Officials: Do not eat fish caught in Shenango River
HARRISBURG, PA. » State officials are warning people not to eat fish caught in a stretch of a western Pennsylvania river after tests found extremely high levels of a potentially dangerous chemical.
The state’s environmental protection department issued the blanket warning Monday for all fish caught in the Shenango River in Mercer and Lawrence counties after previously advising people to stay away from certain species.
Officials say tissue samples of fish in the area had high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. In some cases, the results were 10 times higher than the threshold for issuing a consumption advisory.
Officials say the most recent tests by water companies did not show contamination in the water itself, but the companies agreed to increase the frequency of testing to ensure the safety of drinking water.
Movie prop money being passed as real in Pennsylvania town
ALIQUIPPA, PA. » Movie prop money is being passed as though it’s real in one western Pennsylvania city.
Aliquippa police have posted pictures of a fake $20 bill that was passed at a local business.
Although the bill looks convincingly real otherwise, there is one dead giveaway: The words “Motion Picture Use Only” are printed clearly on the front and back of the bill in question.
Police haven’t said if they know where the money came from or who passed it.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not against the law to use real U.S. currency in movies and TV shows. But producers of such shows often use fake bills so they don’t have to concern themselves with theft or loss, especially when large sums of money appear on screen.
Pittsburgh police, FBI looking for wig-wearing bank robber
PITTSBURGH » Pittsburgh police and FBI agents are trying to find a bank robber who wore an unkempt woman’s wig to disguise himself.
Despite the suspect’s goofy appearance, authorities are concerned because the man also had a knife when he approached a teller at the Dollar Bank on East Carson Street in the city’s South Side about 10:15 a.m. Monday.
The suspect, who also wore sunglasses, is described as a tall, thin white man about 5-foot-10 (1.52-meters) to 6-foot (1.83-meters) tall, and weighing between 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms).
Authorities say the man was carrying a blue bag and ran away with an unspecified amount of money.
Man seeks remains of woman convicted in collar-bomb killing
ERIE, PA. » A man claiming to be the common-law husband of a woman convicted in a bizarre Pennsylvania bank robbery plot that killed a pizza delivery driver with a bomb strapped to his neck wants federal prison officials to release her remains and confirm her death.
The Bureau of Prisons says 68-year-old Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong died April 4 of natural causes at a prison hospital in Texas.
Diehl-Armstrong was serving life plus 30 years in the 2003 Erie bank robbery plot that ended with the death of 46-year-old pizza deliveryman Brian Wells. He had been forced to rob a bank with a bomb locked to his neck that exploded afterward.
The Erie Times-News says Mark Marvin, of Walden, New York, wants to move Diehl-Armstrong’s remains to a Quaker cemetery in New York.
Pennsylvania professors want to revoke Trump honorary degree
BETHLEHEM, PA. » Professors at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania have come out in support of a petition urging the school to revoke the honorary degree of President Donald Trump after he said both sides were to blame for the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kelly McCoy, a recent graduate of the private university in Bethlehem, started the change.org petition. Trump received his honorary degree after he served as commencement speaker in 1988.
LehighValleyLive.com reports both professor Ziad Munson and Professor Emeritus Richard Weisman say it is time for the university to act on rescinding the degree, with Weisman describing Trump as “an embarrassment to Lehigh University.”
The petition has been delivered to the university’s president. The Lehigh Board of Trustees makes the final decision, and they meet Oct. 25-27.
Baby sitter on trial in death of boyfriend’s toddler
CLEARFIELD, PA. » A Pennsylvania woman is on trial on charges she killed her boyfriend’s 2-year-old daughter while baby-sitting her.
Twenty-five-year-old Cody Lander testified Monday that he and the defendant, 22-year-old Jennifer Medzie, argued the night before his daughter, Sophia, was injured. Lander says Medzie complained the girl “always cried for her,” and Lander says Medzie told him he had to choose between being with the girl or with Medzie.
Police and doctors say Sophia had been shaken violently while Medzie was watching her at a Bradford Township home Nov. 15, 2013. Medzie told police the child fainted in her arms.
Police: Woman made up assault charges against cop in sex ad
CRANBERRY, PA. » Police say a Pennsylvania woman falsely claimed that a police officer sexually assaulted her because she was angry he didn’t return 102 text messages after a hotel tryst.
Mike Foley resigned from the North Braddock police July 18 after someone posted an online sex ad picturing him and asking women if they fantasized about being with a cop.
Foley has denied placing the ad and the woman charged Monday with falsely accusing him of sexual assault has not been linked to it either.
But Cranberry Township police say 36-year-old Michelle Milliron threatened Foley after he didn’t respond following their sexual encounter on April 12.
Online court records