February 3, 2020 8:55 am
BEIJING (AP) – Chinese scientists say they have more evidence that the new virus that recently emerged in China likely originated in bats. In two papers published Monday in the journal Nature, scientists report that genome sequences from several patients in Wuhan show the virus is closely related to the viruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. SARS is believed to originate in bats, although it jumped to civet cats before infecting people in the 2002-2003 international outbreak. Although scientists suspect the latest virus outbreak in China began at a seafood market in Wuhan where wild animals were on sale and in contact with people, the animal source has not yet been pinpointed.
February 3, 2020 8:52 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Two people were found dead after a SWAT situation early Monday morning in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood, police said. Authorities were called to a duplex on Baldwin Road just after 1:30 a.m. for a man barricaded inside one of the homes with a possible hostage. Police confirmed shortly after 5:30 a.m. that a man and woman, a suspect and a victim, were found dead of gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide. Investigators said a third person had been inside the home but was able to get out. That person reported the incident to police. Officials initially said there were confirmed reports of gunfire; however, those sounds were later confirmed to have been gas canisters being fired into the home by police. A family of five, including three children, were safely evacuated from the adjoining home at the duplex, police said.
February 3, 2020 8:49 am
State Police and the Fayette County Coroner are investigating the death of an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette. Superintendent Mark Capozza says a corrections officer discovered 31 year old David Irby unconscious in his cell during rounds Friday. Irby was taken to Uniontown Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was serving a 5-to-14 year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a conviction in Carbon County. He had been at SCI Fayette since August of last year. The coroner will determine the cause of death. No other information is being released at this time.
February 3, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Closing arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial are unfolding Monday as much for history as any effort to sway votes. The four hours of arguments provide one final chance to influence public opinion and set the record ahead of expected Senate acquittal. The Senate is expected to take the final impeachment votes on Wednesday. House managers opened with a plea from Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a freshman, who told the chamber: “We cannot and should not leave our common sense at the door.”
February 3, 2020 4:06 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The voting in the Iowa caucuses is finally starting. The candidates have been racing around the state all weekend trying to fire up voters and make a last appeal to people struggling to make a final decision about who to support in the crowded field. Campaigns and voters acknowledged a palpable sense of unpredictability and anxiety as Democrats begin choosing which candidate to send on to a November face-off with President Donald Trump. Four candidates are locked in a fight for victory in Iowa and others are in position to pull off surprisingly strong finishes.
February 3, 2020 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Homeland Security is warning airline passengers that their flights may wind up rerouted if officials discover mid-flight that someone onboard has been in China in the last 14 days. The warning comes as the U.S. steps up its response to the coronavirus outbreak. DHS guidance comes in a notice released by the department Sunday as new travel restrictions officially go into effect for flights commencing after 5 p.m. EDT. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that a “handful of flights will be heading to China to bring Americans back home from Hubei Province, which is at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak.
February 3, 2020 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A judge has dismissed the charges against one of two men accused of killing five people and an unborn baby at a western Pennsylvania cookout almost four years ago. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski on Monday granted a defense motion to dismiss the case against 31-year-old Robert Thomas in the March 2016 killings in Pittsburgh’s Wilkinsburg suburb. The defense sought dismissal after prosecutors decided against putting a key witness on the stand. Testimony was expected to begin Monday against 33-year-old Cheron Shelton. Prosecutors say they plan to seek capital punishment in the event of a first-degree murder conviction.
February 3, 2020 3:52 am
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Six people were forced out of their homes by a duplex fire in Harrison Township on Sunday night. Hilltop Hose Fire Chief Mike Krzeminski said heavy smoke was pouring out of the second story of the duplex on Chestnut Street. He said crews were able to get it knocked down pretty quickly with the help of four other departments. Two adults and three children lived on one side of the duplex and a woman lived on the other side. Dispatchers told us initially one person was injured in the fire, but Krzeminski told our news partners at Channel 11 that a firefighter suffered from heat-related issues. The Red Cross is helping the families affected by the fire. The fire is being investigated by the Allegheny County fire marshal.
February 2, 2020 8:26 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines Register, CNN and its polling partner have decided not to release the final installment of its presidential preference poll, fearing its results may have been compromised. Carol Hunter, the executive editor of the Iowa newspaper, posted the announcement Saturday night at the same time the results of the highly anticipated survey were supposed to be released. Hunter said that one of the poll respondents reported concerns earlier in the day, which raised questions about the integrity of the results.
February 2, 2020 8:25 am
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Gunfire erupted after a funeral Saturday in Florida, killing a teenager and a man and leaving one other person wounded, police said. Riviera Beach police said in a statement that the shooting happened near the Victory City Church shortly after 2:30 p.m. They said a 15-year-old boy and 47-year-old Royce Freeman died at the scene. The teen’s name wasn’t immediately released. Police initially said a woman and a teenager were also wounded, but later released a statement Sunday night saying the juvenile male was shot at a different location in Riviera Beach. The woman, whose name police didn’t immediately release, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. No arrests were announced as of late Saturday.
