December 2, 2019 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania Game Commission says it is investigating a video circulated on social media showing two males apparently beating an injured deer. In a Facebook post Sunday, the commission called the conduct portrayed in the video “reprehensible and potentially a violation of the law.” In the video, the two appear to kick the animal in the face repeatedly and rip off one of its antlers. Game wardens are investigating and asked anyone with information to call its Operation Game Thief hotline or the northwest region dispatch office. The commission told KDKA-TV that although the two individuals are reportedly from Brookville in Jefferson County, that doesn’t mean the incident occurred there. Brookville police told WJAC-TV that the events occurred outside of their jurisdiction and that “proper authorities were notified.”
December 2, 2019 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Retired Navy admiral and former congressman Joe Sestak is calling off his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. The 67-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat says in a statement that without the privilege of national press, it is unfair to ask others to continue making sacrifices. In joining the crowded field last June, Sestak called for strong action to deal with climate change, corporate accountability and China’s geopolitical threat. Sestak made little impression with donors or other supporters and failed to qualify for any of the party-sponsored debates. He recently completed a walk across New Hampshire to drum up interest in his campaign. Sestak graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent three decades in the Navy. He served two terms in the House, 2007-2011.
December 2, 2019 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – Police have arrested two people, including free agent NFL WR and QB Terrelle Pryor, after Pryor was stabbed in Pittsburgh. Pryor, 30, reportedly underwent surgery after a violent dispute inside his Heinz Lofts apartment. A woman — identified as Shalaya Briston, 24 — was also injured. According to the police criminal complaint, officers were initially called to the Heinz Lofts apartments around 4:15 a.m. Saturday for a domestic disturbance call. When police arrived, they found a trail of blood leading from Pryor’s apartment to the elevator and across the garage to his Mercedes Benz. Inside Pryor’s car, police said detectives found a semi-automatic Glock pistol with a flashlight on the front passenger seat. Detectives later found out Pryor and Briston were involved in a relationship, and that they lived in the Heinz Lofts apartment together. Witnesses described their relationship as very volatile, and witnesses told police that Pryor “always had his hands all over her.” According to the criminal complaint, another witness told police the incident started when Briston and Pryor got into an argument in the hallway outside their apartment. It escalated, and once inside, police said Pryor knocked that witness to the floor. Pryor then allegedly grabbed Briston and “began to tussle with her.” Police said it continued into the kitchen, and as witnesses were trying to break it up, Pryor backed away and grabbed his chest. He then ran out of the apartment while bleeding noticeably, according to police. Pryor was a standout with the football team while playing in high school at Jeannette.
December 2, 2019 4:09 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – The Smithfield Street Bridge in downtown Pittsburgh reopened early Monday morning, hours after it closed because a barge hit it, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Safety confirmed to our news partners at Channel 11. There were no injuries or obvious damage, according to a tweet from Allegheny County. The bridge was shut down until PennDOT inspected it. As of 3 a.m., it was back open.
December 1, 2019 7:10 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – At least five armed civilians have died after Mexican security forces engaged in an hour-long gun battle with a criminal group in the town of Villa Unión, in the state of Coahuila, about an hour’s drive southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas. The group reportedly stormed local government offices, prompting state and federal forces to intervene Saturday. The government of Coahuila said in a statement that: “These groups won’t be allowed to enter state territory,” confirming that five of the shooters were dead. Local media have said that up to 14 people died in total. Images on social media showed burned out vehicles and the facade of the municipal office for the town of 3,000 residents riddled with bullets. Rapid fire could be heard in videos of the shootout.
December 1, 2019 7:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Composer Irving Burgie, who helped popularize Caribbean music and co-wrote the enduring Harry Belafonte hit “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” has died at the age of 95. His death Friday was announced Saturday by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during the Caribbean country’s Independence Day parade. Burgie wrote the lyrics to Barbados’ national anthem. According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Burgie’s songs have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Many were recorded by Belafonte, including eight songs on Belafonte’s 1956 album, “Calypso,” the first album to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. The Brooklyn-born Burgie studied at the Juilliard School of Music. He became a folk singer using the stage name “Lord Burgess” and performed the circuit between New York and Chicago.
December 1, 2019 7:06 am
CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (AP) – Authorities say nine people have been killed after a plane crashed in South Dakota. Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board tells The Associated Press 12 people were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 when it crashed about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, shortly after taking off from Chamberlain, about 140 miles west of Sioux Falls. Knudson says nine people were killed and three were injured. The single-engine plane was bound for Idaho Falls, Idaho. Media reports say Chamberlain and central south-central South Dakota were under a winter storm warning at the time of the crash. Knudson says weather will be among several factors NTSB investigators will review, but no cause has yet been determined. He says inclement weather is making travel to the site difficult. No further information was immediately available.
December 1, 2019 7:05 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Airlines at Chicago’s two major international airports are reporting average delays of 15 minutes as a winter storm heads toward the Midwest with heavy snow and ice and gusty winds. The companies have canceled 27 flights at O’Hare and two at Midway as people scramble to get home on the year’s busiest travel weekend. There were 100 flights canceled Saturday and another 182 delayed at Denver International Airport because of winds. The winter storm is also bedeviling motorists around the U.S. as it dumps heavy snow from parts of California to the northern Midwest and drenches other areas with rain. A 5-year-old boy died in Arizona after a vehicle was swept away while attempting to cross a runoff-swollen creek. A storm-related death also was reported in South Dakota.
December 1, 2019 7:04 am
LONDON (AP) – UK counterterrorism police are searching for clues into an attack that left two people dead and three injured near London Bridge. Police said Saturday a man imprisoned six years for terrorism offenses before his release last year stabbed several people on Friday before being tackled by members of the public and shot dead by officers on the bridge. Neil Basu, London’s police counterterrorism chief, said 28-year-old Usman Khan was attending a program that works to educate prisoners when he launched the attack. He killed a man and a woman and injured three others just yards from the site of a deadly 2017 van and knife rampage. Health officials said one of the injured was in critical but stable condition, one was stable and the third had less serious injuries.
December 1, 2019 7:03 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Thousands of people are taking to the streets of Hong Kong under the watch of riot police to demand more democracy and an investigation into the use of force to suppress the six-month-long anti-government demonstrations. Both hardened protesters and parents with children were marching Sunday near Hong Kong’s waterfront on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour. Many held up a hand to indicate the five demands of the movement. Police in riot gear were out in force for the third march of the day – and the one where violence seemed most likely.
The protesters want to keep up pressure on city leader Carrie Lam after pro-democracy candidates won a landslide victory in a district council election a week ago. Lam has said she’ll accelerate dialogue but has not yielded any ground since the vote.
