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Ok, FRiends. There is a story going around that Paul Ryan's budget "compromise" includes a 19% cut in Social Security. I tried to find out what the bill says about SS, but no luck. I found some articles that referred to possible changes in SS, but they are all dated from October. Can anyone point me to language in the final version of this cr@p sandwich that deals with this issue? Thank you.

Yesterday, I broke my long-standing streak of not having seen an Academy Award winning/nominated movie in several years. A friend talked me into seeing "Birdman," the film starring Michael Keaton. It was perhaps the most excruciating 2 or so hours of my life. Much of the time I couldn't follow what was going on. The basic plot is about a one-time super hero actor now working on a Broadway play. Half the time I didn't know what was the play and what was "reality." Then there were the F bombs. Now I'm not a prude and can tolerate foul language...

A friend of mine called in a panic. She received a pop up on her IMac saying her computer was compromised ahd that she should call "Apple Tech Support" at 1-800-656-8559. She called the number and was scammed for her credit card number to allegedly fix the problem. She has canceled her card and was told the charge would be removed and a new card issued. It's unclear whether the scammer has harvested any other sensitive information from her computer. I told her to call the real Apple tech support number, but is there anything else she should do? If...

Freeper Friends: A close friend lost her job a week ago. This afternoon she called me feeling very depressed and anxious. I'm trying to be there for her and offer her words of encouragement. As she is a devout Christian, I'm looking for some Scripture that might lift her up. Can any of you help me? Thank you.

My friends, may I ask for your advice? I am having my bathroom remodeled, but it's up to me to purchase the flooring. Of course, I know nothing about flooring. I'd like something easy to keep clean. I was thinking vinyl without seams or grouting, but I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks guys.

Gov. Tom Corbett unveiled his first budget Tuesday, calling for no new taxes but an array of spending adjustments that would combine modest spending increases in some areas with deep cuts in education and the elimination of hundreds of state jobs. Corbett proposed $27.3 billion in spending for the fiscal year that starts July 1, a decrease of about 3 percent from this year's budget. It assumes that improving state tax collections will produce a surplus of more than a half-billion dollars by the end of the current year and grow by 4 percent next year. "I bring you a...

Homestead Police Use Job Application To Nab Robber On 8th Avenue Police said they used a job application to help nab a young man who's accused of robbing someone in the parking lot of the local Subway sandwich shop. "This isn't regular criminal behavior," Homestead Police Chief J.A. DeSimone said. "He's not a rocket scientist, but this one takes the cake." DeSimone said 18-year-old Kris Johnson is accused of pulling a gun on a man in front of the restaurant on West Eighth Avenue and robbing him of $15 just before 5 p.m. Sunday. DeSimone said the robbery victim flagged...

Maybe some of you high tech types can help me here. I have a Facebook account. I had one for several months, but all of a sudden, Facebook now requires me to verify my account before I can post anything. The only ways offered are to link the account to a mobile phone or to provide Facebook with a valid credit card. Well, I don't have a mobile phone and I don't get why I would want to give Facebook a credit card number which it could use fraudulently. There should not be any charges for using Facebook. There is...

McCANDLESS, Pa. -- Stuck in the mud since the middle of the night, with no way to cry for help, a horse was rescued Friday morning at a McCandless farm. "I came down to feed the horses at about a quarter to 8 this morning. We have three down here. Two were at the gate to let in, and the older guy was missing," Patty Quatchak said. That "older guy" is a 35-year-old quarter horse named Sonny. Sometime during the night, he must have wandered into a muddy bog or creek and didn't have strength to free himself because of...

The Comcast-NBC merger is the first domino. If it falls, the rest will soon follow. If no one stops them, how long do you think it will take before 4 or 5 megacorporations effectively control the flow of information in America not only on television, but online? How long do you think it will take before the Fox News website loads 5 times faster than DailyKos? It's almost too late to stop this from happening, but not quite. The government can stop them. . . but first the government has to be MADE to act. Net Neutrality is THE First...

WTAE Channel 4 Action News anchor Michelle Wright went to the resort's wildlife academy on Wednesday to meets its newest white lion cub up close and personal. "There are only 30 white lions in the world. We've had our lions for about 3 1/2 years now, and this is our first litter, so it's very special. Most of the babies are in South Africa, so for us to have one in the U.S. is very special," said animal program manager Mandy Burnsworth.

BRISTOL — The Elkhart County Red Cross is calling a Bristol pit bull a hero after he alerted his family to a fire, and even tried to pull a 3-month-old baby girl away from the danger. The fire started around 3 a.m. Thursday in a hallway and quickly spread throughout the home. “It sounds like the real hero here is the family pit bull,” said Frank Connolly, assistant executive director of the Elkhart County Red Cross. “Apparently ‘Thor’ woke the family up and even tried to pull the baby and bassinet out of the house. Lately we have learned how...

SOUTH PARK, Pa. -- It took a big effort Wednesday to rescue a tiny kitty that fell into a sewer in South Park. Channel 4 Action News reporter Shannon Perrine said neighbors on Riggs Road began hearing cries two days ago and called police for help. "We had the cops come and we got two of them that way, but one dropped down to the lower level that we can't get to," Heidi Fedor said. Ron Swidorsky climbed in before the professionals arrived, although it wasn't safe for him to be there. "Spent some hours last night trying to get...

I have Adobe 10 installed on my computer to help me read and create/edit PDF documents. For some reason now, when I open a PDF document I haven't created, I can't open it properly. I might get the first page; then the rest of the pages take forever to load, or they don't load at all. Some PDF documents won't even partially load. I can't figure out why. I've made sure that every update has been installed. Since I'm a total dummy when it comes to computers and software, could one of you high tech experts give me some advice...

PITTSBURGH -- A severe thunderstorm cell moving into southwestern Pennsylvania early Wednesday evening prompted the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning. The tornado warning is in effect until 7:15 p.m. for northern Washington County, central Allegheny County and southwestern Beaver County in southwestern Pennsylvania.

PITTSBURGH -- A Pittsburgh thief turned out to be no match for a little nun with a commanding voice. Sister Lynn Rettinger didn't even have to break out a ruler for a man who reached into an open window and stole a wallet from a car on Tuesday. She just needed the voice honed by nearly 50 years in Catholic schools. After a teacher saw the man swipe the wallet, the 5-foot-3-inch-tall principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School in the Shadyside neighborhood went outside and firmly told the man, "you need to give me what you have." The unknown thief...

Police Say Census Workers Chased, Attacked, Threatened In Burrell Township. BURRELL TWP., Pa. -- State police have charged an Indiana County man with assault, saying he allegedly attacked two teenage census workers. According to police reports, 18-year-old Austin Kwisnek and a female juvenile were collecting data for the U.S. Census when Timothy Cowan chased them from his property on Hebenthal Lane in Burrell Township. Police said Cowan, 43, proceeded to follow the workers' vehicle down the road after they left. At one point, the workers' vehicle went off the side of the road and Cowan went up to Kwisnek's window...

I went to vote this morning at the local polling place and was the only voter there. May have been the wrong time of day or something, but the turnout prediction as of yesterday was around 20-30% of eligible voters. That is not good. So please, guys, if you haven't voted, get out and vote today. Our lives literally depend on it.

I just now received an automated telephone call from Peg Luksik, Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate (Pennsylvania). This makes THREE annoying phone calls from her campaign in the last month. All three have the same message, and you can't disconnect them. Now I wouldn't vote for Ms. Luksik even if she paid me, but I've already decided that any candidate who places one of those automated calls to me will not get my vote. Ok, I'm done ranting now. Back to more important issues.

Thought you nature lovers would be interested in seeing the peregrine falcons and their hatchlings. This is a live webcam, and there is a button where you can toggle between the two nesting sites.