March 28, 2021 7:35 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — A 41-year-old man was arrested and charged with criminal homicide in connection with a woman found shot to death on a Carrick sidewalk. Investigators said Donte Moss was arrested and is being held at the Allegheny County Jail. The woman was found dead just after 12:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Linnview Avenue. Police said she had been shot in the head. Detectives from the Major Crimes and the Crime Scene Unit processed evidence at the scene.
March 28, 2021 7:33 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics lost in court on Friday in their bid to reverse a decades-old Pennsylvania court decision upholding limits on the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The plaintiffs will appeal to the state Supreme Court, the only state court that can repeal the limits on abortion coverage under Medicaid, said Susan Frietsche of the Women’s Law Project. The loss in the lower Commonwealth Court was expected, she said. A seven-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court ruled, with one dissent, both that the abortion clinic operators do not have standing to assert the constitutional rights of low-income women seeking an abortion and that it is bound by the high court’s 1985 decision in question. The state Supreme Court in 1985 upheld the 1982 law, which bans the use of state dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, supports abortion rights, but his administration nevertheless fought the case, as did Republican lawmakers who intervened. Wolf’s office declined comment, saying it was still reviewing the decision.
March 28, 2021 4:08 am
A Washington man charged with possession with the intent to deliver cocaine was found guilty in Washington County Court. Donald Stanley Knupp, 33 of Washington was arrested in August of 2018 after detectives from the Washington County Drug Task Force arranged controlled purchases from Knupp at his barbershop at 520 West Chestnut Street. According to Assistant District Attorney Rachel Wheeler, the jury deliberated for only eleven minutes before delivering a guilty verdict on one felony charge of possession with the intent to deliver and two misdemeanor charges of possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. Knupp is a repeat offender and could receive five to ten years in prison on his felony charge. Knupp will be sentenced by Judge Gary Gilman in 90 days.
March 28, 2021 3:06 am
A young woman had to be rescued from Peters Lake Park Friday morning after her kayak capsized. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers say it happened around 7:30 a.m. A witness says she spotted a life jacket in the water when she arrived at the lake and then saw the woman clinging to the vessel and yelling for help. First responders then arrived on the scene and used a motorized boat to get to the woman because of the strong winds and white caps on the water. Peters Township Fire Chief Michael Mclaughlin tells WJPA News that the woman’s life vest came off when the vessel flipped and she went into the water. 9-1-1 dispatchers say the unidentified woman was transported to Washington Hospital but we have no word on her condition.
March 27, 2021 4:24 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida is threatening to sue the federal government if it doesn’t lift its pandemic ban on cruise lines using U.S. ports. Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General Ashley Moody said Friday that the state is being harmed economically by the industry’s U.S. shutdown. They said cruises are being operated safely around the globe with restrictions and protocols and no new coronavirus outbreaks have been tied to a ship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shut down the industry a year ago after several outbreaks early in the pandemic were tied to cruise ships. It did not respond to an email seeking comment.
March 27, 2021 4:23 am
DALLAS (AP) – Federal officials are investigating a Southwest Airlines pilot whose R-rated rant about liberals in Northern California was captured on air traffic control transmissions. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the investigation Friday. He says FAA rules prohibit pilots from talking about things other than the flight while taxiing and at low altitudes. It happened earlier this month as a Southwest plane was getting ready to take off from San Jose, California. The pilot makes a profanity-filled tirade, apparently against liberal attitudes in the San Francisco Bay Area. He mixes in a few G-rated words too, like “weirdos.”
March 27, 2021 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks burst to their best day in three weeks Friday, helping Wall Street to return to record heights and avoid what could have been a second straight weekly loss. The S&P 500 added 1.7%, and both it and the Dow set all-time highs. Some of the biggest gains came from companies whose profits are likely to jump the most if COVID-19 vaccinations and massive spending by the U.S. government juice the economy as much as economists expect. Banks got a boost from some loosening of regulatory restrictions by the Federal Reserve and a continued rise in bond yields. Crude oil jumped and helped lift energy stocks.
March 27, 2021 4:22 am
BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) – Amazon workers and labor advocates are making a final push for the union vote at the company’s warehouse outside Birmingham, Alabama. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont headlined a Friday rally. He says a labor victory against the tech and retail giant would resonate across the country. If voted down, it would be another loss for organizers hoping to win a rare labor victory in the Deep South. Workers supporting the union say they face relentless quotas and poor working conditions. Amazon is fighting the union effort. The company argues the warehouse created jobs with an average pay of $15.30 per hour and benefits including health care, vision and dental insurance.
March 27, 2021 4:20 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Kenosha police say 55 people are facing charges related to violent demonstrations after the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer. Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in August, leaving him paralyzed. Blake, who is Black, was holding a pocket knife. The shooting spurred several nights of violent protests. Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said Friday that 49 adults and six minors are facing charges. The tally does not include charges against Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager accused of shooting and killing two protesters and injuring a third. Sheskey has not been charged in Blake’s shooting, but Blake has filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of using excessive force.
March 27, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard is becoming the House’s first African American sergeant-at-arms. Maj. Gen. William Walker will lead House security measures as Congress is still dealing with the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and figuring out how to keep lawmakers safe. Walker was closely involved with the security that day as he sent troops to back up overwhelmed Capitol Police. He will replace Paul Irving, who resigned immediately after the insurrection. Walker’s appointment comes as the House is ramping up its investigations into the insurrection on Jan. 6.
