September 23, 2022 4:15 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The victims’ family members have been waiting five years for this moment — to hear that a jury found Martell Smith guilty of second-degree murder, and that he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors showed pictures of Sandra Douglas, Shamira Staten, and Shamira’s 4-year-old daughter, Chyenne Manning, to the judge, right before she sentenced Smith to three consecutive life-in-prison sentences. When Smith first heard the guilty verdict, he acted stunned and put his head in his hands, and eventually told the judge his life was over. He poured gasoline throughout a house in Homewood back in 2017, and set it on fire, when the two women and little girl were still inside. They never made it out, and died in the fire.After court, the victims’ family members embraced each other and told our news partners at Channel 11 this is closure.
September 23, 2022 2:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Democrats in Pennsylvania who’ve long blamed their party’s legislative minorities on Republican gerrymandering are about to find out whether friendlier district maps will edge them closer to retaking control of the House and Senate. Nearly 400 state legislative candidates will appear on ballots Nov. 8. The new district boundaries, along with dozens of retirements and primary election defeats, will certainly bring change to the Capitol. But even the most ardent Democrats aren’t predicting they’ll swing enough seats to dictate when bills are voted on or if they even get a vote. Republicans currently hold majorities of 29-21 in the Senate and 113-90 in the House.
September 22, 2022 4:25 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump padded his net worth by billions of dollars and habitually misled banks and others about the value of prized assets like golf courses, hotels and his Mar-a-Lago estate, New York’s attorney general said Wednesday in a lawsuit that seeks to permanently disrupt the Republican’s ability to do business in the state. Attorney General Letitia James dubbed it “The art of the steal.” The lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan, is the culmination of the Democrat’s three-year civil investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization. Trump’s three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants, along with two longtime company executives. In its 222 pages, the suit struck at the core of what made Trump famous, taking a blacklight to the image of wealth and opulence he’s embraced throughout his career — first as a real estate developer, then as a reality TV host on “The Apprentice” and later as president. t details dozens of instances of alleged fraud, many involving claims made on annual financial statements that Trump would give to banks, business associates and financial magazines as proof of his riches as he sought loans and deals.
September 22, 2022 4:22 am
CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (AP) – Hurricane Fiona left dozens of families stranded across Puerto Rico after smashing roads and bridges, with authorities still struggling to reach people four days after the storm smacked the U.S. territory, causing historic flooding. For now, government officials are working with religious groups, nonprofits and others braving landslides, thick mud and broken asphalt by foot to provide food, water and medicine for people in need, but they are under pressure to clear a path so vehicles can enter isolated areas soon. At least six municipalities have areas cut off by the storm.
September 22, 2022 4:20 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has caused buildings to sway in Mexico’s capital and left at least one person dead. The earthquake struck early Thursday, just three days after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook western and central Mexico, killing two people. The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday’s earthquake, like Monday’s, was centered in the western state of Michoacan near the Pacific coast. Michoacan’s state government said the quake was felt throughout the state, but did not immediately report damage. Mexico City’s mayor said via Twitter there were no immediate reports of damage. Residents were huddled in streets as seismic alarms blared.
September 22, 2022 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve delivered its bluntest reckoning Wednesday of what it will take to finally tame painfully high inflation: Slower growth, higher unemployment and potentially a recession. Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged what many economists have been saying for months: That the Fed’s goal of engineering a “soft landing” – in which it would manage to slow growth enough to curb inflation but not so much as to trigger a recession – looks increasingly unlikely. “The chances of a soft landing,” Powell said, “are likely to diminish” as the Fed steadily raises borrowing costs to slow the worst inflation in four decades.
September 22, 2022 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has lifted a judge’s hold on the Justice Department’s ability to use classified records seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling Wednesday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta clears the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they evaluate whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of top-secret government records at Mar-a-Lago. The court notes that Trump presented no evidence that he had declassified the sensitive records. And it is rejecting the possibility that Trump could have an “individual interest in or need for” the roughly 100 documents marked as classified.
September 22, 2022 4:16 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Ukraine’s president has laid out his case against Russia’s invasion at the United Nations and demanded punishment from world leaders. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech was delivered just hours after Moscow made an extraordinary announcement that it would mobilize some reservists for the war effort. Buoyed by a counteroffensive that has retaken swaths of territory that the Russians had seized, Zelenskyy vowed in a video address that his forces would not stop until they had reclaimed all of Ukraine. Video addresses by Zelenskyy in an olive green T-shirt have become almost commonplace. But this speech was one of the most keenly anticipated at the U.N. General Assembly, where the war has dominated.
September 22, 2022 4:13 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Utah boy who suffered a serious head injury after falling from a bunk bed during last month’s Little League World Series in Pennsylvania has returned home from the hospital and his family is suing the league and the company that made the bed. Easton Oliverson, 12, of Saint George, Utah, suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain in the Aug. 15 fall at a players dormitory in Williamsport. He has since had three operations and battled a staph infection, the family’s lawyer, Ken Fulginiti, said Tuesday. The negligence lawsuit, filed by Jace and Nancy Oliverson on Friday in Philadelphia, said there was no railing on the top bunk. Kevin Fountain, a spokesperson for Little League International, said the league would not comment on the pending suit. Easton, a pitcher and outfielder with the Snow Canyon team from Santa Clara in southwestern Utah, fell in his sleep, Fulginiti said. The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 for the boy’s care, along with punitive damages.
September 22, 2022 4:11 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – After 11 boys between the ages of 10 and 12 years old came forward and accused their baseball coach, 27 year old Eric Fairman, of sexually abusing them, he finally went before a judge. At his preliminary hearing, he and his defense attorney decided to waive the charges against him. This means the case is moving forward to trial. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be, can the commonwealth prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges of the sexual allegations?” Fairman’s defense attorney, Chuck Porter, said. If the Pleasant Hills man had insisted on having a hearing today, many of the alleged victims would have had to testify. “Eric also didn’t want to have all of these young men come in here and testify. It’s a traumatic thing for them to have to come in and testify, and be subject to cross-examination,” Porter added. Fairman was a math teacher at Mckeesport MIddle School and a youth sports coach. He remains in the Allegheny County Jail.
