February 25, 2023 3:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Two pieces of legislation that would temporarily waive time limits so victims can sue over otherwise outdated child sexual abuse claims have the approval of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The votes Friday amounted to a do-over that was required because state officials bungled the required advertising of a previous version two years ago. The chamber voted 161-to-40 to send the Senate a constitutional amendment. If senators go along with it, the amendment could go before voters for final approval as soon as November. Separately, they also voted 134-to-67 to make the change as regular legislation. That means it would take effect immediately if passed by the Senate and signed by the governor.
February 24, 2023 4:16 am
A man riding in a car with his cousin shot and killed another passenger then returned to the same neighborhood near Orlando hours later and shot four more people, killing a journalist covering the original shooting and a 9-year-old girl. Orange County Sheriff John Mina characterized the shootings Wednesday as random acts of violence. Mina said during a news conference Thursday that 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the initial shooting that killed 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin and that “numerous more charges” would follow. Spectrum News 13 identified the slain reporter as Dylan Lyons. Authorities say the gunman also killed T’yonna Major and critically wounded her mother at a nearby home.
February 24, 2023 4:14 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A coast-to-coast storm that paralyzed roads and blacked out nearly 1 million homes and businesses is set to pound California, sparking warnings about floods and blizzards. The National Weather Service says the storm could dump as much as 5 feet of snow in some Southern California mountains, which could bring whiteouts and an increased risk of avalanches. Rare blizzard warnings are in place. Further north, portions of Interstate 80 in California and Wyoming already have been closed because of impassable conditions, including a 70-mile stretch over the Sierra Nevada. Snow, ice and freezing rain also are expected to keep hitting areas of the Plain states and northern areas, including New England.
February 24, 2023 4:12 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s president has pledged to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians marked the somber first anniversary of the Russian invasion that he called “the longest day of our lives.” In a defiant video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled the terror unleashed a year ago by the Russian assault, triggering Europe’s biggest and deadliest war since World War II. He said: “We survived the first day of the full-scale war. We didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but we clearly understood that for each tomorrow, you need to fight. And we fought,”
February 24, 2023 4:04 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — (WPXI) – Bethel Park police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing woman. Authorities say 56-year-old Kim Saravia was last known to be in Downtown Pittsburgh. They believe she flew to California to visit family on Feb. 4 and returned to Pittsburgh on Feb. 7. She called her family after returning and they have not heard from her since then. Saravia suffers from mental health issues. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She usually travels with a red suitcase. Police do not believe Saravia has any money, a cell phone or transportation. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Bethel Park Police Department at 412-833-2000.
February 24, 2023 4:00 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has launched an online train derailment dashboard for concerned residents following the train derailment in East Palestine. The website has information about air and water testing, health assessments and other resources. “As clean-up efforts continue, our agency wants to make sure residents had an easily accessible online resource containing accurate and relevant information to refer to if they have questions,” said PEMA Director Randy Padfield. “Our priority continues to be ensuring that every concerned resident has the information and resources they need to make important health and safety decisions for their families.”
February 24, 2023 2:42 am
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — The crew operating a freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, didn’t get much warning before dozens of cars went off the tracks, and there is no indication that crew members did anything wrong. That’s according to federal safety investigators, who released a preliminary report Thursday into the fiery wreck that prompted a toxic chemical release and an evacuation. The National Transportation Safety Board says the train’s crew did not receive a critical warning about an overheated axle until just before dozens of cars went off the tracks. The report’s release came as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit to East Palestine since the wreck nearly three weeks ago.
February 23, 2023 5:46 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s Senate has passed several bills that would change how elections are run. One bill proposed by the Secretary of State would require that county officials submit voting records into the statewide registration database 80 days after an election. Local officials have 120 days to enter records now. The same bill would also allow Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office to use federal money to purchase voting machines and extend the time people have to register to vote electronically. Another bill advanced to the House would require that decisions about contested elections be made in circuit court. A third would give county clerks and commissions in West Virginia greater discretion to consolidate voting precincts.
February 23, 2023 5:43 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for his conviction on rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model during a 2013 film festival. Weinstein today told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench he maintains his innocence. The woman who Weinstein was convicted of raping was crying in the courtroom as he spoke. Lench rejected a motion by Weinstein’s lawyers to give him a new trial. Weinstein, who is 70, still has more than 20 years left on his prison sentence in New York after he was convicted of rape and sexual assault in 2020.
February 23, 2023 10:41 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Giant Eagle announced Wednesday that they have taken certain water jugs off the shelves. That includes gallon size and larger containers of store brand water inside every Giant Eagle, Market District and GetGo location. Giant Eagle said they have a spring water brand that comes from a facility in Salineville, Ohio, which is located about 23 miles southwest of East Palestine. Some customers shopping for water Wednesday told our news partners at Channel 11 they think that was the right call. “I think that’s a good idea, there were a lot of chemicals spilled and burnt gotten into the waterways so it’s not a terrible idea to make sure everything is safe for consumption,” said Christal Burczyk, a shopper. “Because of the derailment and what could possibly be in the water that they have bottled, I would hope they would take the necessary precautions but the unknown makes me nervous,” said Yvonne Overholt, another shopper. Giant Eagle said they have been in daily contact with the facility’s representatives. A third party is testing the raw water sources and the finished products regularly.
