October 24, 2019 4:10 am
DONORA, Pa. – Multiple crews battled a large fire at a Washington County home. According to emergency dispatchers, the fire started around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 600 block of McCrea Avenue in Donora. Three fire departments were called to the home to help get the fire under control. No injuries have been reported due to the fire at this point, and it is unclear how the fire started.
October 24, 2019 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI)- Police in two counties are searching for a registered sex offender. Carroll Township Police have a warrant out for Russell Marycz, who is wanted for attempted rape of a teen. Police said Marycz, 43 — who goes by his middle name Michael — approached a 15-year-old on the street and grabbed him, saying the boy had to help him with directions. The teen told investigators Marycz said his girlfriend was drugged and in danger, and that he had to help Marycz find her or he’d be hurt. Marycz allegedly dragged him to a local winery, forced him into the vineyards and told him, “If you run, I’ll hurt you.” According to the criminal complaint, Marycz offered the teen $500 and then $1,000 for sex acts. After a brief struggle, the victim told police Marycz tackled him and tried to rape him. The teen was able to elbow and punch Marycz to get away. He could be in Washington County or Pittsburgh, according to investigators. Police said Marycz should be considered dangerous, and he is being investigated by multiple departments.
October 23, 2019 5:35 pm
BOSTON (AP) – A California marketing executive and author has been sentenced to three weeks in prison for paying $50,000 to cheat on her son’s college entrance exam. Jane Buckingham was sentenced in Boston’s federal court Wednesday after pleading guilty to a single count of fraud and conspiracy. She is the 11th parent to be sentenced in a college admissions bribery scheme involving dozens of wealthy parents. The 51-year-old Los Angeles resident admitted to paying $50,000 to have a test proctor take the ACT exam for her son in 2018. She gave her son a practice test at home so he would think he took the real test. Prosecutors had requested six months in prison. Buckingham is CEO of the marketing firm Trendera. She has apologized and says she has “absolutely no excuse.”
October 23, 2019 11:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) –
President Donald Trump says Turkey has informed the U.S. it will make “permanent” a five-day cease-fire in Syria. In response, he says he’s directing the lifting of economic sanctions on Turkey. Claiming success at the U.S.-brokered effort, Trump said Wednesday, “this was an outcome created by us.” The cease-fire required Kurdish forces formerly allied with the U.S. against the Islamic State group to move out of a roughly 20-mile zone on the Turkish border. Trump says, “We’ve saved the lives of many, many Kurds.” Trump says nearly all U.S. troops will be leaving Syria but some will remain to safeguard oil fields in Syria. Russian forces have since begun joint patrols with Kurdish forces along the Turkish-Syrian border. Trump says if Turkey breaches the cease-fire the sanctions could be reimposed.
October 23, 2019 7:37 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI)- More than 4,000 customers in the South Hills were without power for several hours Wednesday, according to West Penn Power. Areas affected by the outage included Bethel Park, Elizabeth Township, Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills, South Park and Upper St. Clair. South Park Elementary Center was closed because of the outage, the South Park School District’s superintendent said, and Gill Hall Elementary School in the West Jefferson Hills School District was also closed, the district’s website said. According to West Penn Power’s website, the cause of the outage is “equipment damage.”
October 23, 2019 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans brought House Democrats’ impeachment investigation to a halt as around two dozen GOP House members stormed into a closed-door deposition with a Defense Department official. Democrats said the move compromised national security as some of them brought electronic devices into a secure room. The GOP maneuver delayed a deposition with senior Defense Department official Laura Cooper until mid-afternoon Wednesday, about five hours behind schedule.
October 23, 2019 4:17 am
BEIRUT (AP) – Once again, Syrian President Bashar Assad has snapped up a prize from world powers that have been maneuvering in his country’s multifront wars. Without firing a shot, his forces are returning to towns and villages in northeastern Syria where they haven’t set foot for years. Analysts say that Assad was handed a victory by President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. Then they say he got another win from a deal struck between Turkey and Russia, Damascus’ ally.
October 23, 2019 4:16 am
LONDON (AP) – U.K. police are revising their theories about a truck found in southeast England with 39 bodies inside, saying it traveled from Belgium to England, not from Ireland as they thought earlier. Essex police said Wednesday that their earlier statement that the truck went from Ireland to Wales was incorrect. They now say it went from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in England via a ferry. The 39 people were found dead early Wednesday at an industrial park in southeast England. Details about the victims have not been released except that one was a teenager. The 25-year-old driver of the truck, who was from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. (Photo: CNN)
October 23, 2019 4:14 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Health officials say a restaurant worker in northern West Virginia has contracted hepatitis A. The Monongalia County Health Department says in a news release the worker at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Morgantown was potentially contagious between Sept. 30 and Oct. 16. The statement says while the risk of contracting hepatitis A from a food worker is low, vaccinations are being offered to people who consumed food at the restaurant within the past two weeks. Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver and is spread through food, water and objects tainted by feces, or through close contact. Infection can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says West Virginia has had more than 2,500 hepatitis A cases since last year.
October 23, 2019 4:13 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – President Donald Trump will be in Pittsburgh Wednesday to speak at the Shale Insight Conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Ahead of his afternoon arrival, protesters took to downtown streets, prompting police in riot gear to make arrests. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said fourteen protesters were arrested after they blocked off the ramp from the Fort Pitt Bridge and refused to move after warnings. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action said allies are protesting President Trump’s visit within days of the commemoration of one year since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. “We’re here to tell Trump: #OurSolidarityWill protect each other and defeat your white nationalism,” a post on the groups Facebook page said. The final protester who was sitting in the middle of a downtown Pittsburgh street has also been taken into custody.
