Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1720
State officials approve Penn Hills School District’s recovery plan
State Department of Education officials gave their approval to a plan to save the financially struggling Penn Hills School District. The plan was crafted over the past several months by state-appointed recovery officer Dan Matsook with input from a special advisory committee, district officials and residents. School board members approved...
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies at 99
WASHINGTON — John Paul Stevens, the bow-tied, independent-thinking, Republican-nominated justice who unexpectedly emerged as the Supreme Court’s leading liberal, died Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after suffering a stroke Monday. He was 99. During nearly 35 years on the court, Stevens stood for the freedom and dignity of individuals, be...
Robert Wideman begins new life in Pittsburgh halfway house after 44 years in prison
Last winter, after seven unsuccessful appeals to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Robert Wideman had given up hope of ever leaving the state prison system that had been his home for more than four decades. On Wednesday, Wideman, who finally was released from prison last week after a final appeal...
A divided House votes for resolution condemning Trump’s ‘racist’ remarks
WASHINGTON — In a remarkable political repudiation, the Democratic-led U.S. House voted Tuesday night to condemn President Trump’s “racist comments” against four congresswomen of color, despite protestations by Trump’s Republican congressional allies and his own insistence he hasn’t “a racist bone in my body.” Two days after Trump tweeted that...
PennDOT to clean drains along flood-prone area of Route 28
PennDOT plans to clean drainage pipes along an area of busy Route 28 in Pittsburgh that flooded last week for the second time in two months. The work, scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, will occur between the 40th and 31st bridges. Motorists...
Penn Township could get turnpike ramp on Route 130 following commission’s approval
A turnpike interchange could be coming at last to Penn Township, though advocates likely still have a while to wait. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday to allocate $30 million to build a cashless tolling interchange at state Route 130. The project was added to the commission’s 10-year capital plan....
Pittsburgh’s black population accounts for majority of arrests, report says
An annual report from Pittsburgh police shows a continuing racial disparity among the people they arrest, pull over and frisk. The total number of arrests, traffic stops and frisks has dropped in recent years, but African-Americans continue to experience numbers disproportional to their population in the city. A consent decree...
Lawrenceville added to National Register of Historic places
The U.S. Department of the Interior has added Lawrenceville — one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and trendiest neighborhoods — to the National Register of Historic Places. Sarah Quinn, the city’s historic preservation planner, said the designation carries no restrictions for private property owners. Certain eligible buildings being rehabilitated or redeveloped would...
Jeannette residents work to recover after heavy rains flooded basements with wastewater
Toni Crawford’s new washer and dryer were destroyed Thursday when 4 feet of sewage and water flowed up through a drain in her West Jeannette basement. By Tuesday, her basement had been scrubbed clean three times, but her anger had not subsided. “I’m disgusted with this sewer system,” she said....
Turnpike commission hikes tolls for 12th straight year — and will until 2044
Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls are set to go up, again. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on Tuesday approved a 6% hike for all customers, which will take effect Jan. 5. The most common toll for passenger vehicles will rise from $1.40 to $1.50 for E-ZPass users and from $2.30 to $2.50 for...
2 charged in killing Wilkinsburg woman for tax refund plead guilty
Two of three people accused of killing a Wilkinsburg woman in 2018 to rob her of her tax refund pleaded guilty Tuesday to their part in the crime, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. A third man is awaiting trial in the case. Keiauna Davis, 27, was shot...
Firm wants to open marijuana testing lab in Trafford — Western Pa.’s first
A Michigan-based firm wants to open Western Pennsylvania’s first medical marijuana testing laboratory, which would move from Clearfield to Trafford. Lansing-based ACT Laboratories Inc. is seeking a variance from Trafford Borough to operate the lab at 109 Brinton Ave., in a building owned by Trafford Emergency Medical Services Company No....
Crews repair massive sinkhole near Route 30 at Hempfield/Greensburg borderVideo
Crews worked Tuesday to fill a sinkhole encroaching on Route 30 at the border of Greensburg and Hempfield as more rain moved toward the area. Fencing and orange cones blocked off the gigantic hole on a hillside along the highway next to Towne Square and Greensburg Commerce Park, which houses...
Pittsburgh draws the most bottles of rare spirits in liquor lottery
The lucky Pennsylvania liquor lottery winners have been chosen. Winners, who will be granted the opportunity to purchase highly sought-after bourbons and whiskeys, were notified last week. The drawing was held Wednesday. For the first time, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has released the cities in which the winners live....
Tick removed from Kentucky man’s eye
PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A Kentucky man who went to the doctor with an irritated eye got the unsavory news that it contained a tick. WYMT-TV reports an optometrist used tweezers to remove the tick from Chris Prater’s eye. Prater works for an electric company and had left a job site...
Police: Robbery leading to Penn Hills shootings was similar to past crime
The suspect in a weekend robbery turned homicide that police say led to him being shot and killed by a Penn Hills officer used a similar tactic to rob a woman in Pittsburgh earlier this month, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Onaje Dickinson, 20, of Pittsburgh was...
‘Game of Thrones’ sets record with 32 Emmy nominations
LOS ANGELES — HBO’s “Game of Thrones” slashed its way to a record-setting 32 Emmy nominations Tuesday for its eighth and final season, leading HBO back to dominance over Netflix, the streaming service that bumped it last year from atop the increasingly crowded television heap. The bloodthirsty saga’s total eclipsed...
North Huntingdon fireworks store sparks debate over building design
A newly constructed fireworks store off Route 30 in North Huntingdon may have to close because of a dispute with the township over the company’s failure to construct the metal building’s facade according to the approved land development plan. Township officials told Wholesale Fireworks representatives the Hubbard, Ohio, firm must...
Rare lion cub born at Grove City’s Keystone Safari
“The Lion King” remake won’t hit theaters until later this week, but another Simba recently made his debut in Pennsylvania. The lion cub — named in honor of the movie — was born at Keystone Safari in Grove City in May. After spending his first six weeks indoors with his...
Florida expert captures elusive alligator at Chicago lagoon
CHICAGO — The alligator had a good run as day after day the people hunting for him in a Chicago lagoon came up empty, but in the end he was no match for an expert the city shipped in from Florida. The male gator, nicknamed ‘Chance the Snapper,’ was first...
Brackenridge robbery suspect surrenders after standoff
A Brackenridge man who is accused of robbing the Allegheny-Ludlum Brackenridge Federal Credit Union of more than $100,000 surrendered to FBI agents Tuesday morning after a nearly four-hour standoff at his home. Thomas George, 64, of Eighth Avenue was charged Tuesday in federal district court in Pittsburgh and held without...
Pittsburgh’s Canton Avenue loses ‘steepest’ title to Welsh street
Pittsburgh just lost a tiny bit of its steep mojo. For as long as we can recall, Canton Avenue in Beechview — with its 37% grade — has been the steepest street in the city. And the country. And the world. Now, that world title is no more. A street...
Polls show sour views of race relations in Trump’s America
Even before President Donald Trump’s racist tweets toward four Democratic congresswomen of color, Americans considered race relations in the United States to be generally bad — and said that Trump has been making them worse. On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the congresswomen should go back to the “broken and crime...
Facing censure, Trump insists ‘not a racist bone in my body’
WASHINGTON — Defiant in the face of widespread censure, President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that his tweets suggesting four Democratic congresswomen of color return to their countries “were NOT Racist,” and he appealed to fellow Republicans to “not show weakness” and to resist a House resolution condemning his words. “I...
Fire reported at Sons of Italy in Fayette County
Firefighters from multiple departments were battling a blaze at a Fayette County social hall Tuesday morning. The fire at the Sons of Italy on Rogers Avenue in Connellsville Township was reported shortly before 6 a.m., a Fayette County emergency dispatcher said. The fire was under control by 7 a.m., the...
