Police say 2-year-old boy died after man sat on him
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Iowa police say a 2-year-old boy died after a man sat on the child for allegedly taking his cellphone. Pottawattamie County court records show 31-year-old Larry Murphy is charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. He’s jailed on more than $1 million bail....
Letter to the editor: Highlands budget woes
Highlands School District has not released a budget. The school board’s public meeting failed to answer resident questions (“Seeking exceptions gives Highlands ‘options’ for budget, business manager says,” Feb. 18, TribLIVE). Our district requested a tax hike exceeding the maximum allowed by law. Highlands’ 2018 tax rate was eighth highest...
High profile arrest led Alabama police to genealogy testing
OZARK, Ala. — A truck-driving preacher accused of killing two teenage girls from Alabama nearly 20 years ago was found with the same genealogy database techniques used to apprehend the suspected “Golden State Killer” last year. Law enforcement interest in using genetic genealogy to crack cold cases has ballooned since...
Dartmouth professor wins top religion prize
HANOVER, N.H. — A Dartmouth College professor of physics and astronomy was awarded one of the world’s leading religion prizes for blending hard science and deep spirituality in his work, a foundation announced Tuesday. The John Templeton Foundation is awarding its 2019 prize to Marcelo Gleiser, who has written books...
Pa. National Guard members deploying to Poland
About 500 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard are preparing to deploy to Poland this spring, according to the state department of military and veteran affairs. Those members assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment will be mobilized there as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, according...
Personal trainer learns to help others through helping himself
Sometimes you just have to take things into your own hands. Stuart Urch of Greensburg learned that lesson while dealing with lingering injuries from playing high school football — and it’s led him into a career as a personal trainer. The 24-year-old is offering private and group training sessions at...
Quinn on Nutrition: Canola oil gets undeserved bad rap
In response to a recent column in which I suggested canola oil as one good choice for popping corn “since it is low in saturated fat and has a high enough smoke point not to burn at higher temperatures,” a reader from Capitola writes: “The circle of people I associate...
Seniors make ‘Kick Butts’ gifts to help educate their young pen palsVideo
Seated at tables off the lobby area of South Greengate Commons, a Westmoreland County Housing Authority property for seniors, residents use markers, scissors and poster board to create “table tent” messages. “I love you, don’t smoke,” reads one. A resident peels off a “Kick Butts Day” sticker to add to...
Tips for dealing with dandruff
Dandruff is a common chronic scalp condition marked by flaking of the skin on your scalp. It isn’t contagious or serious, but it can be embarrassing and sometimes difficult to treat. The good news is that dandruff usually can be controlled. Mild cases of dandruff may need nothing more than...
When you get your flu shot matters
Every year, there is controversy involving the flu vaccine. How effective is it? Should you get it? But a new study aims to address another question: When is the best time to get the shot? An analysis from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that tens of thousands...
Health Happenings
Blood drives • Central Blood Bank will host a blood drive 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday in Harmon House Care Center, 601 S. Church St., Mt. Pleasant. Appointments: 866-366-6711 or centralbloodbank.org. Screenings • Level Green Lions are sponsoring a health awareness screening 7-10 a.m. Saturday in their Community Building,
123 Murrysville...
Sharpton, family seek change a year after Stephon Clark died
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Standing beside the family of a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police a year ago Monday, the Rev. Al Sharpton called for California to make it easier to prosecute officers who kill civilians and to require that all cases go before a grand jury....
Judge: Feds can post info on FBI raid of Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen
NEW YORK — A judge directed prosecutors Monday to publicly release documents related to the search warrant for last year’s FBI raids on the home and office of President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ordered that redacted versions of the documents be released...
New Jersey enacts law barring cashless stores
Retailers in New Jersey must accept cash as a form of payment after Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Monday a ban on so-called cashless stores. With the exception of a few businesses, the new law prohibits most brick-and-mortar retailers from refusing to accept cash. Businesses can be fined up...
Alan Krueger, former White House economist, dead at 58 from suicide
Alan Krueger, a labor economist who advised two presidents and drew on empirical research, rather than abstract theories, to generate surprising insights into the impact of minimum wage increases, the origins of terrorists and the rising price of concert tickets, has died. He was 58. He died by suicide over...
Ex-officer says she had sex while child was dying in hot car
BILOXI, Miss. — A former Mississippi Gulf Coast police officer told a judge Monday that she had sex with her supervisor and then fell asleep while her 3-year-old daughter was dying inside an overheated patrol car. Cassie Barker pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in a plea bargain after being indicted...
Pentagon lists possible project cuts to pay for border wall
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon sent a 20-page list of military construction projects to Congress on Monday that might be slashed to pay for President Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Democrats expressed hope that by knowing which local projects could be targeted, lawmakers would be likelier to override Trump’s veto...
Democrats call for counterintelligence investigation of massage parlor boss Cindy Yang
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are asking the FBI to investigate former Florida massage parlor owner Li “Cindy” Yang after the Miami Herald and others reported on Yang’s access to President Trump and work to get Chinese business executives access to political fundraisers. In a letter sent Friday to FBI...
Navy veteran tended plants, stray cats
Donald Hisker had a passion for plants. The Greensburg native grew everything from tomatoes and cucumbers to petunias and irises, and he freely shared the bounty of his backyard garden as well as the benefit of his horticultural know-how. “He always had to have his tomato plants,” said his son,...
Cheyney trustees fined for missing financial disclosures and back dated filings
The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission on Monday announced it has fined a pair of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania trustees $500 each for failing to file financial disclosure forms for years and then back dating current forms to make it appear they had complied with the law in prior years. Authorities discovered...
Suspect in mob boss hit flashes pro-Trump slogans on hand
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The man charged with killing the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family wrote pro-Donald Trump slogans on his hand and flashed them to journalists before a court hearing Monday. Anthony Comello, 24, was arrested Saturday in New Jersey in the death of Francesco “Franky Boy”...
Former IUP dean fined for ethics violation received $290,000 discrimination settlement from university
The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission last week fined a former Indiana University of Pennsylvania administrator $3,000 for repeatedly hiring her son’s firm for university business and neglecting to file accurate financial disclosure statements, actions deemed technical violations of the state Ethics Act. But former IUP Associate Dean of Student Affairs Carolyn...
Iowa Rep. Steve King posts meme bragging red states have ‘8 trillion bullets’
WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve King posted a meme during the weekend about a hypothetical civil war between “blue states” fighting over which bathroom to use and “red states” with trillions of bullets. The post is an image of two figures composed of traditionally Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning states in fighting postures...
Over 1,000 feared dead as cyclone slams into Mozambique
JOHANNESBURG — More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation’s president said. “It is a real disaster of great proportions,” President Filipe Nyusi said. Cyclone Idai could prove...
NPYD: Bronx cop believed to have died after 1999 shooting is alive
NEW YORK — A cop believed to have died some time after he was shot 20 years ago in the Bronx by a man arrested Friday actually survived the shooting, the New York Police Department said Monday. Law enforcement authorities, including NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill in a tweet Sunday, had...
