December 27, 2022 4:17 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Officials in New York say state and military police were sent to keep people from driving in snow-choked Buffalo. The Erie County executive said Tuesday that police are being positioned at entrances to Buffalo and at major intersections to enforce a ban on driving. Officials say more than 30 people died in the region. That’s in addition to about two dozen other deaths the huge storm caused around the country. And an emergency services commissioner in the Buffalo area says crews are keeping an eye on warmer weather forecast for later in the week that could bring a threat of flooding as the snow melts.
December 27, 2022 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — When mapmakers reimagined the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s 253 legislative districts, they did it with an eye on the state’s growing racial and ethnic minorities, and officials say that has helped yield the most diverse incoming class of lawmakers yet. The number of state lawmakers who are Black, Latino or of South Asian descent will rise as part of what House Democrats call the “most diverse class of freshmen legislators” in Pennsylvania history after candidates ran in this year’s election in the newly drawn map of districts. Pennsylvania’s Legislature will remain disproportionately white, like nearly every other state’s, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures last gathered in 2020. The state’s newly elected minority lawmakers are all Democrats, further deepening the disparity with Republicans who have long attracted fewer candidates or voters of color in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. There are now more Black, Latino and Asian-American lawmakers than ever, said Rep. Donna Bullock, who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus. The caucus — which includes lawmakers who are Latino or Asian-American — will have more members than ever, rising from 31 to 37, she said.
December 27, 2022 4:07 am
MOUNT LEBANON, Pa. — (WPXI) – This season is tough especially when you are forced to celebrate the holidays without the ones you love. “My mom was the glue to our family, really she was the one who kept everyone together. Over the holidays she was the one who initiated everything with the family,” said Craig Coester, whose mom died in Mt. Lebanon. Coester is having a hard time describing what life is like without his mom, Bonnie. Coester told our news partners at Channel 11 it was the end of June when his 87-year-old mom was walking through downtown Mt. Lebanon in front of Il Pizzaiolo when she tripped on an improperly placed construction cone, falling forward and striking her head on the curb. She died a few months later from those injuries. Coester is now suing the construction company and Mt. Lebanon over the “Vibrant Uptown Plan” project. The lawsuit alleges that there are areas not properly secured like where Bonnie fell. Attorney Matthew Scanlon claims the cones being used were not placed correctly and are not the proper size, according to federal regulations. Channel 11 reached out to all three parties named in the lawsuit, including the engineering and construction companies. We did not hear back from either and Mt. Lebanon said no comment.
December 26, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Local organizers in Washington say three buses of recent migrant families arrived from Texas near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in record-setting cold on Christmas Eve. Texas authorities have not confirmed their involvement, but the bus dropoffs are in line with previous actions by border-state governors calling attention to the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, says the buses that arrived late Saturday were carrying around 110 to 130 people. Some were wearing T-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington. Organizers had buses ready to take the migrants to a church where they stayed the night.
December 26, 2022 4:12 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s military has fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says several North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected in the South’s territory on Monday morning. The military broadcast warnings and fired warning shots before it launched fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the drones. It isn’t immediately known if the drones were shot down. It’s the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said at the time that the drone photographed a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.
December 26, 2022 4:12 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The Russian military reported on Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an airbase deep inside Russia, the second time the airbase has been targeted this month. Even though the drone was shot down, it raises questions about the effectiveness of Russia’s air defenses if drones can fly that far into the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry said three servicemen were killed by debris at the Engels airbase that houses nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have been involved in launching strikes on Ukraine. It is located more than 370 miles east of the border with Ukraine. No damage was inflicted on the aircraft, the ministry said.
December 26, 2022 4:11 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The deep freeze from a deadly winter storm that walloped much of the United States will continue into the week as people in western New York deal with massive snow drifts that snarled emergency vehicles and travelers across the country see cancelled flights and dangerous roads. The massive storm has killed at least 34 people across the U.S. and is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. The extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. Temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.
December 26, 2022 4:07 am
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – It was a tragic scene in Derry Township on Christmas Eve after an elderly woman died in a house fire. “It plays on your mind. It’s supposed to be a time for happiness, and you see what happens now,” said Chief Mark Piantine of the Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department. Several Westmoreland County fire departments were dispatched to Pizza Barn Road in Derry Township on Saturday evening after reports of a person trapped inside the home. They got through the front door and pulled the person out of the house,” Piantine said. nvestigators have not released the name of the woman who died. Piantine told our news partners at Channel 11 her husband was able to escape from the house. First responders battled the elements and circumstances in single-digit temperatures and less-than-ideal conditions. The weather conditions were the worst. It delayed our response because the roads were nothing but a sheet of ice. As you can see, we’re in the process of picking up hose. We put 1,000 feet of hose down to get our water supply. We’re trying to get it picked up before it freezes,” Piantine said. The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal is investigating what caused the fire. Piantine said the marshal’s efforts are focused on the kitchen area.
December 26, 2022 4:04 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — (WPXI) – Authorities are investigating a crash Saturday night in Sewickley Heights that left two women hospitalized, one critically. Emergency responders were notified at 10:14 p.m. December 24th of a single-vehicle rollover crash in the 500 block of Fern Hollow Road. Authorities said the driver of the car, an 18-year-old man, was not injured in the crash. Two female passengers, an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old, were taken to area hospitals for undisclosed injuries. Police said the 20-year-old was said to be in critical condition. The 18-year-old is in stable condition. The Allegheny County Police Department’s Homicide and Collision Reconstruction Unit was called to assist with the investigation.
December 26, 2022 3:59 am
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. — (WPXI) – Tenants of a 72-unit apartment building will not be able to stay in their rooms after a water main break. Allegheny County dispatchers say emergency crews were called to the 500 block of Della Street in North Versailles at around 3:56 p.m. Firefighters say the water main break occurred in an electrical unit in the building. They had to turn off both the water and the electricity. People who had to leave the building but did not have a place to stay are able to stay at the North Versailles Community Center on Greensburg Avenue. Firefighters said food would be provided for them but they can only stay until 9:00 a.m. Pittsburgh Regional Transit sent buses to help transport people to the community center, emergency crews say. The owner of the complex originally told firefighters they would not be paying for overnight hotels to help the displaced residents. They have since come forward and said they will be providing help, but have not yet specified how they will be helping. Our news partners at Channel 11 reached out to Brandywine, who owns the apartment complex to see what, specifically, is being done and has not heard back. Members of the West Wilmerding Volunteer Fire Department are asking the public to help. Anyone willing to provide donations or to help the displaced residents is asked to reach out to the West Wilmerding Volunteer Fire Department. Their phone number is 412-583-6535.
