(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a resident of Farmington was sentenced in federal court to 70 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release on his convictions of distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.
Forty-one-year-old Nathan Fike received this sentence yesterday.
According to the information presented to the Court, on or about October 4th, 2023, Fikedistributed a video depicting a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct to anundercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in Jacksonville, Florida.
The FBI also executed a federal search warrant on the defendant’s residence on February 9th, 2024, and discovered that he was in possession of approximately 156 images and 63 videos that depicted the sexual exploitation of minors, some of whom were prepubescent or minors who had not attained 12 years of age.
(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced that a resident of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges of attempted murder and assault of a federal agent, drug trafficking, and use of a firearm in connection with those crimes.
Twenty-four-year-old Drew Gordon, of the Overbrook section of the Steel City, pleaded guilty to five counts.
The Court was advised in connection with the guilty plea that on August 30th, 2024, a DEA agent was conducting surveillance in an unrelated investigation, which took the agent onto the street where Gordon lived. Gordon followed the agent in his vehicle and opened fire, shooting 18 rounds.
Gordon struck the vehicle of the agent, and the agent was not hit or injured. The FBI executed a search warrant at Gordon’s house, and recovered over $10,000 in cash, over $37,000 worth ofcrack cocaine, fentanyl and powder cocaine, and two guns, one of them being the gun that was used in the shooting.
Gordon’s sentencing will be on December 23rd, and he faces a total sentence of at least 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $6,000,000, or both, provided by the law.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(East Palestine, OH) Over three years after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, people are learning about the health impacts of the incident with studies confirming that people were in fact exposed to those toxic chemicals which were released into the air, soil and water.
The derailment occurred on February 3rd, 2023.
Researchers from the University of Kentucky and Wayne State recently shared the outcomes of urine samples that were taken five months after the incident occurred.
They found that 74% of samples from people who were living within a mile of the scene had detected levels of exposure to vinyl chloride.
Those studies will increase next week as lab testing officially gets underway as part of a larger long-term medical initiative that was launched earlier this year.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: (File Photo: Source for Photo: Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Carlisle, PA) An investigation continues into a crash that occurred at Carlisle Airport on Wednesday at approximately 6:58 P.M. in which a Cessna 150 single engine airplane and a Pennsylvania State Police Bell 407GX helicopter collided in midair.
The helicopter hit the plane while it was hovering over a grassy area north of the runway at this airport and the pilot of the plane died as a result of this incident.
He has been identified as fifty-seven-year-old Paul Sokoloski of Hershey, and the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to a report from WJAC and Penn State Health’s website, Sokoloski was an emergency medicine physician for Penn State Health.
Authorities believe that Sokoloski was the only person on the plane.
The Cessna 150 was trying to land and because of an unknown reason, it veered off of the north side of the runway and collided with the back of the helicopter, which was hovering in mid-air.
Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured because of this incident, Corp. Bryce Corman and Tpr. Jason Mills.
The duo was piloting the helicopter and they were airlifted to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for medical treatment in Hershey.
Corporal Corman has since been released from the hospital, while Trooper Mills remains hospitalized in stable condition.
The PSP Troop H Major Case Team was activated to assist with the investigation that is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced that they named Marc-Andre Fleury, the late Jack McGregor, Larry Murphy and Jim Rutherford to the franchise’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
That class represents the second group of inductees in a three-year plan to relaunch the Penguins Hall of Fame.
Fleury played for the Penguins for thirteen seasons, (2003-2017) and his accolades include being a three-time Stanley Cup winning goalie (2009, 2016 and 2017).
Murphy played for the Penguins for five seasons, (1990-1995) and his accolades include being a two-time Stanley-Cup winning defenseman (1991 and 1992) and recording a plus-102 rating, which leads all defensemen in Penguins franchise history.
Rutherford served as the team’s executive vice president and general manager from June of 2014 to January of 2021, winning three Stanley Cups in that span (2009, 2016 and 2017.)
McGregor, who organized the original effort to bring an NHL franchise to Pittsburgh and served as the Penguins’ president from 1967 to 1970, will be inducted posthumously.
Inductees will be featured permanently in a dedicated Hall of Fame space that is located on the FedEx main concourse level at PPG Paints Arena.
An on-ice ceremony for the Penguins Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will take place before a Penguins home game against the Ottawa Senators on November 14th.
The four remaining members that are scheduled for induction as part of the relaunch plan, Tom Barrasso, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Kunitz and the late Ray Shero, will be inducted in 2027.
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver County, PA) A Pennsylvania Lottery player recently won a jackpot of $1.63 million by buying a Match 6 Lotto ticket online.
According to a news release provided by the Pennsylvania Lottery, that ticket correctly matched all six winning numbers, 1, 17, 22, 26, 31 and 41, in yesterday’s drawing.
The winner has not been identified at this time and that person has one year from the drawing date to claim their prize.
Online winnings will appear in the player’s account automatically after the claim has been processed.
SEWICKLEY — In 1943, Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa and Sicily ended up at Letterkenny Army Depot outside of Chambersburg, Pa. Their fairly short stay left an impact on that region that is still felt today.
That’s the topic of an award-winning documentary, “Fedeltà. Soldier. Prisoner,” making its Pittsburgh area debut Sept. 3 at the Lindsay Theater in Sewickley.
Mancini appeared as a Thursday guest on the “Beaver County Radio Morning Show with Scott Tady.”
Hear his full interview here:
As part of the Lindsay’s latest Emerging Filmmakers Showcase, “Fedeltà. Soldier. Prisoner.” is an internationally acclaimed film. Tickets are free, and RSVPs are recommended in advance due to space limitations.
“The film shows that the people of Chambersburg were so kind that to this day, the families of the prisoners still make trips to visit,” says Mancini. “It’s a way of remembering their fathers and grandfathers, and also a display of appreciation because of how kindly those communities treated their fathers and grandfathers.”
Movie poster for “Fedelta. Soldier. Prisoner”
“Fedeltà” chronicles the prisoners’ journey from war to peace, leveraging original documents and footage from numerous sources. It’s a moving and hopeful film that depicts how this difficult situation turned into a prime example of community-building that left a lasting, positive mark on Chambersburg.
“After more than 80 years, people who have never been here still speak well of our community,” says Mancini. “How incredible is that!”
Mancini spent 20 years in the military before returning home to Pittsburgh. In addition to filmmaking, he hosts two podcasts—Talking Business and Life (formerly Italian Impact Weekly) and The Unlikely Catholic— and serves as an assistant professor of computer and information systems at Robert Morris University.
His formative years in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy inspired him to pursue documentary projects such as “Fedeltà.” The film has already earned numerous festival honors, including Best Feature Documentary at Dallas MovieFest; Best First Time Director at the 2025 Bomarzo Soulplace Film Festival; and both Best Director Debut and Best Historical Film at the 2024-25 Beyond the Screen Film Festival.
“Fedeltà” premiered in Chambersburg, and this Lindsay screening will be Western Pennsylvania filmgoers’ first chance to watch Mancini’s work on the big screen.
“The film shows that even during our worst moments, kindness and goodness can still be found,” says Mancini. “This is a deeply personal lesson that everyone should remember. Seeing it in a theater is a wonderful way to get people together, looking across the aisle and seeing others—hopefully in an even better light.”
(Pittsburgh, PA) Allegheny Health Network (AHN) announced today the opening of a new specialized clinic that is dedicated to providing advanced care for patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
It is called the AHN Advanced COPD Clinic, and it offers therapies that are cutting-edge and an approach that is multi-disciplinary to significantly improve the quality of life for patients that are suffering from COPD that is severe.
It is based at AHN Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) and the Breathing Disorders Center at the AHN McCandless Outpatient Center.
COPD is a progressive lung disease which causes breathing difficulties and hinders airflow.
It is caused primarily by prolonged exposure to smoke from cigarettes and pollution from the air.
COPD stands as the third-leading cause of death worldwide and it affects millions of Americans.
(Credit and Caption for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz wears a welding hood as he is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a two run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, March 31st, 2026, in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar/Associated Press)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) The 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates have now broke a record for the most home runs that a Pirates team has ever hit at PNC Park.
PNC Park opened in 2001 and this year’s Pirates team has hit 84 home runs in Pittsburgh in 2026 as of today, which broke the previous record of 81.
Pirates catcher Rafael Flores, Jr. hit a home run in the seventh inning of yesterday’s game against the Detroit Tigers in Pittsburgh to break this record.
The 2026 Pirates could break another home run record this year that was set by the 1999 Pirates for the most home runs a Pirates team has ever had in a single MLB regular season.
The 1999 Pirates hit 171 home runs in that season, and the 2026 Pirates have 155 home runs with 33 games left to go in their 2026 regular season.
