February 13, 2022 7:54 am
MONROEVILLE (WPXI) — The woman found dead on a hillside in Monroeville has been identified as a missing Uber driver, according to the Allegheny County Coroner. Details right now are limited. The coroner’s office confirmed the identification as Christina Spicuzza, who went missing while driving for Uber Thursday night. Investigators were called out to the scene where the body was found, near Pioneer Park, around noon. Social media posts began circulating on Thursday that a female Uber driver with a Virginia license plate, driving a silver Nissan Sentra was missing. Police located a car fitting that description in Pitcairn, the car also had an Uber sticker in the back window. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
February 13, 2022 4:31 am
BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa. — After months of court procedures in Bedford County, former City Councilman Matthew Staniszewski pleaded guilty to driving under the influence following a crash on the Turnpike last year. According to court dockets, Staniszewski pleaded guilty to one count of DUI highest rate second offense in court Friday. This charge usually leads to jail time, but according to attorney Sean Logue, he will be credited for 31 days spent in rehab last year, while potentially serving five months of house arrest here in Washington from the plea deal. The former councilman was caught with a .267% blood-alcohol level on February 16th last year following a single-vehicle crash into the median on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford County. Staniszewski is set to be sentenced March 18th.
February 12, 2022 4:48 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Police have identified 36-year-old Morris Jones as the deceased suspect in a shooting in Phoenix that injured nine officers. Police say a woman was killed and five police officers were shot at a Phoenix home, including four who were wounded while trying to take a baby to safety. Four more officers were injured by shrapnel or ricocheting bullets in the early Friday ambush. Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Williams says all of the officers are expected to survive. Police say the suspect was found dead in the home following a barricade situation. His ex-girlfriend was found shot in the home and died later Friday. Police say a baby had been inside and at some point was placed outside on the ground. The baby girl was unharmed and is in state custody.
February 12, 2022 4:48 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Lawyers have wrapped up their individual questioning of potential jurors in the trial of a former Kentucky police officer involved in the raid that left Breonna Taylor dead. After four days of questioning this week, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed a pool of 48 prospective jurors. Those 48 will be brought back on Feb. 22 and 12 jurors and three alternates will be selected for the trial.Former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison was not charged in Taylor’s March 13, 2020, death. But he faces three counts of wanton endangerment for allegedly firing shots that went into a neighbor’s apartment.
February 12, 2022 4:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. regulators have put the brakes on their push to speed Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children under 5. Friday’s move means another monthslong delay for the shots. The Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer to apply before its study was even finished on whether the youngsters needed two shots or three. The agency cited the toll the omicron variant has taken on children. But Friday, the FDA reversed course and said it needed to see how well three shots worked. Pfizer said in a statement that it expected that data by early April.
February 12, 2022 4:45 am
WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) – A Canadian judge has ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the 5-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production. It is not immediately clear when or if law enforcement officers will be sent in to remove the demonstrators, who parked their pickups and other vehicles in a protest against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions and an outpouring of fury toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.
February 12, 2022 4:44 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – The U.S. says it will open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, laying out in unusually blunt terms a plan to increase its influence in the South Pacific nation before China becomes “strongly embedded.” The reasoning was explained in a State Department notification to Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press. It comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is touring the Pacific, meeting diplomats from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Fiji and other nations. The embassy announcement fits with a new Biden administration strategy for the Indo-Pacific that emphasizes building partnerships with allies in the region as a way to counter China’s growing influence and ambitions.
February 12, 2022 4:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials say the United States is preparing to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent. The officials say the State Department plans to announce early Saturday that virtually all American staff at the Kyiv embassy will be required to leave. A limited number of officials may remain in Kyiv, but almost all will be sent out or relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the Polish border, so the U.S. can retain a diplomatic presence in the country. The new move comes as Washington has ratcheted up its warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
February 12, 2022 4:40 am
OAKMONT, Pa. — One person was injured following an overnight crash into the Oakmont Bakery. According to reports, an SUV crashed into the wall of the structure just before midnight Friday. A victim was transported from the scene according to Allegheny County 911. There was no word on the identity of the victim or cause of the crash.
February 12, 2022 4:22 am
NORTH STRABANE, Pa. — One person was flown from the scene of a two vehicle crash in North Strabane Township on Friday evening. According to reports, the accident occurred at the intersection of Washington Road (Route 19) and Weavertown Road around 6:30 p.m. North Strabane and Peters Township Fire crews responded to the scene, where one victim was entrapped in a vehicle for close to an hour before extrication was complete. That patient was flown to an area hospital with unknown injuries. The identities of those involved and the cause of the accident has not been released. (Photo: Nick Markowitz – Fire Incidents of Washington County Facebook Page)
