October 1, 2019 3:20 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – A warehouse that once housed nightclubs in Pittsburgh’s Strip District caught fire Monday morning. Fire officials are calling the fire suspicious as they are still working investigating the cause. The fire was reported just after 4:30 a.m. at the four-story warehouse, which has been under construction at the intersection of Smallman and 16th streets. The building is being converted to office, retail and restaurant space. At one point, electrical wires caught fire, officials said. Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said because the building is under construction, there were specific dangers for fire crews. “There was heavy fire on the Smallman Street side. There’s many hazards. The building is currently under construction. Floors were missing. There are different various cylinders throughout the building and, of course, we have concerns with electricity and gas throughout the building,” Hissrich said. Heavy smoke was seen coming from the building before firefighters brought the fire under control. Drivers were asked to avoid Smallman Street, Penn Avenue and Liberty Avenue between 11th and 21st streets. Liberty and Penn avenues have since reopened.
September 30, 2019 4:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – For years, teens packed Forever 21’s massive stores at the nation’s malls for its speedy take on fashion, like $5 halter tops and $25 mini dresses. But the chain that helped popularize so-called fast fashion has proven too slow for a new generation of young customers. The Los Angeles-based chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a victim of rapidly changing tastes among teens who are increasingly turning away from malls and toward eco-friendly fashions like pants made from recycled plastic.
September 30, 2019 3:34 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins has pleaded guilty in an insider trading case, a day after he resigned from Congress. The Republican from western New York entered the plea on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan. He had been accused of leaking confidential information about a biopharmaceutical company to his son while attending a White House picnic in 2017. The information allowed the son and another man to dump their stock in the company and avoid nearly $800,000 in losses. The U.S. House made Collins’ resignation official Tuesday morning. It’s now up to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set a special election to fill the seat in the Republican-leaning district. The 69-year-old Collins was among the first members of Congress to support President Donald Trump’s run for the White House.
September 30, 2019 9:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Rep. Chris Collins of New York is resigning from Congress ahead of his expected guilty plea in an insider trading case. A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Collins has sent a letter of resignation that will take effect when Congress meets in a brief session on Tuesday. It would be up to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set a special election to fill the seat, which lean Republican. Collins, a Republican, was among the first members of Congress to endorse Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. (Photo: CNN)
September 30, 2019 4:26 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City police say an officer shot and killed while wrestling with an armed man was fatally struck by gunfire from his fellow officers. Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Monday that Officer Brian Mulkeen was hit twice by police bullets during the confrontation early Sunday in the Bronx. Suspect Antonio Williams was also killed during the gunfire. Police say a .32-caliber revolver belonging to Williams was recovered at the scene. It had not been fired. Mulkeen’s death is the second time this year that a member of the NYPD has been killed by friendly fire. Detective Brian Simonsen died in February after being hit once in the chest by crossfire as he and six other officers fired 42 shots at a suspect who charged toward them and mimicked pulling the trigger of a fake handgun.
September 30, 2019 4:24 am
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock declared an emergency Sunday for areas hit by an early-season snowstorm. The storm was bringing heavy, wet snow and high winds that closed roads, downed trees and caused scattered power outages. Bullock’s declaration allows the state to mobilize resources to help affected areas. Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of western Montana, northern Idaho and northeast Washington. Snow also was forecast for areas in Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, Nevada and California. The brunt of the storm hit Montana where up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow fell Saturday in the mountains and a record 14 inches (35.5 centimeters) fell in Great Falls with snow still falling Sunday. The storm was expected to wind down late Sunday and early Monday.
September 30, 2019 4:22 am
UNDATED (AP) – CVS has halted sales of popular heartburn treatment Zantac and the store generic version after warnings by U.S. health regulators. CVS is the latest retailer to pull the heartburn tablets from store shelves. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about a potentially dangerous contaminant in prescription and over-the-counter versions of Zantac.
September 30, 2019 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been found in six Pennsylvania counties, along with one human case. The state’s West Nile Control Program said the mosquitoes were found Friday in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Philadelphia counties. The human case of West Nile virus was discovered in Chester County. Friday was the last routine surveillance and reporting day for 2019, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s website. West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne sickness that may cause encephalitis, a brain irritation. Mild infections can produce fever, headaches, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands.
September 30, 2019 4:16 am
UNITY, Pa. (AP) – Some retail stores in Pennsylvania are increasingly taking an approach to combat shoplifting that bypasses local police. Stores like Walmart, Sears, Kohl’s and others are filing private criminal complaints against suspected shoplifters directly to the district attorney’s office. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review found they accounted for nearly half of more than 4,000 shoplifting complaints filed in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties over roughly five years. About 46 percent of those resulted in convictions. Legal experts say it’s within the law for store security personnel to question a suspected shoplifter and use the information in a criminal complaint, though some say it’s prudent to notify a suspect of Miranda rights to have an attorney.
September 30, 2019 4:14 am
GREENSBURG, Pa. – (WPXI) – An escaped inmate from Ohio who was spotted twice Sunday in Westmoreland County was arrested early Monday morning in North Carolina, authorities said. The Gallia County Sheriff’s Office said Christopher Clemente, 24, (second from left) was among a group of four inmates who escaped from the Gallia County Jail in Ohio after overpowering two female corrections officers. Clemente and two of the other escapees were taken into custody about 2 a.m. Monday in Cary, North Carolina, Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin said. Officials said a tip led police to a Red Roof Inn, where the three inmates were found in a car in the parking lot. The inmates escaped from the jail early Sunday morning, using a homemade weapon to overpower the corrections officers, investigators said. They then forced open a secure door, entered the jail’s administrative wing and stole keys to a corrections officer’s vehicle and drove it about a block away, where another vehicle awaited them, Champlin said. According to Champlin, authorities believe the four escaped inmates had help from at least one person outside the jail. The last man was arrested in Durham, North Carolina on Monday.
