Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1796
McKeesport man accused of flushing grandparents’ ashes down toilet
A 33-year-old Pittsburgh man is accused of flushing his grandparents’ ashes down a toilet after his mother kicked him out of her McKeesport residence. McKeesport police said Thomas Porter Wells of Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood had a falling out with his mother last September after she complained about his drinking and...
Rod Rosenstein submits letter of resignation to Trump
WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted his resignation Monday, ending a nearly two-year run defined by his appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between President Trump’s campaign and Russia. His last day will be May 11. Rosenstein’s departure had been expected since the confirmation of William...
Pittsburgh’s new North Side fountain dedication set for Thursday
The restoration of the reconstructed historic Northeast Fountain in Allegheny Commons Park in Pittsburgh will be celebrated during a ceremony Thursday evening. The event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will be held at the corner of Cedar and North Avenues, which intersect the park. In addition to...
John Singleton, maker of ‘Boyz N the Hood,’ dies at 51
NEW YORK — Director John Singleton, who made one of Hollywood’s most memorable debuts with the Oscar-nominated “Boyz N the Hood” and continued over the following decades to probe the lives of black communities in his native Los Angeles and beyond, has died. He was 51. Singleton’s family said Monday...
Whole Foods to become anchor tenant of Pittsburgh Penn Plaza development
Whole Foods Market is signing on to be the anchor tenant to a large redevelopment project in East Liberty, officials said. The project’s developer, LG Realty Advisors, made the announcement Monday that Whole Foods has signed a lease to occupy 50,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level...
Officials: Army veteran’s plan to bomb Nazi rally thwarted
LOS ANGELES — An Army veteran who converted to Islam and discussed launching various terror attacks throughout Southern California was arrested as he plotted to bomb a white supremacist rally as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks, federal prosecutors said Monday. Mark Domingo, an infantryman who served a combat...
Airport authority board member who invested in OneJet resigns
The vice chairman of the Allegheny County Airport Authority board has resigned. Robert Lewis submitted his resignation letter to County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on March 22, stating in the letter that he has found “the political environment surrounding public service to have become toxic.” Lewis could not immediately be reached...
U.S. measles cases top 700, with many illnesses among kids
NEW YORK — Measles continues to spread in the United States, with more 704 cases reported so far this year in 22 states. U.S. health officials on Monday updated the national tally. It has already eclipsed the total for any full year since 1994, when 963 cases were reported. The...
Man’s pickup explodes at Burger King drive-thru in Arkansas
BEEBE, Ark. — A man who was driving his pickup truck through a central Arkansas Burger King drive-thru has suffered severe burns after the vehicle exploded at the window. Ron Daniel told KARK that he had just picked up a propane tank and decided to stop for a couple burgers...
9-year-old was bullied, attempted suicide, and now will be mayor for a dayVideo
In just a little more than a month, 9-year-old Nico Pampena endured the torments of bullying, a thwarted suicide attempt, a 28-day, in-hospital behavioral health program — and, then, gladly accepted an invitation to be mayor for a day in Lower Burrell. Pampena will be the featured star for Lower...
Officials ID man found dead near South Side tracks
Authorities have identified a man found dead on Pittsburgh’s South Side last week. Pittsburgh police responded about 8 a.m. Thursday to a wooded area near train tracks on South Seventh Street above East Carson. Steven Michael O’Brien, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Allegheny County Medical...
Felicity Huffman to plead guilty in admissions scam next month
BOSTON — “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman will plead guilty on May 13 to charges that she took part in a sweeping college admissions cheating scam. Huffman had been scheduled to enter her plea in Boston federal court on May 21. A judge on Monday agreed to move up the...
Murrysville massage parlor owner ordered back to jail
A Mt. Pleasant woman accused of being part of a human trafficking and prostitution ring through four massage parlors she ran in Monroeville and Murrysville is back in jail on allegations she threatened a co-defendant. Hui Xu, 44, who state police allege owned and operated four Tokyo Massage parlors where...
Beaver County firefighters rescue ducklings from storm drainVideo
A brood of ducklings trapped in a Beaver County storm drain were rescued by firefighters, according to a video posted on the Chippewa Township Fire Department’s Facebook page. The video, posted Sunday, shows a firefighter in the drain carefully picking up the ducklings and placing them into a plastic bin...
Polymath Park opens second Frank Lloyd Wright home in Mt. Pleasant TownshipVideo
After a years-long relocation and rebuild, a second Frank Lloyd Wright home now stands in the woods of Polymath Park in Mt. Pleasant Township. On Monday, CEO Tom Papinchak welcomed friends and family to the opening of Mäntylä, which is Finnish for “under the pines.” After dismantling the original Lindholm...
L.A. Taco truck turns out authentic Mexican ‘street food’ in the Alle-Kiski ValleyVideo
Taco Tuesday can be yours. L.A. Taco, a food truck primarily serving the Alle-Kiski area since 2012, rolls into Saxonburg, Buffalo Township, Ford City and Kittanning weekly, selling authentic Mexican tacos, burritos and quesadillas. “My husband, Walter, is Latino and from L.A., moved here, and was a student at IUP,”...
McKean County crash that killed 4 Pittsburghers ‘one of the worst’
Two children on their way to see their father were killed Saturday in a crash that first responders described as one of the worst they have seen. Ashley L. Smith was driving an SUV with her two stepchildren and Teonna L. Herring inside when she crossed into oncoming traffic and...
Man killed in Penn Hills hit-and-run crash identified
Allegheny County Police are investigating a hit-and-run crash that killed a man Sunday night in Penn Hills. Joseph Morris, 51, of Pittsburgh, was found dead by police in front of 1841 Universal Road in Penn Hills after Allegheny County 911 received multiple calls around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police and paramedics...
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to complete addition of lead inhibiting chemical
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Monday will complete the last phase of adding a lead inhibiting chemical to its water system, officials said Friday. PWSA will begin adding orthophosphate, which coats the inside of pipes and prevents lead from leeching into drinking water, at the Highland 1 Reservoir...
Developer wants to add sandy beach, lagoon, Ferris wheel to North Shore
Imagine sipping a rum cocktail on a veranda overlooking a sandy beach with the setting sun reflecting off clear, blue water. In Pittsburgh? Yes, says Lucas Piatt, president of Millcraft Investments, a Washington-based development company. Millcraft is planning a $700 million complex dubbed Esplanade next to Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh’s...
Firefighters union endorses Joe Biden ahead of Pittsburgh rally
The International Association of Firefighters on Monday became the first major union to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, citing his close ties to firefighters and record of supporting union causes throughout his career. Harold Schaitberger, the union’s general president, said the organization pushed for Biden to run and was...
Trump did ‘nothing wrong’ to warrant impeachment, Sen. Lindsey Graham contendsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday that President Trump did “nothing wrong” to warrant impeachment and removal from office, pushing back at Democrats who want the House to consider proceedings. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a stalwart Trump defender, had strongly advocated for...
Stephen Moore, Trump’s Fed nominee, apologizes for past comments about womenVideo
Stephen Moore, President Trump’s likely nominee for an opening on the Federal Reserve Board, apologized Sunday for his past controversial comments about women that caused a firestorm last week. Moore, a longtime conservative commentator, has come under scrutiny for columns he wrote in the National Review in the early 2000s...
Monroeville girl’s murder spurs father on crusade against teen dating violence
The majority of teen dating violence episodes — 83% — follow a bad breakup. That statistic alone, had Demi Brae Cuccia or her parents known it in 2007, might have been life-saving. “If my daughter had an assembly and she learned that, she wouldn’t have maybe let this boy come...
William Barr may withdraw from Mueller report hearing over terms of testimony, House Democrats sayVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats and the Justice Department are in a standoff over the terms of Attorney General William Barr’s planned testimony before the House Judiciary Committee this week, raising the prospect that the hearing might not go forward at all. A senior Democratic committee aide said Sunday that Barr risks...
