August 22, 2019 4:12 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Authorities say an elevator accident in a New York city high-rise has killed a man who was apparently pinned between the elevator car and the shaft. It happened around 8:30 a.m. Thursday in a high-end rental building on Third Avenue in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan. Police and building inspectors are investigating. Police say it appears 30-year-old Samuel Charles Waisbren was trying to get out of the elevator when it continued downward and trapped him. Waisbren died at the scene. A message has been left for the company that owns the building. The New York Times reports the building was fined $1,300 in May after inspectors found a safety feature on one of its two elevators had been disabled or tampered with.
August 22, 2019 4:09 am
ELIZABETH BOROUGH, Pa. – (WPXI) – A former Elizabeth Borough police chief pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges related to stealing drugs from the police department’s evidence room. Tim Butler pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, one count of possession and one count of obstructing the administration of law. According to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, Butler confessed to a subordinate officer that he was addicted to heroin, and when asked if there was any missing evidence, replied that “it was all gone.” As part of Butler’s plea, charges connected to the alleged theft of money from borough parking meters were withdrawn. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20. (Photo: WPXI)
August 22, 2019 4:04 am
DOWNINGTON, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania Roman Catholic priest is accused of stealing nearly $100,000 from his parish and spending it on a beach house and men he met on dating apps. The Chester County District Attorney’s Office says 56-year-old Monsignor Joseph McLoone was arrested Wednesday for theft from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Downingtown. Prosecutors allege the priest diverted funds into secret accounts and misappropriated fees charged to parishioners. They say McLoone used the money for a beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey, as well as spending it on men he was dating. Prosecutors allege McLoone gave himself a raise by doubling the amount he collected as a stipend for each Mass, wedding and funeral. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says McLoone is on leave and they’re cooperating with authorities.
August 22, 2019 3:56 am
Nearly 100 supporters of the LGBTQ Community gathered on the Washington County Courthouse steps to await an announcement from the Washington County Gay Straight Alliance. Lt. Governor John Fetterman (pictured) was invited to announce that Washington will host its inaugural Pride Fest on June 27, 2020. The festival will fall on the 50th anniversary of the first Pride Fest event. Aside from Fetterman, Local officials on hand included Mayor Scott Putnam who delivered a proclamation. County Commissioners Larry Maggi and Harlan Shober attended and Common Pleas Judge John Disalle delivered a stirring address promoting diversity and decrying hate and division in our society today. Kathy Cameron, Executive Director of the Washington County Gay Straight Alliance commended County Commissioners for their recent efforts to extend protections to members of the county workforce who identify in the LGBTQ community. The WCGSA seeks to achieve equality in treatment and protections for the LGBTQ community. Supporters point out that currently there are no protections from discrimination for the LGBTQ community federally or in Pennsylvania. For more information on how you can support the cause, go to www.pavalues.org
August 21, 2019 5:23 pm
PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. (WPXI) – A driver whose car plunged into a swimming pool in Plum Borough Wednesday morning has died, police said. The man lost control of the car, which crashed through a fence and into the pool at a home along Carrie Ann at Repp roads just before 8 a.m. Police officers and fire crews jumped into the pool and pulled the driver from the water. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as 49-year-old William Gibson of Penn Hills. No one inside the home was injured.
August 21, 2019 1:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Christie Brinkley, Hannah Brown of “The Bachelorette” and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer are among the contestants on the next season of ”Dancing with the Stars.” ABC announced the celebrity lineup Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” The season kicks off Sept. 16. The lineup also includes Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, and Mary Wilson and athletes Lamar Odom and Ray Lewis. Kate Flannery, Karamo Brown, Kel Mitchell and James Van Der Beek round out the list of celebrity dancers. In a change from previous seasons, viewers won’t lean the celebrity-pro pairings until the season premiere. Professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd returns to the ballroom this year.
August 21, 2019 12:49 pm
About 50 people have been laid off from Southpointe-based CNX Resources Corp. and CNX Midstream Partners LP. CNX confirmed the layoffs, which impact corporate support and operational teams. The move comes as the company continues to combine jobs in the upstream and midstream operations, where CNX Resources and CNX Midstream are aligned. CNX Resources is the sponsor of the master limited partnership at CNX Midstream which owns gathering and midstream assets. CNX Midstream has the same CEO and CFO as CNX Resources; the companies work together in CNX’s real-time operations center and contract management.
August 21, 2019 10:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is insisting the U.S. already has “very, very strong background checks” for gun purchases and is noting many of his supporters “are strong believers in the Second Amendment,” in another sign he is backing away from supporting expanded checks. Trump had said in the wake of shooting massacres in Texas and Ohio that he was looking to implement “very meaningful background checks” and that he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell very much wanted to “do something.” But Trump said Tuesday that while the current system has “sort of missing areas and areas that don’t complete the whole circle,” the system is overall “very, very strong.” He says he worries about the potential for a “slippery slope” where “all of a sudden everything gets taken away.”
August 21, 2019 10:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Homeland Security is moving to end a long-standing federal court agreement that limits how long immigrant children can be kept in detention. That’s according to two DHS officials who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss regulations not made public. They could come as early as this week. The move is almost certain to spark a new court fight over the government’s ability to hold families until their cases are decided. The so-called Flores agreement requires the government to keep children in the least restrictive setting possible and to release them generally after 20 days in detention. Because of those restrictions, migrant families coming into the country have been released into the U.S. while their asylum requests wind their way through the courts.
August 21, 2019 8:48 am
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (AP) – A shooting has left two youths wounded, including an 8-year-old boy who was struck by a stray bullet. Allegheny County police say the shooting in McKees Rocks occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the arm on Locust Street, and a shot fired in that incident struck the younger boy who was standing outside an apartment complex about two blocks away. The 8-year-old, who was attending a party at the complex, was grazed in the leg by the stray bullet.
