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Tag: Pennsylvania

  • Google Now Facing Third Suit, As 30 State Sue Over ‘Illegal Monopoly’

    Google Now Facing Third Suit, As 30 State Sue Over ‘Illegal Monopoly’

    Google is being sued by 30 states, as the company faces its third lawsuit over abusing its monopoly in search and online advertising.

    Google is already facing lawsuits by the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as a coalition of 10 states. The new lawsuit is led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, and includes Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.

    “Our economy is more concentrated than ever, and consumers are squeezed when they are deprived of choices in valued products and services. Google’s anticompetitive actions have protected its general search monopolies and excluded rivals, depriving consumers of the benefits of competitive choices, forestalling innovation, and undermining new entry or expansion,” Weiser explained. “This lawsuit seeks to restore competition.”

    The scope of this lawsuit goes beyond the previous two, accusing Google of “engaging in a multi-pronged effort to maintain its monopolies.” In particular, “Google’s acquisition and command of vast amounts of data obtained because of consumers’ lack of choice has fortified Google’s monopolies and created new barriers to competition and consumer value.”

    The states have filed a motion to join their case with the DOJ’s case, which could significantly expand the scope of the DOJ’s case.

  • Ridgway, Pennsylvania Bridge Collapses Day After Anniversary of Other Famous Collapse [Pic]

    In Ridgway, Pennsylvania today, three workers were injured when a bridge collapsed. One of the men had to be evacuated by helicopter for medical attention. The bridge was part of a rebuild project, and had already been in use for 103 years. The portion of the bridge that collapsed was slated for destruction when it fell.

    One worker was operating an excavator and two others were walking on the structure when it collapsed.

    According to local news sources, there were no injuries to the general public, and there was no traffic on the Ridgway bridge at the time. However, about 5,500 vehicles do use the bridge daily.

    “The excavator was sitting in the middle of the bridge, and two guys were walking across the bridge, and it just collapsed,” the local fire chief told The Associated Press.

    This bridge collapse in Pennsylvania echoes the memory of another, memorialized only yesterday. On June 17, 1958, seventy-nine workers were working on a new bridge in British Columbia when the bridge collapsed in the middle of construction. Eighteen workers died that day, as well as a scuba diver aiding in rescue and recovery efforts. That collapse plunged workers 175 feet to the water below, many of them harnessed to heavy equipment.

    Country music star Jimmy Dean memorialized the British Columbia collapse with his song “Steel Men.” That bridge was named Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing in honor of those men who died.

    The Ridgway bridge in today’s collapse incident spans Elk Creek in Elk County about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    Local news also has updated that all workers on the Ridgway bridge are out of harm’s way and no one is believed to be trapped in the collapse.

  • Baby Mauled By Ferrets While Mother In Another Room

    A baby was mauled by ferrets in Delaware County, Pennsylvania on Thursday.

    In a disturbing tale of absolute horror, Darby Police Chief Robert Smythe said that around 3:30pm on Thursday, the mother of the baby set the one-month-old baby girl down in a carrier on the first floor of their duplex.

    She then went upstairs, where she was when the baby girl started screaming. When she finally came downstairs, she saw a ferret on the baby. She pushed the ferret aside and called for help.

    Police say the baby was mauled by the ferrets so badly that part of her nose, upper lip, and cheek were eaten away.

    The amount of time that the baby was mauled by the ferrets is not known, but Chief Smythe seemed to have his suspicions that the mother let her baby scream for quite a while before responding.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSOOg5qB_3M

    “There’s a one-month-old laying there and anywhere from one to three animals are eating it while the child is still alive and screaming. Now, how long does it take you to get downstairs to get to your kid,” the police chief angrily asked. “You think that much flesh would be gone by the time you get down there?”

    That is the question on everyone’s mind as the details begin to filter out as to how the baby was mauled by ferrets under the same roof as her mother.

    “The ferrets did chew the infant’s nose, top lip and cheek area. They had eaten that area away,” Smythe said. He added, “This is the most horrific thing I’ve seen happen to a child 45 years in this town.”

    The parents, who both have developmental disabilities, have temporarily lost custody of all five of their children. The children range in age from one month to five years old and were reportedly living in deplorable conditions. The home was infested with fleas or mites and the only food in the house was a can of cranberries and peanut butter.

    Along with the ferrets, there were also six cats, two dogs, and two turtles in the house.

    Three different child welfare agencies were investigating the family before this incident. They say investigations continue.

    What do you think of this baby being mauled by ferrets? Should these welfare agencies have done something sooner to prevent this kind of horrific incident?

  • Tristen Kurilla Kills 90-Year-Old Woman. Should This 10-Year-Old Boy Be Charged As An Adult?

    Tristen Kurilla Kills 90-Year-Old Woman. Should This 10-Year-Old Boy Be Charged As An Adult?

    Tristen Kurilla confessed to Pennsylvania authorities that he killed a 90-year-old woman in his grandfather’s home in Honesdale, Penn.

    It was an admission that led to the 10-year-old being charged as an adult with criminal homicide.

    The move to charge Kurilla as an adult is mandatory under Pennsylvania law, regardless of whether or not it’s clear he understands the grave nature of his actions.

    Said defense attorney Benard Brown, “The enormity of the situation I think is a little bit lost in [Tristen] at this point.”

    “I don’t know if he’s scared. [I] think he’s concerned.”

    According to WBRE, Brown is currently working to get the court to release the fifth-grade Damascus Elementary student from jail.

    Said Brown, “Jail is still jail, no matter what part of the facility you are in.”

    In addition to getting his client out of jail, the defense attorney is reportedly working to get Kurilla’s case moved to juvenile court.

    There the focus is more so on rehabilitation than an adult court system, which places its primary emphasis on punishment.

    Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards stated that she intends to try Kurilla as an adult.

    The question now becomes whether or not the prosecution will move to block the efforts to see the case moved out of Pennsylvania’s adult criminal system.

    In the United States, the move to charge children with adult crimes remains a hot button issue.

    Some feel that child murderers pose a threat to society and should be put away. Others feel that the age of convicted children and teens is a factor that American adult courts never make a factor when deciding how long to place these child offenders in prison.

    Kurilla was charged following confessing to the murder of Helen Novak. The victim was in the care of Kurilla’s grandfather at the time of the incident.

    When she yelled for him to leave, Tristen allegedly put Novak’s cane around her throat and hit her with it several times.

    Despite confessing to the murder, Kurilla said he “was only trying to hurt” Helen Novak rather than kill her.

    Tristen Kurilla is currently being held without bail in the Wayne County Correctional Facility.

  • Mega Millions Winning Ticket Sold in Pennsylvania

    The Pennsylvania Lottery today announced that a winning Mega Millions ticket was sold in York County, Pennsylvania. The ticket matched all five white balls (but not the Mega Ball) in yesterday’s Mega Millions drawing and is worth $1 million. The winning numbers on the ticket were 25-45-51-53-73.

    The winning ticket was bought at a Turkey Hill convenience store on E. Market St. in York, Pennsylvania. The store will receive $5,000 as a bonus for selling the ticket.

    The Pennsylvania Lottery is encouraging the holder of the ticket to step forward and claim the prize. The organization suggests that the winner sign the back of the ticket, call the Lottery, and file a claim at the nearest Lottery office. The ticket will have to be validated before the $1 million can be claimed, but the winner in this case will have one year to claim his or her prize.

    No jackpot-winning tickets were sold for Tuesday evening’s Mega Millions drawing. The Mega Millions jackpot is currently sitting at $72 million in anticipation Friday’s drawing.

    The jackpot had climbed to $180 million in late August before being won by a man in Riverside County, California. The man, a 53-year-old building materials company manager named Rick Knudsen, told the California Lottery that a series of odd purchase totals led him to buy his winning ticket.

    “I bought something and it was six dollars even,” said Knudsen. “No change. And then later on that morning, I bought something somewhere else and it was nine dollars even. Five different places that day I didn’t pay any change. The totals were all even amounts. I’m a numbers freak and that all means something in my head. So I said, ‘I gotta stop somewhere and buy a ticket.’ So on my way home, I bought the Quick Picks for $10.”

    Lottery winners are known for blowing their cash on extravagant purchases, and Mega Millions this week released a new video showing just what winners could afford to buy with the current jackpot amount. The video also mentions what responsible jackpot winners should actually do with their money (hint: it’s not buying an island).

  • Mother Unaware Son Died Until Smell Set In

    The mother of a severely disabled 8-year-old Harrisburg, Pennsylvania boy didn’t realize he died on the third floor of their home until she began to smell his decomposing body.

    Kimberly Tutko summoned police to her house on Friday, where they found the body. Tutko told authorities that her husband Jarrod Tutko was the primary caretaker of their mentally disabled son, and waited several days to tell her the boy had died.

    Jarrod Tutko, 38, was charged with child endangerment, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse. His bail was set at $500,000. He has yet to contact an attorney.

    Harrisburg police revealed that Tutko told his wife about Jarrod Tutko Jr.’s passing “when the odor of decomposition became too strong.” The cause of death is presently unknown, and an autopsy is set for next week. The couple’s five other children were placed into protective custody.

    Kimberly Tutko said her husband informed her of Jarrod Jr.’s death on Tuesday. Tutko commented, “I said to him ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ … He said he was too afraid to say anything because of other kids in the house.”

    Mrs. Tutko explained that Jarrod Jr. was severely mentally disabled and was difficult to control. He was confined to the upstairs floor of the house, where he tore up the flooring, smeared feces over the walls and refused to wear a diaper. Tutko went on to reveal that Jarrod Jr. was diagnosed with autism, failure to thrive and Fragile X Syndrome.

    Here is a CDC clip concerning Fragile X Syndrome:

    Tutko added that the couple also has a daughter that requires extensive care. The girl also suffers from autism and is in a vegetative state, and is confined to a hospital bed on the second floor of the home.

    “My daughter relies on me,” Tutko said. “I take care of her and my husband takes care of Jarrod Jr.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Three Children Killed During Philadelphia Carjacking

    Three children were killed and three adults were injured in Philadelphia Friday after two men carjacked an SUV and crashed it into a fruit stand. Authorities are offering a $110,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects, who remain at large.

    Siblings Thomas Reed, 10, Keiearra Williams, 15, and Terrence Williams, 7, were hit by a white Toyota 4Runner as they were selling fruit outside of their church, located in the Tioga neighborhood of the city. The mother of the deceased, Keisha Williams, 34, was also hit and was critically injured, along with another unnamed woman.

    The owner of the SUV, an unnamed 45-year-old woman, was still in the vehicle when its tire blew during a high-speed turn, and was also injured. The suspects ditched the SUV and fled on foot, after wrecking into the fruit stand and a grove of trees.

    The father of Thomas Reed commented, “Taking innocent people’s lives. That’s my son, you took him away from me. Turn yourself in, dog. Whoever y’all is, turn yourself in.”

    The city of Philadelphia put up an initial $100,000 reward, and the Fraternal Order of Police contributed another $10,000.

    Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey remarked, “We have a tragedy here. We will use all the resources at our disposal to find the people responsible.”

    Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia Police added, “I’ve been in the homicide unit for six years and this is one of the saddest cases that I’ve come across. You have three innocent children who had the rest of their lives in front of them who were taken in this fashion. It is very sad and very tragic.”

    The two suspects are described as a Hispanic male and a black male, both wearing white shirts.

    Image via YouTube

  • American Flag Desecration Leads to Charges

    A Blair County, Pennsylvania man was charged with desecration and insults to the flag after spray painting an American flag with the letters “AIM” and hanging it upside down outside his home. Neighbors and passersby were offended by the display, and contacted local police.

    Allegheny Township police Assistant Chief L.J. Berg arrived to the scene, removed the flag, and commented, “I was offended by it when I first saw it. I had an individual stop here at the station, a female, who was in the military and she was very offended by it. I removed it from the building, folded it properly and seized it as evidence.”

    Flag owner Joshua Brubaker explained that he was standing up for his American Indian heritage, though was charged with two misdemeanors regardless. Brubacker defended his actions and maintained that he never meant to upset or offend anyone, and explained that he and his wife are of American Indian heritage and are passionate about the American Indian Movement, specifically in the Midwest.

    Brubaker commented, “I found that Wounded Knee is up for sale. Not only privately, but commercially. It’s just not right, and simply because I express myself in a way that somebody else doesn’t like or agree with doesn’t mean I should be persecuted for having beliefs.” Brubaker added, “If I don’t have a right to fly that flag upside down, which means a sign of distress, which this country is in so much distress right now, then what’s the point of having it?”

    Flag desecration is a term applied to the mutilation of flags or flag protocol, a various set of acts that intentionally destroy a flag in public. The Flag Desecration Amendment is an ongoing proposed constitutional amendment to the United States Constitution that would allow Congress to statutorily prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States. The most recent attempt to adopt the amendment failed in the United States Senate by one vote in June, 2006.

    Here performance artist Brian Hugh Warner, a.k.a Marilyn Manson, desecrates an American flag during a live show:

    Brubaker hopes the police reconsider the criminal charges, while Berg commented, “People have made too many sacrifices to protect the flag and to have this happen in my community, I’m not happy with that.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Jerry Sandusky Fights to Receive State Pension

    After being found guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse pertaining to the Penn State scandal and being sentenced to at least 30 years in prison, former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is fighting to have his state pension reinstated. Pennsylvania’s State Employees Retirement System (SERS) says that Sandusky forfeited his pension of $59,000 per year because of the nature of his crimes.

    Sandusky’s pension was revoked by SERS in October 2012 after he was found guilty in the child sex abuse case. Sandusky’s lawyers argue that he is still eligible to receive his pension because when Sandusky retired in 1999, sex crimes wasn’t an offense that could cause one’s pension to be forfeited–sex crimes weren’t added until 2004.

    While it is true that Sandusky retired as Penn State’s assistant football coach in 1999, Sandusky did maintain an office at Penn State until 2011 through his work with The Second Mile. The Second Mile is the nonprofit organization founded by Jerry Sandusky for underprivileged kids that gave him access to the children he was accused of abusing.

    Even though Sandusky never received a paycheck from Penn State after officially retiring, which is a requirement for him to be considered a school employee, SERS says that Sandusky’s continued professional relationship with Penn State makes his case an exception.

    Sandusky had an agreement with former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley for the university to work with The Second Mile, plus SERS says that the office and other perks the university provided Sandusky, such as football tickets, were forms of compensation. This agreement was documented in letters written back and forth between Sandusky and Curley.

    “The letter agreement puts lie to Sandusky’s contention that he ‘retired’ in 1999,” SERS attorneys wrote. “If anything, in June 1999, Sandusky retired from his position as football coach, but then continued as PSU employee in a new ‘outreach’ position…To be sure, the agreement was not an ordinary contract or employment arrangement. But, from the Penn State perspective, Sandusky was not an ordinary man.”

    If Jerry Sandusky isn’t successful in getting his pension reinstated, his wife Dottie Sandusky will also “lose the ability to collect a 50 percent survivor’s benefit for the remainder of her life” should her husband pass before she does. Dottie (pictured below) still maintains that her husband never abused any young boys. “He’s not guilty of these horrific crimes,” Dottie said during an interview in March. Of the showers, Dottie said, “That’s the generation that Jerry grew up in…They’d have soap battles or whatever.”

    Image via YouTube

  • School Stabbing Note: Pennsylvania Teen Detailed Plans

    Alex Hribal, the teen suspect in the shocking Pennsylvania stabbing case, may have offered up an explanation for his violent attacks after all.

    In a note recovered by law enforcement officials, the 16-year-old allegedly wrote that he couldn’t wait to see the “priceless and helpless looks on the faces of the students of one of the ‘best schools in Pennsylvania’” after he killed them.

    The note was apparently signed and dated a mere three days before Hribal showed up to the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa. and started stabbing his fellow students.

    According to an affidavit, Hribal wounded 20 students and a security guard during the school stabbing incident that occurred roughly two weeks ago.

    Aside from this portion of Hribal’s note, nothing else written has been released to the public.

    This small section letter is hugely significant as it seems to show the state of mind of the suspect ahead of the violent attacks.

    The teen has been charged with numerous counts of attempted homicide, and no doubt this signed note will act as a huge piece of evidence in the case against the suspect.

    Patrick Thomassey, a defense attorney for Hribal, declined to comment regarding the note’s content, specifically the fact that the words directly contradict his claims about how the suspect felt about his actions.


    Thomassey painted his young client as a frightened teenage boy who was remorseful about what he had done to so many people.

    The note paints a remarkably different picture of Hribal. It shows him as almost gleeful about the deaths he intended to cause.

    Vice-principal Samuel King said that Hribal had refused to drop the knives during the attack. Allegedly Hribal responded by saying, “No, I am not dropping them, my work is not done, I have more people to kill.”

    With eyewitness accounts and his own words to be used against him, it may prove impossible to get Hribal’s case transferred to the juvenile court, which was Thomassey’s intent.

    As of now Hribal has been charged as an adult with no less than 20 counts of attempted murder and 21 counts of aggravated assault.

    Image via YouTube

  • Pennsylvania School Stabbing Suspect To Be Evaluated

    The 16-year-old responsible for the stabbing of 21 other students and a security guard may be the subject of a mental evaluation. His defense attorney is making the request in order to ensure that his client is tried in juvenile court rather than as an adult.

    Attorney Patrick Thomassey admitted during an interview with Good Morning America that Alex Hribal had been responsible for the stabbings.

    He said that he expects that any defense put forth regarding the crime will more than likely be based on Hribal’s mental state.

    Pennsylvania law dictates that Thomassey will have to prove to a judge in juvenile court that Hribal can be rehabilitated through juvenile court.

    A benefit of getting his client’s case moved to juvenile court is that the youth system only has authority over juvenile offenders until the age of 21. If Hribal is tried and charged as an adult, he could be put away for many years.

    Thomassey described his young client as “confused, scared, and depressed” and feels that while Hribal understands what he did, he doesn’t appreciate “the gravity of what he did.”

    Said Thomassey, “I’m sure that as he wakes up this morning it will start to sink in where he is now and what’s going to happen to him.”

    Hribal’s parents have not seen their son since the incident according to his defense attorney.

    “They send their best wishes to anybody involved in this,” said Thomassey. “They could not have predicted this was going to happen.”

    They also wished for him to express to the public their personal shock and horror at what their son had done.

    Despite Hribal’s parents and community being caught off-guard by the violent stabbings, some theories are being floated in an effort to explain the tragic event.

    Persons on social media sites are suggesting that Hribal acted out after being a victim of bullying.

    Thommassey said that he had “heard that rumor”. For now he’s denying that bullying was the potential reason for his client’s actions.

    Image via YouTube

  • Several Students Stabbed At Pennsylvania High School

    According to CBS News Pittsburgh, several students at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville Pennsylvania (approximately 18 miles from Pittsburgh) have been stabbed.

    Police and paramedics have arrived on the scene and have confirmed that five or six individuals were stabbed during a fire drill, and one student was airlifted to a local hospital. The police currently have one person in custody in regards to the stabbing.

    The school has notified parents of the incident and have given them the option to pick their children up from school. It is not known if all of the victims were students, or a mixture of students and teachers.

    More information will be shared as it becomes available.

    Image via Twitter

  • Jordan Miles, Beaten by Cops, Wins at Trial

    Jordan Miles, Beaten by Cops, Wins at Trial

    It’s been over 4 years since Jordan Miles was beaten so badly he couldn’t see straight. Miles finally has gotten a civil jury to award him damages from his assaulters: 3 police officers.

    Back in January, 2010, Jordan Miles, a black teen with dreadlocks who went to a nearby Performing Arts School where he played violin, says that he was walking to his grandmother’s house. He commonly spent the night there, and was walking and talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. Plain-clothes policemen in an unmarked car rolled up beside him and jumped out, demanding his money, drugs, and a gun. Miles says he took off running.

    The three policemen, on the other hand, say that they simply rolled up and flashed a badge when they saw Miles lurking around a neighbor’s home. They say Miles assaulted them until they saw a bulge in his jacket and thought it was a gun. According to WTAE, in the altercation that followed, they say Miles fell and hit his face on the icy sidewalk.

    A local magistrate dismissed any criminal charges against the three officers. But a jury has now heard evidence from doctors who say Miles was struck 14 times in the face. One of his dreadlocks was ripped out. And his injuries put him in the hospital. Officers told the jury that the bulge turned out to be a bottle of Mountain Dew, which they could not produce because they had thrown it away.

    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the jury awarded Miles over $100,000 for his false arrest, though they stopped short of awarding him anything for the beating.

    The case has set off a civil rights firestorm in Pennsylvania, and has been followed for the four years since the original incident.

    Image via Justice for Jordan Miles

  • Zoë Saldana Shares Admiration For Pennsylvania Steel Town

    Zoë Saldana has a deep admiration for Braddock, PA. The once-prosperous city was the home of Andrew Carnegie’s first steel mill.

    However, by 2009, the New York Times described the city’s bleak existence as an array of “boarded-up storefronts, houses in advanced stages of collapse and vacant lots.” The small town’s population decreased by approximately 15,000 residents, leaving only an estimated 3,000 to weather the declining economy.

    However, Saldana views the destitute town from a different perspective. According to The Morning Call, the Avatar actress spent several months in Braddock filming her 2013 movie Out Of The Furnace.

    During her tenure in Braddock, she developed an immense fondness for the small community. The 35-year-old actress expressed that she personally feels the town exudes strength.

    “You go to [the town] with this fear of seeing something that you can imagine is so heavy,” she said. ” “What you learn from it — and take from it — is the strength that you absorb from these people. It’s very easy to leave when things go wrong. But to stick around and to basically give life to a town because of everything that it gave you, generation after generation after generation, that to me is what defines a true American.”

    “It’s sticking together when it gets really rough,” she said. “This is a town that’s been hit really hard — and I’ve been to places around the world that leave you with a big knot in your stomach. You feel an elephant just has sat on your chest. Braddock was definitely one of those. But you sit down with the people and wish you had an ounce of the strength they possess every single day by sticking around. I was very moved by that.”

    http://youtu.be/plkAY3xX2sQ

    The town of Braddock almost serves as a metaphoric symbol closely associated with the film, which centers around two downtrodden brothers who struggle to maintain their jobs at a steel mill due to cutbacks.

    As a result of the financial strain, former steel worker Rodney Baze (Casey Affleck) turns to bare-knuckle boxing. When he disappears into the Ramapo Mountains of North Jersey, his brother Russell (Christian Bale) takes off to find him.

    However, Russell faces opposition while on his mission to rescue his brother. Harlan (Woody Harrelson) stands in the way of his rescue mission. Saldana’s character, Lena, is caught in the middle of the entire debacle and she’s the woman who truly loves Russell. Unfortunately, she’s married to a hard-working cop named Wesley, portrayed by Forest Whitaker.

    “Lena has been torn by her life,” Saldana says. “I needed to build that for her and I needed to understand why she couldn’t stick by the person she truly, truly loved. She [married] someone who worked in law, who symbolically is going to keep her safe. I think [that decision] was due to her inability to cope with danger and pain.”

    Out Of The Furnace was released on DVD March 11.

    Image via Out Of The Furnace, Facebook

  • USS Somerset Commissioned In Honor Of Flight 93

    On March 1, the USS Somerset was commissioned to become a Navy warship to honor Flight 93, which was hijacked and headed for Washington D.C., but crashed in Pennsylvania killing 40 passengers and crew. The plane was one of the four that was hijacked in September 11, 2001.

    The Navy ship was sponsored to be built on December 2007 by Mary Jo Myers, wife of General Richard Myers who is the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The ship was named USS Somerset after Somerset county in Pennsylvania where Flight 93 crashed in 2001. USS Somerset is the third ship to commemorate lives lost to the 9/11 attacks, the first and second ones are the USS New York and USS Arlington. It took $1.2 billion and four years to build the USS Somerset.

    According to Senator Pat Toomey, the ship was built in commemoration of the day America began to fight back.

    USS Somerset carried Marine Corps and the Navy during the ceremony. After hours of waiting, Mary Jo Myers finally said the words “Man this ship and bring her to life.”

    The sailors were stationed on the upper decks and the brow of the ship, looking like dwarves in the vessel that weighed 25,000 tons. Also in attendance were the shipbuilders, politicians, the military, and families of those who were killed in Flight 93.

    The President of Families of Flight 93, Gordon Felt, reminded the Marines and sailors to use the tragedy as motivation to serve the country. He also said that “heroism is not achieved, it is revealed.” – just like the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who set out on the morning of 9/11 not knowing what was going to happen.

    A lifeboat emerged as a door on the ship was opened and the ship’s horn then boomed loudly.

    The ship is set for leaving its homeport in San Diego on Tuesday morning. Reports say that the USS Somerset will also be utilized for humanitarian efforts. Captain Thomas Dearborn, the ship’s commanding officer, told his crew that they will be helping those in need in any way they can – through typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and even piracy.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Craigslist Killer Admits to Slaying 22 Others

    A craigslist killer charged in the November murder of a man has confessed to slaying 22 other victims within the past six years.

    Miranda Barbour, 19, and her newlywed husband are facing criminal homicide charges in the death of 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara.

    After connecting with the victim via a Craigslist post, Barbour lured LaFerrara to a mall parking lot and then the two drove six miles into Sunbury, Pa. The post was reportedly a sexual-service advertisement set at a price of $100.

    Barbour told investigators that her husband was only supposed to strangle the victim, but because LaFerrara continued to agree to sexual advancements after she had falsely claimed to be 16 years old, Barbour decided to take his slaughter even further.

    LaFerrara suffered from nearly 20 stab wounds.

    The couple had just moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania prior to the slaying. After only three weeks into their marriage, LaFerrara was their first killing together.

    However, for Barbour the man was just another victim to add to her list of committed murders.

    During an audio-recorded interview from prison, she told journalist Francis Scarcella of The Daily Item that she has contributed to a number of murders in North Carolina, Texas, Alaska, and California.

    “When I hit 22, I stopped counting,” Barbour said Friday night in her confession from Northumberland County Prison.

    Barbour requested the interview because she finally wanted to confess to the killings.

    Police officers have now started to investigate more into her claims and have contacted appropriate authorities within several states.

    “From information we gathered and from information gathered from her interview we are seriously concerned and have been in contact with the proper authorities,” Sunbury Police Chief Steve Mazzeo told The Daily Item. (image)

    According to Barbour, she first started participating in several murders at age 13 after joining a satanic cult in Alaska.

    “I wasn’t always there (mentally). I knew something was bad inside me and the satanic beliefs brought it out. I embraced it,” she said.

    Barbour claims that she would go after “bad people” and according to her, LaFerrara did not deserve to live.

    “I studied them. I learned them and even became their friend. I did this to people who did bad things and didn’t deserve to be here anymore.”

    Hauntingly enough, the Craigslist killer told the newspaper that her killing spree would always be a constant pattern.

    “I know I wanted to talk about all this because I know I had a 20-year window where I would possibly get out of jail and I don’t want that to happen. If I were to be released, I would do this again,” she said unapologetically.

    Barbour plans to plead guilty to LaFerrara’s murder, and in doing so, she offers to lead investigators to the locations where the other 22 killings occurred.

    Image via YouTube

  • Pennsylvania Turnpike Crash: Two Pileups Injure 30 People

    Two pileups occurred during Friday’s rush hour on the Pennsylvania Turnpike right outside of Philadelphia.

    The icy road-blockage, which affected commuters traveling eastbound near the Route 1 exit, was reported around 8:30 a.m. The traffic jam was nearly five miles long.

    At least 100 cars were involved, one at a count of 30 vehicles and the other at 75. However, officials predict that “approximately ten vehicles were involved in the initial accident which sparked a chain reaction of pileups.”

    “There are so many cars that will need to be towed out and the bigger trucks involved that will also need to be towed out,” said a spokesperson with the Communications Department of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

    Witnesses who recounted the horrific event said that some cars spun out of control crashing into each other.

    According to Fox 8 Cleveland, Heather Pasco said that a truck slid into the back of her car after she decided to stop.

    “I saw him (in the mirror), and I thought I was done. The entire back end of my car is gone,” she said.

    Pasco later said that she believed the roads were plowed improperly.

    Commuter David Hill, 27, said that the ice-coated roads surprised him.

    “I got on the turnpike, and it was nothing but ice,” he said. “I was very surprised at the condition of it. Normally the turnpike is one of the first roads that’s cleared, but today I was driving on solid ice.”

    Snow flurries that fell the night before could have possibly been the reason behind the slippery road conditions. Weather meteorologists say that the snowfall stopped five hours before commuters started their early morning travels. Most of it had turned into sleet and ice.

    As of right now, officials confirm that 30 people suffered from minor injuries. The turnpike eventually reopened at 4 p.m and was cleared of all debris. Investigators are still determining if wintry conditions caused the two pileups.

    Strangely enough, this is not the first pileup that has occurred on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In December, 10 people were sent to the hospital due to multiple collisions that involved 35 vehicles.

    Image via Youtube

  • Heroin Happy Meals: Twice In One Month

    Heroin Happy Meals: Twice In One Month

    Heroin is not exactly what you’d like to see when you open your kid’s Happy Meal box from McDonald’s, but apparently, that is what was being used to sell the drug out of a McDonald’s drive-thru in Pittsburg, PA.

    Shania Dennis, 26, was busted by undercover agents for selling heroin at work, where she would instruct her “customers” to say, “I would like to order a toy” while she was working her shift at the drive-thru, and she would then pass them the drugs in the Happy Meal boxes.

    Dennis then proceeded to deny any wrong doing to gathering reporters as she was led away in handcuffs. Police say they found 10 bags of heroin in a Happy Meal box and got another 50 bags of the drug off of the suspect.

    According to the AP, the owner of the restaurant didn’t have any idea what was going on and wasn’t involved.

    “We have no indication the owner knew of this and neither suspect has, to this point, implicated the owner or anyone else at either restaurant,” said Mike Manko, who is a spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office in Pennsylvania.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EZ7C9QbwYk

    This is the second time this month that a McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania has been busted for selling drugs at work. According to ABC, Theodore Levon Upshaw, 28, was also arrested when an informant bought drugs from him at the restaurant just off of Route 22 in Murrysville.

    Upshaw was fresh off an early release from a three-year prison sentence after he was convicted of possession with intent to deliver. He was living in an alternative housing facility.

    The same man, Iftikhar Malik, owns both of the stores busted for heroin sales. He has issued a statement saying,

    “As an employer and a member of the community, the safety of our guests and employees is our first priority. The allegations related to this employee do not represent acceptable behaviors and are not consistent with my values. As such, we take these charges very seriously and we are fully cooperating with the authorities. We are also conducting our own thorough internal investigation.”

    Investigators don’t, however, believe the drugs sold at either of Malik’s restaurants are linked to fentanyl-laced heroin that are being blamed for 22 fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania in recent weeks.

    Image via youtube

  • Widener University Shooting “Not a Random Act”

    Police in Chester, Pa., are still on the lookout for the person who shot a Widener University student yesterday evening. The victim, as yet unnamed, was sitting in a car in the parking lot of the school’s athletic center around 8:48 p.m. Monday night when the incident occurred. Campus security was alerted by an emergency “blue light” button, though it is unclear who pushed the button.

    The university issued a statement online, asking students to remain indoors until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, though authorities believe the perpetrator has fled the campus. The statement further indicates that the victim was taken to Crozer Chester Medical Center. His family has been notified. Grant Gegwich, a spokesperson for the hospital, has said that the victim was in surgery overnight, listed in stable but critical condition.

    Chester police have been reviewing surveillance footage and using K-9 units to search for the suspect and believe he may have run into a residential district near the campus. Police found only one shell casing on the scene and believe the shooter used a revolver. The statement released by the school claims that “all indications are that this was not a random act of violence.” Neigborhoodscout.com, a real estate website, has rated Chester as one of the most dangerous municipalities in the US.

    Widener, founded in 1821, is a private, co-educational university, located about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Around 6,400 students are enrolled between Widener’s four campuses in Harrisburg, Exton, and Chester, Pa. and Wilmington, Del.

    This attack comes too soon after another eastern Pennsylvania school shooting. On Friday, a 17 year old man shot two in a gymnasium in Philadelphia, both of whom sustained injuries that were not life threatening. The suspect in that case, Raisheem Rochwell, turned himself in for arrest on Saturday and was arraigned as an adult.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Amur Leopard Killed At Pennsylvania Zoo

    Amur Leopard Killed At Pennsylvania Zoo

    A rare Amur leopard was killed at the Erie Zoo, in Pennsylvania, by another leopard, while the two were supposed to be mating.

    On Monday, zookeepers put the 5-year-old male, named Edgar, and the 7-year-old female, named Lina together in close courters, in hopes that they would begin the mating process. Shortly after they entered the cage, Edgar grabbed Lina by the throat and mauled her to death. Zoo staff tried to save Lina, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

    The zoo staff is puzzled as to why Edgar chose to attack Lina. It was reported that they had been placed in the cage together before, and no other attacks had occurred.

    Amur leopards are one of the most endangered species in the world, and having Edgar and Lina mate was pivotal. Because female Amur leopards are only in for one week out of each year, Monday’s timing was crucial for success. Sadly, things ended quite differently than they had hoped. Rather than adding a new leopard to the zoo…they lost one instead.

    Amur leopards are native to Korea, Manchuria and Siberia, and their is only an estimated 19 to 26 in the wild, with more than 170 in captivity.

    “For us it is emotional because we’ve never had this happen in the 30-plus years of my history here,” Zoo Director Scott Mitchell said. “But the species, it is an even bigger loss. This may be one of the world’s most endangered cats. And to lose one of the most important breeding females is just devastating.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Road Rage Murderer May Strike Again: FBI Joins Hunt

    Police said on Friday that they do not believe last weekend’s road rage shootings in Pennsylvania are related to similar cases that took place in York County and Kentucky. However, as the murderer of 28-year-old Timothy Davidson is still at large, they are still looking for the suspect’s vehicle: a dark-colored Ford Ranger XLT with driver’s side damage.

    Timothy Davidson was traveling back to his Maine home on I-81 last Saturday when an aggressive driver began accosting him from the described truck. Davison had called 911 numerous times as the driver followed him for a 13 to 15 mile stretch. Ultimately, the assailant ran him off the road, approached his car, and took his life via firearm.

    Davison’s uncle told CNN that the family just “wants justice before someone else gets hurt.”

    In fact, police do have reason to believe this shooter may victimize others if not apprehended soon. Thus, they are asking citizens and auto body repair shops to keep an eye out for any trucks matching the description and to contact authorities should they see it.

    “How concerned are we that it’ll happen again?” Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Steven Junkin posed this question during a news conference before saying, “We obviously have an individual out there who was so incensed that he continued to pursue Mr. Davison and took it to that next step. He murdered an individual for whatever slight that he perceived.” Junkin then added:

    “Will this person do it again? We don’t know. We don’t want to take that chance.”

    If you have any information, please call Crime Stoppers at 800-472-8477 and Chambersburg State Police Barracks at 717-264-5161


    Image via Youtube