July 24, 2019 8:44 am
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a Pennsylvania father fatally shot his teenage daughter’s boyfriend because he believed he had gotten her “hooked on drugs.” New Castle Police say Michael D’Biagio is charged with homicide and aggravated assault in the death of 17-year-old Darren Jevcak on Friday. Authorities say D’Biagio shot Jevcak several times outside a pizza shop where Jevcak worked. Police say there’s no evidence of Jevcak or D’Biagio’s daughter being involved in drugs besides smoking marijuana at a party
July 24, 2019 6:57 am
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A federal judge has blocked three new abortion restrictions from taking effect in Arkansas, including a measure that opponents say would likely force the state’s only surgical abortion clinic to close. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a 14-day temporary restraining order shortly before midnight Tuesday. The 159-page order blocks the state from enforcing the new laws, including a measure prohibiting the procedure 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. They also included a requirement that doctors performing abortions be board-certified or board-eligible in obstetrics and gynecology. An official with a Little Rock clinic that performs surgical abortions says it has one physician who meets that requirement, but he only works there a few days every other month. Baker also blocked a law prohibiting doctors from performing an abortion if it’s being sought because the fetus was diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
July 24, 2019 5:35 am
OKLAHOMA BOROUGH, Pa. – An historic former hotel was destroyed late Tuesday night in Oklahoma Borough, Westmoreland County. The old Belvedere Hotel collapsed in on itself as flames ripped through the building just before midnight, officials said. Located on Route 66, the building was a hotel in the early 1900s. It later became a bar and also had apartments, but no one had been living there for quite some time. Route 66 is closed from Route 819 to the Apollo Bridge on the Armstrong County side, and the railroad is also shut down. Officials do not expect either to open for the morning commute. The borough had been trying to find money to tear down the building, according to officials. (Photo: WPXI)
July 24, 2019 4:23 am
HOUSTON (AP) – A U.S.-born 18-year-old has been released from immigration custody after wrongfully being detained for more than three weeks. Francisco Erwin Galicia left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, Texas, on Tuesday. His lawyer, Claudia Galan, confirmed he had been released, hours after The Dallas Morning News first reported about his case. Galan says Galicia lives in the border city of Edinburg and was traveling north with friends when they were stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. According to Galan and the Morning News, agents apprehended Galicia on suspicion that he was in the U.S. illegally even though he had a Texas state ID. The Border Patrol detained Galicia for three weeks before transferring him to the ICE detention center. ICE and the Border Patrol haven’t responded to requests for comment.
July 24, 2019 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Like Europe before it, the U.S. government looks ready to try reining in its technology giants. But doing so may be more difficult than it seems. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a sweeping antitrust investigation of major technology companies and whether their online platforms have hurt competition, suppressed innovation or otherwise harmed consumers. It said the probe will take into account “widespread concerns” about social media, search engines and online retail services. Europe has investigated and fined a number of major U.S. tech companies over the past several years.
July 24, 2019 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Scores of police officers, officials and members of the community gathered to pay their respects to an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer shot to death in a street confrontation more than a week ago. Relatives of 35-year-old Officer Calvin Hall were among those speaking during Tuesday’s service at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Hall’s sister remembered her brother as “the rock of our family.” His father performed a song he wrote and dedicated to his son. Hall died Wednesday, three days after he was shot three times in the back during a street dispute in the Homewood neighborhood as a party was going on. Charges were announced against a suspect Monday afternoon as a viewing for the slain officer was being held.
July 24, 2019 4:15 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. – (WPXI) – Police said a Greene County man is accused of trying to lure an 11-year-old girl into his pickup truck. Marvin Murin, 53, faces a felony child luring charge after police said he rolled up to a woman who was walking with the girl near the intersection of N. Franklin and W. Beau Streets . Police said Murin allegedly opened the door of his truck, yelled out “come here,” and whistled at the young girl. Murin then drove away as the mother called 911, police said. The mother was able to provide a detailed description of the man, as well as the truck and license plate number. Police then reportedly used surveillance video captured by a camera at the Washington County Courthouse identify the vehicle and Murin. Police have issued a summons for him to appear in court.
July 24, 2019 4:12 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s new Roman Catholic bishop vowed Tuesday to work toward restoring faith in the diocese after a scandal over the former bishop’s sexual harassment of adults and lavish spending of church money. Pope Francis named Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark Brennan to lead the state’s Catholics. The 72-year-old Brennan replaces Bishop Michael Bransfield, who resigned in September after a preliminary investigation into allegations of sexual and financial misconduct. “I want you to know how acutely aware I am of the deep disappointment and pain that you have experienced as a result of your former bishop’s misdeeds,” Brennan said at a news conference in Wheeling. “I’m not a magician. I’m not a wonder worker. I’m your brother in Christ. And I’m willing to work hard with you to make this corner of the Lord’s vineyard a place of faith as steadfast as the mountains, of hope as invigorating as fast-flowing streams, and of love as welcoming as the sun.” Last week, Francis barred Bransfield from public ministry and prohibited him from living in the diocese, while warning that he will be forced to make amends “for some of the harm he caused.” Brennan will now help decide the extent of those reparations as he seeks to restore trust among the Catholic faithful.
July 24, 2019 4:08 am
ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. – (WPXI) – One person was killed Tuesday after a shootout with police in the parking lot of a McKnight Road shopping center. Police at the scene told our news partners at Channel 11 there was a shootout between the suspect and police in the area outside of Big Lots in Ross Township. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said the name of the shooting victim is Omari Ali Thompson, 31. Allegheny County Police said at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, an undercover drug operation was in progress in the parking lot with a narcotics agent from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office narcotics task force. Police said at 1:07, the first calls went out to 911 for shots fired in the area. At 1:15, police said the subject of the undercover operation, Thompson, was pronounced dead. The narcotics officer involved was taken to a regional trauma center in stable condition. Police said he was conscious, alert, and with his family. “The OAG officer involved in today’s shooting was shot twice and is in stable condition with no life-threatening injuries. This incident occurred during an operation by our Bureau of Narcotics Investigations. The Attorney General plans to travel to Allegheny County to visit with the officer and his family,” a statement from the Attorney General said. Police said the Homicide Unit would be conducting an investigation into the shooting and Thompson’s death. Following that, the findings would be turned over to the District Attorney for review on the use-of-force.
July 23, 2019 5:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill ensuring that a victims’ compensation fund related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks never runs out of money. The 97-2 vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. The vote came after Democratic senators agreed to allow votes on amendments sponsored by two Republican senators who had been blocking the widely popular bill. The Senate easily defeated the amendments proposed by GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said 9/11 first responders and their families have had “enough of political games.” The bill would extend through 2092 a fund created after the 2001 terrorist attacks, essentially making it permanent.
