April 5, 2022 2:36 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A former handyman has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death of a western Pennsylvania woman who went missing three years ago. Fifty-year-old Douglas Berry of McKeesport also pleaded guilty to burglary and other charges Monday as part of an agreement with Allegheny County prosecutors. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of 17 to 40 years in state prison. Sixty-seven-year-old Elizabeth Wiesenfeld was reported missing to Whitehall police in April 2019. Remains later identified as hers were found nearly a year later. Authorities said Wiesenfeld had told her family she was afraid of Berry. The Tribune-Review reports that he apologized in court and said he had “learned to pray for forgiveness.”
April 4, 2022 5:42 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Opening arguments have taken place in a West Virginia lawsuit accusing several drugmakers of misrepresenting the risks and benefits of opioids. The bench trial started Monday in Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s lawsuit against Janssen, Teva, Allergan and their family of companies. The defendants are accused of engaging in strategic campaigns to deceive prescribers. That led to opioids becoming a common treatment for chronic pain and fueled substance abuse in West Virginia. The state has the nation’s highest rate of drug overdose deaths. The lawsuit alleges violations of the state Consumer Credit and Protection Act. The trial in Charleston is expected to take up to two months.
April 4, 2022 5:41 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is calling for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin and says he’d seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine. Biden said Monday that Putin “is a war criminal.” His comments to reporters came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Bucha, one of the towns surrounding Kyiv where Ukrainian officials say the bodies of civilians have been found. Zelenskyy called the Russian actions “genocide” and called for the West to apply tougher sanctions against Russia. Biden, however, stopped short of calling the actions genocide. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. had warned that Russia would seek to imprison or kill dissidents or others it viewed as threats to its attempted occupation of Ukraine.
April 4, 2022 4:18 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Jury selection in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting ever to go to trial has begun. A judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys began screening the first candidates on Monday for the 12-member panel that will decide if Nikolas Cruz is executed or gets life in prison. Cruz has already pleaded guilty to the 2018 murders of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Court officials say 1,500 candidates or more could be screened over the next several weeks. To be selected, candidates must say they can judge Cruz fairly and vote for the death penalty if the evidence requires it. (Photo: AP)
April 4, 2022 4:17 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Sacramento police have announced an arrest connected with the shooting that killed six people and wounded a dozen others in the heart of California’s capital city as multiple shooters fired more than 100 rounds and people ran for their lives. Police said Dandre Martin, 26, was booked Monday as a “related suspect” on assault and illegal firearms charges. Detectives and SWAT team members found one handgun during searches of three homes in the area. The arrest came as the six victims killed were identified Monday in the shooting that occurred Sunday around 2 a.m. as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets near the state Capitol.
April 4, 2022 4:14 am
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) – Foreign outrage is mounting over evidence of possible executions and other atrocities by Russian forces in Ukraine. Germany’s defense minister reacted to the new evidence by saying Europe must consider stepping up penalties for Moscow by boycotting its gas exports, an economically painful step European leaders previously avoided. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned attacks on civilians after bodies were found with signs of torture in areas abandoned by Russian forces. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called reports of rape and other atrocities by Russian soldiers “beyond reprehensible.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed in a video shown during the Grammy Awards for musicians and other artists to help tell the story of Russia’s invasion.
April 4, 2022 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats are launching a whirlwind week of votes and procedural maneuvers with the goal of confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court by Friday. After more than 30 hours of hearings last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicks off the process Monday morning with a vote on whether to move Jackson’s nomination to the Senate floor. The panel could deadlock on the vote, meaning Democrats will have to spend additional hours on the Senate floor to do a “discharge” from committee. The deadlock is due to the Senate’s narrow 50-50 majority.
April 4, 2022 4:11 am
ARCHBALD, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say an all-terrain vehicle a family was riding in northeastern Pennsylvania became submerged in water, killing a woman. The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reported that the 38-year-old Jermyn woman, her husband and her two children were riding a side-by-side on private property Saturday afternoon in Archbald when they went into what appeared to be a puddle but was actually four to five feet deep. The police chief said the vehicle rolled in the water, and the husband rescued the children but was unable to free his wife. The newspaper reports that she was identified Sunday afternoon by the Lackawanna County coroner as 37-year-old Jamie Uchic.
April 4, 2022 4:10 am
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say the six people killed during an 80-vehicle pileup on a Pennsylvania interstate during a snow squall earlier this week included four men and two women. The (Pottsville) Republican-Herald reports that Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Albert Barnes said Friday that the victims of Monday’s crash on Interstate 81 were between 40 to 70 years old. All were burned beyond recognition. Two are believed to have been from Pennsylvania and the other four from out of state. Names will be released by state police as soon as a positive identity is made and families are notified.
April 4, 2022 4:07 am
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man police say is involved with a shooting in Clairton was arrested after a traffic stop in Lawrence County. According to reports, State Police say that 18-year-old Tyyon Cobbs of Clairton was driving on I-79 in Plain Grove Township on March 27, when he was pulled over for a traffic violation. Officials say that Cobbs is believed to have been involved in a shooting that occurred on March 16 in Clairton. One person was injured in the shooting. Cobbs has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy, carrying a firearm without a license, and reckless endangerment. According to court documents, Cobbs was denied bail.
