PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say an officer and a police sergeant were struck as they and other officers tried to control a large crowd in northeast Philadelphia over the weekend. Police said officers responding to a report of a person with a gun saw a crowd of 100 to 125 people in the Kensington neighborhood at about 2 a.m. Sunday with people “throwing objects at each other and the police.” Police say the crowd grew and surrounded police, and a 30-year-old man was arrested after striking an officer and a police sergeant multiple times each. Police allege that he also damaged the doors of a patrol car following his arrest. Charges are pending.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say gunfire at an illegal large gathering in Philadelphia killed one person, wounded five and sent scores of people fleeing for their lives. Police officials said the gunfire erupted at around 3:45 a.m. Saturday inside and outside a rental hall adjacent to a restaurant in north Philadelphia’s Nicetown neighborhood. A 29-year-old man was shot 14 times and was pronounced dead minutes later at Temple University Hospital. Three men and two women were stable at hospitals. Commissioner Danielle Outlaw notes that large gatherings are illegal under COVID-19 restrictions and that police plan to increase patrols to prevent or disperse them.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — This past autumn, the lights went out for good at The Rex Theater, one of Pittsburgh’s most-beloved rock clubs. Like many independent venues across the United States, the South Side stage fell silent earlier in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the live music industry without warning. But on Sept. 22, The Rex announced it would not reopen, joining other sites that have shut their doors for good. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the live music scene hard nationwide, and for musicians, the choices have been to either take an extended break or innovate.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities say a man who took his year-old daughter from her mother’s Pittsburgh home during an argument that sparked an Amber Alert is now facing several charges. Twenty-year-old Giante Lee Thomas Jr. went to the women’s home around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, and the woman said he pointed a gun at her during the subsequent dispute. She also said he threatened her life before he left the home with the infant. State police and other law enforcement officers spotted Thomas’ vehicle outside a city home about six hours later and found the child there unharmed. Thomas was ordered held without bail on  Friday and it wasn’t known if he’s retained an attorney.

Barletta to decide soon on whether to run for governor
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Lou Barletta, the former congressman who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in 2018, says he’ll make a decision in the next few weeks on whether to seek the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022. Barletta said Friday that he felt the pull of running for office again during the pandemic and seeing the hardship of business owners and people losing their jobs. He says the final decision on whether to run is up to his family. The office is open since Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is term-limited. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is widely expected to seek the Democratic nomination.