Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1539
Pittsburgh Council members propose $60 million bond for affordable housing
Pittsburgh should borrow $60 million to help solve the city’s affordable housing problem, two city councilmen suggested Wednesday. Councilmen R. Daniel Lavelle of the Hill District and Ricky Burgess of North Point Breeze said the $10 million Pittsburgh sets aside each year for an affordable housing fund could be used...
Nearly 300 bricks of heroin seized in Monroeville bust
Three men who were traveling to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia face drug-related charges after police accused them of trafficking nearly 300 bricks of heroin this month. Maximo Almonte, 48, Noel Argedys, 26, and Odai Hernendez, 30, were allegedly involved in a heroin operation. Police believe they are all of Dominican Republic...
Proposed Nalani Johnson Rule would allow Amber Alerts to go out within minutes of abduction
What if an Amber Alert had been issued for Nalani Johnson sooner? An attorney who represented the toddler’s family after she was found dead days after her abduction out of Penn Hills used this question as the motivation behind a bill his law firm drafted, and which has gained the...
Another Catholic diocese seeks bankruptcy after abuse deals
HARRISBURG — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, six months after disclosing it had paid millions of dollars to people sexually abused as children by its clerics. The diocese joins at least 20 others across the United States in seeking protection from creditors through the...
Jerry Sandusky prosecutor and former Penn State lawyer disciplined
HARRISBURG — A lawyer who led the child molestation investigation and prosecution of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky lost his law license for a year Wednesday over his handling of a grand jury witness in the case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled. The justices issued a 5-1...
Building a Pittsburgh bar, brick by brick by brickVideo
Ever get jealous of kids building skyscrapers, forts, planes and cars from their colorful Lego sets? Wish you could still stack, snap and construct your own visions with those childhood toys? The pop-up event Brick Bar invites grown-ups to play again, bringing what it calls its mobile “nostalgia trip” to...
Homicide charges filed in 2017 slaying of Parks Township couple
New charges were filed Wednesday in a 2017 double homicide in Parks Township. Charges were filed against Kevin Lamont Ware, who is from the Washington, D.C., area, in connection with the deaths of Dawayne Klingensmith and Heather Swiklinski. In November 2017, Klingensmith, 29, and Swiklinski, 22, were found dead on...
Fourth annual Tips for Cops fundraiser benefits food pantries around Penn HillsVideo
A police officer’s job is to protect and serve the public. Multiple Penn Hills officers recently did more of the latter at Mohan’s Restaurant as part of the department’s fourth annual Tips for Cops fundraiser for local food pantries. The parking lot and booths at 7324 Saltsburg Road were packed...
Monessen man accused in rape of girl ordered held in county prison on $50K bond
A 23-year-old Monessen man was arrested this week on charges of raping a girl after she was treated and interviewed at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh following the alleged assault. Quentin T. Simpson was arraigned before night court District Judge Michael Mahady on charges of rape, aggravated indecent assault, corruption...
Food shopping trends prompt Giant Eagle to trim overnight hours at some locations
Changes in customer shopping habits and the increase in the number of 24-hour convenience stores offering items typically sold in supermarkets has prompted Giant Eagle to end around-the-clock operations at four stores, company officials said. The stores in Monroeville, McIntyre Square in Ross, Shaler and the city of Washington will...
5 questions for next Democratic debate, Mike Bloomberg’s 1st
LAS VEGAS — There’s a new kid in town for the ninth Democratic debate, Mike Bloomberg, the self-funding billionaire presidential candidate. Five questions ahead of the faceoff Wednesday night in Las Vegas: How does Bloomberg stack up? No candidate has the potential to upend the race for the Democratic presidential...
Pa. mail carrier sues U.S. Postal Service over Sunday work shifts
LANCASTER, Pa. — A former Pennsylvania mail carrier says the U.S. Postal Service violated his rights by requiring him to work Sundays. Gerald Groff, who says he is an evangelical Christian, filed a lawsuit Friday against the federal agency, claiming he was let go from his position after refusing to...
Suspect in Connellsville kidnapping, fatal shooting claims teen went voluntarily
A Fayette County man accused in a kidnapping and fatal shooting in Connellsville said a 16-year-old boy went with him voluntarily. Keith Scott Bradshaw, 31, of Everson addressed reporters as he was being walked by police to the Fayette County Jail Wednesday morning, according to a video recorded by Tribune-Review...
SWAT, police respond to Hazelwood for reported domestic incident
SWAT officers were called to a Hazelwood home Tuesday night after a woman reported a man assaulted her with a handgun, according to police. Pittsburgh police responded to the 210 block of Winston Street around 10:30 p.m. According to officers, the woman, who had left the home to call police,...
Greater Latrobe agrees to pay contractor $831K to settle elementary construction claims
Greater Latrobe School District will pay Nello Construction $831,000 to settle the general contractor’s claim for money it says the district still owes for construction of Latrobe Elementary School. Both the school board and the Greater Latrobe School Authority, which owns the building, approved the settlement. The agreement ended a...
AP source: Barr tells people he might quit over Trump tweets
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has told people close to him he’s considering quitting his post after President Donald Trump wouldn’t heed his warning to stop tweeting about Justice Department cases, an administration official told The Associated Press. The revelation came days after Barr took a public swipe at...
Number of Pennsylvania chronic wasting disease cases grows againVideo
This isn’t good news by any means. The Pennsylvania Game Commission found more deer with chronic wasting disease in 2019 than the year before. And that’s with some counting still left to do. Hunters will know soon how the agency plans to deal with that. The commission unveiled a draft...
140 bricks of heroin seized in drug bust on North Side, police say
A North Side man accused of dealing heroin looked shocked when Pittsburgh police pulled up next to his parked Chevrolet Camaro on Tuesday evening and asked him to show his hands, according to police. Police waited for Terrence Adams, 22, to leave the house in the 200 block of Carrington...
Roundabout being considered along Route 356 in Buffalo Township
PennDOT is considering addressing congestion and safety concerns along busy Route 356 in Buffalo Township in a roundabout way. “We’ve found that roundabouts are effective at reducing congestion as well as the number of crashes and the severity of them,” PennDOT spokesman Timothy Nebgen said of the one-way, circular intersections....
‘Business as usual’: Levin’s owners consider options to sustain operations
The owners of Western Pennsylvania furniture giant Levin’s are mulling a number of financial options with “creditors, investors and landlords” in order to sustain the company’s current operations, according to a corporate official. The move is aimed at ensuring the company — Art Van LLC — “can continue serving our...
1 lane of southbound Route 28 closed near Harmar after landslide
Authorities reduced Southbound Route 28 in Harmar Township to a single-lane around 5 p.m. Tuesday because of a landslide, PennDOT said. The single-lane closure is in place between the Harmar (Exit 11) and RIDC Drive (Exit 10) interchanges after two large boulders fell from the hillside onto the shoulder of...
Sen. Casey launches campaign for sweeping child welfare reformsVideo
Pennsylvania senior Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, is making it clear he’s in it for the long run. Two years into his third term, Casey, 59, is barnstorming the Keystone State to promote an ambitious package of child welfare proposals that even he concedes may take years to bring to fruition....
NAACP, black community leaders call for Allegheny Co. judge’s ouster over alleged racist remarksVideo
Representatives from the state and local NAACP gathered Tuesday at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to denounce alleged racist remarks by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli. Tranquilli has been on administrative duty since Feb. 6. His alleged comments, including calling a black juror “Aunt Jemima” in a...
Lesser-known presidential candidate debate slated for March in Chicago
Just because they aren’t on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC all day doesn’t mean they aren’t running for president. As the Democratic National Committee awaits delegate counts to see who will end up running against President Trump this November, 21 lesser-known presidential candidates will take a debate stage next month...
Attorney defends police, DA’s Office, saying he saw no misconduct during Wilkinsburg mass shooting probe
A former attorney for a man who alleged prosecutors paid him for information and encouraged him to lie in the Wilkinsburg mass shooting case denied he saw any misconduct from the District Attorney’s Office, according to a response filed Tuesday. Chris Eyster did not name Kendall Mikell in his nine-page...
