December 26, 2023 4:55 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Police are investigating an early morning crash on the westbound Parkway where several people were hurt and one person killed. A Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson said the crash involving three separate vehicles happened around 1 a.m. Christmas Day on I-376 westbound at Mile Marker 78, between the PA 8 North/Wilkinsburg and Edgewood/Swissvale exits. The spokesperson said a vehicle became disabled in the left lane of I-376 after overturning. The driver of that car got out and walked to the shoulder with the help of two Good Samaritans who stopped their vehicle to help. At this time, police say a third car started coming around a curve just before the overturned vehicle and was unable to avoid hitting it. After the initial impact, the car hit a guide rail, the driver of the first vehicle, one of the Good Samaritans and the back of the Good Samaritan’s vehicle. The driver of the first vehicle was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Office of the Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified him as Dax Antonio Hernandez-Reyes, 24. The occupants of the other vehicles were also taken to area hospitals for their injuries. Their conditions are currently unknown. PSP’s investigation into the crash is ongoing, with the Forensic Services Unit and Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Specialists on scene.
December 26, 2023 2:30 am
(WPXI) – Two people were killed in a house fire in Washington County early on Christmas eve. The fire started around 5 a.m. along McKean Avenue in Donora. At least three homes were damaged in the fire, and several people were displaced. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco identified one of the victims as Tracy Honabarger, 41. She had become trapped in the home. She was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The second victim has been identified as Clifford Honabarger, 38. James Smith, Tracy Honabarger’s fiancé, was also inside the home at the time but was able to escape. Smith said flames tore through their home as they were all sleeping. He said he thought Tracy was right behind him as he was running out of the house, but she became trapped on the second floor. Around a dozen agencies responded to the fire. The blaze remains under investigation by the Donora Police Department. This is the second fire on McKean Avenue in less than two weeks. On Dec. 14, a fire destroyed an old apartment building blocks away.
December 25, 2023 7:46 am
(WPXI) – Mancini’s Bakery in McKees Rocks celebrated Christmas Eve with an annual tradition and also showed some love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The bakery made a huge and elaborate piece of bread art for the holiday. This year the art featured Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Mary Mancini Hartner, the bakery’s owner says the bread is made by her son, making it a tradition that is close to her heart. “I like to watch my son’s creativity. I like to see it from when it’s a piece of dough and then how it becomes the art that it is,” said Mancini Hartner. This year the art gave a slight nod to Pittsburgh Steeler Mason Rudolph. His name is written on Rudolph’s rein. Five-hundred pounds of dough were used on this project.
December 25, 2023 7:41 am
(WPXI) – A man is dead after an SUV and motorcycle crashed in Pittsburgh. Police say the crash happened just before noon on Christmas Eve at the intersection of Beechwood Boulevard and Federal Hill Street in Greenfield. An SUV tried to turn left off of Beechwood Boulevard and onto Federal Street and collided with the motorcycle that was heading the opposite way on Beechwood Boulevard. The 60-year-old man who was on the motorcycle was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital where he later died. The woman who was driving the SUV and a male passenger were taken to a hospital to receive medical evaluations.
December 25, 2023 7:39 am
BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from China’s most powerful earthquake in years has risen to 149, with two people still missing after the tremor hit northwestern parts of the country last week. The 6.2-magnitude quake struck a remote mountainous area between Gansu and Qinghai provinces on Dec. 18, reducing homes to rubble and triggering heavy mudslides that inundated two villages in Qinghai province. State broadcaster CCTV said Monday the death toll in Donghai city in Qinghai has risen by one, to 32, and rescuers were still searching for two missing people. In neighboring Gansu, authorities had reported 117 dead. Nearly 1,000 were injured and more than 14,000 homes were destroyed in China’s deadliest earthquake in nine years.
December 25, 2023 7:37 am
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The typically bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus looks like a ghost town on Christmas Eve, with celebrations in Bethlehem called off due to the Israel-Hamas war. The festive lights and Christmas tree that decorate Manger Square are missing, as are the throngs of foreign tourists who normally gather each year for the holiday. Dozens of Palestinian security forces patrolled the empty square. All of the gift shops in the square were shuttered, save for one. Cold weather and pouring rain added to the dismal atmosphere. “This year, without the Christmas tree and without lights, there’s just darkness,” said Brother John Vinh, a Franciscan monk from Vietnam who was among the few visitors.
December 25, 2023 7:36 am
CAIRO (AP) — A senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat say that Egypt has put forward an ambitious proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war. The official said Monday that the plan calls for a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts to administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank. The proposal, worked out with Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the U.S. and European governments but still appears preliminary. It falls short of Israel’s goal of crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel’s insistence on keeping military control over Gaza after the war.
December 25, 2023 7:35 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is denouncing the weapons industry in his Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians. Francis delivered his annual Christmas Day speech from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people in the piazza below. Francis said he grieved the “abominable attack” of Hamas against southern Israel on Oct. 7 and called for the release of hostages. And he begged for an end to Israel’s campaign in Gaza and the “appalling harvest of innocent civilians” as he called for humanitarian aid to reach the strip. (Photo: AP)
December 24, 2023 8:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush is hitting its peak as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raise hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year. U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, seeking to avoid the delays and suspensions that marred travel last year. Airlines have canceled just 1.2% of U.S. flights so far this year, the lowest in five years, but bad weather is always a threat. Heavy storms hit the West Coast in the U.S. and storm brought heavy rain and strong winds across northern Europe overnight and into Friday.
December 24, 2023 8:21 am
(AP) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss. The agency said Thursday that the shots had been distributed through legitimate drug supply sources. The FDA and the drugmaker Novo Nordisk are testing the shots and do not yet have information about the fake drugs’ identity, quality or safety. Consumers should avoid products labeled with lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057. The FDA says some of the fake products may still be for sale.
