Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1698
Firefighter was dad to 3 of 5 kids killed in day care blaze
ERIE — Three of five kids killed in a fire at a home child care center in Pennsylvania were the children of a volunteer firefighter who was responding to another call, an official said Monday. Luther Jones’ two daughters and a son were trapped in a blaze in the lakeside...
Trump overhauling enforcement of Endangered Species Act
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday rolled out some of the broadest changes in decades to enforcement of the landmark Endangered Species Act, allowing the government to put an economic cost on saving a species and other changes critics contend could speed extinction for some struggling plants and animals....
Attorneys for accused synagogue gunman Robert Bowers seek more time for evidence
A status conference Monday for accused synagogue shooter Robert Bowers yielded little more than an extension for both sides to trade evidence and file pre-trial motions. Bowers, 46, wasn’t at the hearing, which lasted about five minutes. The deadline for pre-trial motions was Thursday, but U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose...
4th person caught illegally dumping in Penn Hills
A fourth man has been caught illegally dumping in Penn Hills. Teron Allen, 34, of Verona, will face a maximum fine of $2,000 and clean-up costs for unloading a trailer full of debris on Manilla Street in the municipality’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on July 26, officials said in a news...
Steelers WR coach Darryl Drake’s autopsy shows ‘nothing suspicious’
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office is awaiting the result of toxicology tests to formally rule on the cause of death of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver coach Darryl Drake who was found Sunday in his dormitory room at Saint Vincent College, Coroner Ken Bacha said Monday. Bacha said an autopsy on...
Health Department lifts closure on Bruegger’s in Oakland
Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery on Forbes Avenue in Oakland reopened following an inspection by the Allegheny County Health Department earlier this week. The restaurant was closed after a health department inspection Aug. 9 found raw sewage backed up in the basement of the restaurant, grimy floors, overhead leaks and water damage...
Police: Bookkeeper took $63K from Murrysville real estate agency
An Indiana County woman is accused of transferring nearly $63,000 from a Murrysville real estate agency into her personal bank accounts, according to court papers. Angelica S. Botti, 40, of Robinson, was working as a bookkeeper for Re/Max Heritage when police said the thefts occurred. She is charged with unlawful...
Woman, teens accused of dumping over 300 tires in lot
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — State police say a woman and two teenagers dumped over 300 tires in a parking lot of a vacant motel in Pennsylvania. The Reading Eagle reports troopers found 61-year-old June Kuzowski and the two 15-year-olds throwing the tires out of a truck and onto the lot on...
Wilkinsburg man killed in Penn Hills shooting
A Wilkinsburg man was shot and killed early Monday in Penn Hills, according to authorities. Curtiss E. Meeks Jr., 48, was pronounced dead at the scene early Monday when police found him in the street with several gunshot wounds. The incident happened just after 2 a.m. in the 1200 block...
Hong Kong airport shuts down amid pro-democracy protest
HONG KONG — One of the world’s busiest airports canceled all flights after thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters crowded into the main terminal Monday afternoon. Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement that the demonstration “seriously disrupted” airport operations. Hong Kong has experienced more than two months of...
Looking for an apartment in Greensburg? There’s space above the Palace TheatreVideo
Spacious rooms? Check. Washer and dryer? Yes. Brand new appliances? Hooked up and ready to go. A reserved parking space? Two blocks away. The Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s open house Sunday in newly finished, third-floor apartments above the Palace Theatre in Greensburg showed off those amenities and more. Three apartments at...
Fire erupts in Moon Township when Jeep strikes gas line
No one was injured Sunday night when an unoccupied Jeep rolled into a Moon Township home, hit a gas line and burst into flames, according to Moon Township police. Members of the Moon Township Volunteer Fire Company responded at about 10:30 p.m. to the 200 block of Scottsdale Drive where...
Mercurio’s offers a little taste of Italy by the slice or in a coneVideo
Authentic Neapolitan pizza and award-winning gelato has landed in O’Hara. Mercurio’s, a family owned and operated Italian eatery in Shadyside since 2012, opened a second location in June at 1335 Freeport Road. Three sibling co-owners, Anna Crucitt and Michael and Joe Mercurio, were raised around the original family gelato business...
Festival to showcase rejuvenated Alcoa property in New Kensington
A one-day festival featuring art, music and food is growing into a three-day affair for its second go ’round. The first Arts, Beats and Treats was held on one day last year at AK Valley Park, the former Alcoa research center on Freeport Road in New Kensington. This year, the...
Monongahela group sets Guinness world record for largest wedding cookie tableVideo
It’s official — the Monongahela Area Historical Society on Sunday established a new Guinness World Record, that of “largest wedding cookie table.” Christina Conlon, Guinness adjudicator, said that by late afternoon, it was clear the tables set up in Chess Park held more than 50,000 cookies. “We know that you...
Identity released of woman found dead in Lawrenceville bar
Authorities have identified a woman who was found dead early Sunday morning inside a Lawrenceville bar and restaurant. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman as Jocelyn Marie Hill, 43, of Pittsburgh. Officers from the city’s Zone 2 station as well as fire and EMS crews responded to...
5 children killed in fire at Erie day care centerVideo
ERIE — A day care center where children could stay overnight as their parents worked was ravaged Sunday by a fire that killed five and sent the owner to the hospital, authorities said. The victims in the lakeside city of Erie ranged in ages from 8 months to 7 years,...
Kevin Gorman: Darryl Drake’s death leaves stunned Steelers at a loss for words
The serene setting at Saint Vincent suddenly felt like an eerie silence — save the occasional caws of crows flying among the trees — when the church bells rang at Saint Vincent Basilica to signal Sunday Mass was soon to start. A sudden pall was cast over the site of...
700 motorcycles tour Alle-Kiski Valley to remember Officer Brian ShawVideo
They rode in remembrance. The second annual Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship Ride and Event welcomed more than 700 motorcycles under a brilliant blue sky Sunday. The 41-mile charity ride kicked off at 10 a.m. at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar, with an almost two-hour route that led bikers...
Border official: Timing of immigration raids ‘unfortunate’
WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials are defending last week’s mass immigration raids in Mississippi, including emotional footage of a girl pleading with authorities to let her father go. Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan acknowledged that video of the 11-year-old sobbing was “emotional” but says the girl was...
Steelers WRs coach Darryl Drake dies at 62
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Darryl Drake died Sunday morning at age 62, the team announced. Drake was entering his second season with the Steelers. No cause of death was immediately released. “We are at a loss for words following Darryl Drake’s passing this morning,” Steelers president Art Rooney II...
Epstein dies in the dark, but abuse investigation carries on
NEW YORK — Investigators have long been digging into allegations of sexual abuse and conspiracy against Jeffrey Epstein . The financier’s apparent suicide brings another mystery to investigate: How did he end up dying in jail? An additional federal investigation was launched Saturday after the Federal Bureau of Prison said...
Trump-McConnell 2020? Senate leader takes on role of wingman
WASHINGTON — It’s not quite “Trump-McConnell 2020,” but it might as well be. As he runs for reelection, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is positioning himself as the president’s wingman, his trusted right hand in Congress, transformed from a behind-the-scenes player into a prominent if sometimes reviled Republican like none...
Authorities ID man found dead in Irwin creek
Authorities have identified a man who was found dead in an Irwin creek Saturday afternoon. Authorities were called to Tinker Run Creek near the amphitheater in Irwin Park at 3 p.m. after someone spotted the body in the water, according to police. The Westmoreland County coroner said there was “no...
2 stabbed in Pittsburgh’s Bedford Dwellings, suspect in custody
A man is in police custody after two women were found with stab wounds early Sunday in Bedford Dwellings, according to Pittsburgh police. The two women were found in the doorway of an apartment building in the 2500 block of Chauncey Drive just before 4 a.m., according to public information...
