October 7, 2022 4:09 am
UTHAI SAWAN, Thailand (AP) – Relatives grieving staggering loss laid flowers at a day care center in rural northeastern Thailand. A day earlier, a fired police officer slaughtered dozens of people, including children as young as 2 who were napping. The entire country reeled in the wake of Thursday’s grisly attack in a small town in one of the nation’s poorest regions. At least 24 of the 36 people killed in the assault were children. It was Thailand’s deadliest mass shooting. Royal and government representatives in white military uniforms laid wreaths at ceremonial tables in front of the center’s main door. They were followed by weeping family members, who gathered their hands in prayer before placing white flowers on the wooden floor.
October 7, 2022 4:05 am
BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – An off-duty Pittsburgh police officer is accused of punching a woman in the face at the Five Finger Death Punch concert at Star Lake amphitheater in September. According to the criminal complaint obtained by our news partners at WPXI, Chas Kulow became aggressive towards and uncooperative with EMS as they were treating his girlfriend. Police say Kulow appeared under the influence and very agitated. He then left the staging area, but later returned. The complaint says when the victims attempted to calm Kulow down, he punched the female victim in the right cheek area. She was bleeding from the mouth. Police say Kulow then complained of chest pains and was transported by ambulance to Weirton Hospital, where police say he became belligerent and uncooperative with hospital staff and officers. In Weirton, West Virginia, he was charged with disorderly conduct. He’s accused of simple assault, disorderly conduct, harassment and public drunkenness for the incident at Star Lake. Pittsburgh police tell Channel-11 that Kulow has been on paid administrative leave since the incident, and they are now reviewing the charges and will take appropriate action.
October 7, 2022 2:47 am
((WPXI) – Authorities in Allegheny County announced an arrest of a teen in the Kennywood shooting Thursday morning. Darryl Pirl, 15, will be charged as an adult and is facing two charges of aggravated assault, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor and recklessly endangering another person. Pirl is one of the three people who was injured in the shooting and was taken to a hospital by private means that night, according to the criminal complaint. Police said that physical evidence links Pirl to the shooting. Police said two different guns were fired during the incident and that they are looking for a second shooter, who they say is likely a juvenile. During a press conference, police said they believe the Kennywood shooting was in relation to an ongoing feud between two groups of teens in the Mon Valley, including in Duquesne and Homestead. On Sept. 24, three people were shot inside the park in the “Lost Kennywood” section by the “Musik Express” ride, including Pirl who was grazed by a bullet. Kennywood unveiled new security measures last week before opening for the first time since the shooting this past Friday.
October 7, 2022 2:44 am
After a summer of single monthly meetings, Washington County Commissioners returned to their two meeting a month schedule. Thursday’s meeting was largely procedural, paying bills and authorizing contracts. One agenda item stood out. Commissioners approved a $42,260 payment to ES&S for technical support on voting equipment for the upcoming general election. Washington County Director of Elections Melanie Ostrander says that this is a procedure that takes place before every election. According to Ostrander, the Logic and Accuracy Testing of Voting Equipment is required by the state. It will last 17 days and every machine will be tested for voting accuracy, from the selection of vote, to the registration of the vote, the paper printout and scanner accuracy. The contract also calls for two technicians to be on standby for election day support.
October 6, 2022 5:56 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Twitter is asking a Delaware court to proceed with an upcoming trial against Elon Musk. The social media platform says the billionaire refuses to accept the contractual obligations of his April agreement to buy the company for $44 billion. Twitter attorneys sent a letter Thursday to the Delaware Chancery Court’s head judge. It came not long after Musk’s legal team asked her to call off the trial while he works on a renewed bid to buy the company. Twitter disputed Musk’s claim that Twitter is refusing to accept the new bid, which Musk told the company about earlier this week after trying to terminate the deal over the summer.
October 6, 2022 5:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to plotting with other members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group to violently stop the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. Jeremy Joseph Bertino is the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge. Bertino also pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of unlawfully possessing firearms. Bertino has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation of the role that Proud Boys leaders played in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Former Proud Boys national chairman Henry “Ënrique” Tarrio and four other group members also have been charged with seditious conspiracy.
October 6, 2022 5:14 pm
(WPXI) – Police at the University of Pittsburgh have reported their third sexual assault near the university campus within a month. According to university police, a woman was sexually assaulted in a stairwell at the campus’s Cathedral of Learning. In a crime alert Thursday, police said they were notified of Monday afternoon’s assault on Wednesday. Police said the victim was approached in the stairwell by an unknown man who pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her. The suspect then ran in an unknown direction, police said. Investigators ask anyone with information to call 412-624-2121 and reference #22-02874.
October 6, 2022 4:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color. He is also calling on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. Biden says the move reflects his position that “no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.” He says his action will ease the consequences for “people who have prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result.”
October 6, 2022 4:33 pm
(WPXI) – If you didn’t get your Pittsburgh Post-Gazette delivered to your home Thursday morning, that’s because workers from multiple unions walked off the job early Thursday. These employees include mailers and typographers represented by the Communications Workers of America along with members of the Teamsters and Pressmen’s Union. The employees – who are protesting outside of their production building in Clinton, decided to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. A release from the Communications Workers of America said in part, “The workers, who are responsible for designing, printing, distributing, advertising sales and accounts receivables at the newspaper, have been working without a collective bargaining agreement since March 2017. Despite extensive negotiations, Post-Gazette management has refused to engage in good faith bargaining, and the workers have not had a pay raise in 16 years.” The Post-Gazette also eliminated the employees’ health insurance this past weekend, according to the CWA. “The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has offered the unions several options that would ensure the continuation of the affected union employees’ healthcare. One of these proposals included a 9% wage increase and enrollment in the company’s healthcare plan, which currently covers 2,600 Block Communications employees, including several unions, company executives and staff at the PG.”
October 6, 2022 9:15 am
UTHAI SAWAN, Thailand (AP) – A former police officer facing a drug charge burst into a day care center in Thailand, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers and then shooting more people as he fled. At least 36 people were killed Thursday in the deadliest rampage in the nation’s history. The assailant, who was fired earlier this year, took his own life after killing his wife and child at home. The attack took place in the rural province of Nongbua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand, in one of the country’s poorest regions. A witness said the assailant shot his way in.
