ELIZABETH, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a small plane crashed into a wooded area of western Pennsylvania, critically injuring the pilot. Authorities in Allegheny County and federal officials said the single-engine Aeronica 7 Champion aircraft went down in Elizabeth Township less than a mile from Rostraver Airport shortly before 7 p.m. Friday. Chief Ken Honick of the township’s police force said the pilot was flown to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. He said the pilot was conscious, alert and talking to first responders. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

A scientific analysis commissioned by the FBI shortly before agents went digging for buried treasure suggests that a huge quantity of gold could be below the surface of a rural site in western Pennsylvania. That’s according to newly released government documents and photos that deepen the mystery of the 2018 dig at Dent’s Run. The report was authored by a geophysicist who performed testing at the site. The government has long claimed its excavation did not yield any of the Civil War-era gold that legend says was buried there. The newly revealed geophysical survey was part of a court-ordered release of government records on the FBI’s treasure hunt.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh police say a 1-year-old child has been killed in an apparent drive-by shooting in downtown. Officers were called to an intersection not far from Market Square and the PPG Place complex at around 2:45 p.m. Sunday on a report that an infant had been shot. Cmdr. Cristyn Zett said shorty afterward there were “numerous 911 calls for shots fired in the area.” Zett said the baby boy was pronounced dead at the scene. She said the child’s mother was present, but it was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between the shooter and the child.

The nation’s governors are diverging over how to respond to mass shootings such as the one that killed 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. Democrats are amplifying their calls for greater restrictions on guns. Many Republican governors are instead emphasizing more security at schools. The Associated Press surveyed governors after Tuesday’s attack in Texas. Democratic governors generally supported proposals to limit ammunition magazines to 10 bullets and prohibit people younger than 21 from buying semiautomatic weapons. Most Republicans did not. No Democratic governors told the AP they supported arming teachers, but Republican governors backed a wide array of potential school security steps.

(Little Beaver Township, PA) State Police in New Castle are reporting a crash that took place Tuesday morning in Little Beaver Township in Lawrence County. A 28 year old female Driver, Dusty Adams lost control of her 2001 Buick Century while traveling northbound on State Route 551, went into the southbound lane of travel, back into the northbound lane, and spun out striking a utility pole. Adams came to a stop in the south bound lane facing the northern direction.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators is considering how Congress should respond to the horrific shooting of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. The senators are restarting gun control talks that have broken down many times before. The Democrats and Republicans say they hope to find consensus on legislation that could help reduce the number of mass shootings in the United States. The senators have narrowed the discussion to a few ideas, some of them based on legislation they have been working on for years, such as expanded background checks or red flag laws that keep guns away from people who could do harm.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A jury is set to hear closing arguments in Johnny Depp’s high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Each side will have two hours Friday to summarize their case in a trial that has stretched on for six weeks. Depp is suing Heard in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against Depp after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was pointing higher before markets opened early Friday, putting major benchmarks in a position for their first week of collective gains after a seven-week losing streak. Future contracts for the Dow Industrial Average were up less than 0.1% and the same for the S&P 500 rose 0.2%. It would take a major selloff Friday to drag benchmarks back into negative territory for the week after a strong set of earnings from retailers on Thursday propelled markets solidly higher. For the week, major benchmarks are up between 3.4% and 4.4% heading into Friday’s trading session.

(Aliquippa, PA)  Aliquippa Police Chief John Lane reported on Thursday that the PD’s K-9  gun bash ticket sales have been pulled.  The sale began last month and the funds were to be given to the widow of Police Chief Robert Sealock and his family. Chief Lane said several individuals in the community  were upset,  expressing disapproval in light of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas where students and teachers were killed on Wednesday.  Aliquippa Police Chief John Lane reported late Thursday that anyone that donated to the police department gun bash will receive refunds. Some residents’ disapproval of the fundraiser prompted the police department’s decision, the chief said.