TribLive stories, Page 2279
Mike Pence declares ‘ISIS is defeated’ hours after attack kills U.S. troops
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence told U.S. diplomats Wednesday that the Islamic State caliphate has collapsed in Syria, but he made no mention of the U.S. military personnel confirmed killed in the country shortly before he spoke. In remarks filled with praise for the leadership of President Trump, Pence...
Editorial: Shooting joke wasn’t funny
“My client didn’t make an actual credible threat.” Defense attorney David Shrager made that statement in court Wednesday, dismissing the actions of Jason Bowen, 18, of Middlesex as an inappropriate joke. Inappropriate? Yes. Joke? Not funny. The “joke” was a Snapchat video showing Bowen shooting a semiautomatic rifle with the...
The best prescription for teens addicted to vaping? No one knows
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top health authorities agree: Teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of Juul and other e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are now the top high-risk...
YouTube to ban ‘harmful or dangerous’ prank, challenge videos
YouTube is bringing down the hammer on “harmful or dangerous content” in the wake of viral challenges that place content creators in potentially serious danger. The company recently announced the content crack-down, and singled out videos that present an apparent risk of death, videos that cause children to experience emotional...
Some things to consider about alcohol on airplanes
On a recent Delta Air Lines flight from Newark to Minneapolis, a passenger seated near Stephanie Wolkin downed five mini-bottles of vodka in rapid succession. By the time the plane landed, the intoxicated passenger had become violently ill, and Wolkin, a retired union worker from St. Paul, Minn., had earned...
Hotel dishwasher awarded $21M after boss made her work Sundays
MIAMI — A jury has awarded a Miami hotel dishwasher $21.5 million, concluding that her employer failed to honor her religious beliefs by repeatedly scheduling her on Sundays and ultimately firing her. Marie Jean Pierre, a dishwasher at the Conrad Miami, sued Virginia-based Park Hotels & Resorts, formerly known as...
What to expect when Oscar nominations are announced
Now that our heads have stopped spinning from the recent Golden Globes, we can focus on this week’s upcoming Oscar nominations. There are really just two burning questions: One is whether “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a surprise winner at the Globes, will be nominated for best picture. Another is whether “Black Panther,”...
Trump’s vow to ‘devastate’ Turkey’s economy rattles negotiations over Syria
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criss-crossed the Middle East this week to explain the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria, he repeated that he was “confident” and “optimistic” that he was nearing a deal with Turkey on a mutually agreeable exit plan. But a pugnacious tweet...
Letter to the editor: Fairness & civility in local politics
When retired executive John Ventre announced his decision to run for Westmoreland County Commissioner on Jan. 11, he was stunned to see that his extensive resume of work and board and charitable service, and his creative plan to help the county, was reduced to negativism regarding his former hobby and...
Letter to the editor: Protect our country
The Democrats had a gun control mantra: “If only one life is saved, it’s worth it.” I think this mantra is more applicable to building the border wall. We have already had illegals kill police and cause traffic fatalities. Democrats and RINOs have to get off their high horses and...
Letter to the editor: Immigrants, disease & our charity
Everyone talks about drugs and criminals illegally entering through Mexico, but I wonder about the disease coming in with these invaders. They probably have not been inoculated for many common diseases, and could be carrying other diseases common to their countries. Also, after their trek to an unwelcoming country, they...
Pine-Richland Cheer team finishes fourth at state championships
The Pine-Richland High School Competitive Cheerleading Squad placed fourth at the state championship on Jan. 11 and 12, in Hershey, Pa. They earned second place in the Small Varsity Division and fourth overall in the WPIAL Championships hosted at Hempfield High School on Jan. 5. The final stop for this...
Authentic Sauerbraten is well worth the effort
Sauerbraten, a German Pot Roast, will probably not be found in a cookbook “Ready in 30 minutes.” This most memorable recipe takes some advanced preparation. Julianne Eilinsfeld, a resident of Shaler, loves celebrating traditions and learning about her family history and genealogy. This recipe was her great-grandmother’s, whom she never...
Phil Vassar, country music’s renaissance man, plays The Palace TheatreVideo
Phil Vassar is known for many things: singing, songwriting and playing the piano. Now the wine aficionado — who owns Red River Beverage — has added television host to his resume. Vassar – who is performing on Jan. 24 at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg – stars in the new...
Paul Manafort misled grand jury on Trump administration contacts, filing says
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller have intensively scrutinized Paul Manafort’s activities after President Trump’s election — including after Manafort was criminally charged — and indicated they have extensive details not yet made public about Manafort’s interactions with former Russian aide Konstantin Kilimnik and others, a Tuesday...
TCU sends West Virginia to 0-5 mark in Big 12
FORT WORTH, Texas — Desmond Bane scored 26 points to lead six TCU players in double figures as the Horned Frogs beat West Virginia, 98-67, on Tuesday night, sending the Mountaineers to their first 0-5 conference record in 23 years. TCU (13-3, 2-2 Big 12) got off a slow start,...
Democrats remain unified in border wall fight, confounding Trump and GOP
WASHINGTON — Hoping to make a crack in Democratic unity as the partial government shutdown reached Day 25, President Trump invited a handful of moderate Democrats to the White House on Tuesday for lunch and a chat. None showed up. That despite the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,...
PG&E bankruptcy looms, CEO to exit as fire costs dwarf cash
PG&E Corp. said it will file for bankruptcy in California after the cost of wildfires left it with potential liabilities of $30 billion or more, gutting its share price and prompting the departure of its chief executive officer. The San Francisco-based company said it intends to reorganize under Chapter 11...
Al-Shabab extremists claim deadly attack on Nairobi hotel
NAIROBI, Kenya — Extremists stormed a luxury hotel in Kenya’s capital on Tuesday, setting off thunderous explosions and gunning down people at cafe tables in an attack claimed by Africa’s deadliest Islamic militant group. A police officer said at least 15 people had died. “It is terrible. What I have...
Florida official faces backlash for saying Muslim lawmaker may ‘blow up’ Congress
WASHINGTON — A rookie commissioner from a South Florida beach city is facing calls for her resignation after she called newly elected Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib a “danger” and said the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress may decide to become a “martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.” From Washington to...
Peter Morici: Swing voters want solutions, not socialist revolution
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez notwithstanding, the big winners in the midterms were moderate Democrats. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders carefully salted swing districts with young candidates who appealed to minorities, college-educated women and suburbanites who want solutions to problems in their daily lives, not a socialist revolution. The moderate Democrats...
Kirsten Gillibrand to enter presidential race featuring record number of women
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a central figure in the Democratic Party’s debate about the #MeToo movement, is preparing to join a 2020 presidential primary contest that features a record number of women in the wake of the midterm election tidal wave of female candidates. Gillibrand, 52, will announce...
Editorial: Everyone counts in census
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, 17 other attorneys general, six mayors including Pittsburgh’s Bill Peduto and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have won a federal court battle. They argued against a Trump administration directive to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The decision? The census means counting everybody,...
Carlynton free-throw contest winners recognized
A free-throw tradition dating back more than 50 years was held at Carlynton High School on Jan. 11, sponsored by the Carnegie Elks and organized by Gary Marches, a retired reading specialist for North Hill School District and former member of the Carlynton School Board. ” Each year, The Elks...
South Korea stops calling North Korea ‘enemy’ in defense report
South Korea dropped a reference to North Korea as its “enemy” in a Defense Ministry white paper for the first time since 2010, reflecting warming ties between the neighbors still technically at war. In a report released on Tuesday, the ministry said that North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction remained...
