PITTSBURGH —
Pittsburgh police have been looking for a mentally ill woman they say shot her mother through the front door of the victim's home without provocation.
Police say the suspect, 27-year-old India Rayzer, is schizophrenic and bipolar.
They say Rayzer is estranged from her mother and hadn't seen her in more than a year before Rayzer knocked on the door about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Police say Rayzer fired before her mother could open the door and that the 58-year-old woman was wounded in the shoulder, grazed on her face by another bullet and hit with pieces of broken glass. Police say they expect the victim to recover.
Police say they want to find Rayzer before she shoots or tries to harm somebody else.
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In-home nurse charged in premature boy's death
UNIONTOWN — An in-home nurse has been charged with child endangerment for allegedly not doing enough to help a southwestern Pennsylvania baby who was born prematurely and died when he began struggling to breathe while she was caring for him.
Online court records don't list a criminal attorney for 42-year-old Jackie Sue Yeagley, of North Union, who, court records show, is also targeted in a pending lawsuit by the parents of Derek Miskanin Jr.
The 7-month-old boy died in the Uniontown Hospital emergency room on Dec. 4, 2011, about an hour after he began having trouble breathing at home. The Fayette County district attorney charges that Yeagley didn't properly respond when alarms on the boy's ventilator signaled he was in distress about 12:20 a.m.
An attorney representing Yeagley in the civil matter didn't immediately return a call Thursday.
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Man charged with murder in crash death of girl
DOYLESTOWN — Prosecutors say a suburban Philadelphia man was driving his muscle car more than 140 mph when it rear-ended another vehicle, killing a 9-year-old girl.
Now 37-year-old Drew Bodden faces third-degree murder and related charges in the crash that killed Holly Huynh in Doylestown, Bucks County, on the night before Thanksgiving.
Huynh's grandmother remains hospitalized after police say Bodden rammed into the back of her Honda CRV. The fourth-grade Huynh was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities say Bodden's modified Mustang was going between 142 and 154 mph. Investigators say the car's speedometer was stuck just below 160 mph when they examined the wreckage.
Bodden turned himself in to face charges Thursday. A message left for his attorney wasn't immediately returned.
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1 of 2 suspects arrested in anti-cop rap video
PITTSBURGH — A 21-year-old Pittsburgh man on probation and awaiting trial on illegal weapons charges is now accused of posting a violent rap video on YouTube that urges people to kill city police officers.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Rashee Beasley who, court records show, has been charged eight times since 2010 with crimes including theft, assault and drug possession.
Now he faces a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing on charges of witness intimidation, retaliation, terroristic threats and conspiracy with a second man who remained at large Thursday.
The video, pulled from YouTube after police began investigating it last month, praises Richard Poplawski who killed three city officers in April 2009.
The lyrics include the line, "Let's kill these cops 'cause they don't do us no good" and names specific officers who patrol the area where Poplawski lived.
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Judge says summer trial likely on voter ID law
HARRISBURG — A summer trial appears likely on a constitutional challenge to Pennsylvania's new voter identification law.
At a meeting with lawyers in the case Thursday, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said he is leaning toward a summer trial. That would allow time before next November's general election for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to rule on an appeal from one side or the other.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Patrick Cawley urged the judge to fast-track the case so that the state's high court could issue its ruling before the May 21 primary election. But lawyers for the plaintiffs who are challenging the law said that doesn't leave enough time to prepare for and fully argue the case.
Simpson said he'd issue a scheduling order within two weeks.
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How US states fared on jobless aid applications
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell sharply for the fourth straight week, a sign the job market may be improving. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000. That's the lowest level in two months and second-lowest this year.
Here are the states with the biggest increases in applications. No state reported large drops. The state data are for the week ended Dec. 1, one week behind the national data.
States with the biggest increases:
- California: Up 24,411, due to processing of claims left over from Thanksgiving week, and layoffs in services and agriculture
- Pennsylvania: Up 14,636, due to layoffs in construction, transportation, hotels, restaurants and professional services
- North Carolina: Up 13,961, no reason given
- New York: Up 11,025, due to layoffs in transportation, construction, and restaurants
- Texas: Up 10,435, due to processing of claims left over from Thanksgiving week
- Georgia: Up 8,708, due to layoffs in manufacturing, construction, health care, and hotels and restaurants
- Illinois: Up 8,478, due to layoffs in the construction, manufacturing and administrative industries
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