Spadafora due in court over stabbingPITTSBURGH — Former lightweight boxing champ Paul Spadafora is due in court for a preliminary hearing on charges that he stabbed his brother, kicked his mother then threatened Pittsburgh police who intervened.Spadafora’s attorney, William Difenderfer, has said he expects the aggravated assault and other charges Spadafora faces will eventually be resolved, though he hasn’t said how.For now, the 41-year-old boxer remains in the Allegheny County jail where Difenderfer says Spadafora is working to address various “issues.”Police say Spadafora stabbed his brother Dec. 21 and threatened police saying, “I’m gonna kill them.”Spadafora won the vacant International Boxing Federation lightweight belt in 1999 when he was 23, but surrendered the title after he was charged with shooting his then-girlfriend in 2003.He’s had several alcohol-related brushes with the law since.

Emergency was firefighter overdosePITTSBURGH — A police incident report shows a “medical emergency” at a Pittsburgh fire station on New Year’s Eve involved a firefighter who overdosed on drugs.Police were dispatched to Station 26 on Brookline Boulevard shortly before 6:30 a.m.Public Safety officials characterized the incident as a “medical emergency.”Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich says he and Fire Chief Darryl Jones are investigating but won’t provide details. Hissrich says the firefighter involved in the incident is no longer on duty.The police report doesn’t name the firefighter.The Allegheny County district attorney’s office says it’s waiting on a report from the city before making a decision on criminal charges.

Trash collectors discover bodyMCKEESPORT, Pa. — Police say trash collectors in suburban Pittsburgh discovered the body of a young man who investigators believe was shot to death in the area the night before.Allegheny County Police Lt. Andrew Schurman says 21-year-old Jesi Jefferson was found unresponsive in an alley by trash collectors making their rounds in McKeesport early Wednesday morning.Jefferson was discovered on the ground not far from Maple Street, where police investigated reports of shots fired Tuesday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene.A search of the area turned up no victims, ballistic evidence or witnesses on Tuesday. But police believe Jefferson was gunned down in the shooting.Neighbors reported to police that they often hear the sound of gunshots or trouble near the alley where Jefferson’s body was found.

Philadelphia Zoo’s aardvark dead at 28PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Zoo says the oldest aardvark in captivity in the United State has died.The zoo announced on Wednesday that AJ was 28 years old and died of heart failure.AJ arrived at the zoo in 1989 and was born at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden on Nov. 4, 1988.The zoo says AJ will be remembered for his love of back rubs. It also says he preferred ants and termites over crickets and mealworms.The Philadelphia Zoo’s female aardvark, Sunshine, is 12 years old.