April 11, 2023 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A major leak of classified U.S. documents that’s shaken Washington and exposed new details of its intelligence gathering may have started in a chatroom on a social media platform popular with gamers. Held on the Discord platform, which hosts real-time voice, video and text chats, a discussion originally created to talk about a range of topics turned to the war in Ukraine. The Associated Press interviewed a person who said he was a member of the Discord chat group in which documents appeared for several months. He claims another poster in the group has for several months been uploading intelligence documents, apparently to impress others in the group.
April 11, 2023 4:23 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police say a Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace, killing five people. Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel identified the shooter as Connor Sturgeon. He was killed by police responding to the shooting Monday. Gwinn-Villaroel also said the shooter livestreamed the attack. An emotional Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he lost a close friend in the shooting. At least nine others were wounded in the attack, including a police officer who had just graduated from the academy on March 31. The shooting comes just two weeks after a former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
April 11, 2023 4:21 am
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino forces have launched their largest combat exercises in decades in waters across the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions. The annual drills called Balikatan will run up to April 28 and involve more than 17,600 military personnel. It’s the latest display of American firepower in Asia, as the Biden administration strengthens an arc of alliances to better counter China, including in a possible confrontation over Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Philippine foreign and defense secretaries will meet their American counterparts in Washington to discuss the American military presence and proposed joint naval patrols. China has warned against the U.S. deployment in the region.
April 11, 2023 4:18 am
Small Businessperson Kevin Redford has officially announced his bid for the Republican nomination for Washington County Commissioner. He is a graduate of Peters Township High School and Duquesne University. Redford has worked for his family’s business, Redford Photography, for the past 23 years. He is currently a resident of North Strabane Township. Redford says his business experience, as well as his commitment to volunteering and community service in the County, “makes him a strong candidate to lead Washington County into the future”. Redford says his plan includes “supporting the oil and gas industry, increasing government transparency, and providing resources for our first responders.”
April 11, 2023 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A large police presence was called to the University of Pittsburgh for reports of shots fired on Monday night. Police received information claiming shots were fired at Pitt’s Hillman Library. Pittsburgh Public Safety said early Tuesday morning that a Pittsburgh Police Officer used their firearm to get through a locked door in the library, but there’s no evidence that any other shots were fired. Officers cleared the building. Nobody was hurt. Students can now return to the library to retrieve their belongings. According to Pitt’s website, the library is open 24 hours.
April 11, 2023 4:08 am
WASHINGTON — (WPXI) – With just a week until taxes are due, things are hectic at McCarrell’s Tax Service. Now, after a car slammed into the business during a police chase early Saturday morning, there’s an added level of stress. “‘We’ve only got a week to go and then we can fix everything! But for the next seven days, everything’s just up in the air,” said Wallace McCarrell, one of the owners of the business. “[It’s] just a disaster. I mean, we’re right in the middle of income tax season with week to go. We’re booked up solid.” The driver who crashed the car into McCarrell’s business was identified in court documents as 18-year-old Jullian Lassic. According to the criminal complaint obtained by Channel 11, Lassic sped by police on Jefferson Avenue just after midnight, nearly hitting a police cruiser. That led officers to chase after Lassic, who ran multiple red lights and stop signs. Police say Lassic went airborne, crashed into a telephone pole, and then the McCarrell’s building. Because of heavy entrapment, police say Lassic and a passenger in the front seat had to be cut from the vehicle and flown to a Pittsburgh hospital. A passenger in the back seat was taken out of the back window. Investigators have not identified the two passengers in the car. Police said the car belongs to a mom of one of those passengers. Police said in the criminal complaint that mother is currently in jail. Police also said they found two stolen guns in the car. They said none of the three people in the car are legally able to have a gun. They also found open and unopened alcoholic beverages.
April 11, 2023 4:04 am
Peters Township Council worked through a largely procedural agenda Monday night. Council began by awarding its 2023 road paving program. Council awarded Mele & Mele and Sons, Inc. a $1.697 million contract for their base bid and an alternate bid for Lincoln Dr. An additional $395,000 was awarded to Independent Enterprises for the reengineering and total upgrade of Longvue Dr. In other township business, council made its first purchases from the $3.7 million award from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Drug Task Force Equitable Sharing Program Fund. The township will be purchasing two Chevrolet Tahoe police vehicles for a total of $121,560. Council also approved computer upgrades for police cars at $127,613 and a training simulator for $69,500. Council also authorized the placement of a stop sign at the intersection of Heritage Meadows Dr. and Cedar Hill Dr. A temporary stop sign will be installed at the intersection of Bunker Hill and Alyson Drives during the roundabout construction at Valleybrook and Bebout Roads.
April 11, 2023 1:47 am
(WPXI) – A number of fire departments responded to a fire at the old Century III Mall, which has been abandoned for years. A haze of smoke could be seen over the rundown property. No flames were visible from the outside. An industrial fan from US Steel was brought in to help vent the building. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal was on the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. The mall was ordered to close In February 2019 by West Mifflin officials, who said the property was unsafe and uninhabitable because of a broken water and fire suppression system. The mall’s last anchor, J.C. Penney, shut down in the fall of 2020 and the building has deteriorated ever since.
April 11, 2023 1:22 am
(AP) – A lawsuit over an explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory says the candy-maker ignored warnings of a gas leak, The lawsuit was filed by the family of one of seven workers killed last month. It alleges that R.M. Palmer Co. bears responsibility for the explosion. The family of Judy Lopez-Moran on Tuesday filed the first wrongful-death suit against Palmer. The suit says Palmer was warned about a gas leak, but failed to evacuate. Messages seeking comment were sent to Palmer and another defendant, gas utility UGI. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the March 24 blast in West Reading.
April 10, 2023 4:55 pm
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The family of deceased Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins has filed a lawsuit claiming he was drugged, robbed and extorted before he was fatally struck while standing drunk on a highway after running out of gas. The Florida lawsuit alleges that the former Ohio State star was drugged and robbed by a man and three women in the hours before the April 2022 accident. The lawsuit does not give any specifics. The 24-year-old had been in South Florida for offseason workouts with Steelers teammates when the accident happened. A medical examiner’s report released last year said Haskins had a blood-alcohol content that was double the legal limit when he was struck by a dump truck.
