(Photo Courtesy of KDKA-TV)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) A Pittsburgh-area veteran and motivational speaker has now pleaded guilty to raping a thirteen-year-old girl. According to police, 34-year-old Brandon Rumbaugh had sex with the teenager multiple times earlier this year. Rumbaugh also allegedly told the victim to “keep this a secret” until she turned 18. Rumbaugh is facing up to 16 years in prison as well as three years of probation.
(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) An investigation is ongoing after a man was found dead following a reported assault of a woman in the Banksville neighborhood of Pittsburgh yesterday morning. Pittsburgh Police were called to a home in the 2600 block of Winchester Drive at around 9:45 a.m. for a woman who was being assaulted. Authorities arrived and found the woman inside a home with lacerations to her face and other injuries. She was taken to a hospital where she was in critical condition. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, while police were performing a protective sweep of the home, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The identities of those involved in this incident have not been released.
(File Photo of a Dollar Sign)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) Thousands of letters are going out to residents of Allegheny County to let them know their medical debts have been paid thanks to the fundraising efforts of over 100 churches in Pittsburgh Presbytery. They raised nearly $75,000 over the past few months as part of a campaign with Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit group that buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar. The money raised is enough to eliminate over $14 million in outstanding bills. Even though you can not apply for it or request it, but an estimated 12,500 people in Allegheny County will be surprised to find out in their mailbox that their medical debts have been paid.
(File Photo of Handcuffs)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) Two men were arrested after police say a man brandished a rifle at a maintenance worker in Downtown Pittsburgh. According to police, officers from the Downtown Public Safety Center were called just before 9 a.m. yesterday for reports of a man brandishing a rifle at a maintenance worker on Penn Avenue near 6th Street. Officers who responded to the scene discovered a man that had a rifle and a “significant quantity” of drugs after a short foot pursuit. He was taken into custody near 6th Avenue and McCrea Way. Another man was also arrested after he was found in a convenience store. Police confirm that both men are facing charges.
(Photo Courtesy of KDKA)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) According to police, two people are dead after being shot in the Carrick neighborhood of Pittsburgh early yesterday evening. Police responded to Linnview Avenue near Brownsville Road at about 5:15 p.m. for a 12-round ShotSpotter alert. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson Eliza Durham stated two men who had been shot in the chest were found on the sidewalk. Both of the unidentified men, ages 23 and 27, were pronounced dead at the hospital. Durham noted that an actor escaped on foot down Nobles Lane and at the scene, two guns were found. Police are continuing to investigate this incident.
(FIle Photo of the Sign Welcoming those to New Brighton)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(New Brighton, PA) The New Brighton Fire Department announced yesterday on Facebook that they have been awarded $57,404 to purchase a new utility vehicle to serve as a vital command unit for its department. The funding was made possible through a 2024 Local Share Account (LSA) grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Pennsylvania State Representative Roman Kozak and State Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. assisted in the grant application process.
(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Rochester, PA) Rochester Borough police are now investigating a deadly overnight shooting in the borough of Rochester. Dispatchers confirmed to KDKA-TV that the county coroner was requested following a shooting that happened just after midnight early this morning along New York Avenue. Officers were going in and out of the Juliet Apartments building at the corner of New York Avenue and Harmony Avenue around 3:30 a.m. this morning. According to dispatchers, one person was killed in the shooting. That person was a man in his mid-twenties who was found dead at the Juliet Apartments. It is unclear at this time if any arrests have been made regarding this incident or what led up to the shooting. Police believe this was an isolated incident. If you have any information or surveillance video from the area, Rochester Police are advising you to call them at 724-775-1100.
(Photo Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Middletown, PA) An unidentified person in Pennsylvania recently won $1 million from a winning Powerball ticket even though there was not a winner in the Powerball drawing on Wednesday. It is unknown at this time where in Pennsylvania the ticket was sold, but the winning numbers were 25, 33, 53, 62, 66 and the Powerball was 18.
(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Hershey, PA) The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) will officially unveil its newly constructed horse stable today at the PSP Academy in Hershey at 10 a.m. This modern facility marks the first completed structure in a project that is comprehensive to upgrade and modernize that Academy’s 65-year-old training facilities. The 21,000-square-foot stable makes accommodations for up to 30 horses in a well-designed, modern environment. Each spacious stall offers some ample room for horses to turn, lie down, and move comfortably, which promotes their comfort, safety, and well-being. The horses can graze across 60 acres of newly developed pasture, with much of it visible to travelers on East Hersheypark Drive to offer a scenic reminder of PSP’s proud equestrian tradition. The event will take place at 175 Hersheypark Drive in Hershey and people need to use the museum entrance at Swatara Road and Laudermilch Road.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Greg Biffle celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.
The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.
Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.
Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters and single and multi-engine planes. It wasn’t clear if Biffle was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.
Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.
“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,” the joint family statement said.
Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.
NASCAR said it was devastated by the news.
“Greg was more than a champion driver; he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,” NASCAR said. “His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”
The plane, bound for Florida, took off from the Statesville airport shortly after 10 a.m., according to tracking data posted by FlightAware.com.
Golfers playing next to the airport were shocked as they witnessed the disaster, even dropping to the ground at the Lakewood Golf Club while the plane was overhead. The ninth hole was covered with debris.
“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s way too low,’” said Joshua Green of Mooresville. “It was scary.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating.
The Cessna plane, built in 1981, is a popular mid-sized business jet with an excellent reputation, aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said. It has two engines and typically seats six to eight passengers and two pilots.
In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.
“The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, said.
Wadsworth was Biffle’s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.
“He didn’t know how to say no,” Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. “He loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.”
The joint family statement also spoke about Dutton and his son Jack, saying they were “deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.”
With 2025 almost over, there have been 1,331 U.S. crashes this year investigated by the NTSB, from two-seat planes to commercial aircraft, compared to a total of 1,482 in 2024.
Major air disasters around the world in 2025 include the plane-helicopter collision that killed 67 in Washington, the Air India crash that killed 260 in India, and a crash in Russia’s Far East that claimed 48 lives. Fourteen people, including 11 on the ground, died in a UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky.