Author: Beaver County Radio

Woman accused of kidnapping child now charged with homicide

Woman accused of kidnapping child now charged with homicide
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A woman accused of having kidnapped a toddler near Pittsburgh has now been charged with criminal homicide in the child’s death last month.
Allegheny County police say 25-year-old Sharena Islam Nancy was charged with criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse in the death of Nalani Johnson, who was about to have her second birthday.
Nancy, who authorities say had been romantically involved with the child’s father, was earlier charged with kidnapping of a minor, concealing the whereabouts of a child, and custodial interference.
Johnson’s body was found Sept. 3 in an Indiana County park about 37 miles (60 kilometers) east of Penn Hills, where authorities allege she had been kidnapped a few days earlier.
Nancy remains jailed without bail; a message was left for her attorney Saturday seeking comment.

Robert Morris edged Bryant 24-20, comes from 13 points down

Robert Morris edged Bryant 24-20, comes from 13 points down
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Garrett Houser pulled in a 75-yard pass from George Martin for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter as Robert Morris came from behind to defeat Bryant 24-20 Saturday to remain undefeated in the Northeast Conference.
The Colonials (4-4, 3-0) fell behind 13-0 by halftime, their largest deficit since trailing Sacred Heart by 14 in 2010 — also a comeback win.
The Colonials outscored the Bulldogs (2-7, 1-3) 24-7 in the final two periods despite being outgained in rushing and passing yards.
Back-to-back Bryant turnovers turned into 10 points. Brady Ours intercepted Bryant’s Kory Curtis, leading to a Nick Bisceglia 29-yard field goal as the Colonials cut the gap to 13-10. The Bulldogs’ Gavin Rowley was pushed back for a 16-yard loss on the next possession and fumbled. Jacob Thomas snatched it up at the 3 and scored for a 17-13 Colonials lead.
Bryant took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth on Harrison Easton’s 5-yard TD run, but Robert Morris responded with a three-play, 74-yard drive and the winning TD pass
Jesse Nemerowicz, with six tackles, grabbed the career record for Bryant with 289. The previous record was 285.

Late TD pass lifts Miami past Pittsburgh 16-12

Late TD pass lifts Miami past Pittsburgh 16-12
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Miami head coach Manny Diaz kept telling quarterback Jarren Williams to be ready. That at some point the Hurricanes would need him even though Diaz awarded the starting job to N’Kosi Perry.
Whether Williams initially bought in to whatever Diaz was selling him is up for debate. Neither Williams nor Diaz declined to get into specifics when asked if Williams missed practice in the days ahead of Saturday’s visit to Pittsburgh.
“On the internal stuff, that’s not something I get into,” Diaz said. “I don’t talk about stuff like that.”
Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyway. Consider Williams all in. Let him offer his play during Miami’s game-winning drive in Pittsburgh on Saturday as proof. Thrust into the lineup midway through the fourth quarter after Perry struggled, Williams led the Hurricanes on a 62-yard drive in the final minutes, the last 32 yards coming on a catch-and-run by wide receiver KJ Osborn with 58 seconds remaining that gave Miami a 16-12 victory.
“I said, ‘Hey, it’s time for me to come and step up,'” Williams said. “The guys need me. The team needs me. This program needs me. I’m going to give everybody everything I’ve got.”
Miami (4-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) needed everything Williams had after coming in for Perry, who completed 10 of 24 passes for 104 yards and an interception. Diaz inserted Williams into the lineup after Alex Kessman’s fourth field goal gave the Panthers (5-3, 3-2) a 12-10 lead. Miami went three-and-out on Williams’ first possession. On his second, he directed a drive the Hurricanes hope alters the course of their wildly uneven season.
Williams completed a short pass to Osborn on fourth down at the Miami 47 to keep Miami alive. He later scrambled for a first down that pushed the ball to the Pitt 32. Two snaps later he connected with Osborn, who did most of the work while shedding a pair of defenders on his way to the end zone.
“It was crunch time,” Osborn said. “I braced myself and bounced off some guys. Once I was running, I was happy.”
And Miami was finally in control. Pitt didn’t go anywhere on its final drive, done in by a pair of drops, a sack and a fourth-down heave by Kenny Pickett heave that sailed wide of intended receiver V’Lique Carter. Pickett finished 18 of 32 for 146 yards with the two picks as the Panthers saw their four-game winning streak end on a day they limited Miami to 208 total yards.
“The defense played well enough to win except for that last play,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “I think we probably gave up one big play the entire game, which doesn’t happen very often, but it was the one play that they needed to put the game away, and we just didn’t make enough plays period.”
And too many turnovers. The Panthers gave it away three times in the opening 16 minutes, two of them coming on interceptions by Miami cornerback DJ Ivey, the other on a fumble by Pitt wide receiver Taysir Mack. Cam’Ron Harris, starting for injured starter DeeJay Dallas, ran for 60 yards for the Hurricanes, including a 1-yard dive in the second quarter after Ivey’s second pick gave the Hurricanes the ball at the Pitt 17.
Still, an early 10-3 lead wouldn’t hold, forcing Diaz to turn to Williams in the fourth quarter with the game — and perhaps the season — in the balance. After some initial missteps, Williams delivered, though Diaz isn’t exactly in a hurry to name a starter for next week’s visit to rival Florida State.
“As for what this means tomorrow or the next day, I’ll deal with that tomorrow,” Diaz said.
DEJA VU
Last month, Pitt opted to attempt a field goal rather than go for it on fourth-and-goal at the Penn State 1 while trailing by a touchdown. Kessman missed and the Panthers lost. Trailing by a point and with the ball at the Miami 1, Narduzzi again opted to kick, this time intentionally taking a delay of game to give Kessman a better angle to kick. He made it to put the Panthers in front and Pitt’s defense held on Miami’s next possession before faltering late.
Ultimately, Narduzzi believes he made the right call.
“When you’re down, three points puts you ahead and your defense is playing — I don’t know. Again, could go either way,” Narduzzi said. “It’s just got to play the odds, and I guessed wrong, so it’s my fault.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Miami: The Hurricanes still have plenty of questions on offense but at least they have some momentum after coming out on the wrong end of a series of narrow losses in recent weeks.
Pitt: The Panthers have thrived in tight games this year — they came in having won four straight by a combined 10 points — but couldn’t get the one stop they needed and will need considerable help if they want to win the ACC Coastal Division for the second straight year.
UP NEXT
Miami: Visits longtime rival Florida State next Saturday. The Hurricanes have won two straight in the series, including a 24-20 victory in Tallahassee in 2017.
Pitt: Travels to Georgia Tech next Saturday. The teams have split their six meetings since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Allen’s punt-return TD leads Duquesne past Wagner 28-24

Allen’s punt-return TD leads Duquesne past Wagner 28-24
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mark Allen returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown 24 seconds into the fourth quarter and Duquesne held on for a 28-24 victory over Wagner on Saturday.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wagner built a 14-0 lead halfway through the second when Christian Alexander-Stevens capped back-to-back drives with scoring runs of 16 and 9 yards, respectively.
Duquesne (5-2, 3-0 Northeast Conference) responded with two touchdowns in the final 1:55 of the quarter. Daniel Parr capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with a 16-yard TD toss to Davie Henderson on third-and-13. The Dukes’ Jake Dixon forced Myron Morris to fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Connor Barrett recovered at Wagner’s 24-yard line. Duquesne used 10 plays to score with A.J. Hines running it in from 1-yard.
Duquesne opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Allen’s 2-yard TD run for a 21-14 lead. Allen followed with his punt return for a two-score lead.
Alexander-Stevens’ third rushing TD pulled the Seahawks (1-7, 1-2) within 28-21 with 12:40 remaining. Eric Silvester’s 32-yard field goal reduced the deficit to four with 7:47 left. Mason Williams ended it when he picked off Alexander-Stevens with 1:41 left.
Hines finished with 113 yards on 26 carries for Duquesne, which amassed 218 yards on the ground but just 72 through the air.
Alexander-Stevens ran for 61 yards on 11 carries and completed 14 of 28 passes for 191 yards and the costly pick.

No. 6 Penn State handles Michigan State 28-7

No. 6 Penn State handles Michigan State 28-7
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Pat Freiermuth scored the game’s first two touchdowns.
Turned out that was all No. 6 Penn State really needed against Michigan State’s anemic offense.
Freiermuth and the Nittany Lions would add more points later, and unbeaten Penn State beat the Spartans 28-7 on Saturday. Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes on a rainy day, and the Nittany Lions avenged close losses to Michigan State from each of the past two seasons.
“I’m very excited that we’re undefeated still, and that’s the only goal I’ve had all season and I plan on going through the whole season doing that,” Clifford said.
The Spartans (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) wrapped up a dreadful stretch in which they lost to Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State by a combined score of 100-17.
Penn State (8-0, 5-0) moves on to a surprising matchup of undefeated teams Nov. 9 at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions had lost five of their previous six against Michigan State.
Clifford’s first touchdown pass to Freiermuth, a 16-yarder, opened the scoring in the first quarter, and those same two players gave Penn State a 13-0 lead with a 19-yard strike in the second. KJ Hamler’s 27-yard TD catch with 1:20 left in the half — plus a successful 2-point conversion — made it 21-0.
A fumbled punt by Michigan State set up Clifford’s 6-yard touchdown toss to Freiermuth in the third quarter. Then the Spartans finally scored for the first time in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time. Brian Lewerke found Cody White for a 49-yard pass, and Anthony Williams scored on a 4-yard run.
“From my perspective, we need to execute better,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “There are things that we can do from a call situation, but we’ve got the same — a lot of the same plays are the same plays that other people run as well, timing and who to go to and those type of things. But we’ll look at everything.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions haven’t won the Land Grant Trophy that often lately, but they had an easy time Saturday. Last weekend, Penn State nearly let a 21-point lead slip away in a win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions had no problems holding on to their big advantage against the Spartans.
“We were able to score enough early on in the first half before things got too messy to be able to get a win. I’m pleased with that,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “The bye week is coming at a tremendous time for us.”
Michigan State: The Spartans might not be as bad as these past three opponents made them look, but they’re struggling just to reach a bowl, and the offense is showing no signs of being able to function effectively against good teams.
EJECTION
Penn State defensive tackle Antonio Shelton was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions had nine penalties for 104 yards.
ROUGH STRETCH
The was the third time in school history that Michigan State played three straight games against teams in the AP top 10. It didn’t go any better the previous two times. In 1970, the Spartans lost 29-0 to Notre Dame, 29-0 to Ohio State and 34-20 to Michigan. The 1972 Michigan State team lost 51-6 to Southern California, 16-0 to Notre Dame and 10-0 to Michigan.
“We just got to loosen up,” Michigan State linebacker Antjuan Simmons said. “We carry a lot of pressure, put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We want to be the best. It kind of wears on you. We had to go back to the basics, just have fun, just trusting our job. Second half, I feel for the most part, we did that. We competed.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
No. 5 Oklahoma’s loss to unranked Kansas State gives Penn State a chance to move up.
UP NEXT
Penn State: The Nittany Lions are off next weekend before traveling to play Minnesota.
Michigan State: The Spartans also have an open date — their second in three weeks. They host Illinois on Nov. 9.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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This version has been corrected to show Michigan State went 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time without scoring.

Murray stops 25 shots, Pens score late to beat Stars 3-0

Murray stops 25 shots, Pens score late to beat Stars 3-0
DALLAS (AP) — What could have been a bitter end to a dismal road trip turned into an emphatic win for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Matt Murray made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season, Dominik Kahun and Bryan Rust scored their first goals in the third period and Pittsburgh beat the Dallas Stars 3-0.
Dallas had dominated the first two periods, outshooting the Penguins 22-11, but neither team scored.
“We had one bad period, the second,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I didn’t think we won a lot of puck battles in the second period. We had a discussion about that between periods. Our guys responded really well.”
Really well — the Penguins outshot the Stars 16-3 and scored three goals in the third.
The Penguins had lost three straight games, including the first two in a three-game trip.
Brandon Tanev added an empty-net goal with 1:14 to play.
“We got a little away from our game,” rookie John Marino said. “We got back to it in the third and we were able to capitalize on our opportunities.”
Those opportunities led to two close-in goals against Ben Bishop in a span of 2:12 in the third. Bishop stopped 24 shots.
On the first goal, Bishop whiffed at clearing the puck from behind the net. Kahun passed out to Sam Lafferty, whose shot trickled under the supine Bishop. Kahun knocked the puck in from the right side at 7:29.
“I went to go play it,” Bishop said, “and accidentally kind of hit it backwards while I was trying to hit it forward. The guy made the play up front. I thought I made the save on my side. I somehow pushed it underneath myself right on the guy’s tape.”
Kahun’s first goal came in his 12th NHL game.
“Somehow, (the puck) bounced back to me,” he said. “It’s always good to get that first one.”
Sullivan wasn’t surprised.
“It’s great for Dominik. We felt like he’s been around it the last handful of games.”
The second goal came when sixth-year veteran Rust scored amid a scramble in front. Rust was playing in his first game since being injured in the final preseason game.
The Stars were seeking their fourth win in a row. The Penguins squelched that.
“You saw a team that has won two Stanley Cups and their mindset to start the third,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. “They came out and shoved it right down our throat.”
Murray had kept the game scoreless by stopping 22 shots in the first two periods.
Murray made glove saves to stop Denis Gurianov and Jamie Benn in the first.
Dallas had a flurry with seven minutes left in the second period, but Murray stopped a short-range shot by Alexander Radulov and a wrist shot by Justin Dowling after he had shot wide and retrieved the puck.
NOTES: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby did not come out to begin the third period after being hit by a shot late in the second, but he returned within the first three minutes. “We’re always concerned when someone gets hit by a shot the way he did, but he was able to come back to the game,” Sullivan said. “We’ll continue to evaluate him.”… Dallas Ds Esa Lindell and Taylor Fedun both left the ice for a time after pucks hit them in the face. Lindell had a cut below his nose, and Fedun was struck in the left cheek. … Murray’s 11th career shutout tied him with Les Binkley for the third-most in Penguins history. . John Marino assisted on Rust’s goal for his first NHL point.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Return home to play Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Stars: Complete a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Minnesota.
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

One-year commemoration of synagogue shooting to be marked

One-year commemoration of synagogue shooting to be marked
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The first anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history is being marked around the world Sunday with community service projects, music and an online remembrance.
The shooting on Oct. 27, 2018, killed 11 worshippers and wounded seven at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.
The Tree of Life building has remained closed since the massacre. The three congregations now worship at two nearby synagogues. Last week, Tree of Life leaders unveiled their vision for the damaged building: a rebuilt space for places of worship; memorial, education and social events; and classrooms and exhibitions.
The commemoration’s theme is “Remember. Repair. Together.” It includes a private Jewish service, studying the portion of the Torah that was to be read when the shooting happened, opportunities to do community service, and a public memorial service.
Several hundred people have registered to volunteer at various community organizations on Sunday. In Germany, the Clarion Quartet, comprised of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians, will perform at a special event in Berlin.
Thousands are expected to participate in Sunday’s remembrance through Pause With Pittsburgh, a virtual memorial event created by the Jewish Federations of North America.
Authorities charged Robert Bowers, 47, a truck driver from Baldwin, Pennsylvania, in the massacre. Investigators say he used an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, and posted criticism of an immigrant aid society on social media before the attack, claiming the Jewish charity “likes to bring invaders that kill our people.”
Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Jury selection to open in New Kensington officer slaying trial

Jury selection to open in officer slaying trial
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jury selection begins Monday for the death penalty trial of a man charged in the shooting death of a western Pennsylvania police officer almost two years ago.
Testimony is slated to begin next week for the trial of 31-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt in the November 2017 slaying of New Kensington officer Brian Shaw.
Prosecutors have said they intend to seek capital punishment if Holt is convicted of first-degree murder. Holt has maintained that he wasn’t the one who fired the shots that killed Shaw following a traffic stop in New Kensington.
A judge last week rejected a defense request to remove Holt’s previous gun charges from trial evidence, but he did agree to bar prosecutors from introducing evidence that Holt had sold drugs prior to the slaying.

The Latest: Olga bringing heavy rains to central Gulf Coast

The Latest: Olga bringing heavy rains to central Gulf Coast
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on tropical weather in the South (all times local):
10:10 p.m.
Olga has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it continues churning toward the Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center said Friday night that the cyclone will bring heavy rain and possibly flash floods across the central Gulf Coast and parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley and western Tennessee Valley.
Olga had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and was centered about 275 miles (443 kilometers) south-southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana on Friday night. It was moving north-northeast at 17 mph (27 kph).
It’s expected to weaken as it moves over land on Saturday morning.
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4:55 p.m.
A tornado has been reported on the ground in southwestern Alabama.
The National Weather Service on Friday afternoon issued a tornado warning for Mobile County.
The National Weather Service in Mobile tweeted that a there was a large and dangerous” tornado on the ground near Semmes, Alabama and people should seek shelter immediately. A second possible tornado was in Washington County.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
WKRG reported that viewers sent in video of what appeared to be a large tornado on the ground.
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3:45 p.m.
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Olga has formed in the Gulf of Mexico while Tropical Storm Pablo has formed in the northeast Atlantic.
On Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to soon merge with a cold front and become a post-tropical low with gale force winds.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph) and was centered about 260 miles (418 kilometers) south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It’s moving north-northeast at 18 mph (29 kph).
Forecasters expect the storm’s center to move over the northern Gulf coast late Friday or early Saturday.
No coastal tropical cyclone watches or warnings are currently in effect.
Officials say Tropical Storm Pablo is a small storm that is moving east-southeast. There are no coastal tropical cyclone watches or warnings in effect.
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10:45 a.m.
Parts of the drought-parched South are under flood watches and warnings with forecasters saying as much as 10 inches of rain could fall.
The National Weather service says an advancing cold front will collide with a weather disturbance that became a tropical depression early Friday in the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s center was 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph).
Forecasters say coastal Louisiana could receive as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain Friday and Saturday; 6 inches (15 centimeters) was possible across a wide section of Mississippi.
Rainfall totals ranging from 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 centimeters) are possible from Alabama to South Carolina.

2 dead, 14 injured after shooting at Texas homecoming party

2 dead, 14 injured after shooting at Texas homecoming party
By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press
GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) — A gunman opened fire at an off-campus party for a nearby Texas college, leaving two people dead and 14 injured before he escaped in the ensuing chaos, a sheriff said Sunday.
Authorities believe the shooter may have been targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people outside Greenville, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of a satellite campus for Texas A&M University, and that others may have been shot at random, Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks said.
The shooting took place around midnight Saturday at what Meeks described as a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce, though officials have said it was not a school-sanctioned event. Meeks described “complete chaos” after the shots rang out, with hundreds of people fleeing, including the gunman. The injured included four people who did not have gunshot wounds but who were hurt in the melee, he said.
Authorities believe there was one male shooter who entered the venue through the back door and began firing with a handgun, Meeks said. Authorities were still looking for the suspect and did not yet know who he was or have a description of him.
The two people killed were both males, Meeks said, but he did not know if they were A&M-Commerce students. He said he believed four or five students may have been among those injured and estimated that most of the people at the party were in their late teens and early 20s. Some of the partygoers were wearing costumes, he said.
Word of the shooting spread online overnight, with many sharing on social media graphic video purported to show seriously wounded victims lying on the ground as crying and screaming could be heard in the background.
“I just briefly saw one that was a very graphic video,” Meeks said. “I don’t know that’s going to help anything at all.”
Meeks said the party was held at a facility called The Party Venue and that the owner was cooperating with authorities. The venue sits along a highway in a rural area some 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from the Greenville city limits. Meeks said he was not aware of any surveillance video in the area.
Outside the venue Sunday, a few Halloween masks and other debris were strewn about. Pools of blood could be seen on the ground.
A patrol sergeant and deputy were at the venue when the shooting happened, having been called there for complaints about illegal parking, Meeks said. An off-duty Farmersville police officer was also there, working as security for the party.
Authorities were questioning someone who appeared to be intoxicated when they heard gunshots from the back of the building, Meeks said.
Meeks praised the patrol sergeant and deputy, saying the sergeant quickly determined that one of gunshot victims had life-threatening injuries and transported that person to a hospital, while the deputy triaged others until paramedics arrived.
The shooting came as Texas A&M University-Commerce, east of Dallas, celebrated homecoming weekend. According to its website, it is the second-largest university in the Texas A&M University System. The school was founded in 1889 and was known by several names, including East Texas State University, before joining the Texas A&M system in 1996. The university has around 6,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students.
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Associated Press writer Mallika Sen in New York contributed to this report.