Category: CNN Regional

KDKA

By Christopher DeRose

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    LIGONIER TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — What started as a routine Amazon delivery to a rural home in Ligonier Township on Monday night quickly escalated, with a man saying he drew a gun and chased the driver down.

Tim Bacco said it started around 8 p.m. at his home, which is down a long, secluded driveway in a rural part of Ligonier Township.

“A strange vehicle came down the driveway, I saw it was a rental van,” Bacco said. “I went out to confront it, he took off, so I jumped in my vehicle and took off after him. He pulled out on Darlington Road, I pulled in front of him to question him to see who he was. He couldn’t speak English and I drew my pistol on him.”

That’s when Bacco said the driver sped away and he pursued. Both men called 911 during the chase, with the two vehicles eventually reaching the intersection of Sharky’s Drive and Route 30 in Unity Township, some 10 miles away.

That’s where officers from several municipalities stopped Bacco and the driver of the van, who police said was delivering for Amazon in an unmarked vehicle. Bacco was placed in handcuffs for a short time but was later released.

Ligonier Valley Police Chief Michael Matrunics says the whole situation is under investigation, but he adds a lot of misinformation was spread on social media Monday night, which led to public confusion. Initial reports that shots had been fired were incorrect, Maturnics said, adding that his officers had de-escalated the situation after stopping the two vehicles.

“They identified all the parties that were involved,” Maturnics said. “We feel that there was probably more that happened at that house than what we were able to gather last night. My officers are conducting the interviews and trying to do all the follow-up before any type of decision is made.”

Bacco said he’s sorry about what happened, but that he had been robbed before.

“If you are making a delivery, if you are looking for somebody, ask a question,” Bacco said. “Stop. Show me a badge. Everybody has ID badges.”

In a statement, Amazon said, in part, that it is “relieved the driver was unharmed and are thankful to law enforcement for responding quickly to this incident. We’ll cooperate fully with their investigation.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Andy Sheehan

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The reverend in charge of the largest cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is accused of stealing more than $1,000 worth of baseball trading cards.

Rev. Aidan Smith, the head priest and administrator of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Pittsburgh, has been on administrative leave from the cathedral since late January, and police arrested him on Feb. 27 at the Walmart in Economy Borough.

Borough police and store security say they caught Smith stealing 27 packs of baseball trading cards worth more than $200. Police say this followed a multi-day stealing spree in which Smith stole more than $1,000 worth of trading cards from the Walmart.

According to a police report, surveillance cameras first observed Smith on Feb. 23 shoplifting $244 worth of cards. On Feb. 24, the report says he can be seen again on video stealing cards worth $261. On Feb. 25, he allegedly took cards worth $121, and finally on Feb. 26, police seized him with the 27 packs worth $245.

Police say Smith walked past the registers without paying and into the parking lot, where they found the cards in a box he was carrying underneath his clothing. In all, police say Smith stole $1,100 worth of cards. And minus the cards recovered, Walmart is seeking $873 in restitution.

Police say Smith offered no reason for the alleged theft, and his attorney had no comment. But his arrest may have placed his position in jeopardy.

In a statement to the diocesan community, Bishop Ketlen Solak said the church will investigate the matter and follow the process for handling clergy misconduct. She said she has reached out to Smith and his family.

“I have spoken with Aidan and assured him of our prayers for him in this difficult time. Please pray for Aidan, for Melanie and their children, for the entire cathedral congregation as we grieve this news, and for everyone involved in this hard situation,” Solak said.

Smith faces charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property and is free on $50,000 bail. He was to face a preliminary hearing this week, but that has been postponed to later this month.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

KDKA

By Andy Sheehan

Click here for updates on this story

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The reverend in charge of the largest cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is accused of stealing more than $1,000 worth of baseball trading cards.

Rev. Aidan Smith, the head priest and administrator of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Pittsburgh, has been on administrative leave from the cathedral since late January, and police arrested him on Feb. 27 at the Walmart in Economy Borough.

Borough police and store security say they caught Smith stealing 27 packs of baseball trading cards worth more than $200. Police say this followed a multi-day stealing spree in which Smith stole more than $1,000 worth of trading cards from the Walmart.

According to a police report, surveillance cameras first observed Smith on Feb. 23 shoplifting $244 worth of cards. On Feb. 24, the report says he can be seen again on video stealing cards worth $261. On Feb. 25, he allegedly took cards worth $121, and finally on Feb. 26, police seized him with the 27 packs worth $245.

Police say Smith walked past the registers without paying and into the parking lot, where they found the cards in a box he was carrying underneath his clothing. In all, police say Smith stole $1,100 worth of cards. And minus the cards recovered, Walmart is seeking $873 in restitution.

Police say Smith offered no reason for the alleged theft, and his attorney had no comment. But his arrest may have placed his position in jeopardy.

In a statement to the diocesan community, Bishop Ketlen Solak said the church will investigate the matter and follow the process for handling clergy misconduct. She said she has reached out to Smith and his family.

“I have spoken with Aidan and assured him of our prayers for him in this difficult time. Please pray for Aidan, for Melanie and their children, for the entire cathedral congregation as we grieve this news, and for everyone involved in this hard situation,” Solak said.

Smith faces charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property and is free on $50,000 bail. He was to face a preliminary hearing this week, but that has been postponed to later this month.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

KYW

By Natasha Brown, Will Kenworthy

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Nearly six decades ago, John Anderson had a realization after watching the Miss America Pageant with his daughters in the Philadelphia area.

Wearing the crown would have just been a dream for them at the time.

“My daughters had watched the Miss America Pageant,” Anderson said. “I asked them, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Both of them said, ‘I want to be Miss America.’ And I knew that was a dream that could never come true.”

So, he decided to do something about it.

The Miss Black America Pageant celebrated its 58th anniversary in 2026, and to celebrate the milestone, you have to go back to its storied beginning and its founder, Anderson.

By 1968, there had never been a Black Miss America crowned. It was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and he says he wanted to showcase Black women in a way not yet seen on a national pageant stage.

“It elevated downtrodden citizens who were doing everything they could to have their presence recognized in America and be accepted,” Anderson said.

Anderson was already producing events in Philadelphia at the time. In 1968, he booked a hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, right across the boardwalk from where the Miss America Pageant was going to be held, and held the first-ever Miss Black America Pageant on the same night.

That was the beginning of a historic 58-year run with the pageant moving from city to city, hosting Black women from around the country every year to compete for the crown.

A young Oprah Winfrey represented Tennessee in the early 1970s and is now one of the pageant’s most famous contestants.

Aleta Anderson has taken on the role of the pageant’s executive producer from her father. She said she took her father to school for show and tell one time.

“It’s quite a weight. It’s quite a responsibility, more so than just the family business,” Aleta Anderson said, “but a program that is so important to community and race relations and provides a platform of confidence.”

A platform where beauty is just one facet of so many amazing layers of criteria.

“Without consideration of height, size, hair texture, complexion, complexity, character,” Aleta Anderson said.

Miss Black America 2026 has been crowned, adding to the list of women holding the title. The evolution of a platform that stands the test of time and has changed the face of beauty in America.

“Black women after that started looking into the mirror,” John Anderson said, “seeing how beautiful they were and accepting the fact and the understanding and realizing the facts of their beauty and it’s still going on today.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Natasha Brown, Will Kenworthy

Click here for updates on this story

    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Nearly six decades ago, John Anderson had a realization after watching the Miss America Pageant with his daughters in the Philadelphia area.

Wearing the crown would have just been a dream for them at the time.

“My daughters had watched the Miss America Pageant,” Anderson said. “I asked them, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Both of them said, ‘I want to be Miss America.’ And I knew that was a dream that could never come true.”

So, he decided to do something about it.

The Miss Black America Pageant celebrated its 58th anniversary in 2026, and to celebrate the milestone, you have to go back to its storied beginning and its founder, Anderson.

By 1968, there had never been a Black Miss America crowned. It was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and he says he wanted to showcase Black women in a way not yet seen on a national pageant stage.

“It elevated downtrodden citizens who were doing everything they could to have their presence recognized in America and be accepted,” Anderson said.

Anderson was already producing events in Philadelphia at the time. In 1968, he booked a hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, right across the boardwalk from where the Miss America Pageant was going to be held, and held the first-ever Miss Black America Pageant on the same night.

That was the beginning of a historic 58-year run with the pageant moving from city to city, hosting Black women from around the country every year to compete for the crown.

A young Oprah Winfrey represented Tennessee in the early 1970s and is now one of the pageant’s most famous contestants.

Aleta Anderson has taken on the role of the pageant’s executive producer from her father. She said she took her father to school for show and tell one time.

“It’s quite a weight. It’s quite a responsibility, more so than just the family business,” Aleta Anderson said, “but a program that is so important to community and race relations and provides a platform of confidence.”

A platform where beauty is just one facet of so many amazing layers of criteria.

“Without consideration of height, size, hair texture, complexion, complexity, character,” Aleta Anderson said.

Miss Black America 2026 has been crowned, adding to the list of women holding the title. The evolution of a platform that stands the test of time and has changed the face of beauty in America.

“Black women after that started looking into the mirror,” John Anderson said, “seeing how beautiful they were and accepting the fact and the understanding and realizing the facts of their beauty and it’s still going on today.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Marcella Baietto

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    WILMINGTON, Delaware (KYW) — In the produce section under piñatas and by the tortillas, a live show for shoppers is becoming a regular occurrence inside Fiesta Fresh Farmers Market in New Castle, Delaware.

“The idea is to highlight independent artists from the area,” store co-owner José Luis Aguilar Garcia said. “Because it’s getting more attention online, people are excited. They’ll ask when we’re doing the next one.”

The concept was inspired by NPR’s famous “Tiny Desk Concerts.”

At the supermarket on DuPont Highway, their version is called “Mercadito Concerts,” or market concerts.

“It was hard trying to find a place that reminds you of home, being so far from Mexico here,” Aguilar Garcia said. “We’re trying to obviously have people feel comfortable who are not from Mexico and expose them to a bit of our culture.”

Aguilar Garcia co-owns the store with his sister, who runs most of the day-to-day operations, while he also works at a Latin record label he started in 2019 that’s based in Wilmington.

Aguilar Garcia and his family are from Puebla, Mexico, and have been in the area since 2006.

Many of the musicians who record sessions at the market work with his label, like the band Ilusión.

“I feel like it’s a very vibrant atmosphere and it makes me really happy to take part in such an exciting performance, a cultural performance,” Ilusión bassist Carlos Mayo-Jiménez said. “And to be representing my roots too.”

The band was started in 2023 and also includes singer and songwriter 21-year-old Jesús Beltran Méndez, who moved to the U.S. at the age of 10.

For artists like Beltran Méndez, the recordings are more than just a soundtrack for customers or a viral clip.

“It gives us a platform to portray who we really are,” Beltran Méndez said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about who we are. There are bad people. There are good people. We are just human.”

“Never be afraid to represent who you are and who you always will be,” Mayo-Jiménez said. “Remind yourself that you’re coming from a different area that the general majority aren’t maybe used to, maybe not accustomed to, but it’s a special background nonetheless.”

As for what’s next, the store is prepping for a live music event called The Meltdown that will feature two bands on March 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the supermarket.

The recorded sessions are open to any artists of all genres as the series continues to grow, turning a grocery run into a front row ticket to a cultural show.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

KYW

By Marcella Baietto

Click here for updates on this story

    WILMINGTON, Delaware (KYW) — In the produce section under piñatas and by the tortillas, a live show for shoppers is becoming a regular occurrence inside Fiesta Fresh Farmers Market in New Castle, Delaware.

“The idea is to highlight independent artists from the area,” store co-owner José Luis Aguilar Garcia said. “Because it’s getting more attention online, people are excited. They’ll ask when we’re doing the next one.”

The concept was inspired by NPR’s famous “Tiny Desk Concerts.”

At the supermarket on DuPont Highway, their version is called “Mercadito Concerts,” or market concerts.

“It was hard trying to find a place that reminds you of home, being so far from Mexico here,” Aguilar Garcia said. “We’re trying to obviously have people feel comfortable who are not from Mexico and expose them to a bit of our culture.”

Aguilar Garcia co-owns the store with his sister, who runs most of the day-to-day operations, while he also works at a Latin record label he started in 2019 that’s based in Wilmington.

Aguilar Garcia and his family are from Puebla, Mexico, and have been in the area since 2006.

Many of the musicians who record sessions at the market work with his label, like the band Ilusión.

“I feel like it’s a very vibrant atmosphere and it makes me really happy to take part in such an exciting performance, a cultural performance,” Ilusión bassist Carlos Mayo-Jiménez said. “And to be representing my roots too.”

The band was started in 2023 and also includes singer and songwriter 21-year-old Jesús Beltran Méndez, who moved to the U.S. at the age of 10.

For artists like Beltran Méndez, the recordings are more than just a soundtrack for customers or a viral clip.

“It gives us a platform to portray who we really are,” Beltran Méndez said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about who we are. There are bad people. There are good people. We are just human.”

“Never be afraid to represent who you are and who you always will be,” Mayo-Jiménez said. “Remind yourself that you’re coming from a different area that the general majority aren’t maybe used to, maybe not accustomed to, but it’s a special background nonetheless.”

As for what’s next, the store is prepping for a live music event called The Meltdown that will feature two bands on March 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the supermarket.

The recorded sessions are open to any artists of all genres as the series continues to grow, turning a grocery run into a front row ticket to a cultural show.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Alexa Herrera, Adi Guajardo, Jennifer Bisram

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Two men, including an 83-year-old veteran of the U.S. Air Force, were injured after being pushed onto subway tracks in New York City on Sunday. Family said the grandfather has bleeding on his brain and is fighting for his life.

Police said the crime happened on the southbound F and Q platform at the Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street station on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

They said a man came up behind a 30-year-old man and pushed him onto the tracks. Then, the suspect moved behind the 83-year-old man and shoved him before running away. The victims were transported to a nearby hospital in stable and critical condition, respectively.

The NYPD released photos of the suspect Monday, asking the public for help identifying him. Officials said a person of interest was in custody Tuesday morning.

The older victim has been identified as Richard Williams, an Air Force veteran. His granddaughter, Samantha Loria, was in tears on Monday as she spoke to CBS News New York exclusively. She said Williams has always been the light of her life.

“The hardest part is I can’t have a conversation, or hug him again,” Loria said. “Any time I visit him, we walk around. We would go to Manhattan. He would always say hi to everyone, ask how they’re dong. It doesn’t hurt anything to be kind.”

Williams is now fighting for his life. Loria said he suffered multiple fractures and has bleeding on the brain after hitting his head on the tracks.

“Thank God there’s wasn’t a train coming,” Loria said.

Loria said her grandfather takes ultimate pride in the family he built, which includes three daughters and two grandkids. He also mastered the art of flying high and fighting hard, serving in the Air Force and beating cancer.

“He survived a fire, cancer recently, and all he wanted to do is walk. He loves to walk,” Loria said.

The Williams family is now praying their hero is able to open his eyes again.

“He was a very selfless man. He would give anyone the last shirt on his back,” Loria said.

The younger victim, Jhon Rodriguez, told CBS News New York that he captured video of the suspect who pushed him and Williams down to the tracks.

Rodriguez said Williams hit his head, started bleeding, and lost consciousness. Panicked and injured, himself, Rodriguez said he picked Williams up off the tracks and with the help of another man they both made it onto the platform before the next train arrived.

“I felt really scared. I was trembling. I felt disoriented,” Rodriguez said, speaking in Spanish.

Rodriguez said he’s in a lot of pain and can’t work due to his injuries.

“They should have more security at train stations,” Rodriguez said.

He added he now hopes police can track down and arrest the suspect and keep him jailed.

CBS News New York cameras captured images Monday of police putting up posters of Williams’ alleged subway pusher, at the Upper East Side subway platform.

“If they can do that to someone that’s 83 years old, anyone could be a target,” subway rider Gary Graham said.

The NYPD said there have been nine subway push incidents so far this year, compared to 19 all of last year and a total of 26 in 2024.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website or on X @NYPDTips.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.