July 20, 2019 8:26 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – Funeral arrangements and other events have been announced for fallen Pittsburgh police Officer Calvin Hall. Pittsburgh Police will conduct an End of Watch Ceremony on Saturday at 8 p.m., exactly when his regular shift would end. The ceremony will take place in the 1500 block of Brighton Road in front of the Zone 1 police station. Brighton Road from Pennsylvania Avenue to California Avenue will be closed from 7 p.m. until the ceremony ends. There will be additional closures that include Jacksonia Street from Cameo Way to Brighton Road to McCullough Street and Columbia Place and Wright Way off of Brighton Road. Port Authority buses will be re-routed during the ceremony. On Monday, the viewing for Hall will be at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland from noon to 8 p.m. The funeral for Hall will be held on Tuesday at Soldiers & Sailors at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Homewood Cemetery. The family has agreed to have the funeral and burial open to the public. There will be several road and bridge closures in place starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Here is a list of the areas that will be affected:
CLOSURES
- Fort Duquesne Bridge
- SR 65 Inbound in the area of the West End Bridge
- SR 279 Onramp to Ft. Duquesne Bridge
- Fort Pitt Tunnel and Bridge inbound to SR 376 E and the E. Carson-Ft. Pitt Bridge Onramp
- Grant St. Access to SR 376 E
- SR 376 E between Downtown and Oakland Exits
AVOID
- Oakland Area, particularly Forbes/Fifth Ave.
- North Shore Area
July 20, 2019 8:25 am
MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The U.S. Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force have made an arrest of a New Kensington fugitive who had been on the run since September of last year. Officials say they captured Omari Parker Jr. on Thursday. Parker was wanted for a shooting that killed an individual in Vanderbilt Borough Fayette County on September 17th. The fugitive was also wanted for robbery in Westmoreland County. The task force was alerted that Parker was spotted at a Monroeville hotel. Authorities took him in without incident. Helping in the arrest were the Monroeville Police Department, the Penn Township Police and K-9 Unit as well as the Pittsburgh Police Department.
July 20, 2019 8:20 am
CLAIRTON, Pa. (WPXI) – Four teenagers were shot early Saturday morning at a graduation party in Clairton. Investigators said they got multiple calls for a shooting around 12:15 a.m. at a home on Waddell Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, several dozen people ran away and they found four teens, ages 14 to 18, in the yard with gunshot wounds. The victims, three girls and a boy, were taken to a hospital where they are listed in stable condition. There are no suspects at this time, and the incident is still under investigation.
July 19, 2019 3:30 pm
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – A shipping business in Ohio says two workers died after they were trapped in a silo filled with grain. The workers became trapped Friday morning inside the silo operated by The Andersons in Toledo. A Toledo fire department spokesman says rescue crews spent nearly two hours trying to reach the men. He says at one point they were able to make contact with one of the workers. Rescue crews had brought in special equipment to try to stop the grain from collapsing on the men. A statement released by The Andersons says the company is shaken by the loss of two of its workers. The company says it will work authorities to investigate what happened.
July 19, 2019 3:21 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia Roman Catholic diocese is announcing financial reforms after its former bishop was found to have misused funds. The new policies for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston were announced in a letter to parishioners this week from Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore. A church investigation found sexual misconduct accusations against former Bishop Michael Bransfield to be credible. It also found that Bransfield misused church funds, spending them on dining, liquor, gifts, personal travel and luxury items. The new policies announced Thursday include a new auditing firm, changes to the diocese’s finance council and closing a discretionary fund for the bishop. Lori wrote in a letter to parishioners that “the church has a long way to go to regain your confidence and trust.” Bransfield resigned from the diocese last year.
July 19, 2019 2:51 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A baby alligator has been found far from the tropics in the parking lot of a grocery store near Pittsburgh. It’s the fourth alligator discovered around the city since May. Shaler Township Police Lt. Dave Banko tells the Tribune Review an employee found the 2-foot-long creature Friday morning near a garbage can at the Giant Eagle grocery store. The police department posted on its Facebook page that reptile’s owner should send them a message. Paul McIntyre, of Big Daddy Wildlife Removal, says the animal was healthy, docile and seems like a pet. vThree other gators have been found around Pittsburgh since May. On June 8, a 2 1/2-foot-long alligator was found on a home’s porch. Two days earlier, a man walking his dog spotted a 5-foot-long alligator in front of a garage. On May 18, a 3-foot-long gator was captured near a park. There’s no word on whether the gator sightings are related. (Photo: WPXI)
July 19, 2019 2:47 pm
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it has seized a British oil tanker that was passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC’s website, sepahnews.com, says the tanker “Stena Impero” was seized Friday by IRGC forces for “non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations” and has transferred the vessel to an Iranian port. The report did not elaborate what port it was transferred to. The operator of oil tanker Stena Impero says it is unable to contact the ship after it was approached by unidentified vessels and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Northern Marine Management and shipping firm Stena Bulk say in a statement that the vessel was in international waters and is now heading toward Iran. The ship has 23 crew aboard. The British government says it is urgently seeking information after reports Iran has seized the British-flagged ship.
July 19, 2019 2:34 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Instagram is expanding a test to hide how many “likes” people’s posts receive as it tries to combat criticism that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service has been running the test in Canada since May. Now, Facebook says the test has been expanded to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand. Facebook typically tests new Facebook and Instagram features in smaller markets before bringing them to the U.S., if it ever does. People can still see how many people liked their own photos, but won’t see counts for other people’s posts. Rather, they could tap to see a list of all the accounts that liked the other posts, but would have to count the total manually.
July 19, 2019 9:35 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – More cuts at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – which announced Thursday that it would be reducing the number of days it prints a newspaper. Our news partners at Channel 11 obtained a letter that was sent to all union presidents at the Post-Gazette. It said that the paper intends to move to a digital-only operation and part of that move includes reducing the number of print days by two in 2019. The change will take effect September 30. Last August, the Post-Gazette cut printed newspapers on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
July 19, 2019 9:31 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A federal grand jury is accusing a Syrian refugee of plotting to bomb a Christian church in Pittsburgh to inspire Islamic State of Iraq followers. The jury handed up a three-count indictment Wednesday against 21-year-old Pittsburgh resident Mustafa Mousab Alowemer. He’s charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and two counts of distributing information about an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction. Authorities claim he had detailed plans to bomb the Legacy International Worship Center, a small Christian church. Authorities say Alowemer was born in Syria and came to the United States in 2016. He was arrested last month while meeting with undercover FBI agents, leading to the grand jury indictment. Messages left for his federal public defender weren’t returned.
