November 20, 2019 12:32 pm
DETROIT (AP) – General Motors is suing Fiat Chrysler, alleging that its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that FCA was involved in racketeering by paying millions in bribes to get concessions and gain advantages in three labor agreements with the union. Details of the racketeering have been exposed in a federal probe of corruption at the union that has resulted in multiple arrests. The lawsuit alleges that Fiat Chrysler corrupted the bargaining process with the UAW in the 2009, 2011 and 2015 union contracts to gain advantages over General Motors.
November 20, 2019 12:30 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The Grammys are screaming “Cuz I Love You” to Lizzo: the breakthrough singer-rapper scored a whopping eight nominations, including bids for the top four awards, making her the show’s top-nominated act. Lizzo picked up nominations for album of the year with her major-label debut, “Cuz I Love You”; song and record of the year with her anthemic No. 1 hit, “Truth Hurts”; and best new artist. Like Lizzo, other new artists dominated with Grammy nominations on Wednesday: Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X earned six nominations apiece. Eilish also scored nominations in the top four categories, making the 17-year-old the youngest artist in the history of the Grammys to achieve the feat. Lil Nas X is up for three of the top four awards, including album and record of the year for “Old Town Road.”
November 20, 2019 12:23 pm
WXPI has confirmed that Meteorologist Kevin Benson is no longer with the station, but did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding his departure. Benson was arrested and charged with three counts of drunken driving and four traffic violations in September, in connection with an incident in Washington County. Authorities say a motorist reported an erratic driver on Interstate 79 near the I-70 Interchange. A State Police Officer pulled over a vehicle a short time later in South Strabane Township that was being driven by Benson. Troopers say he had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. Benson’s blood-alcohol level was reported at point-three-percent and tests showed his blood also contained an inactive metabolite found in cocaine. A preliminary hearing has been set for Benson for December 20th.
November 20, 2019 4:21 am
The year is winding down in North Strabane Township but Supervisors have been busy with public hearings and budgets. On Tuesday, North Strabane Supervisors continued their hearing concerning updates to the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Township staff and consultants have been working on the ordinance and supervisors asked that they be provided a red line version of the proposals so that they can compare changes made to the document. Once that has been prepared, an additional meeting will be scheduled for more study and public input. In regular township business, supervisors were presented with a preliminary budget. The budget shows no tax increase. Township officials did not want to comment on the preliminary budget until its final adoption next week. Final budget approval will be done at the December Legislative meeting.
November 20, 2019 4:08 am
(AP) – The American Medical Association is calling for an immediate ban on all electronic cigarettes and vaping devices. The group adopted the sweeping stance Tuesday at a policy-making meeting in San Diego. It aims to lobby for laws, regulations or legal action to achieve a ban, but the industry is sure to fight back. The AMA cited the surge in teen e-cigarette use. The group also said the recent outbreak of lung illnesses linked to vaping shows how little is known about the health consequences. Most of those sickened said they vaped THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana, not nicotine. The policy singles out e-cigarette and vaping products not approved to help people quit smoking. But none have been approved yet for that use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
November 20, 2019 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – New uncertainty hangs over the Democratic presidential primary as 10 candidates meet on the debate stage once again. No longer is there a clear front-runner, the fight for African American voters is raging and concerns are growing that impeachment may become a distraction from the primary. Those issues and more will play out Wednesday night when the Democratic Party’s top 10 face off in Atlanta just 75 days before primary voting begins. The debate will be carried live by MSNBC. Turbulent polling across the first states to vote in the presidential primary has created a murky picture of the top tier of Democratic candidates. A sign of whom the candidates themselves consider to be out in front may come during the debate. Usually the perceived leader takes the most heat.
November 20, 2019 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ambassador Gordon Sondland has finished with almost six hours of testimony in a hearing that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is calling “a seminal moment in our investigation.” Sondland, President Donald Trump’s European Union ambassador, told lawmakers that he worked with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine policy at Trump’s direction and that “everyone was in the loop” as Giuliani and Trump pressured Ukraine for investigations. Schiff said Sondand’s testimony was “deeply significant and troubling.” Republicans pushed back. California Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence panel, said there was “zero evidence” from Sondland’s testimony. A State Department spokeswoman has called “flat-out false” any suggestion that Ambassador Gordon Sondland told Secretary of State Pompeo that President Donald Trump was linking aid to Ukraine to politically motivated investigations. Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters that Sondland “never told Secretary Pompeo that he believed the president was linking aid to investigations of political opponents.” Ortagus made the remarks to reporters accompanying Pompeo on his plane back to Washington from Brussels. Sondland testified that he kept top members of the Trump administration, including Pompeo, in the loop about Trump’s pressure on Ukraine for investigations. (Photo: CNN)
November 20, 2019 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Two students in Pennsylvania are in police custody after a gun was found in a parked car on campus. Seneca Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Tracy Vitale says several students reported seeing a gun in a student’s possession at Intermediate High School Tuesday morning. The firearm was found in the glove compartment of a student’s car. Vitale says police believe the weapon may have been sold to another student. Both students were removed from school grounds and taken into police custody. Vitale says all students in the district are safe. The incident is under investigation.
November 20, 2019 2:00 am
DETROIT (AP) – A jury has acquitted a Pittsburgh-area elected official of disturbing the peace but couldn’t reach a verdict on a felony charge of obstructing police at a Detroit hotel. Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner was accused of interfering with police as officers tried to remove her husband, Khari Mosley, from the Westin Book Cadillac hotel last March. They were in Detroit to attend a concert. The jury delivered the verdict Wednesday. It’s not known if Wagner will face a second trial. Hotel staff had called 911 to report that Mosley was alone and unruly in the bar. Police say Wagner was drunk in her room and that she boasted about her job. She denied being drunk during her testimony Tuesday. Wagner, a Democrat, was recently re-elected to a third term.
November 19, 2019 5:15 pm
CLEVELAND (AP) – A judge overseeing 2,500 federal lawsuits related to the nation’s opioid crisis has scheduled a trial for late next year over the role played by major pharmacy chains. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland ruled Tuesday that he would hear a case next October brought by Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio against CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, HBC and Discount Drug Mart. He also recommended that other cases be transferred to Chicago, San Francisco and Oklahoma. He plans to transfer a case soon to West Virginia. Polster was scheduled to hear a case last month, but most parties settled. Talks continue toward a possible national settlement that could end all the lawsuits related to the epidemic, which has killed more than 400,000 in the U.S. since 2000.
