September 30, 2023 9:21 am
EAST WASHINGTON, Pa. (WTAE) — A candidate running for East Washington borough council in November has been arrested and charged with several counts related to sexual contact with an underage boy, according to reports by WTAE TV. Anthony J. Dinch, 28, was arraigned Friday on nine charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age, unlawful contact with a minor — sexual offenses, and indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age. A criminal complaint against Dinch alleged the incidents occurred in November 2022 and May 2023. Dinch knew the child — who was 14 when the first incident allegedly happened — for about nine years, according to the complaint. The complaint said that the victim stayed overnight with Dinch at his apartment approximately 25 times over the course of several years. “Dinch would provide alcohol to ‘John Doe’ during these overnights and ‘John Doe’ stated it was common for Dinch to walk around shirtless in his shorts or boxers,” the criminal complaint alleged. “‘John Doe’ stated he and Dinch would frequently sleep in the same bed.” In May of 2023, when Dinch was allegedly perpetrating these crimes, he was also running for mayor of East Washington in the Republican primary. Dinch lost that race, but an apparent write-in bid for a borough council seat was successful and propelled him to the general election.
September 30, 2023 8:24 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Gates will be locked and thousands of rangers will be furloughed from national park sites if Congress doesn’t reach a budget agreement. But Arizona and Utah officials say they’ll make sure visitors can still enjoy the dramatic depths of the Grand Canyon and the soaring red cliffs of Zion Valley if a cutoff comes Sunday. The parks’ economic impact is so huge that Arizona’s Democratic governor and Utah’s Republican governor will invest to keep Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands national parks open. South Dakota says it will pay to keep Mount Rushmore and Badlands accessible.
September 30, 2023 8:21 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Watch for areas of fog this morning, especially north and southwest of the city. Visibility will improve everywhere by 9-10 a.m., with lots of sunshine ahead today and the entire weekend. Temperatures today will climb into the upper 70s, and tonight will be comfortable again. A ridge of high pressure will take control of the northeast next week, allowing for plentiful sunshine and summer-like afternoons. Several 80-degree days are expected beginning Monday, although little to no humidity means overnight lows should still drop into the 50s. For all you fall lovers, you’ll have to wait until Friday for the next cool-down.
September 30, 2023 6:52 am
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. (WPXI) — A federal government shutdown is looming. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Saturday. Westmoreland Food Bank CEO Jennifer Miller is concerned. “This could not be worse timing,” she said. According to Miller, the food bank is already busier than ever thanks in part to inflation and rising gas prices. “We used to see three to five emergencies, that’s people who walk in and say, ‘I need food, or I need to get started in the pantry system,’ we used to see three to five a month. We’re seeing three to five a day,” Miller explained. Despite that, Miller says the Westmoreland Food Bank is prepared to handle an influx of visitors throughout the pending shutdown, including Westmoreland County’s 200 federal employees. “That’s 200 people, 200 households that will not have an income because of the shutdown,” Miller said. “They’re going to get it eventually, but what do they do in the meantime?” According to Miller, WIC benefits for women, infants, and children under 5 could run out in just a matter of days. That would impact more than 178,000 people statewide, including 2,500 in Westmoreland and 9,800 in Allegheny Counties. “The fact that children could not get the nourishment that they need because of the shutdown, that’s going to increase the reliance on food banks,” Miller said. SNAP benefits — relied on by 14% of Pennsylvanians — will continue briefly, but a lengthy shutdown could disrupt those as well. “Everybody is going to get their SNAP benefits through October, for sure, however, after October, if it continues to last that long, November is not a guarantee,” Miller said. To get help from the Westmoreland Food Bank, visit westmorelandfoodbank.org or call 724-468-8660.
September 30, 2023 3:34 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — One of the last living witnesses to the fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas was charged with murder Friday in the 1996 killing, a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has frustrated investigators and fascinated the public. A Nevada grand jury indicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis on one count of murder with a deadly weapon, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo announced in court Friday. Davis has long been known to investigators and has himself admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he was in the Cadillac from which the gunfire erupted during the September 1996 drive-by shooting. DiGiacomo described Davis as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur, who was killed at 25. The charges were revealed hours after Davis, 60, was arrested this morning while on a walk near his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, according to DiGiacomo.
September 29, 2023 4:58 am
NEW YORK — (WPXI) – A Peruvian national accused of sending hoax bomb threats in Pennsylvania and other states was arrested on Tuesday. According to a news release, the FBI announced on Thursday that Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, 33, also known as “Lucas” is charged with making hoax bomb threats against more than 150 school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals and a shopping mall. The release said all of the threats were made between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, and spanned multiple states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Arizona and Alaska. Nunez Santos is accused of making threats against 24 school districts in Pennsylvania on Sept. 20, saying, “I placed multiple bombs in all of the schools from your School Districts. The bombs will blow up in a few hours. I’ll gladly smile when your families are crying because of your deaths.” Although the release did not specify which school districts in Pennsylvania were impacted, several school districts in Washington County were placed on lockdown after receiving threats on Sept. 20. Nunez Santos is also charged with attempting to get three teenage girls to send him sexually explicit photographs. The news release said Nunez Santos sent the bomb threats in retaliation against them after they refused to send him the photos.
September 29, 2023 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is digging in on his refusal to take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running beyond midnight Saturday. He’s also acknowledging that stark divisions within his own conference hamper that chamber’s ability to do its job. Congress is at a crossroads days before a disruptive federal shutdown. It would halt paychecks for millions of federal workers, including 2 million active-duty military troops and reservists, and close many federal offices. The White House, meanwhile, is telling its workers to prepare for a shutdown, according to communications obtained by The Associated Press.
September 29, 2023 9:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has died. Three people familiar with the situation confirmed her death to The Associated Press on Friday. She was 90. Feinstein served as California’s senior senator since 1992 and was one of several trailblazing women elected to Congress that year. She was a passionate advocate for liberal priorities important to her state but was also known as a pragmatic lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground. The pivotal moment in Feinstein’s political career came in 1978 when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were killed at City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Feinstein was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and automatically succeeded Moscone as mayor.
September 29, 2023 5:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A senior adviser to Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro who abruptly resigned this week was accused earlier in the year of sexual harassment by a former coworker. The woman says Shapiro’s former legislative affairs secretary, Mike Vereb, subjected her to lewd and unwanted sexual advances during her brief time working in the governor’s office. She said Vereb’s behavior forced her to quit that job. A message seeking comment was left Thursday on Vereb’s cellphone but was not immediately returned. Shapiro’s spokesperson declined to comment directly on what he called a specific personnel matter. But he said the administration takes allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.
September 28, 2023 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have spent more than six hours making their case for pursuing an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. They launched their first hearing Thursday promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family’s finances and the lucrative business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter. Republicans so far have shown no hard evidence of wrongdoing by the president, and key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable offenses. It all comes just before a potential government shutdown. The White House called the hearing a “baseless stunt.” Oversight Chairman James Comer later issued subpoenas for additional Biden family bank records.
