Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1731
Port Vue man, 69, dies after falling from roof
A 68-year-old Port Vue man died Wednesday after he fell off a roof, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner identified the victim as Raymond Martini. The incident occurred in the 200 block of Loredo Street at about 3:15 p.m. He died an hour later at...
Plum School District’s assistant superintendent’s brother hired as new facilities director
Plum School District officials have hired Assistant Superintendent Rick Walsh’s brother, John, as their new facilities director. Board members voted 7-2 at a special meeting June 18 to approve the hire with a $82,000 starting salary. Board Vice President Vicky Roessler and Steve Schlauch dissented. Board President Scott Coulson and...
Pittsburgh police on track to equip nearly 900 officers with body cams, chief says
Two-thirds of the Pittsburgh police force now is equipped with body cameras, and all of the city’s nearly 900 officers will be wearing the recording devices by the end of the year, police Chief Scott Schubert said Wednesday in an annual report. The Tribune-Review reported in November that the plan...
Trump administration still looking for way to add citizenship question to censusVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was still looking for a way to include a controversial citizenship question on the 2020 census, even though the government has started the process of printing the questionnaire without it. The abrupt shift from the Justice Department came hours after President...
Husband charged in Somerset woman’s death after her body found buried under home
The husband of a missing Somerset County woman whose body was found buried underneath her home was jailed Wednesday on charges he murdered her, state police at Somerset said. James Dwayne Kline, 48, of Paint Township, was placed in the Somerset County Jail in connection with the death of his...
Former McGinnis Sisters store in Monroeville purchased for $1.7 million
The building that housed the former McGinnis Sisters in Monroeville is getting a facelift, but the new owners remain mum on plans. Glimcher Group, a commercial real estate firm based in Pittsburgh, purchased the property in April for nearly $1.7 million under 4301 Northern Pike Partners LLC. The firm did...
Fire destroys Jim Beam warehouse filled with 45,000 bourbon barrelsVideo
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A fire destroyed a massive Jim Beam warehouse filled with about 45,000 barrels of bourbon, sending flames shooting into the night sky and generating so much heat that firetruck lights melted, authorities said Wednesday. Firefighters from four counties responded to the blaze that erupted late Tuesday. Lightning...
‘Laugh-in’ comedic actor Arte Johnson dies at 90
LOS ANGELES — Actor Arte Johnson, who won an Emmy for comedy sketch work on the television show “Laugh-In,” has died early Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 90. Johnson died of heart failure following a three-year battle with bladder and prostate cancer, family representative Harlan Boll said. No services...
Search for Bolivar man is similar to father’s time on the lam
This isn’t the first time police have searched for a David McGinnis in the Bolivar and Fairfield Township areas. David Wayne McGinnis — accused of arson, insurance fraud and making terroristic threats — was on the lam from police for several months in 2010. Nearly a decade later, his son...
Lazy River, Cliffhangers remain closed at SandcastleVideo
This summer, Sandcastle’s Lazy River has been really lazy. The popular attraction, along with the water park’s Cliffhangers slides, have yet to open for the season. “In the off-season, we had such bad flooding, and then the water froze, which cracked the Lazy River’s fiberglass,” Tyler Saxon, sales and marketing...
McCandless man accused of exposing himself at North Park pool
Allegheny County police on Wednesday arrested a 62-year-old McCandless man who is accused of exposing himself to women at the North Park Swimming Pool. Christopher Steffy turned himself in on charges of indecent exposure and open lewdness, police said. He was arraigned and released on $10,000 unsecured bond. Police started...
Pet owners have some tools to fight veterinary sticker shock
That cuddly new puppy can be pretty intimidating if pet owners consider the veterinary bills it might produce. A pet’s torn knee ligaments or a broken leg that needs surgery could cost a few thousand dollars. Even stitches to close a bite wound after a scrap with another dog can...
Trump insists he’s not dropping citizenship question effort
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is insisting that he is not dropping efforts to include a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census, even as the U.S. Census Bureau has started the process of printing the questionnaire without the controversial query. Trump says in a tweet Wednesday that, “News Reports...
Scottdale man strangled 16-year-old girl, cops say
An 18-year-old Scottdale man is in the Westmoreland County Prison on $100,000 bond after borough police said he assaulted and strangled a 16-year-old girl during an argument this week. Ford B. Johnson II was arraigned before District Judge Mark Mansour in night court Monday on charges of strangulation, simple assault...
Fireworks won’t confound Pittsburgh’s gunshot detection system
Sophisticated algorithms mean Fourth of July fireworks don’t interfere with ShotSpotter, Pittsburgh’s gunshot detection system. The system gives police a better way to pursue illegal celebratory gunfire, said Dan Shak, the Public Safety Department’s technology manager. “We continually analyze incidents within ShotSpotter, looking at certain time periods during those holiday...
Pittsburgh lifts traffic restrictions on busy Grant Street
Pittsburgh on Wednesday lifted traffic restrictions on Grant Street, Downtown, following the completion of a brick pavement restoration project that began in May. The city on May 6 limited traffic to one lane in each direction between Seventh Street and Liberty Avenue for replacement of brick pavers and repairs to...
Professional fireworks shows still plentiful despite federal figures to the contrary
Business for display fireworks companies is booming, industry experts say, despite figures showing a dud when it comes to pounds of pyrotechnic goods sold over the past two decades. Between 2000 and 2018, there was a 31.5 million pound decrease in the number of display fireworks used in the United...
Driver guilty in Plum crash that killed junior firefighter, woman
A Saltsburg man will serve at least six years in prison for causing a crash in Plum that killed a junior firefighter from Tarentum and his girlfriend’s mother. Edward Leonard Cass III, 27, was convicted on all charges, including two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence....
Suspicious substance mailed to Boston Straight Pride planners was glitter
Three letters sent to organizers of Boston’s Straight Pride Parade raised red flags with their recipients. Boston.com reports Massachusetts police responded to the homes of the men — John Hugo, Mark Sahady, and Samson Racioppi. The letters contained no return address and, according to Racioppi, something inside that rattled. “I...
100 mph chase on Route 28 ends with crash near Fox Chapel
A Pittsburgh man wanted on a warrant was jailed early Wednesday after state police say he led them on a more than 100 mph chase down Route 28 in a stolen vehicle. Jozsef “Joe Ball” Harangozo, 36, was suspected of being “under the influence of controlled substances” as he fled...
Trump touts July 4 military ‘salute’; critics see politics
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is marshaling tanks, bombers and other machinery of war for a Fourth of July celebration that traditionally is light on military might, while critics accused him of using America’s military as a political prop. Under White House direction, the Pentagon was scrambling to arrange for...
Head-on collision on Route 28 in Armstrong County claims 2 lives
Two people are dead following a head-on crash of two pick-up trucks Wednesday morning along Route 28 in Mahoning Township, Armstrong County. State police identified the victims as Tyler Zeigler, 28, of Butler, and Mark Kirkpatrick, 59, of Summerville, Clarion County. The head-on crash happened on Routes 28/66 near Wadding...
Peter Frampton bids heartfelt farewell to Pittsburgh
Farewell tours are all the rage in the pop music world these days as aging rock musicians try to squeeze every dollar they can from new audiences excited about their music, or old ones who have never tired of it. Kiss, The Who (both of whom played PPG Paints Arena...
Cops: Jeannette man rammed police cars in attempt to escape arrest in Pittsburgh
A suspected drug dealer rammed his car into two police vehicles as he tried to escape arrest Tuesday, according to Pittsburgh police. Edwin Wylie-Biggs, 38, of Jeannette was wanted on a warrant for allegedly assaulting a woman, police said. Several undercover police cars surrounded Wylie-Biggs’ car on Merritt Avenue near...
Pets can be frightened of fireworks, storms, but help is available
The booms and sparkles of fireworks may delight the huddled masses of humanity who celebrate America’s Independence Day this week, but they can befuddle and terrify their four-legged counterparts. “They just get spooked,” said Gwen Snyder, manager of Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley, a New Kensington-based animal shelter. This is...
