Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1819
California shoplifter stuffs chain saw down his pantsVideo
A man stretched the limits of shoplifting, and his waistband, when he slid a chainsaw down his pants in a California store. Jeff Bennett of RG Equipment in Fresno told the Fresno Bee his security camera caught the suspect Wednesday stuffing the chainsaw blade in his pants and then covering...
Ozzy Osbourne injury delays 2019 Pittsburgh show
First Mick Jagger, now Ozzy Osbourne. Another septuagenarian British rock star has had to postpone a tour due to health reasons. Osbourne announced Thursday he is postponing all of his 2019 tour dates in North America and Europe, including a June 13 appearance at Key Bank Pavilion in Burgettstown, because...
Pittsburgh gun bills have little chance in courts, legal experts say
Legal experts gave Pittsburgh good marks for creativity in crafting ordinances aimed at regulating firearms in the city but said the bills have little chance of surviving the legal challenges that are sure to come. The courts might uphold some provisions in the package of bills, but the city would...
U.S. Steel: Equipment damaged in Clairton Coke Works fire repairedVideo
Desulfurization equipment at the Clairton Coke Works facility is back online and operational after over three months of repairs, U.S. Steel announced Thursday. The equipment has been down since a Dec. 24 fire at the facility caused significant damage and hindered the plant’s ability to clean coke oven gas, a...
Judge rejects lawsuit over Pennsylvania turnpike toll hikes
HARRISBURG — A federal judge is dismissing a lawsuit over Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases that are financing payments to help fund transit agencies. U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane ruled Thursday that a truckers’ organization didn’t adequately argue that the scheme violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution or the...
No bail for Pittsburgh man accused of beating grandson with belt
A judge Thursday denied bail for a Pittsburgh man who police say beat his grandson with a belt inside a school classroom after the boy misbehaved. Police said Harold Coates, 52, beat the boy in front of teachers in a Propel School classroom in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood. Coates told...
California woman fired from job after MAGA hat flap
A California woman who berated a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and encouraged others to “get this guy!” has been fired from her job. The confrontation began Monday at a Starbucks, according to the man who identified himself to NBC Bay Area as Victor. “This woman comes...
PNC Park apparently drops the ball, runs out of hot dog buns on ‘Buc Night’
PNC Park staged a hot promotion Wednesday to lure fans back after the Pirates dropped their Home Opener on Monday. Admission to the game on Buc Night was $1. Hot dogs were $1. Fountain drinks were $1 off. What more could a fan want? Buns. Organizers apparently miscalculated and ran...
Mt. Pleasant Twp. man KISSes $375 goodbye in concert ticket scam
A Mt. Pleasant Township man who wanted to attend the KISS Farewell Tour concert Saturday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh said goodbye to $375 in an online ticket scam, according to state police. The victim, who was not identified, bought three tickets for $125 each through someone who posted...
‘It hurts 10 years later’: Officers killed in Stanton Heights ambush honoredVideo
A decade of blue carnations and moments of silence, of “Taps” and bagpipes and of the same somber final roll call each year around 7:03 a.m. hasn’t lessened the pain. Hundreds of Pittsburgh police officers gathered Thursday at the city’s Zone 5 station — the “fightin’ fifth,” the sign out...
Arrest revives security concerns at Trump’s Florida estate
PALM BEACH, Fla. — As palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, Yujing Zhang approached Secret Service agents in the Mar-a-Lago parking lot. She said she was going to the swimming pool at the Palm Beach presidential estate and presented agents with two Chinese passports in her name. That raised...
Bethel Park police looking for man accused of trying to lure children with candy
Bethel Park police are investigating a report of a man attempting to lure children toward his car with candy. Police said between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the man approached several children in an apartment complex on Highfield Court. The suspect is described as a white male in his...
Woman dies after vehicle crashes into two homes in Fayette County
A 31-year-old Hopwood woman died early Thursday when her vehicle crashed into two houses in South Union Township, state police said. The woman was identified as Tiffany Minerd by Trooper Lauren Vernail. The crash occurred about 1:20 a.m. at 564 East Main Street. We're Following the CLOSURE of East Main...
Police: Fire at vacant Jeannette home intentionally set
State police have determined that a fire at a vacant home in Jeannette Tuesday afternoon was intentionally set. Firefighters were called to 133 N. Third St. just before 1 p.m. and found heavy fire in the back of the second floor that had moved into the attic, fire Chief Bill...
Penn State podcast: Bracket busters, Beaver Stadium memories and Blue-White preview
On this week’s show, Kevin helps teach the cast what a $250 bottle of beer tastes like (spoiler: not worth $250!), and the guys dig into a bracket-busting upsets in the Penn State Creamery’s Flavor Madness Tournament. Bracket-themed contests abound, as Champs in downtown State College battles to be named...
For families of fallen Pittsburgh officers, Stanton Heights anniversary marks ‘void that you can’t fill’
It’s April 4 again, but that doesn’t matter to Frances Kelly. Something each day takes her back to this date in 2009. Something makes her think of her son, Eric Kelly, and reminds her that he’s gone. Little inconveniences — getting a flat tire or needing to get the car...
How quiet Stanton Heights neighborhood tragically changed 10 years ago
Chris Shelton and Shawn Howering had never heard of Stanton Heights or the terrible events that happened there on April 4, 2009, when they moved to Pittsburgh from Baltimore in 2011. They had no idea when they started shopping for a house three years later that the one they picked...
‘Pittsburgh Dad’ welcomes first daughter
Curt Wootton, better known to his thousands of fans as “Pittsburgh Dad,” has played a father for years in his popular comedy sketches. On Wednesday, he finally became one for real. Wootton’s wife, Kaitlin, gave birth to the couple’s first child, daughter Penny Jean Wootton, Wednesday afternoon. The couple announced...
House chairman asks IRS for 6 years of Trump’s tax returns
WASHINGTON — A House committee chairman on Wednesday formally asked the IRS to provide six years of President Trump’s personal tax returns and the returns for some of his businesses as Democrats try to shed light on his complex financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest. The request by Massachusetts...
Celine Dion coming to Pittsburgh in 2020 for first U.S. tour in a decade
Superstar Celine Dion is hitting the road for her first U.S. tour in more than 10 years, and will be performing at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on March 13, 2020. The renowned singer’s eight-year residency in Las Vegas ends this summer, and her Courage World Tour starts this fall...
Joe Biden: I’ll be more mindful of respecting personal space
Former Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday that his tendency toward physical displays of affection and encouragement has made some women uncomfortable, and he promised to be “much more mindful” of respecting personal space. “Social norms have begun to change. They’ve shifted,” the 76-year-old Biden said in a cellphone video...
Pittsburgh-area billionaire Maggie Hardy ties the knot in Colorado
Standing on top of Aspen Mountain in Colorado, Maggie Hardy and Shawn Knox tied the knot. Hardy, the billionaire president of building supply company 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, is the daughter of Joseph A. Hardy III, who founded both businesses. After meeting last year, the Pittsburgh-area couple traveled...
Man dead, woman injured after being struck by train near Station Square
A 20-year-old man is dead and a woman is in critical condition after being struck by a train near Station Square on Pittsburgh’s South Side on Wednesday evening, according to the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. The two people were struck by a Norfolk Southern train between East Carson Street...
Mark Cuban on immigration policy: ‘We’re being really, really, really stupid’
DALLAS — Tech billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wasn’t shy Tuesday night when asked about the country’s immigration policy. When it comes to recruiting and retaining the world’s best talent, he said, the country’s got it wrong. “Right now, we’re being really, really, really stupid by taking really,...
Hempfield donor recipient thankful for ‘gift of life’Video
Heather Hunter of Hempfield wasn’t supposed to be at Excela Square at Norwin on Wednesday morning, talking about how a double lung transplant in September 2016 gave her a second chance at life. Doctors weren’t sure that Hunter, born with cystic fibrosis, would make it to see kindergarten, let alone...
