Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1425
Police: Oakmont family charged with death of 3-year-old girl
A third person wanted in connection with the death of a 3-year-old girl in Oakmont turned herself into Allegheny County Police headquarters Thursday morning. Police had issued a warrant for Alexis Herrera, 20, after charging her, along with the victim’s father, Jose Salazar-Ortiz Sr., 29, and stepmother, Laura Ramriez, 27,...
Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary
A Trafford councilman is under fire for making a comment he deemed a joke about Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine’s gender on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Facebook page. Wolf on his Facebook page Sunday wished a happy Father’s Day to all Pennsylvania dads. Zack Cole, a Republican councilman who chairs...
Allegheny County health officials warn of coronavirus spread in younger people
Allegheny County officials said there has been a community spread of covid-19 among young people, which could be detrimental to those most vulnerable to the virus. The county on Wednesday reported 45 new covid-19 cases, matching the number of new cases reported on Monday. The 45 cases reported Monday and...
Penn Hills man gets life in prison for 2017 Jeannette murder
An Allegheny County man was sentenced Wednesday to serve life in prison without parole for a 2017 fatal shooting in Jeannette. Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee, 31, of Penn Hills, was convicted in January of first-degree murder for the April 13, 2017, daylight shooting of Michael Wilson on Clay Avenue. Police said Wilson,...
Pittsburgh Council split on hiring consultant for review of police actions during protests
Pittsburgh City Council members were evenly split Wednesday over a Citizen Police Review Board request to hire a consulting company for a review of police actions during recent protests. The CPRB had requested $25,000 to hire Texas-based Densus Group to assess police use of force during protests Downtown and in...
Indiana County man charged in robbery, shooting on same day
Police charged an Indiana man with involvement in a drive-by shooting in the borough and an armed robbery in neighboring White Township, both occurring on Tuesday. State police said Thomas Edward Lindsay, 20, was taken into custody without incident Wednesday at a residence in the township. He is charged with...
GNC files for bankruptcy, plans to close up to 1,200 stores
Pittsburgh-based health and wellness retailer GNC Corp. filed for bankruptcy and plans to close 800 to 1,200 stores, including several in Western Pennsylvania, unless it finds a buyer willing to pay at least $760 million under an agreement with lenders. Saying the covid-19 pandemic “had a dramatic negative impact on...
Teen killed, others injured in South Fayette train crash
A teenage girl was killed and two others were hurt Wednesday, after they were struck by a train in South Fayette. The crash happened near the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Millers Run Road, according to a news release from Allegheny County police. The teenagers were walking across an elevated...
Police: Mental health patient stabbed nurse in Greensburg with pen
A registered nurse was hospitalized late Tuesday after Greensburg police said a mental health patient stabbed her with a pen, according to court papers. Susan Barkley, 41, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. She is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, escape and resisting arrest. Officers...
UPMC: Coronavirus patient outcomes are improving
While parts of the nation are dealing with an increase in covid-19 cases, local patient outcomes are actually improving, UPMC officials said Wednesday. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine, said the health system is seeing the lowest number of hospitalized covid-19 patients since a spike in early April....
Uniontown woman held for court on baseball bat assault allegations
A former Scottdale woman was left with a serious eye injury last year after she was attacked by two people she didn’t know, according to testimony. Shyanne Hawk, 20, of Derry had a baseball bat to protect herself during the fight Jan. 8, 2019, outside her Scottdale home, but testified...
New Kensington-Arnold to lay off 28 teachers, projects up to 600 students won’t return to school in fall
New Kensington-Arnold School Board voted Tuesday to lay off 28 teachers because the district said research projects up to 600 students won’t be returning to its schools in the fall. Even with the layoffs and a 3-mill tax increase, also approved Tuesday, the district plans to spend $1.1 million more...
11 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County – Jun. 24, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 11 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths in Westmoreland County. This brings the case total to 563, with deaths remaining at 38 in the county. This marked the third time in four days that the county saw double-digit increases in cases...
Pennsylvania officials report 54 new covid-19 deaths statewide
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 54 new covid-19 deaths and 495 new cases in the state. The statewide total is now 83,191 cases, including 632 probable cases, and 6,515 deaths. According to the Department of Health, the most severe cases are seen in patients over the age...
Allegheny County reports 45 new covid-19 cases, matching highest total in nearly 2 months
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 45 new covid-19 cases, matching the number of new cases reported on Monday, and five new deaths. On Tuesday, the county reported 19 new covid-19 cases. The 45 cases reported Monday and Wednesday were the highest daily totals reported in nearly two months. During a...
2 Republicans opposed by Trump win in North Carolina, Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Voters rebuffed President Donald Trump and nominated two Republicans he opposed to House seats from North Carolina and Kentucky on Tuesday. Calls in higher-profile races in Kentucky and New York faced days of delay as swamped officials count mountains of mail-in ballots. In western North Carolina, GOP...
Icons of 1960s civil rights movement voice cautious optimism
CINCINNATI — Bob Moses says America is at “a lurching moment” for racial change, potentially as transforming as the Civil War era and as the 1960s civil rights movement that he helped lead. “What we are experiencing now as a nation has only happened a couple times in our history,”...
Warrendale company unveils device to help guard medical workers from coronavirusVideo
A North Hills company with five decades of experience manufacturing products for the airline and railroad industries has turned its attention to creating a new protective device that safeguards front-line medical workers while treating patients suffering from covid-19 and other airborne illnesses. Magee Plastics Co. in Warrendale has developed a...
Man accused of assaulting police horse during Pittsburgh protests
Pittsburgh police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of assaulting a police horse and vandalizing a squad car during Downtown protests. Raekwon Blankenship, 24, of Crafton was arrested in connection with criminal acts that took place during the May 30 protests. Police charged him with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, riot,...
Review board seeks consultant to probe Pittsburgh police tactics during protests
The Citizen Police Review Board voted Tuesday to seek funding to hire an outside consulting group to assist in its investigation into Pittsburgh police tactics against protesters earlier this month in East Liberty, though some board members feared the group’s reputation will hinder any good it might do. Densus Group,...
Pittsburgh police searching for suspected child predator
Pittsburgh police said Tuesday that they are searching for a suspected child predator who lives on the city’s North Side. Delrio Demetrius Ivy, 43, faces charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, endangering the welfare of a child,...
1 taken to hospital after collision at plaza in Unity
One motorist was taken to a local hospital for treatment following a three-car collision Tuesday at the Mountain Laurel Plaza off Route 30 in Unity. The crash happened at about 12:40 p.m. in an intersection near the plaza’s main entrance. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to remove a jammed door and...
Verona woman struck and killed by a train in Homestead
A Verona woman was struck and killed by a train in Homestead Tuesday afternoon, according to Allegheny County Police. The victim was identified as Angela M. Martin, according to the county Medical Examiner’s office. Witnesses told police that Martin, 65, was attempting to cross the road near the corner of...
Authorities arrest man suspected of hurling concrete at police truck during Pittsburgh protest
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man suspected of throwing a concrete block at a police truck during a May 30 protest that turned violent. George Allen, 31, faces charges of aggravated assault, riot, propulsion of missiles, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief. Police said two Pittsburgh officers were in...
Police: $205K seized from Arnold home where 3 ran drug enterprise
Arnold police and the state Attorney General’s Office said they seized more than $205,000 in cash and other valuables upon arresting two men and a woman who they said were dealing crack cocaine in the city. Police said Matthew Avans McCloud, 30, Steven Charles Boykin, 29, and Darrian Wilford, 24,...
