October 28, 2019 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A registered sex offender was arrested in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh on Sunday, wanted for attempted rape of a teen. Carroll Township Police had a warrant out for Russell Marycz. He was picked up this afternoon by the Allegheny County Sheriff Fugitive Task Force. 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. Police said Marycz has a history of sexual assault. Officers have searched homes in Washington County and in Pittsburgh, where he has also been known to stay. He is suspected of a similar incident involving a teenager in Monongahela in June. According to police, they believe Marycz held a screw driver up to the teen’s neck and threatened him before the teen got away.
October 27, 2019 8:16 am
LONDON (AP) – Two British opposition parties want to hold elections even earlier than Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proposed as they try to ensure the country doesn’t leave the European Union without an agreement. The Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats say they will push for a Dec. 9 election, three days earlier than Johnson has proposed and years earlier than the next scheduled vote in 2022. They also plan to ask EU leaders to extend the Brexit deadline to at least Jan. 31 to provide more time to debate Johnson’s withdrawal agreement. Johnson says if lawmakers approve a Dec. 12 election he will attempt to push his Brexit deal through Parliament quickly. He is seeking to delay Britain’s Oct. 31 Brexit deadline by only a few weeks to keep pressure on lawmakers.
October 27, 2019 8:15 am
GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) – A sheriff’s official says two people have been killed in a shooting at an off-campus Texas A&M University-Commerce party that also left at least 14 others injured. Hunt County Chief Deputy Buddy Oxford says the shooting took place just before midnight Saturday in Greenville, around 15 miles southwest of the Commerce campus. Oxford says the shooter remains at large. The shooting came as the university east of Dallas celebrated homecoming weekend. Oxford did not have information on the severity of injuries. Oxford and university officials said the event was a homecoming party but was not a sanctioned school event.
October 27, 2019 8:14 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Catholic bishops from across the Amazon have called for the ordination of married men as priests to address the clergy shortage in the region, in an historic proposal that would upend centuries of Roman Catholic tradition. The majority of 180 bishops from nine Amazonian countries also called Saturday for the Vatican to reopen a debate on ordaining women as deacons, saying “it is urgent for the church in the Amazon to promote and confer ministries for men and women in an equitable manner.” The proposals were contained in a final document approved Saturday at the end of a three-week synod on the Amazon, which Pope Francis called in 2017 to focus attention on saving the rainforest and better ministering to its indigenous people.
October 27, 2019 8:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An ex-White House aide who’s supposed to testify before House impeachment investigators on Monday is seeking guidance from a federal court about whether to comply with a House subpoena or follow President Donald Trump’s directive against cooperating. Former deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman has asked a judge in Washington to instruct him whether to accede to House demands for his testimony or to assert “immunity from congressional process” as directed by Trump. Kupperman argues that he cannot satisfy the competing demands of the legislative and executive branches. The impeachment inquiry continued Saturday with a focus on Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe, who arrived on Capitol Hill to testify.
October 27, 2019 8:11 am
CANONSBURG, Pa. — The Canon-McMillan School District has resolved a situation involving a student bringing a knife to the high school. Officials from the district sent a message Friday stating that the situation was handled and no one was ever in danger, threatened, or targeted. According to authorities, a student at the school reported a classmate to school officials, who commended the student for reporting the weapon. The incident was turned over to North Strabane Police for an investigation.
October 27, 2019 8:09 am
TURTLE CREEK, Pa. (WPXI) – Police have released new details surrounding the incident that ended in a multi-vehicle crash involving a police officer. According to investigators, Jestin Towner, 18, was involved in a “domestic disturbance” in the 100 block of Ninth Street in Turtle Creek when 911 was notified around 6 p.m. Saturday. When officers arrived, police said Towner drove away from the scene and allegedly had a firearm. Police then asked for assistance from neighboring departments as they tried to follow Towner. An Allegheny County police officer was responding as backup and stopped at the intersection of Ninth Street and Airbrake Avenue when Towner collided into the officer’s vehicle head-on. The officer was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released for neck and torso injuries. The suspect was also hospitalized and is being evaluated for mental health purposes.Towner will face charges once he is booked into the Allegheny County Jail.
October 27, 2019 8:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The first anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history is being marked around the world. The shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, killed 11 worshippers and wounded seven others. Numerous community service projects are planned in the city Sunday along with private and public memorial services. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians will perform at a special event in Germany. Thousands are also expected to participate in Sunday’s remembrance through Pause With Pittsburgh, a virtual memorial event created by the Jewish Federations of North America. Last week, Tree of Life leaders unveiled their vision for the damaged building, including a rebuilt space for places of worship, a memorial, and classrooms and exhibitions.
October 27, 2019 8:04 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI)– A flight attendant based out of Phoenix, Arizona has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, alleging she witnessed two pilots livestreaming video from the plane’s bathroom to an iPad in the cockpit and saying she was retaliated against when she brought the concerns to light, according to the Arizona Republic. Renee Steinaker filed the suit in federal court for the District of Arizona and claims the alleged incident occurred on Flight 1088 between Pittsburgh and Phoenix on Feb. 27, 2017. According to reports, several hours into the flight, Steinaker was asked to come to the cockpit so the pilot could use the restroom. Southwest’s policy requires two crew members in the cockpit at all times. Steinaker claims in the lawsuit that as she entered the cockpit, she saw an iPad mounted on the windshield with a livestream showing the pilot in the bathroom. The pilot allegedly told Steinaker that it was a new, top-secret security measure installed in all Southwest Airlines planes. As claimed in the suit, she reported the incident to Southwest and was told to not talk to anybody about the alleged incident. Southwest sent a statement to the Arizona Republic, saying in part: “The safety and security of our employees and customers is Southwest’s uncompromising priority. As such, Southwest does not place cameras in the lavatories of our aircraft. At this time, we have no other comment on the pending litigation.”
October 26, 2019 10:08 am
MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman says Maria Butina, who returned to Moscow on Saturday after serving a sentence in the United States for being a covert agent, is a victim of entrenched anti-Russian attitudes. “This is what, unfortunately, the previous U.S. administration started – trying to destroy the bilateral relationship,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at Sheremetyevo airport after Butina arrived. Since the election of President Donald Trump, Russian officials have consistently blamed troubled relations on so-called “Russophobia” carried over from the administration of President Barack Obama. Butina, 30, admitted that she and a former Russian lawmaker worked to leverage contacts in the National Rifle Association to pursue back channels to American conservatives. “She really did no harm to anybody. She’s just a girl, she’s just a young woman. She tried to invest her youth, if you wish, her gift, her talent, into people-to-people contacts,” Zakhar
