Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1724
Lancaster man accused of sex abuse at Kenyan orphanage he founded
Federal prosecutors say a Pennsylvania man sexually molested four teenage girls at a Kenyan orphanage he founded with a church’s help. U.S. Attorney William McSwain announced charges Friday against 60-year-old Gregory Dow, of Lancaster, hours after Dow was taken into custody. McSwain says Dow fled Kenya in September 2017 after...
Woman charged in connection with stabbing in Murrysville
A woman was arrested early Friday after being accused of stabbing a Murrysville man during an argument inside his home. Shalonda White, 43, who lists addresses in Murrysville and Homestead in court records, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault and simple assault in connection with an incident that occurred...
Labor Secretary Acosta resigning amid Epstein deal scrutiny
WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Friday he is resigning following renewed scrutiny of his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Esptein , who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. President Donald Trump, with Acosta at his side, made the announcement...
Man fatally beaten after stealing car with kids inside, Philadelphia cops say
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say a man who stole a car with three young children inside was fatally beaten by their father and other men. Philadelphia police say the car was parked at a pizza restaurant with its engine running when the man drove off around 9:15 p.m. Thursday. The children’s...
T-shirts remind Dr. Phil that, yes, there is a Slippery Rock University
Remember that time Slippery Rock University and Dr. Phil got into a spat? SRU does. The university had T-shirts made to commemorate the dust-up, and some of the proceeds will go into a student scholarship fund, according to spokeswoman Rita Abent. In April, Phil McGraw, the TV celebrity therapist better...
Volkswagen investing $2.6B in Ford-owned, Pittsburgh-based Argo AI
DETROIT — Volkswagen will sink $2.6 billion into a Pittsburgh autonomous vehicle company that’s mostly owned by Ford as part of a broader partnership on electric and self-driving vehicles, the companies confirmed Friday. The two automakers will become equal owners of Argo AI, a robocar firm that was majority-owned by...
Leechburg man killed in Route 66 motorcycle crash
The Armstrong County coroner said a Leechburg man was killed Friday morning when he lost control of his motorcycle along Route 66 in Gilpin. Coroner Brian K. Myers identified the victim as 55-year-old Ronald M. Mego. Myers said Mego was traveling north toward Leechburg just before 6:30 a.m.when he lost...
Flooding recedes in Westmoreland Co.; roads reopened
Flood waters have receded in Westmoreland County after a day of storms that pushed the Pittsburgh area ahead of 2018’s record-setting precipitation. Roads that were closed by flooding Thursday had reopened by Friday morning, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. A section of Guffey Road in the southwestern part of...
R. Kelly arrested in Chicago on federal sex charges
CHICAGO — Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago Thursday on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick said the R&B singer was taken into custody about...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 12-14
Temperatures are expected to be in the low to mid-80s, so get out and enjoy this weekend. There’s plenty to do. Cheers! The Pittsburgh Summer Beerfest is Friday and Saturday at Stage AE on the North Shore. Guests will enjoy an unlimited sampling of hundreds of craft beers. Selections include...
Man fatally shot in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood
A man was fatally shot Thursday night in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood, police said. Officers responded around 10:30 to the 100 block of Millbridge Street, where they found the man dead on a sidewalk of gunshot wounds, public safety spokesman Chris Togneri said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office identified the...
Officials: Uniontown man found dead with dog biting at neck
Police are investigating after a Uniontown man was found dead in his home Thursday morning with his dog biting his neck, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The news station identified the man as 52-year-old Homer Utterback, who investigators say suffered from seizures. Officials believe Utterback had an episode and fell...
North Versailles police found missing 81-year-old man
A missing 81-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease was found safe late Thursday night. North Versailles police were searching for the man around 10:50 p.m. after he was reported missing a half hour earlier. The man was last seen in the 1,000 block of Clinton Street wearing a white t-shirt and...
Groups to host Greensburg vigil against refugee detention camps
Voice of Westmoreland, a nonpartisan community group that works to give everyone a voice, is hosting a candlelight vigil Friday, “to end human detention camps” on the U.S.’s southern border. Members of the group will join the community to “protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees in our own country,”...
9 people rescued in Penn Borough after onslaught of rain
Nine people were rescued in Penn Borough on Thursday afternoon by the Penn Township Ambulance Association’s swift water rescue team. Eight adults were rescued from Style Right Industries on Cole Street after the building became surrounded by water, said Edgar Grant, director of the association. Not knowing how high the...
McKeesport woman gets life sentence for smothering 17-month-old son
A McKeesport woman was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for suffocating her 17-month-old son because she thought her boyfriend was cheating on her. Christian Clark, 24, won’t be eligible for parole, according to the sentence handed down by Allegheny County Judge Edward J. Borkowski, who also tacked on an...
Westmoreland sees flooding, damage during torrential rainVideo
Roads scattered across Western Pennsylvania — including some major highways — closed Thursday as heavy rains caused flooding throughout the region. In North Huntingdon, a sinkhole opened outside of a North Huntingdon daycare center, forcing its evacuation. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning at 7:30 Thursday evening for...
Democratic presidential hopeful Gillibrand touts health-care policies in Pittsburgh
Presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand kicked off her “Trump Broken Promises” bus tour in Pittsburgh on Thursday, meeting with health care workers at the Hilton Garden Inn in Oakland to present her policies against rising health care prices and to support union workers. “I will make sure that workers’ rights are...
Daughters rode in inflated pool as mom drove it home atop car, police say
A mother in Dixon, Ill., trying to transport an inflated pool from her friend’s house to her own Tuesday had her two juvenile daughters ride inside the pool as she drove with it atop her SUV, police said. Jennifer A. Janus Yeager, 49, has been charged with child endangerment and...
Man killed in Homestead after answering knock at front door, police say
A 20-year-old man was shot and killed Thursday morning when he answered a knock at the door of a house in Homestead, Allegheny County police said. Police said he was at home with family members when he answered the knock at about 9 a.m. and was shot several times by...
Accused Arnold killer already was on the run from police
The man accused in a fatal Arnold shooting last month already was on the run from police before he became a murder suspect. Court records show Allen Duwayne Herring, 32, of Braddock was wanted for failing to appear in Westmoreland County Court in February to face drug possession charges filed...
Jeannette woman accused of assaulting boy during argument over cellphone
A Jeannette woman was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly assaulted a boy under 12 years old during an argument over a cellphone, city police said. Nicole L. Gogolsky, 39, was charged with simple assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal trespass. She was arraigned before District...
Pennsylvania must get tough on crime guns, prosecutor says
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office says it wants to improve the management and use of firearms-sales databases so that law enforcement can better clamp down on gun violence. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that he wants police departments to enter serial numbers from every crime gun into a law-enforcement...
Expect another huge blob of algae on Lake Erie this summer
TOLEDO, Ohio — Scientists are likely to warn that another massive harmful algae bloom will blanket western Lake Erie this summer when they release their forecast. It will be released Thursday. Researchers are expecting that record-setting rains in Ohio and neighboring states in recent months will fuel a large mass...
Council delays vote on Monroeville pool sale
Monroeville Council delayed a vote that would put the municipality’s public pool up for sale, giving a committee time to get answers for concerned residents. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) has said it will purchase Monroeville Community Pool along Abers Creek Road for $956,000 when pool season ends in September....
