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Josh Shapiro declares candidacy for governor

Launching his gubernatorial campaign Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s Democratic attorney general sought to tie the crowded Republican field to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn last year’s election. Josh Shapiro, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary so far, said Republican gubernatorial candidates are ”peddling the Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump and are “doing real damage to our democracy.” “They’re passing far-right litmus tests, and they’re pandering to the special ...

Accused synagogue shooter spoke about ‘killing Jews’

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh police officers who responded to the synagogue building during a shooting three years ago that killed 11 people told a judge Tuesday that defendant Robert Bowers made several references to killing Jews. Officer Stephen Mescan was the first to testify in what is expected to be a two-day hearing into whether prosecutors will be allowed to use at trial certain statements made by Bowers the day of the October 2018 massacre. Federal prosecutors played dozens of snippets from police radio transmissions from the scene, including one in which Mescan said: ...

Pa. attorney general jumps into gov. race

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high-profile attorney general, Josh Shapiro, will formally announce his candidacy for governor on Wednesday, entering the 2022 race months after making his intentions known and effectively clearing the field of potential rivals for the Democratic nomination. Shapiro, a familiar presence on cable TV news who has spent nearly two decades in elective office, will launch a bid to become the state’s chief executive with a speech in Pittsburgh, campaign communications director Will Simons confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday. The 48-year-old ...

Gun violence and kids: Shattered dreams, devastated families

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gun violence is killing an increasing number of children and teenagers across America, leaving behind shattered dreams and devastated families. Here are three of their stories: ¯¯¯ Shineka and Joseph Barbour, of Philadelphia, laugh as they recall what a hurry their son was in to grow up, how he would draw a mustache on his face with eyeliner when he was younger, how he sometimes spoke in a fake deep voice. They knew when the 11-pound boy was born that he was going to be a giant, so the couple named him after basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. Their ...

Appeals court throws out life term in 2004 newborn’s death

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court has thrown out the life-without-parole sentence imposed on a western Pennsylvania woman in the murder of her newborn baby 17 years ago. The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that now-44-year-old Jessica Rizor’s attorney erred in not advising her to take a plea deal that would have allowed her to get out of prison in as little as 5¢ years, PennLive.com reported. Rizor was convicted in a Washington County trial of first-degree murder, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse. Authorities said Rizor gave birth in November 2004 in ...

Covering to remain over Columbus statue

The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A state court ruling will allow a plywood box to remain — for the moment — over a statue of Christopher Columbus that the city has been trying to remove from a south Philadelphia park since the explorer became a focus amid nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Commonwealth Court ruling late Saturday night vacated a decision earlier in the day by a Common Pleas Court judge to allow immediate removal of the box covering the statue on Marconi Plaza. City representative Kevin Lessard ...