October 8, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The governors of four northeastern states are agreeing to share information about firearms purchases to help detect and investigate straw buyers and other gun crimes. Governors in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania signed an agreement Thursday to exchange gun crime data for use only by law enforcement. The agreement includes provisions governing security and mandated notice if the information is misused. The four Democratic governors say the initiative will help target gun networks that cross state lines. The states plan to share details they get from federal government reports that show who first bought and sold guns recovered during criminal investigations.
October 8, 2021 2:56 am
Authorities are investigating the cause of an accident in Smith Township that left a home delivery propane truck on its side, leaking fuel. Washington County Emergency Management spokesperson Ryan Frazee tells WJPA that the truck rolled over onto its side on Bavington Road Thursday afternoon, before three o’clock. Frazee says Hazmat crews were called to the scene to stop the leak and they have secured the area, closing down Bavington Road. The road was closed from Route 18 to Route 22 for several hours. Frazee says the driver was injured and flown to a Pittsburgh area hospital but he did not know the extent of those injuries.
October 8, 2021 2:21 am
Authorities have arrested a Pittsburgh man and charged him with murder in the shooting death of a United States Postal worker. Officials say 53-year-old Eric Kortz is believed to have shot and killed Louis Vignone, who was in his postal vehicle in Collier Township. He was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities say that shortly after the shooting, Kortz arrived at the Carnegie Borough Police Department and turned himself in for the shooting. During a subsequent interview, Kortz informed Investigators that he shot Vignone because Kortz believed that Vignone and Vignone’s family had poisoned Kortz and Kortz’s family with cyanide when Vignone and Kortz were previously neighbors. Kortz informed Investigators that Kortz was aware of where Vignone worked. Kortz said he located Vignone on his mail route, drove his vehicle toward Vignone’s USPS vehicle, and stopped in front of the vehicle to stop Vignone. Kortz then stated that he “went to put some bullets in him”, referring to shooting Vignone. Kortz said that he then dropped the firearm at the scene, got into his van, and drove to the Carnegie Borough Police Department. Kort was expected to be arraigned Thursday evening.
October 7, 2021 12:30 pm
(WPXI) – A woman whose body was found Wednesday morning near Route 51 in Beaver County is the victim of an apparent homicide, police said. Sharon Benyo, 46, was found dead in a field around 8:15 a.m. by utility workers, investigators said. Chippewa Township police were quickly able to secure the area until forensics was able to process evidence. On Thursday, the Beaver County Coroner’s Office said Benyo died of gunshot wounds to her head. Chippewa Township’s police chief added that the gunshot wounds were to the back of her head. Benyo, the ex-wife of well-known Beaver County defense attorney Gerald Benyo, was released from state prison about three weeks ago and was on the right track to getting her life in order, according to Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier.
October 7, 2021 10:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A report by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority details Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election that he lost. His pursuit of fraud claims brought the Justice Department to the brink of chaos and prompted top officials there and at the White House to threaten to resign. The report describes how Trump’s efforts to undo the election and exert his will on the department led to a near-revolt at Justice headquarters that receded only after senior leaders warned of a mass resignation. The details in the report point to serious concerns for upcoming elections and show just how fragile the U.S. system is.
October 7, 2021 10:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the U.S. job market and economy continue their steady recovery from last year’s coronavirus recession. The Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment claims were down by 38,000 to 326,000, the first drop in four weeks. Since surpassing 900,000 in early January, the weekly applications, a proxy for layoffs, had fallen more or less steadily all year. Still, they remain elevated from pre-pandemic levels: Before COVID-19 hammered the U.S. economy in March 2020, weekly claims were consistently coming in at around 220,000.
October 7, 2021 8:52 am
Pfizer is asking the U.S. government to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. If regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks. Pfizer already had announced that a lower dose of its vaccine worked and appeared safe in a study of the youngsters. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Thursday officially filed its application with the Food and Drug Administration. FDA’s advisers are scheduled to debate the evidence later this month. Until now the vaccine was available only as young as 12, and many parents and pediatricians are clamoring for protection for younger kids.
October 7, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department is poised to sue government contractors and other companies who receive U.S. government grants if they fail to report breaches of their cyber systems. That’s according to the Justice Department’s No. 2 official. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the department is prepared to take legal action under a statute called the False Claims Act against contractors who misuse federal dollars by failing to disclose hacks or by having deficient cybersecurity standards. The department will also protect whistleblowers who come forward to report those issues.
October 7, 2021 4:10 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates. The sweeping measure requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms and even a Lakers game. The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance and Mayor Eric Garcetti signed it. Supporters say it’s a way of preventing more COVID-19 surges. Critics say the measure raises concerns about enforcement and will sow confusion because a less-sweeping vaccination mandate scheduled to take effect next month in Los Angeles County as a whole only applies to bars, breweries and nightclubs.
October 7, 2021 4:09 am
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) – A powerful earthquake has collapsed at least one coal mine and as many as 100 mud houses in a remote, mountainous part of southwest Pakistan. The quake early Thursday killed at least 20 people and injured more than 200. A local official says the death toll is expected to rise further. At least four of the dead were working in a coal mine when it collapsed. The 5.9 magnitude quake was in a remote part of Baluchistan province where most residents live in sunbaked mud houses. Television images showed people wrapped in blankets outdoors in the chilly morning air waiting for the aftershocks to subside and help to arrive.
