Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1707
Man convicted of murdering sisters in East Liberty seeks new trial
The Pittsburgh man serving life in prison for killing his neighbors in 2014 in East Liberty is seeking a new trial. Allen Wade, 48, is serving consecutive life sentences, one for each victim, plus three consecutive terms of 10 to 20 years for two counts of robbery and one count...
Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office sues Pittsburgh regatta organizer
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is suing a company officials blamed for this week’s cancellation of the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta in an attempt to collect more than $30,000 that it says it’s owed for providing security during two 2018 events. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas...
7 Philadelphia officers resign over offensive Facebook posts
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Police Department says seven officers have resigned in the last two weeks following an investigation into offensive and sometimes threatening Facebook posts. Last month, the department suspended 13 officers with an intent to fire them after a nonprofit group published the results of a two-year review...
Police: Dump truck driver was on drugs during crash that killed 3 in Fayette County
The driver of a tri-axle dump truck had drugs in his system when he slammed head-on into a pickup in Fayette County in June, killing three people who were members of the same family, according to District Attorney Rich Bower. State police on Thursday arrested Wilbert James Burnsworth, 46, of...
Fact Check: Dems gloss over economy, migrant complexities in debate
WASHINGTON — Some of the Democratic presidential contenders dug in their heels with unsupported rhetoric about immigration, the economy and more Wednesday night as they scrambled to stay in contention for the winnowed-down debates to come. Several persisted in their distorted depiction of caged migrant children as a singular cruelty...
Former New Kensington woman in wheelchair killed by pickup in Armstrong County
A former New Kensington woman in a wheelchair was killed early Thursday when she was struck by a pickup as she crossed Route 28/66 near Kittanning, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Sylvia Jean Denslow, 53, left the Bench Racers convenience store in Rayburn with her boyfriend just before...
Clairton man dead, 1 injured in shooting outside city bar
A Clairton man has died and another man was injured as a result of a shooting outside a Clairton bar early Thursday. Clairton police and paramedics went to the 400 block of St. Clair Avenue around 12:45 a.m. for a report of a 24-year-old man who had been shot in...
Police: Braddock woman kidnapped boy from pool to convince boyfriend to start a family
An 18-year-old Braddock woman accused of kidnapping a boy from a North Side swimming pool Wednesday evening told police she did so to convince her boyfriend to start a family with her, according to a criminal complaint. The 9-year-old boy told police he had been swimming at the Sue Murray...
2 men shot in separate Pittsburgh incidents
Pittsburgh police responded to two separate shootings late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Officers responded just before midnight to reports of a shooting on Idlewild Street at Collier Street in Homewood. There, they found a man who had been shot in the leg. Then, just before 2 a.m., officers...
Biden’s ‘Go easy on me, kid’ to Kamala Harris prior to debate sparks outrage
Former Vice President Joe Biden appeared to try to diffuse tension between he and fellow Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Wednesday’s debate, but some don’t like his tactic. CNN’s microphones appeared to pick up Biden telling Harris D-Calif., “Go easy on me kid,” to which the senator appeared to...
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris play defense: 5 takeaways from Night 2 of the Democratic debate
At first, it looked like the rematch was on. Sen. Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden, standing at center stage at the Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, were clearly ready to reprise their prior debate face-off, training their focus on each other as the debate began. But the...
U.S. intel: Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, believed deadVideo
The son of former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Hamza, is believed to be dead, according to U.S. intelligence. The New York Times, quoting unnamed sources on Wednesday, reported Hamza bin Laden had been killed sometime over the past two years. The United States has obtained intelligence that the son...
New technology will keep Pittsburgh airport travelers better-informed of wait times
Waiting in line at Pittsburgh International Airport security may get a little easier thanks to new technology. Travelers could soon be able to tell, within about two minutes, the amount of time they have to wait in any of the three lines at the airport’s primary security checkpoint. The improved...
Penn Hills man guilty of guarding drugs, money for cross-country ring tied to Mexican cartels
A Penn Hills man pleaded guilty to guarding massive amounts of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and cash as a participant in one of the largest drug rings ever busted in Western Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said July 31. Chace Johnson, 21, was convicted of one federal narcotics charge for “maintaining a drug-involved...
Heavy rains flood portions of Westmoreland County
Heavy rains flooded roads and downed trees across Westmoreland County Wednesday evening. The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flood advisory for the area around 7:35 p.m. The most severe flooding was in Trafford, according to Westmoreland County 911. Route 993 and Trafford Road and Pine Hollow Road were...
Advocates fret over Trump-backed proposal that could kick 200K Pennsylvanians off food stamps
Human service agencies and advocates for low-income families across Western Pennsylvania are expressing concerns over a Trump administration proposal that threatens to eliminate food stamp benefits for tens of thousands of people in the region. Backed by the White House, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is recommending a proposal that...
Tenaska plant near Smithton generating power, moneyVideo
The Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station that sits atop a hill in rural South Huntingdon is just the latest of what federal energy officials predict will be a wave of natural gas-powered plants to be built over the next 30 years. Most of the nation’s new electricity generating capacity that will...
Explosion levels Washington County home
A house in North Franklin Township in Washington County was leveled by an explosion Wednesday afternoon, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. First responders told Channel 11 that residents smelled gas and fled the Park Avenue home before the explosion, which reduced the home to rubble and splinters around 4...
Pittsburgh to launch criminal investigation into Three Rivers Regatta promoterVideo
Pittsburgh plans to launch a criminal investigation into a promotion company that left a trail of unpaid bills and unfulfilled obligations leading to Tuesday’s cancellation of the annual Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta, a top city official said Wednesday. Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said he consulted with police Chief...
Butler Street ramp to Highland Park Bridge to close for sewer repair
Motorists who access the Highland Park Bridge from Butler Street near the Pittsburgh Zoo should allow themselves extra time this weekend. The ramp to the Highland Park Bridge will close Thursday at 8 p.m. and reopen around midnight on Sunday, PennDOT announced. Crews from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority...
Police: Teen hits Harrison man with baseball bat to protect herself, mother
A teenager and her mother were able to escape from a Harrison man who police said severely injured the woman in a domestic assault early Wednesday. Harrison police said the 16-year-old girl used a baseball bat to defend herself and her mother until they were able to get out of...
Woman who urinated on potatoes at West Mifflin Walmart seemed drunk, police say
Police said a woman caught on camera urinating on potatoes at a West Mifflin Walmart appeared to be drunk when she walked into the store, according to a criminal complaint filed against her. About $200 worth of potatoes were tainted by the urine, police said in a criminal complaint. The...
Fed cuts key rate in its first reduction in more than decade
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The Fed also repeated a pledge to “act...
Man named ‘Murder’ with ‘murder’ tattooed on his neck pleads guilty to murder
A Florida man has apparently lived up to his “Murder” nickname. Courtney Lawrence, 30, with the moniker “Murder” tattooed across his neck, pleaded guilty to murder charges in connection to a 2016 home invasion and shootout that left a fellow suspect dead, reports the Miami Herald. Lawrence was one of...
WDVE’s Sean McDowell set to host final show
The voice of a local legend leaves the airwaves at 7 p.m. Wednesday. WDVE disc jockey Sean McDowell will host his final show after more than 40 years in radio, 25 of them at WDVE, Pittsburgh’s preeminent classic rock station. He announced his retirement May 14 on the station’s morning...
