HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Three of Pennsylvania’s professional sports mascots – including the Pittsburgh Steelers – are depicted in the Farm Show’s butter sculpture, an annual feature of the state’s massive agricultural exposition. The sculpture was unveiled Thursday, two days before the Harrisburg event formally opens to the public. This year’s sculpture, crafted from about 1,000 pounds of donated butter, shows Gritty, Swoop and Steely McBeam, mascots for the Philadelphia Flyers and Eagles, and the Steelers. This year’s Farm Show includes 12,000 competitive exhibits. It runs from Saturday through Jan. 11. Admission is free but parking in Farm Show lots is not.

UNDATED (AP) — The mayor of Philadelphia is sharply criticizing two men who wore blackface while marching in the city’s annual New Year’s Day Mummers Parade. The group the men apparently were affiliated with was disqualified from Wednesday’s parade and may face additional penalties. Mayor Jim Kenney called it “abhorrent and unacceptable.” The Mummers Parade features ornate costumes and musical performances and attracts thousands of spectators each year. Previous parades have been marred by racially and socially offensive displays, and organizers have boosted cultural education efforts in recent years.

LA BELLE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a Fayette County man serving life in prison for fatally stabbing a woman in 2004 has died. The state’s Department of Corrections said Thursday that 42-year-old Joseph Gacha Jr. was pronounced dead at State Correctional Institution at Fayette on Monday. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office will determine Gacha’s official cause of death. No additional details were available. Gacha and Daniel Joseph Kukucka were charged with murdering 20-year-old Carrie Martin who was stabbed nearly 50 times during a robbery in her Larksville apartment. Kukucka killed himself before making it to trial. Gacha was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

New Year’s celebratory gunfire sent a bullet into a home in Leet Township, police said. Ray and Amy Bollinger were ringing in 2020 with their 5-month-old son when the bullet shot through their kitchen wall, ending up on the ground near the refrigerator. Unsure of whether more bullets were coming as the gunfire continued, the Bollingers ran up their steps and called 911. Police traced the bullet that entered the Bollingers’ home on Main Street to another home on Valley Road in nearby Ambridge. Those responsible for the gunfire were apprehended and are charged with reckless endangerment. Police say what happened was clearly an accident, but the incident serves as a cautionary tale…. Even if you live in a semi-populated area, never fire off a gun into the air.

Police were called to the scene of an overnight accident in North Sewickley Township. The crash downed a pole at the intersection of Route 168 and Adams Street. There were no reports of injuries.

A single mother and her three children lost everything after a massive house fire in Economy borough last night. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has an update. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

WEATHER FORECAST FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 3RD, 2019

 

TODAY – OCCASIONAL RAIN. HIGH – 51.

TONIGHT – MORE RAIN LIKELY. LOW – 42.

SATURDAY – RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING MIXING
WITH SNOW SHOWERS LATER IN THE DAY.
HIGH – 46.

SUNDAY – CLOUDS IN THE MORNING. SUNSHINE IN THE
AFTERNOON. HIGH NEAR 40.

Iran’s Gen. Soleimani killed in airstrike at Baghdad airport
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press
Iraqi state TV and three Iraqi officials say Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has been killed in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport. The officials said the strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran’s-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Their deaths are a potential turning point in the Middle East and are expected to draw severe retaliation from Iran and the forces it backs in the Middle East against Israel and American interests.