August 18, 2019 8:23 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – Crews battled a massive apartment fire on De Raud Street in West Oakland on Saturday. The initial call for the fire came in around 2:30 p.m. Officials tell our news partners at Channel 11 that 74 people were displaced by this fire. Fire crews brought in a ladder truck to help pour water on the flames from above. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital. One was treated for smoke inhalation. Both are expected to be fine. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire chief said everyone in the building was accounted for. (Photo: WPXI)
August 18, 2019 8:19 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa (WPXI) – The National Weather Service has confirmed that a microburst moved through the Lawrenceville area Saturday evening. At last check around 11 p.m., over 400 people are without power in the neighborhood, according to Duquesne Light’s website. There are also a large amount of outages in Millvale, Reserve and Shaler. Two buildings also partially collapsed, shutting down a portion of Butler Street. Pittsburgh officials said it’s a miracle nobody was hurt given the nature of the damage. “We have two building collapses – lots of debris and trees uprooted in Allegheny cemetery and one tree on a car about 4 blocks down from here,” Pittsburgh Public Information Officer Cara Cruz said. (Photo: WPXI)
August 17, 2019 10:38 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City police say they’ve apprehended a man suspected of placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a subway station. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday morning that a man seen holding one of the rice cookers in surveillance video was taken into custody. The discovery of the cookers Friday led to an evacuation and roiled the morning commute. Police said cameras near the World Trade Center captured a man with a cart putting cookers in two locations in the subway station. A third cooker of the same type was later discovered 2 miles (3 kilometers) away on a sidewalk. Authorities determined they were not explosives. Pressure cookers can be turned into bombs. Police say they didn’t have details on the man’s apprehension. No charges have been announced.
August 17, 2019 10:35 am
The Washington County District Attorney is seeking a court-order allowing his office to delay a move planned for later this month. The District Attorney is requesting additional security measures to be added to the building. A hearing on the request is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Monday before common pleas judge Michael J. Lucas. District Attorney Gene Vittone was given a date of August 24 to relocate.
August 17, 2019 9:40 am
DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska (AP) – Three hundred tourists are stranded in a national park in Alaska after heavy rains triggered mudslides and caused excess water from a culvert to damage a road. The superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve closed Denali Park Road to all traffic at mile 30 on Friday. The road is the only one inside the vast park. The National Park Service said in a news release it anticipates reopening the road Saturday. The park service says officials are working to ensure the safety and comfort of those effected. Shuttle buses are gathering people at the Toklat Rest Area temporarily while road crews continue to address hazard areas. Similar debris flows led to daylong traffic restrictions last week. Continued heavy rains since kept the road and surrounding tundra saturated with water.
August 17, 2019 9:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is emerging as an alternative American ambassador abroad, an emissary for bedrock democratic values and the promise of stability that some see as diminishing in the Trump era. Since retaking the speaker’s gavel this year, the California Democrat has led large congressional delegations overseas, reviving a more traditional American approach to foreign policy. As President Donald Trump prepares to head to France for the Group of Seven summit next week with his “America First” agenda, Pelosi has been quietly engaging the world from another point of view. She’s reinforcing long-standing U.S. alliances, and commitments to democracy and human rights at a time when the old order appears to be slipping away.
August 17, 2019 9:28 am
A second ride at the Washington County Fair closed following an incident Thursday night. The fairs Director, Wayne Hunnell said that one of the cars on the Skydiver ride malfunctioned and hit the deck that caused sparks to fly. The broken car was removed from the ride so they could safely operate the ride to let everyone off. Pennsylvania law requires rides pass inspection every 30 days or every time it is set up for a new event. This is the second time inspectors have had to come to the fair this week. This incident follows one where a 3 year old hit her head on the Swing ride Wednesday.
August 17, 2019 9:20 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s jobless rate is up slightly but remains near record lows under state records that go back four decades. The Labor and Industry Department said Friday the 3.9% rate in July was 0.1 percent higher than the record low that was in place from April to June. The national rate of 3.7 percent was unchanged from June. The size of the state’s workforce rose by 1,000 to nearly 6.5 million. The number of unemployed Pennsylvanians rose by 4,000, which is the first increase in the current calendar year. The state’s unemployment rate a year ago was 0.3 percentage points higher.
August 17, 2019 9:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has spent many of his mornings this past week on the golf links in New Jersey. But the president has been spending his evenings calling confidants and corporate executives, getting their thoughts on worrying signals from the market. Indications of a possible recession have been worrying for the president, who’s basing his reelection campaign on a robust economy.
August 17, 2019 9:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is directing state police and other agencies under his control to focus greater efforts on addressing gun violence, two days after a gunman shot and wounded six Philadelphia police officers. The Democratic governor on Friday announced changes that include a new Special Council on Gun Violence, which will have six months to recommend how to reduce mass shootings, domestic violence, suicide and accidental shootings. Wolf is setting up a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention at the state commission on crime and delinquency. He wants state police to expand and support gun buy-back programs and increase monitoring of hate groups and white nationalists. The governor’s office says more than 1,600 people in the state died of gunshot wounds in 2017.
