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Trump calls off threats to strike Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran’s oil industry. Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a live phone call on state television that mediators were active and nothing had been finalized to end ...

Former chef at Martinsburg care home facing fraud, theft charges

A former chef at The Village at Morrisons Cove faces charges after allegedly being paid more than $40,000 in fraudulent reimbursements. Kenneth Art Feathers II, 60, of Altoona was arraigned June 5 before Magisterial District Judge Andrew L. Blattenberger on felony charges of theft, receiving ...

Altoona zoning board grants variances for silk mill redevelopment project

The city Zoning Hearing Board Wednesday granted four variances requested by the company that is redeveloping the former Juniata Silk Mill on Broadway as a multi-tenant commercial facility in an industrial flex zone. One will allow establishment of a preschool larger than 5,000 square feet; another will allow a drive-thru window, in this case for a coffee shop; another will allow a five-foot rear setback for a drive-thru lane, rather than the required 10-foot setback; and one will allow for 84 off-street parking spaces, where 126 would normally be required. Simington and its consulting ...

City woman asks Blair County to ban mass balloon releases

HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Altoona woman asked Blair County commissioners on Thursday for a ban on balloon releases, something that she thought everyone knew to be hazardous to wildlife, the environment and aviators. “Let’s be first and let’s lead the way,” Rosemary Ellis told commissioners ...

Cambria County solar panel project progressing

LILLY — Cambria County’s solar panel project is continuing to progress after the commissioners approved an interconnection reimbursement agreement Thursday with MEI Manor LLC, said Chief Clerk Alex Ashcom. As part of the project, the county hopes to install solar fields to power the Cambria County Prison, the Cambria County Courthouse and surrounding county-owned facilities at half the current cost, Ashcom said. The project received initial approval from Penelec, was pushed to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission for approval and then was sent back to Penelec for an engineering ...

Judge denies motions for Blair County pair accused of child sexual abuse

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A judge denied the motions to dismiss Thursday morning filed on behalf of the Blair County couple facing hundreds of counts of child sexual abuse across four cases. William John Stonebraker, 56, and Marie Louis Stonebraker, 44, appeared alongside their respective defense ...