual assault of an 8 year old that over the course of 10 years miscarried a pregnancy at age 13 and delivered a baby at age 15. DNA evidence presented at the end of the trial showed that the probability that Jerome Stewart was the father of the victims child was 99.9999998%. The jury took just 90 minutes to find Stewart guilty of the child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, child endangerment and 8 other assault related felonies and misdemeanors. The jury did find Stewart not guilty on a tampering with evidence charge. Stewart was accused of taking the fetus of the victim’s miscarriage and sealing it in a glass jar and carrying it with them every time they moved residences. This conviction is not the end of the line for Stewart. He still faces 5 other criminal cases for sexual assault of minors and 30 counts of child pornography. Stewart was offered a plea deal on all 6 cases of 30-60 years in prison. According to prosecutors, on the conviction of child rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, Stewart faces 10 to 20 years in prison at minimum on both counts. Stewart will be sentenced on February 9, 2024.
November 16, 2023 2:49 am
Jury deliberations are underway in the trial of 40 year old Jerome Stewart of Elco. He is accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile beginning at age 8 and continuing the assaults for more than a decade. Testimony began Wednesday as it ended on day one. The other half sister of the victim testified to the relationship that the victim had with Jerome Stewart. Both relatives described sexual acts between Stewart and his underage victim. They described their experiences when the victim miscarried in her first pregnancy at age 13. Much of the day’s testimony came from hospital professionals and nurses that tended to the victim when she miscarried and several years later delivering a son via c-section at age 15. The chief Washington County Detective detailed the chain of evidence possession that verified DNA and paternity results of the victim’s pregnancy. The most revealing testimony came from Mark Lind. He is a friend of Jerome Stewart who came across the jar in which Stewart sealed the fetus from the victim’s first pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Lind stated that when asked by Stewart if he found the jar he stated that he did and threw it in the trash. Lind stated During the conversation that Stewart told him it was a fetus of the victim and he was the father. The jury received the case and began deliberations late Thursday morning.
