A federal judge has handed down a two-year prison term to a Mercer man for threatening FBI agents over social media back in August of 2022. WFMJ-TV reports Adam Bies pled guilty to 14 counts including charges of interstate threats and retaliating against a federal officer by threat. When Bies completes his sentence, he will be on supervised release for another three years. The charges stem from threats made by Bies to FBI agents over the far-right social media app, Gab in reference to the August 2022 raid of former President, Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
In Trumbull County yesterday, jurors convicted a defendant accused of killing a Farrell man he had agreed to meet with for the purposes of buying a cell phone. Eighteen-year-old Gavin Roberts fatally shot 37-year-old Brice Hilton in November of 2022. Roberts has been found guilty of aggravated murder and will be sentenced at a later date.
The state Department of Health is calling on nursing homes across Pennsylvania to prepare for an increase in Respiratory Syncytial (SIN-SISH-ULL) Virus, or RSV. The season for RSV is imminent, and long-term care facilities are among the places where the virus is quickly spread. Health officials say these facilities may face simultaneous outbreaks of flu, RSV, and COVID-19. The Health Department wants all homes and care facilities to review and update their infection prevention and control protocols. Pennsylvania is home to nearly 700 nursing facilities, with some 80-thousand residents.
A state Senate committee has launched a new round of hearings on the issue of legalizing video “skill games” in stores, clubs and bars. The Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee heard testimony Monday from casino owners and video game terminal operators and will host a hearing today to hear from skill games operators. Many district attorneys have questioned whether the games should be legalized in the same way that slot machines are in casinos.
The water at the fountain at the state capitol in Harrisburg is turning pink. State officials say the color has been added to the water to show support for victims during Breast Cancer Awareness month. The officials add that the fountain will stay pink throughout October, as a reminder of the importance of mammograms and early detection in fighting breast cancer.
A Butler man was killed following an accident involving a tractor-trailor last week in Allegheny County. Police said a tractor trailer was driving south on I-79, when it went through the center median and was going the wrong way in the northbound lane. It then struck a vehicle driven by 54-year-old Frank Tupper of Butler head-on. Both vehicles then became engulfed in flames. Tupper and the driver of the tractor trailer were pronounce dead at the scene. The accident shut down I-79 for hours during the morning commute Thursday.
KDKA is reporting a man is dead after he was hit by a train in Butler early on Wednesday morning. When emergency responders first arrived at the scene they found a 54-year-old man from Butler Township had been hit by the train. EMS began to attempt life-saving measures on the man before he was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital. It was at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
We now know the name of a man killed in a mining accident this week in Somerset County. Thirty-seven-year-old Brandon Frederick worked for LCT Energy and suffered fatal injuries when he became trapped between a mining car and an interior wall in a mine near Hollsopple. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration are looking into the accident.