Amash Says Voters Support His Leaving; Doesn’t Rule Out Prez Run

Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan, who has left the Republican Party, said Sunday he’s still got the support of voters back home — and hasn’t ruled out a run for president. In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Amash said he’s “had concerns with the Republican Party for several years,” and “this was the term that really broke it for me.” Asked if he would run again — and win — as an independent, Amash said “yes”. And then asked about the possibility of running for president as a Libertarian or on another ticket, he declared.” I still wouldn’t rule anything like that out.” He also stood by his contention that President Donald Trump should be impeached.

Justice Ginsburg Praises Kavanaugh for Appointing All-Female Staff

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only the second woman in history to be added to the high court, praised newly-confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh for appointing an all-female staff of law clerks. Ginbsurg said last Tuesday during a sit-down at Georgetown Law School…“There is a very important first on the Supreme Court this term and it’s thanks to our new justice, Justice Kavanaugh. Justice Kavanaugh made history by bringing on board an all-female law clerk crew. Thanks to his selections, the court has this term, for the first time ever, more women than men serving as law clerks.” Kavanaugh, whose contentious confirmation hearing last summer was marked by allegations of sexual assault – touted his record on sending female law clerks to clerk on the Supreme Court. He also promised to hire an all-female law clerk team.

Fallingwater Home Designated A World Heritage Site by UNESCO

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The iconic Fallingwater home built over a western Pennsylvania waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright has been designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO says Fallingwater and seven other Wright buildings were added to the list Sunday at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. The director calls it “a tremendous honor.” Designed in 1935 for a Pittsburgh department store magnate, Fallingwater receives about 180,000 visitors per year.

Philadelphia University Apologizes for Erroneous Message Warning of Active Shooter on Campus

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia university is apologizing for an erroneous message warning of an active shooter on the campus. Thomas Jefferson University says a “resolvable system error” during a routine test of the school’s JeffAlert system sent out the alert at 10:18 a.m. Sunday about the campus in the East Falls neighborhood, which was formerly known as Philadelphia University. The school vows to take action “to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Aliquippa Building Fills with Smoke

(Photos taken by Sandy Giordano)

An Aliquippa building filled with smoke Saturday night, prompting a visit from local firefighters. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano was there…

 

Woman Being Sought in Shooting at North Versailles Walmart

NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a woman being sought in a shooting in an Allegheny County Walmart that critically wounded another woman is in custody. Allegheny County police say 22-year-old Rojanai Alston, of Penn Hills, surrendered to county police Saturday evening and was taken to county jail to await arraignment. Police said earlier Alston faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges in the Friday shooting in the electronics section of the North Versailles store.

Crash in Penn Hills Leaves One Woman Dead, One Man Injured

PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) — A crash in Penn Hills has left a woman dead and a man injured. The crash occurred shortly after 5:15 a.m. this morning in Penn Hills. Authorities say the woman was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. The man suffered a leg injury and was being treated at a hospital. Both drivers were alone in their vehicles. Their names have not been released.

Fallingwater, 7 other Wright homes now World Heritage sites

Fallingwater, 7 other Wright homes now World Heritage sites
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The iconic Fallingwater home built over a western Pennsylvania waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright has been designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
UNESCO announced it added Fallingwater and seven other U.S. buildings designed by Wright in the first half of the 20th century to its World Heritage List during a World Heritage Committee meeting Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“These buildings reflect the ‘organic architecture’ developed by Wright, which includes an open plan, a blurring of the boundaries between exterior and interior and the unprecedented use of materials such as steel and concrete,” the organization said. “Each of these buildings offers innovative solutions to the needs for housing, worship, work or leisure.”
Besides Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, the buildings include the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, UNESCO said.
Wright designed Fallingwater in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann Sr. and his family, placing the home on top of Bear Run, a mountain stream and one of the family’s favorite picnicking destinations. Its nearly four-year construction was completed in 1939. Edgar Kaufmann Jr., the Kaufmanns’ only child, inherited Fallingwater in 1955 and used it as a retreat until 1963. He donated the building and hundreds of acres to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which opened it to the public in 1964, and it now has about 180,000 visitors per year.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater’s director emerita who led the team that wrote the revised 369-page nomination, said she’s convinced that without Wright “our architecture today would be very different.”
She said the eight buildings “sum up modern architecture in their open plans, abstraction of form, use of new technology, connection to nature and ability to adapt to modern living.”
Fallingwater director Justin Gunther called the designation “a tremendous honor, one reserved for the world’s most treasured places.”
“Equally as meaningful is the profound influence buildings like Fallingwater can have in enhancing our understanding of the environments we live in today, and the ones we are planning for the future,” he said.
Fallingwater and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall are the only two World Heritage sites in Pennsylvania out of more than 1,000 such sites around the world.

Stevie Wonder says he’s getting a kidney transplant in fall

Stevie Wonder says he’s getting a kidney transplant in fall
By GREGORY KATZ Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Stevie Wonder surprised concertgoers in London Saturday night by announcing that he will take a break from performing so that he can receive a kidney transplant this fall.
The 69-year-old music legend made the announcement after performing “Superstition” at the end of a packed British Summer Time concert in London’s sprawling Hyde Park.
He said he was speaking out to quell rumors and sought to reassure fans that he would be okay.
“I’m going to be doing three shows then taking a break,” he said. “I’m having surgery. I’m going to have a kidney transplant at the end of September this year.”
He said a donor has been found and that he would be fine, drawing cheers from a devoted crowd of tens of thousands that stretched out from the stage as far as the eye could see.
“I came here to give you my love and to thank you for yours,” he said. “You ain’t gonna hear no rumors about us. I’m good.”
He did not provide additional information about his kidney illness. There had been a recent report that Wonder was facing a serious health issue.
A representative for Wonder didn’t immediately respond to a request Saturday for details about his health. He has kept an active schedule, including performing recently at a Los Angeles memorial service for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Wonder, who has received more than two-dozen Grammy Awards, has produced a string of hits over a long career that began when he was a youngster who performed as Little Stevie Wonder. His classic hits include “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Living for the City.”
Wonder seemed in top form throughout the concert, performing a series of his hits and paying tribute to musical heroes including Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and John Lennon, performing a stirring rendition of the latter’s “Imagine” near the end of the show.
It was a joyous event, with his fans reveling in the warm summer night — though a light drizzle fell near the end — and the career-spanning retrospective that evoked Wonder’s early days as a young Motown star.
He did seem less ebullient than in the past and made his health announcement in a somber tone with a severe look on his face. But he was smiling as he left the stage with the band playing the memorable conclusion of “Superstition” one final time.
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Associated Press television writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed.