September 1, 2019 8:36 am
MIDLAND, Texas (AP) – At least five people are dead in West Texas after a man stopped by state troopers for failing to signal a left turn opened fire and fled. Authorities say the gunman shot more than 20 people as he drove before being killed by officers outside a movie theater. Police in Odessa plan a Sunday morning news conference to update the investigation into the chaotic rampage during which the suspect hijacked a mail carrier truck and fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland. The two cities are in the heart of Texas oil country, more than 300 miles west of Dallas. Police have only identified the gunman as a man in his 30s and have not offered a motive.
September 1, 2019 8:30 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Friends, family and staff members gathered at the Washington High School to commemorate the life of Nicholas Cumer weeks after his death in the Dayton, Ohio mass shooting. Cumer was a 2012 Wash High graduate who was finishing his studies as a grad student with St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. at the time of the incident. Out of the dozens in attendance, Cumer’s parents Vicky and Ron spoke to the crowd and thanked the community for all of the support over the last month. Pastor Brian Greenleaf of the Washington Alliance Church and various former teachers who had Cumer in class made their remarks as well.
September 1, 2019 8:20 am
BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. – A Kentucky man working a concert at Key Bank Pavilion died of natural causes on the job Saturday afternoon. Allen Ditch, 49, of Lewisport suffered a cardiac event around 2:45 p.m. while working as a crew member for a scheduled artist at the event venue. The Coroner’s Office is not investigating the incident as a suspicious death. The UPMC Paramedic Response Unit assisted the Hanover Township Police Department on scene.
August 31, 2019 9:24 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – An Iranian official has tweeted at President Donald Trump over an apparent rocket failure, showing an image of him standing next to a satellite that was supposed to be launched. Iran’s Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted the image Saturday of the Nahid-1 satellite. Jahromi wrote: “Me & Nahid I right now, Good Morning Donald Trump!” The tweet comes after satellite photos showed a rocket on a launch pad at Iran’s Imam Khomenei Space Center had exploded Thursday. Analysts had linked the explosion to Iran’s planned launch of the Nahid-1. Trump on Friday tweeted what appeared to be a U.S. spy photo of the damage at the launch pad, saying: “The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations.”
August 31, 2019 9:23 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A senior North Korean diplomat has berated U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his comments describing North Korean behavior as “rogue” and says Pyongyang’s hopes for talks with Washington are fading. North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in a statement released through state media on Saturday said Pompeo’s “excessive” comments increased North Korean people’s animosity toward Americans and made it harder for working-level nuclear negotiations between the countries to resume.
Pompeo in speech to U.S. veterans in Indiana on Tuesday said the Trump administration recognized that “North Korea’s rogue behavior could not be ignored.” North Korea has recently conducted a slew of short-range weapons tests in what’s seen as an attempt to increase pressure on Washington and Seoul amid a standstill in nuclear negotiations.
August 31, 2019 9:20 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – Campus police at Robert Morris University issued an alert to students and staff about a man who has been issued a “No Trespass” order. Wassim Ouchene, 21, is no longer allowed on school property following an alleged incident, according to police. RMU police were called to Yorktown Hall off-campus housing just before 11 after a female student said Ouchene tried to force his way into her room. Police told our news partners at Channel 11 her frightening encounter began in the parking lot, where she told police Ouchene suddenly grabbed her, groped her and choked her. She told police that, fearing for her life, she ran, but Ouchene chased her. She was able to get to her third-floor apartment and thought she was safe, but a few minutes later she heard a knock at her door and opened it to Ouchene, who forced his way in, she told police. Police said she managed to run out of her building, leaving Ouchene by her door. Police say they found him still sitting outside her door.
August 31, 2019 9:08 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued two more penalties to Sunoco Pipeline LP totaling more than $313,000 for violations resulting from construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline here in Washington and Westmoreland Counties. The DEP says Sunoco was fined for violations of the Clean Streams Law and Dam Safety and Encroachment Act for violations during construction activities in 10 counties. Horizontal drilling resulted in unauthorized discharges of drilling fluids consisting of bentonite clay and water, also known as inadvertent returns, to an unnamed tributary to Peters Creek in Nottingham Township; an unnamed tributary to Little Chartiers Creek in North Strabane Township in Washington County; and an unnamed tributary to Sewickley Creek in Sewickley Township in Westmoreland County. Sunoco failed to implement practices to minimize erosion and sedimentation at the sites, while also failing to temporarily stabilize all areas of the sites upon completion of earth disturbance activities at the sites. State agencies have issued more than 80 violations for more than $13 million in penalties during the project.
August 31, 2019 4:18 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah man has been found guilty of running a multimillion-dollar opioid ring that sent hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly pills across the country from his suburban basement. A US jury reached the verdict Friday after deliberating less than a day in the case against 29-year-old Aaron Shamo. Prosecutors say he was the kingpin of the ring that peddled fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl to thousands of people. Authorities say the ring helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic and the 2016 bust ranked among the country’s largest. The jury deadlocked and made no finding on a charge that Shamo sold the drugs that caused the overdose death of a 21-year-old California man. The defense acknowledged that Shamo was selling drugs but argued that he couldn’t have run the operation alone and there wasn’t proof he caused the overdose.
August 31, 2019 4:16 am
MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Dorian has gained fearsome new muscle as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, bearing down on the Bahamas as it edges closer to Florida’s east coast.
Millions of people in Florida, along with the state’s Walt Disney World and President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, are in the potential crosshairs of the hurricane. Forecasters said Dorian gained Category 4 strength late Friday, clocking top sustained winds of 140 mph. Forecasters say it’s still too early to tell whether Dorian would make a direct hit on the state’s east coast or inflict a glancing blow. They note some computer models predict a late turn to the north that would have Dorian hug the coast.
August 31, 2019 4:14 am
FOX CHAPEL, Pa. (AP) – A 5-year-old girl has been killed in an all-terrain vehicle crash that also left her father and older sister hospitalized. Allegheny County police say the accident in Fox Chapel occurred around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The 37-year-old father was driving the ATV in the family’s front yard with his children as passengers when one of the girls reached up and hit the throttle. The ATV then sped forward, crashed over a hillside and struck a tree. The 5-year-old was taken to a hospital but died there a short time later. Her father and 8-year-old sister both suffered undisclosed minor injuries and were hospitalized in stable condition. The names of the children and their father have not been released. Authorities say the crash remains under investigation.