A Pennsylvania couple that believes in divine healing is facing 20 years in prison today after pleading no contest to a third-degree murder charge after a second child died from pneumonia.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible are being sentenced today for the death of their 8-month-old son Brandon.
The couple had been on probation for ten years after the death of another child due to pneumonia. A part of the probation for the conviction on involuntary manslaughter was an order that they seek medical attention for any one of their children who fall ill in spite of their religious faith.
The Schaibles belong to a small Pentecostal church in Philadelphia where the church’s pastor said the deaths of the child were due to a spiritual lack in the couple’s lives. The pastor said none of the church’s families will seek medical care.
Lawyers for the couple say that their religious beliefs will be prominently brought up at the sentencing.
Although flu season is usually at its worst in January or February, health officials in Pennsylvania report flu outbreaks in at least half of the regions of the state.
There have been nearly 1,200 cases of influenza between September 29 and December 21 with the worst hit areas in western Pennsylvania according to the State Health Department.
Last year’s flu season put 381,000 people in the hospital nationwide, which is the most since
2005 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A Salvation Army toy outreach in Pittsburgh had to be shut down when the crowd grew so unruly police had to be dispatched to the scene.
People who had been waiting outside a Salvation Army on North Avenue forced their way into the building when the doors opened and there were not enough staff in the building to control the crowds. The problem appeared to be a group of people who refused to wait in line and tried to jump in front of everyone else.
Police forced everyone to leave.
The Salvation Army recruited more volunteers and was able to hold the toy drive the following day.
A Salvation Army spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that many people showed up before their designated pick up times which contributed to the overcrowding.
A Pennsylvania teenager is behind bars charged with a brutal attack on a retired nun.
Andrew Bullock, 18, attacked the nun outside of St. Titus Church near Pittsburgh. He reportedly asked the nun if she needed help. When she declined, he grabbed her by the neck, choked her and punched her.
The nun is hospitalized with severe injuries including a broken jaw. She communicated information about the details of her attack by writing them down for police before she was taken into surgery.
“The Sisters of St. Joseph are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the assault of one of our Sisters,” a statement from the order said. “As we offer continued prayers of healing for our Sister, we also pray for the young man who has been arrested in the assault.”
Bullock is held on $50,000 bond for charges including aggravated assault. Bullock confessed to the attack during questioning by police.
A pair of Pennsylvania newlyweds decided that the way to celebrate their three-week wedding anniversary was to commit murder.
Officials say the case graphically brings home the dangers of meeting a stranger from the internet.
Sunbury police said that Elytte Barbour and his wife Miranda had been using the website Craigslist to lure in men through a “business” where Miranda would rent herself out as a “companion” for as much as $850 a night. The couple said they were searching for someone that would fit their desire to kill someone.
They found that person in 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara.
Barbour reportedly told police that after receiving contact from LaFerrara they arranged to meet him at a mall. When the victim sat in the passenger seat of Miranda’s Honda CRV, her husband appeared from the back seat and held down LaFerrara while his wife stabbed him to death.
The body was dumped in an alley in Sunbury, PA.
The two are being held in separate county prisons facing charges of criminal homicide. They are being held without bail.
Police officials said that if you are going to do business through an internet site that it’s best to meet someone in a visible public place surrounded by others.
At least six people are confirmed dead after a Sunday outbreak of tornadoes across the Midwest.
The town of Washington, Illinois was devastated by a massive tornado that tore an 1/8th mile wide track through the entire town. Mayor Gary Manier said that up to 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed and that some neighborhoods are completely destroyed.
“How people survived is beyond me,” Manier said.
The tornadic storms are considered unusual for mid-November. Damaging winds and tornadoes were reported in 12 states: Michigan, Iowa, Illnois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
The storms moved so fast at times that weather forecasters were warning people to see shelter even before they could see a change in the weather.
The storm threatened the Chicago area forcing the game between the NFL’s Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens to be delayed for two hours as teams and spectators huddled under the stadium.
As temperatures increase for the summer, scientists are noting an increase in ticks infected with Lyme disease. They have also released a study that shows an increase in Lyme disease rates in 21 states.
“There is a lot of different theories of Lyme disease increasing because of warming temperatures,” said Dr. Liza Whalen. Continue reading →
Pennsylvania officlals have been working to raise awareness that in light of the Kermit Gosnell trial and the descriptions of the filth within the abortion clinic that new laws have been passed strengthening the state’s abortion laws. Continue reading →
Three women were the first jurors seated for the trial of a Pennsylvania abortion provider facing multiple murder charges.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell is charged with third-degree murder in the botched abortion of a woman in 2009. He is also facing the death penalty because of first-degree murder charges in the killing of seven babies that were born alive but killed in Gosnell’s care. Continue reading →
Pennsylvania officlals have been working to raise awareness that in light of the Kermit Gosnell trial and the descriptions of the filth within the abortion clinic that new laws have been passed strengthening the state’s abortion laws. 
