December 7, 2024 3:43 am
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) – Elizabeth Pollard, the woman who fell into a sinkhole while looking for her cat, has been found dead after a 4-day search, state police confirm. Crews returned to the abandoned coal mine in Unity Township Friday and drilled holes in the ground to send cameras and drones down into the mine. Pollard went missing around 5 p.m. on Monday while searching for her missing cat near Monday’s Union Restaurant. At around 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, troopers found her vehicle parked behind Monday’s Union Restaurant, where they found Pollard’s 5-year-old granddaughter inside. She was unharmed.
December 7, 2024 3:44 am
East Washington Borough will be holding its second annual Light Up Night on Saturday. The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Nicholas Cumer Park on Thayer Street. Attractions include a viewing of the movie “Elf”along with the Royal Princess Engagements. Children may visit with Santa Claus and decorate an ornament to take home. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be available to everyone. The Hogfather’s Food Truck and the “Coffin Bean” trailer pulled by a Christmas hearse will also be there. Visitors are asked to bring an ornament to decorate the community holiday tree. Donations may also be made to Toys for Tots. The tree lighting ceremony will begin at 8 p.m.
December 7, 2024 3:43 am
South Strabane Township Police responded to a two vehicle accident on East Beau Street on Thursday night. According to 9-1-1 dispatchers, two vehicles collided at the intersection of East Beau Street and Eastpointe Drive just after eight-thirty. One person was killed in the accident, a second person was transported to a hospital. According to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco, The victim who died is identified as 65-year-old James Johnson of Eighty Four. Warco said Johnson’s vehicle was traveling east on Beau Street when it collided with another vehicle travelling west. Johnson was not wearing a seat belt. The cause and manner of death are pending autopsy. The name of the other victim is unknown at this point. East Beau Street was closed for approximately two and a half hours.
December 7, 2024 3:42 am
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (WPXI) — A man died after he was shot in McKees Rocks Friday night. Allegheny County dispatchers said crews were called to the 1000 block of 2nd Street near Broadway Avenue at 9:21 p.m. First responders found a man who had been shot multiple times. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
December 7, 2024 3:40 am
UPPER SAINT CLAIR, Pa. (WPXI) — Four SWAT team officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a man during a mental health crisis in Upper Saint Clair. Chris Shepherd, 48, had a history of mental health calls when his mom called for help in January. Upper Saint Clair police had responded multiple times to the home in recent months, but in this incident he had a knife. “That’s a knife. It’s a kitchen knife,” said District Attorney Stephen Zappala in a news conference on Friday. “The significance is this is no longer a mental health matter, it is now a police matter.” Zappala said the SWAT team was called in when officers saw a knife in the corner of a boarded up door in the front of the home. Multiple rounds of pepper balls were fired into the home during the four-hour standoff. When Shephard exited the home, Zappala said he could be seen with a knife in one hand and a lamp in the other hand, running down the driveway. Zappala said the Upper St Clair Police Department handled everything correctly. He said the SWAT team could have handled the situation differently, and some ‘failures’ happened. But ultimately, he said no crime was committed by police. Shepherd’s family filed a civil lawsuit. They said they tried multiple times to get Christopher the help he needed leading up to the fatal shooting.
December 6, 2024 4:03 am
Emergency responders in the City of Washington were called to an accident scene in the 300 block of Dewey Avenue at 8:30 Thursday night. According to 9-1-1 dispatchers police arrived at the scene to find a car had collided with a house. By the time police arrived the driver of the vehicle had fled. No injuries were reported. The fire department was called to cover a hole in the house left by the vehicle.
December 6, 2024 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of the Secret Service says the agency is “reorganizing and reimagining” its culture and how it operates following an assassination attempt against Donald Trump on the campaign trail in July. Members of a bipartisan House task force investigating the attempt on Trump’s life pushed Ronald Rowe on Thursday about how the agency’s staffers could have missed such blatant security vulnerabilities leading up to that day in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the hearing Rowe was repeatedly asked by flabbergasted lawmakers how problems so obvious in hindsight were allowed to happen. These included communications difficulties between the Secret Service and local law enforcement that help secure events and the building overlooking the rally being left unprotected.
December 6, 2024 4:31 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in California’s so-called “earthquake country.” According to the U.S. Geological Survey on Thursday, at least 5.3 million people in California and Oregon were under a tsunami warning after the earthquake struck. It was felt as far south as San Francisco, where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by multiple smaller aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury. The temblor was the most powerful to hit California since a 7.1-magnitude quake hit Ridgecrest in 2019. The epicenter of the shaker occurred where three tectonic plates meet.
December 6, 2024 4:28 am
ISTANBUL (AP) — A Hamas official says that after a weekslong hiatus international mediators have resumed negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach. Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended its talks with mediators from Egypt and the United States over frustration with a lack of progress between Israel and Hamas. But Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas’ political wing, said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that there has been a “reactivation” of efforts to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
December 6, 2024 4:25 am
GREENVALE, N.Y. (AP) — Donald Trump isn’t even in office yet, but he says he’s already accomplished more than President Joe Biden did in his entire term. It’s an outsized claim from the president-elect, coming just a month after Trump won the election. Trump made the remarks as he was honored at Fox Nation’s annual Patriot Awards during an event on New York’s Long Island. Trump has largely been ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago resort in recent weeks as he’s been announcing job picks to build out his administration. Trump also described Election Day as “tremendous” during a 10-minute acceptance speech that sounded like a highlight reel of his campaign rally speeches.
