A child has died of a suspected cardiac arrest aboard a flight departing Los Angeles International Airport, multiple news outlets reported. Paramedics responded last night to render medical aid to the 10-year-old girl, but “all efforts were futile, and the child was beyond medical help,” the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert. The girl was on Delta Flight 2423 from LAX to Seattle when an unspecified medical emergency occurred. The plane turned around while still over Southern California to return to LAX, but the child was pronounced dead by paramedics upon landing. The Los Angeles Police Department will investigate the death.

A water main break caused major issues at Kennywood during its annual “Holiday Lights” festivities last night. Officials said the park did open as scheduled Thursday at 5 p.m. – hours after the water main break – but there was a delay in restoring service. Food stands, among other places at the park, were closed until water was fully restored hours later. Crews were making repairs to the line throughout the day. Officials didn’t say what caused the water main break, but some bathrooms were reportedly unusable, along with several popular food stands. Park attendees said they received vouchers to come back at a later date because of the water main break.

Officials want to warn against an unsafe New Year’s Eve tradition. On Thursday, the City of Pittsburgh released a statement on how there will be an increased police presence for First Night festivities. They also wanted to remind people that firing a gun into the air to celebrate is illegal. The release also said anyone caught discharging a firearm in public will be arrested.

Drivers will once again be paying more to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A 6% toll increase goes into effect on Jan. 5. The rate for E-ZPass customers will go up from $1.40 to $1.50 and from $2.30 to $2.50 for drivers using cash. To go from one border to the other, west to east, costs about $50 if using cash. Turnpike officials said the increases will not go into effect in January on the Beaver Valley Expressway, the Greensburg Bypass and the Gateway tolling point. Those locations saw increases back in October. Tolls have gone up each year since 2009 and will continue to increase until 2040. Turnpike officials said a large portion of the money raised from tolls goes back to the state to fix roads and bridges.

A 70-year-old man was arrested in connection with a double shooting overnight Wednesday in Big Beaver. State police were called to a home on Fairlane Boulevard where two people were shot. State police said 70-year-old Rickey Neal of Koppel was arrested. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, six counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of possessing a firearm when he is not permitted to do so. He is being held in the Beaver County Jail on $200,000 bail. The conditions of the shooting victims are unknown at this time.

UNDATED (AP) — A fire at a North Versailles apartment complex has left two people injured and displaced more than a dozen residents. The blaze broke out early Friday at the Versailles Castle Apartments in North Versailles, causing thick smoke to pour out of windows and doorways. It caused heavy damage to one building, and at least two people were briefly trapped on a back porch there before emergency responders were able to rescue them. Both are expected to survive. The fire displaced about 15 people overall, and many of them were receiving help from the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH, 2019

 

 

TODAY – A FEW SHOWERS THIS MORNING WITH OVERCAST
SKIES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. HIGH – 56.

TONIGHT – A FEW CLOUDS. LOW – 31.

SATURDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH – 47.

SUNDAY – RAIN LIKELY. HIGH – 55.

Bloomberg axes company using prisoners for campaign calls
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has cut ties with a contractor that used prisoners to make calls for his presidential campaign. The online news site The Intercept reported Tuesday that Bloomberg’s campaign contracted a New Jersey-based call center company that, in at least one instance, used Oklahoma inmates to make calls on behalf of the billionaire’s campaign. The former New York mayor says he was unaware of the arrangement until it a reporter raised it. Bloomberg says in a statement that the campaign is making sure its vendors more properly vet subcontractors in the future.

NEW YORK (AP) — More people did their shopping online this year in one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years and that pushed overall sales higher. Early data from Mastercard SpendingPulse shows that retail sales in the US rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year. However, that’s slower growth than in the previous year, when sales grew 5.1%. Online sales rose at a faster pace, up 18.8% from last year.