May 7, 2024 2:27 am
(WPXI) – The man accused of trying to shoot a local pastor during a sermon is now charged in the homicide of a family member. Twentyh-six-year-od Bernard Polite was charged with criminal homicide Tuesday afternoon. The Allegheny County Police Department in a press release said Bernard is charged in the death of 56 year old Derek Polite, his cousin. This new charge comes two days after he was arrested for allegedly trying to shoot a pastor who was giving a sermon at a church in North Braddock. The disturbing moment was captured on the church’s live stream of the service. Hours after Bernard was taken into custody, Derek Polite was found dead around 8:15 p.m. Sunday at a home on the 500 block of Stokes Avenue in North Braddock. Police say Derek was found dead when his family went to check on him after learning of the attempted shooting at the church. In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, police said there was no evidence of any kind of altercation between the two men and it appears Derek was shot once as he was walking upstairs.
May 6, 2024 2:56 pm
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Hamas militant group says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel. An official familiar with Israeli thinking says Israeli officials are examining the cease-fire proposal approved by Hamas. But the official warns that the plan “is not the framework Israel proposed.” It remained uncertain whether a deal would be sealed to bring a halt to the war and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signaling that an attack was imminent.
May 6, 2024 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden campaign and top Democrats are wrestling with how best to use artificial intelligence, exposing the party’s anxiety over falling behind Republicans in the race to deploy technology that could transform the future of elections. Democratic strategists say they are nevertheless treading carefully in embracing tools that disinformation experts warn could pose a threat to democracy. So far, they say, AI is primarily helping them find and motivate voters and to better identify and defeat disinformation.
May 6, 2024 5:12 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say relatives have positively identified three bodies found in a well as those of two Australian surfers and one American who went missing last weekend. Baja California state prosecutors said relatives from the two countries had viewed the corpses recovered from a remote well and recognized them as their loved ones. Thieves apparently killed the three, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Baja peninsula, to steal their truck because they wanted the tires. They then allegedly got rid of the bodies by dumping them in a well near the coast. Three suspects are being held in connection with the case.
May 6, 2024 5:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time. The fine Monday marks the second sanction for Trump for inflammatory comments about witnesses since the start of the trial last month. Trump was fined $9,000 last week for nine violations. Judge Juan M. Merchan warned Monday that additional gag order violations could potentially result in jail time, though he said that was “the last thing” he wants to do. Trump denies any wrongdoing related to the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
May 6, 2024 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden share a bond that was forged through a hard-fought Democratic presidential primary in 2020 and fortified through policy achievements over the last three years. Now, Sanders will be Biden’s most powerful emissary to progressives and to younger voters this election year. The 82-year-old senator is determined to do what he can to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the Oval Office even as he bluntly warns that the crisis in Gaza could be Biden’s “Vietnam” and criticizes the president for his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
May 6, 2024 5:05 am
PITTSBURGH — Two Americans clinched first place in the 2024 Pittsburgh Marathon. Andrew Bowman, of Detroit, won the men’s division with a time of 2:15:52. Jane Bareikis took the top spot in the women’s division with a time of 2:37:39. “Oh my god, well, if you can see, my eyes are kind of teary, that’s because that’s a high. I’m extremely grateful to be here and extremely grateful that I got the win today. I love this sport of ours; it hurts so much, and that’s why it feels so good to finally put it together,” Bowman told Channel 11 at the finish line. Bowman decided to run the Pittsburgh Marathon because his wife suggested he take on a race that is special to her. Sydney Bowman won the women’s division of the marathon in 2018. The 2023 men’s division winner, Tyler McCandless, took third place. He crossed the finish line over a minute after Bowman and eight seconds after second-place finisher Will Loevner. Damaris Areba, of Ethiopia, took second in the women’s division, crossing the finish line just under a minute after Bareikis. American Christina Murphy took third with a time of 2:43:55.
May 6, 2024 5:02 am
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — One person was hospitalized after a vehicle rollover crash in Westmoreland County. The Rostraver Central Fire Department said they were called to the 1200 block of Rostraver Road in Rostraver Township just before midnight Saturday night. When they arrived, they found a vehicle on its roof. Firefighters say one person was taken to a hospital and another was able to remove themself from the vehicle. A pole was also damaged during the crash. Firefighters closed Rostraver Road between Indian Hill Road and Gaudio Drive until they cleared the scene at around 1:30 a.m.
May 6, 2024 4:59 am
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. — A man is dead after a shooting in North Braddock. Allegheny County dispatchers say police were called to the 500 block of Stokes Avenue at 8:15 p.m. on Sunday. When police arrived they found a man who had been shot dead inside a house. He was later identified as Derek Polite, 56, by the medical examiner’s office. Police say witnesses told them that Bernard Junior Polite lives in the house with a family member. Polite was taken into custody Sunday afternoon after state police say he tried to shoot a pastor during a sermon in North Braddock. Anyone with information is asked to call the Allegheny County Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.
May 6, 2024 4:59 am
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is facing charges after Pennsylvania State Police say he tried to shoot a pastor who was giving a sermon at a church in North Braddock. Video taken at the church shows Pastor Glenn Germany preaching at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church on Lobinger Avenue at 1:09 p.m. on Sunday. A man then walks up and points a handgun directly at him. Police say the man tried to fire the gun but it did not go off. Pennsylvania State Police say the gunman was Bernard Junior Polite, 26, from Braddock. The small congregation had about 25 parishioners, including Germany’s daughter, when police say Polite walked from the back of the church to the front pew. The pastor quickly dives behind the pulpit and the gunman walks after him. That’s when Deacon Clarence McCallister, 63, quickly took Polite, who was still holding the gun, to the ground. McCallister was behind the camera taping the service a few feet away. Polite reportedly told the pastor voices in his head told him to shoot him. Polite is facing attempted homicide charges. County Police confirmed to Channel 11 that Polite lived with his uncle less than half a mile away from the church on Stokes Avenue. Detectives were called to the home at 8:15 p.m. for the shooting death of a man. The identity of that man hs not been released at this time.
