A Pittsburgh mom faces felony child endangerment charges after her 3-year-old daughter was found standing outside nearly naked in near-freezing conditions. Pittsburgh police say a subsequent investigation determined the girl and her two siblings _ an infant and a 6-year-old _ were living in filthy conditions in a rowhouse. Authorities say a passing motorist called 911 after seeing the girl standing on the sidewalk in front of the rowhouse on March 18 with only a towel covering her.

A Chippewa Township woman accused of dumping the body of a drug overdose victim in White Township was sentenced in the case. 37 year old Carly Wiley pleaded no contest and was sentenced to spend 11 months in jail followed by two years probation. Wiley was one of two people charged Aug. 31 with dumping the body of 29-year-old Ryan Chiappetta in his vehicle in White Township after he died of a drug overdose at Wiley’s Chippewa Township house.

(File photo property of Beaver County Radio News)

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 26TH, 2019

TODAY – SUNNY. HIGH – 47.

TONIGHT – MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW – 25.

TUESDAY – SOME CLOUDS IN THE MORNING WILL GIVE WAY MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR THE AFTERNOON.
HIGH – 55.

(File photo property of Beaver County Radio News)

Months of cold wintry weather have had a big impact on vehicles throughout the region, paving the way for breakdowns in the months ahead.  With the harsh winter weather in the rearview mirror and road-trip season ahead, AAA East Central advises motorists to give their vehicles a thorough check-up to help deter costly repairs down the road.

“Winter can lead to many issues that effect a vehicle’s performance, and a major issue AAA sees every year is rust damage caused by road salt,” says Mike Hoshaw, vice president of automotive services for AAA East Central.  “Americans are paying millions a year in rust damage, and easy steps like having the undercarriage washed can go a long way to help prevent a costly repair.”

The AAA Spring Car Care Checklist:

• Undercarriage blast — Give the entire vehicle, including the undercarriage, one last cleaning in the spring.  Any deposits left over from winter can continue to cause corrosion year-round.
• Tires — For optimum performance, tires must have adequate tread depth, show no signs of physical damage and be properly inflated.  With more potholes on the road, properly tires can act as a cushion to protect your vehicle’s suspension components.
• Windshield wiper blades — Cold temperatures are hard on rubber compounds, making early spring a good time to check or replace the blades if necessary.
• Fluids — Check all fluids and top off as necessary.  Winter driving conditions require your engine to work harder, and condensation can cause moisture to buildup in the engine that can create wear.
• Air Filter — The air filter is an integral part of your engine’s performance, and AAA recommends motorists change them with every oil change.
• Interior — This maintenance can include washing floor liners, vacuuming the carpets, and checking the cabin air filter.
• Battery — During the summer months, the hot sun can break down internal components of this part.  If a battery is more than three years old, it should be tested – especially before any long road trips.

Many items on the checklist can be done at home, but some are best left to the professionals.  Motorists can take their vehicles to a certified technician like those who participate in AAA’s Approved Auto Repair (AAR) program.  Garages that participate in the AAR program offer qualified technicians, a wide range of professional repair services, and guaranteed quality.  These shops meet AAA’s strict quality standards and display AAA’s logo.  AAR shops can be found at AAA.com/AutoRepair.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.             

Foreman defends acquittal of officer for black teen’s death
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The foreman of a jury that acquitted a white Pennsylvania police officer of homicide said Michael Rosfeld did not know the black teen he shot was unarmed and that his decision to run after his vehicle was pulled over factored into the verdict.
Juror Jesse Rawls Sr. told WHTM-TV that Antwon Rose II and another occupant who ran from the stop “brought it on themselves” and that the then-East Pittsburgh officer knew there had just been a drive-by shooting and was scared.
“It’s a felony stop,” Rawls said. “Once it’s a felony stop, you have to take precautions.” He said Rosfeld could not let the occupants get away, and “he didn’t know what the kid had.”
Rawls, 72, who is black, is a retired schoolteacher and wrestling coach from Harrisburg, where jurors were picked for last week’s trial in Pittsburgh.
He said jurors “did what was right” in acquitting Rosfeld of all charges Friday. The verdict has prompted protests over four days, including hundreds of high school and college students marching Monday in downtown Pittsburgh.
Rawls was among three African-Americans on the 12-person jury.
Rosfeld was responding to a report of a drive-by shooting in nearby North Braddock in June when he saw a vehicle that matched the description — an unlicensed taxi in which Rose was a passenger.
As Rosfeld was dealing with the driver, Rose and the other passenger got out and ran. Video captured Rosfeld shooting Rose three times, including in the back.
“If the kids wouldn’t have jumped out and ran, they would have never been in the situation,” Rawls told the station. “So put the onus on the young men in the car, why did they jump and run?”
He noted there was a senior center near where Rose was shot. Rawls said Rosfeld might have been concerned that Rose was armed and could have gone into the center and begun shooting.
The other taxi passenger, Zaijuan Hester, 18, pleaded guilty earlier this month to aggravated assault and firearms violations, saying he — and not — Rose did the shooting during the drive-by incident.
Rose was in fact unarmed when he was killed, although he did have a gun clip in his pocket. Two handguns were recovered from the taxi.
Rosfeld’s lawyer, Patrick Thomassey, said after the verdict that his client probably cannot work again as a police officer. East Pittsburgh disbanded its force late last year, and Rosfeld and the borough face civil litigation over the shooting filed by Rose’s family.
Rawls said that if he had not witnessed the trial, he might have feelings similar to those expressed by the protesters regarding the shooting’s racial elements. Marchers have repeatedly chanted their opposition to racist police and portrayed Rose as victim of injustice and deserving of sympathy.
“I think that they have to accept the fact that the 12 people in the jury room did what was right,” Rawls said. “Now, if you wanted me to do what was wrong and convict him of something that was wrong to please the neighborhood, then that’s not fair.”
He also told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the jury was not unanimous at the start of deliberations.
“Some people had to change their minds,” he told the paper. “It was a discussion, like, ‘Tell me why he is not guilty.’ And then we went over it on the screen and we came up with the answer, and the person said, ‘OK, I read this the wrong way.'”

Avenatti charged with trying to extort millions from Nike
By BRIAN MELLEY and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the attorney best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was arrested Monday on charges he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike and embezzled a client’s money to pay his own expenses.
Avenatti, 48, was charged with extortion and bank and wire fraud in separate cases in New York and California. He was arrested in New York.
The U.S. attorney in New York, Geoffrey S. Berman, said Avenatti engaged in “a shakedown.”
“When lawyers use their law licenses as weapons, as a guise to extort payments for themselves, they are no longer acting as attorneys. They are acting as criminals,” Berman said.
The allegations “paint an ugly picture of lawless conduct and greed,” said Nick Hanna, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Avenatti describes himself on Twitter as an attorney and advocate, but the accusations describe “a corrupt lawyer who instead fights for his own selfish interests.”
Prosecutors in New York said their investigation began only last week and was complete in days.
The New York case accuses Avenatti of threatening to use his ability to get publicity to harm Nike. In the California case, he allegedly misused a client’s money to pay his debts and those of his coffee business and law firm. Federal prosecutors said he also defrauded a bank by using phony tax returns to obtain millions of dollars in loans.
Avenatti allegedly threatened to hold a news conference last week on the eve of Nike’s quarterly earnings call and the start of the NCAA tournament to announce allegations of misconduct by Nike employees. The attorney and a co-conspirator demanded to be paid $15 million to $25 million and an additional $1.5 million for an Avenatti client to remain silent, the complaint said.
Shortly before the charges came to light, Avenatti tweeted that he planned to hold another news conference regarding Nike on Tuesday morning. Less than 45 minutes later, prosecutors announced the extortion case.
Nike officials told investigators that Avenatti claimed to know of rules violations by an amateur basketball team sponsored by Nike. Executives immediately reported the threats to federal authorities.
The company “firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors,” Nike said in a statement.
The co-conspirator, who was not identified, is also an attorney licensed to practice in California who represents celebrities and public figures, court papers said. The Avenatti client is a coach of an amateur athletic union men’s basketball program in California, according to the papers.
The AAU program coached by the client was sponsored by Nike for $72,000 annually, the complaint said.
Avenatti was in custody and did not respond to an email requesting comment or phone calls and text messages from The Associated Press.
He rose to national prominence by representing Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in a lawsuit to break a confidentiality agreement to speak about her alleged affair with Trump. He also made headlines in recent weeks for representing two women who accused R&B star R. Kelly of sexual abuse, and he briefly explored the idea of a presidential bid last year.
Daniels said she was “saddened but not shocked” by the arrest. She issued a statement Monday on Twitter saying she fired Avenatti a month ago after “discovering that he had dealt with me extremely dishonestly.” She said she would not elaborate.

Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the front-runner among the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls – despite not officially entering the race – and he performs the best of those potential nominees in a hypothetical matchup with President Donald Trump. That is according to a new poll out today released by Fox News. Biden performed the best of the potential Democratic nominees in a theoretical head-to-head matchup with Trump. If the election were held today, 47 percent of voters say they would vote for Biden, and 40 percent say they would vote for Trump. The poll found Bernie Sanders also winning a contest with Trump, although by a narrower 44 to 41 percent. The other two potential matchups against Trump that pollsters looked at were Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. Harris trailed Trump 39-41, and Warren was behind 40-42. We should note that this poll was conducted BEFORE the results of the Mueller probe were publicly announced.

President Donald Trump is accusing those responsible for launching the special counsel investigation of “treason” and says they “will certainly be looked at.” Trump did not specify who he’s referring to. He told reporters Monday that “There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things. I would say treasonous things against our country.”