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Syrian refugee pleads guilty in IS-inspired church bomb scheme

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Syrian refugee accused of plotting to bomb a Christian church in Pittsburgh and who was inspired by the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to a federal charge on Thursday and awaits sentencing. Pittsburgh resident Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 23, entered the plea to attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic Stage group, a militant extremist organization. Authorities have said he had detailed plans in 2019 to bomb the Legacy International Worship Center, a small Christian church on the city’s North Side. Federal prosecutors said at the ...

Pa. liquor stores put 2-bottle limit on booze

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor system will begin rationing sales of a few dozen products on Friday in response to what it describes as supply shortages beyond its control. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board notified license holders on Thursday that two-bottles-per-day purchase limits for customers at state stores, as well as well for bars, restaurants and other license holders, will remain in place indefinitely. The PLCB said “sustained supply chain disruptions and product shortages” prompted the restrictions on certain types of alcohol. The 43 items ...

GOP lawmakers vote for subpoena seeking voter info

HARRISBURG (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate prepared Wednesday to test how far they can go in pursuing what the GOP calls a “forensic investigation” of last year’s presidential election, as Democrats accused them of helping perpetuate the “big lie” of baseless claims that former President Donald Trump was cheated out of victory. The Republican-controlled Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee held a party-line vote to issue a subpoena for detailed state election records, including the names of who voted in last year’s presidential election, their ...

Pa. releases data on ‘breakthrough’ COVID-19 cases

Pennsylvania residents who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus were far more likely to contract COVID-19, become hospitalized and die than those who got the shot, health officials said Tuesday in the first public release of data on so-called “breakthrough” infections in the state. More than 35,000 people who were fully vaccinated have tested positive for the virus since January, representing only 6% of all cases statewide, according to the data released Tuesday. More than 1,800 vaccinated people were hospitalized and 213 died — both representing a tiny fraction of all ...

Free rides take a $104M toll on Pa. Turnpike finances

CARLISLE (AP) — More than $104 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went uncollected last year as the agency fully converted to all-electronic tolling, with the millions of motorists who don’t use E-ZPass having a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. An internal turnpike report issued in July and obtained by The Associated Press through a Right-to-Know Law request showed nearly 11 million out of the total of about 170 million turnpike rides generated no revenue for the agency in the year that ended May ...

Prison guards union asks court to review vax-or-test mandate

HARRISBURG (AP) — The union that represents corrections officers in Pennsylvania prisons wants a state court to intervene over the governor’s recent mandate that they all get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing. The six-page Commonwealth Court complaint over a rule Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month requests that the court issue a preliminary injunction to end mandatory testing unless inmates, visitors and outside vendors are also subject to the requirement. “The entry of a preliminary injunction is necessary in order to maintain the equity” between ...