RANKIN — The lawyer for a school worker charged with assault says his client did not choke a 13-year-old student, but lifted him off the ground by his chin.

The attorney said that Joseph Golden III, a behavioral specialist at an alternative school in Rankin, was using an approved restraint method April 12 when he was captured on surveillance video carrying the student down the hallway. The superintendent of the school district said it was not an approved restraint that he was aware of.

Golden is charged with simple assault and endangering a child. He has been suspended from work and the superintendent has recommended his firing.

[naviga:h3]3 people injured in blast at duplex[/naviga:h3]

CONNELLSVILLE — Officials say three people were taken to hospitals after an explosion in a home.

Emergency dispatchers in Fayette County said the blast was reported shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday at a duplex in Connellsville.

Witnesses reported smoke coming from the windows after the explosion, which happened on an upper floor and blew at least one window out.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.