December 5, 2022 9:51 am
McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — (WPXI) – Sources say a dispute broke out between two firefighters during a response to an incident in McKees Rocks. WPXI believes the incident occurred while crews were battling a large structure fire on Olivia Street. The Stowe Township fire chief and a Preston firefighter became involved in a physical altercation, sources say. Channel 11 reached out to the Stowe Township fire chief who acknowledged there was a disagreement but would not comment any further. McKees Rocks police have said there was an altercation and are currently investigating.
December 5, 2022 5:57 am
Actor, musician and children’s author widely known for his portrayal of one of the first regular characters on the children’s show “Sesame Street,” Bob McGrath, has died at the age of 90. McGrath’s passing was confirmed by his family who posted on his Facebook page on Sunday. Sesame Workshop tweeted Sunday evening that it “mourns the passing of Bob McGrath, a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years.” McGrath was a founding cast member of “Sesame Street” when the show premiered in 1969. He is survived by his wife, Ann Logan Sperry, and their five children.
December 5, 2022 4:29 am
CAIRO (AP) – An Iranian lawmaker has said that Iran’s government was “paying attention to the people’s real demands” a day after a top official suggested that the country’s unpopular morality police has been shut down following months of protests. The comment regarding the force’s purported suspension or abolition came after months of deadly anti-government protests. The Associated Press has been unable to confirm the current status of the religious force. The Iranian morality police was established in 2005 with the task of arresting people who violate the country’s Islamic dress code. Nationwide anti-government protests were sparked by the death of a women three days after her arrest by Iran’s morality police.
December 5, 2022 4:26 am
BEIJING (AP) – China is easing some of the world’s most stringent anti-COVID controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. But they have yet to say when they might end a “zero-COVID” strategy that confines millions of people to their homes and set off protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. Commuters in Beijing and at least 16 other cities are allowed to board buses and subways without a virus test in the previous 48 hours for the first time in months. The government announced plans to vaccinate millions of elderly people. That spurred hopes for quick reopening of the country. But health experts and economists warn it will be mid-2023 and possibly 2024 before “zero COVID” ends.
December 5, 2022 4:25 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Raphael Warnock is the first Black U.S. senator from Georgia, having broken the color barrier with a special election victory in January 2021. Now Warnock can add another distinction by winning a full six-year term in a Tuesday runoff. Standing in the way is another Black man, Republican challenger Herschel Walker. The two men have cut different paths and offer clearly opposing visions for the country, including on race and racism, despite their common upbringings in the wake of the civil rights movement and the guarantee of a historical first from their Senate matchup. Black voters in this Deep South state say the choice is stark.
December 5, 2022 4:23 am
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) – Throughout the war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have been accused of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories to raise them as their own. At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia’s eight-month occupation of the area, their whereabouts still unknown. But locals say even more orphans would have been taken had it not been for the efforts of some in the community who tried to hide as many as they could. Analysts say Russian officials are conducting a deliberate depopulation campaign in occupied parts of Ukraine and deporting children under the guise of medical rehabilitation schemes and adoption programs.
December 5, 2022 4:19 am
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two people were killed in a car crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County late Friday. According to our news partners at WPXI, Pennsylvania State police were investigating the crash that happened in Jefferson Township near the border of Westmoreland and Somerset counties just after 9 p.m. Dustin Brant, 27, from Latrobe, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to reports, Brant was driving in a pickup truck that was found on the eastbound side of the turnpike. Brant’s cause of death appeared to be accidental, according to Somerset County Chief Deputy Coroner Lexi Lichty. A Berks County man was flown to a hospital from the crash, but he died from his injuries.
December 5, 2022 4:17 am
GERMAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – One person was flown to a hospital after a vehicle and pedestrian accident in Fayette County, investigators said. Fayette County dispatchers say police, firefighters and medics were called to Sixth Street in German Township at around 5:42 pm. Saturday. A member of the Adah Volunteer Fire Department said the victim was a juvenile girl. The girl’s status is unknown at this time. State police are also helping with the investigation.
December 5, 2022 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – It was a very emotional night as family and friends came together to remember a 4-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Pittsburgh. Kaari Thompson was with her mother Thursday night when the two were shot on Lincoln Avenue. Thompson later died at a hospital. On Sunday, family members and friends came to the spot where she was shot to remember the young girl they all loved and hold a balloon release in her honor. The people impacted by Thompson’s death are asking many questions as police continue to investigate the shooting and Kaari’s mother remains in the hospital in critical condition. “Our whole family is devastated. Her family, our family. Her mother’s in the hospital fighting for her life,” Heather Thompson said. Our news partners at Channel 11 learned that Thompson’s mother was out on bond awaiting trial on attempted homicide charges. She is accused of shooting two teenagers in Homewood last August. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, police released an update but did not release a motive for the shooting. Authorities urged parents to get involved with their children and to monitor their social media accounts. With no suspects arrested at this point, family members are asking anyone with information to come forward. The family has set up a GoFundMe to cover expenses related to the tragedy.
December 5, 2022 4:09 am
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a sanitation worker has died almost three months after he was struck in the head by a street sign during an accident in eastern Pennsylvania. The Lehigh County coroner’s office said 36-year-old Kerry Spiess was working on a sanitation truck that backed into the standing street sign in Pottsville on Sept. 6. Officials said he stepped off the back of the truck onto the sidewalk and was struck in the head by the falling sign, causing him to fall to the ground. The coroner’s office said Spiess was pronounced dead Dec. 2 at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest. The death was ruled accidental and due to blunt force trauma to the head. Pottsville police are investigating along with the coroner’s office.
