Westmoreland developments: The Venue, former Weyand Signs building search for new owners
After closing his 6½-year-old restaurant in late June, Michael Villi will reopen The Venue in downtown Greensburg this month while searching for a new owner to operate the business. Looking to retire from the restaurant business, Villi closed The Venue to search for a new owner. But after having his...
Someone could win $1.8B Powerball jackpot Saturday. Odds are their identity will remain a mystery
After Iowa gas station employee Timothy Schultz won a $29 million lottery jackpot in 1999, he decided to hold a press conference. Lottery officials told him it would help him avoid being “hounded by media” since state law required his name to be disclosed anyway. But the then-21-year-old soon felt...
In post-Jan. 6 era, 600 officers train for riots as threats to lawmakers climb toward record high
LAUREL, Md. — The car jolted as protesters pounded on its windows, boxing in the lawmaker trapped inside. Within seconds, officers in full riot gear surged forward in formation, yanking open the doors and pulling the passenger to safety. A few hundred yards away, another team of police moved just...
Trump says U.S. will host next year’s G20 summit at his Florida golf club but he won’t make money
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida, arguing it was “the best location” for the high-stakes international gathering but insisting his family’s business “will not make any money on it.” In his...
Pa. Supreme Court 101: What it is, why it matters, and more
This guide was originally published on Oct. 23, 2023. It was updated this week, ahead of the Nov. 4 judicial elections. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is made up of seven justices. Currently, there are five Democrats and two Republicans who serve on the court. Three justices — all Democrats —...
Health care at its worst: Clinic employees fired for mocking patients on TikTok
The latest viral video of health care workers behaving badly made the rounds on Labor Day weekend. It originated in Santa Barbara, Calf., and was shared on TikTok by a former employee of the Sansum Clinic there. It was a since-deleted video that depicted former co-workers at the clinic, which...
Takeaways from RFK Jr.’s contentious hearing before Senate lawmakers
WASHINGTON — A contentious three-hour hearing between U.S. senators and Robert Kennedy Jr. devolved into multiple screaming matches on Thursday as the nation’s health secretary fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership. The oversight hearing in the Senate Finance Committee was a...
Asia will get a prime view of this weekend’s total lunar eclipse
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The year’s second total lunar eclipse is coming up fast, and this time Asia will have the best seats in the cosmos. Earth’s shadow will obscure this weekend’s full moon as the home planet lines up perfectly between the moon and the sun. Totality will last...
Homeland security official says 475 people were detained during an immigration raid in Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Some 475 people were detained during an immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles, according to a Homeland Security official. Steven Schrank, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, said at a news briefing Friday that the majority...
Fox News thrives 2 years after court settlement, but 2020 election coverage fight goes on
NEW YORK — Twice recently, the people who run Fox News were reminded of their biggest nightmare. The conservative network Newsmax’s $67 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over false claims after the 2020 election recalled Fox’s own $787.5 million deal with the same company more than two years ago....
U.S. employers likely added a modest 80,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market has cooled
WASHINGTON — When the Labor Department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged President Donald Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her. Nothing quite so dramatic is likely Friday when the department releases hiring...
Operation Warp Speed was one of Trump’s biggest achievements. Then came RFK Jr. and vaccine skeptics
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump launched Operation Warp Speed in the throes of the covid-19 pandemic, an effort he has credited with saving tens of millions of lives. During a Cabinet meeting last week, he likened it to “one of the greatest achievements ever.” Sitting at the table as a...
Trump to attend U.S. Open men’s final, marking another trip to a major sporting event
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s men’s final of the U.S. Open, returning to a tournament he once frequently attended for the first time in a decade. The White House confirmed the visit Thursday night. Trump is expected to make a daytrip to New York and return to...
A wildly popular 15-year-old computer whiz is becoming the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint
CHICAGO — At a Catholic school in Pope Leo XIV’s hometown, fifth graders read comic books about Carlo Acutis’ life titled “Digital Disciple.” They draw pictures of what the teenage Italian computer whiz might have had as his cellphone wallpaper. They discuss the miracles that allegedly occurred thanks to Acutis’...
Central Westmoreland CTC eyes campus, program expansion as enrollment increases
Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center is outgrowing the buildings on its 44-acre campus in New Stanton — noting a more than 500-student increase in enrollment in the past five years. One of more than 80 career and technical education centers statewide, Central Westmoreland will educate 1,518 students this year...
Joe Biden undergoes surgery to remove skin cancer on forehead
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden recently underwent surgery to remove skin cancer lesions, a spokesperson said Thursday, the latest health challenge for the former president. His spokesperson Kelly Scully confirmed the surgery after Inside Edition published video of Biden leaving church in Delaware with a fresh scar on his forehead. She...
Trump administration ditches Biden-era plan to make airlines pay compensation for flight disruptions
The Trump administration said Thursday it is abandoning a Biden-era plan that sought to require airlines to compensate stranded passengers with cash, lodging and meals for flight cancellations or changes caused by a carrier. The proposed rule would have aligned U.S. policy more closely with European airline consumer protections. It...
Trump will seek ‘Department of War’ rebrand for PentagonVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, his latest effort to project an image of toughness for America’s military. The Republican president can’t formally change the name without legislation, which his administration would request...
FBI seized phones, computer equipment, folders during search of John Bolton’s home, records show
WASHINGTON — The FBI seized phones, computer equipment and typed documents from the home of John Bolton as part of an investigation into whether one of President Donald Trump’s first-term national security advisers mishandled government secrets, according to court records unsealed Thursday. The criminal investigation burst into public view last...
Justice Department probes mortgage fraud claims against Lisa Cook of Federal Reserve
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has begun examining mortgage fraud allegations against Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who is challenging a Trump administration effort to remove her from her job in a move she says is designed to erode the central bank’s independence. Investigators have issued subpoenas as part...
Cat in San Francisco euthanized after latest bird flu infection tied to raw pet food
Federal health officials are warning that certain lots of raw cat food may be contaminated with H5N1 bird flu after a pet cat in San Francisco that ate the food became infected with the virus and had to be euthanized. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that two...
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let him fire member of Federal Trade Commission
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to let the president fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of emergency appeals over the president’s removal power. President Donald Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but lower courts...
Appeals court panel stops order to wind down operations at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Everglades
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal appeals court panel on Thursday put on hold a lower court judge’s order to end operations indefinitely at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The three-judge panel in Atlanta decided by a 2-1 vote to stay the federal judge’s order...
White House pans Shapiro for questioning National Guard deployments
The White House dismissed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s opposition to President Trump potentially deploying National Guard troops to Philadelphia to fight crime, touting the results of the deployments elsewhere. “Another wannabe presidential candidate is desperate to get into the news cycle by attacking the president’s highly successful operations to drive...
Macron says 26 countries pledge troops as a reassurance force for Ukraine after war ends
KYIV, Ukraine — French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once fighting ends in the conflict with Russia. Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a...
