Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1829
Second eaglet hatches at Pittsburgh’s Hays bald eagle nest
A second baby eagle has emerged at the Hays bald eagles nest, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania officials announced Monday afternoon. “It’s a really fun time of year for us,” Audubon Communications Director Rachel Handel said. “I think it’s one of the most engaging ways we come in contact with...
‘Wiesenthal: Nazi Hunter’ spotlights tolerance, benefits Tree of Life fund
He is nicknamed the “Jewish James Bond.” Simon Wiesenthal survived 12 Nazi concentration camps and made a name for himself by doggedly hunting down and bringing to justice Nazi criminals, including Adolf Eichmann. Now he is the subject of a one-man, one-act play called “Wiesenthal: Nazi Hunter” opening Tuesday at...
Commissioner Cerilli won’t comment on campaign money from dead man tied to massage parlor prostitution ring
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Monday refused to comment on $1,900 in donations her campaign received from a deceased family friend implicated in a human trafficking and prostitution ring at area massage parlors. According to campaign finance records, Cerilli received four donations from Henry “Sonny” Caruso dating to 2015,...
Federal bump stock ban goes into effect Tuesday; none turned over to ATF in Pennsylvania
With the bump stock ban looming, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it is not aware of anyone turning a single one in at the field office in Pittsburgh or the dozen other offices across the state, a spokeswoman said. The final rule promulgated by the...
Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s prayer in Pennsylvania House generates backlashVideo
HARRISBURG — A freshman Republican’s opening prayer Monday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives drew complaints that it was inappropriately divisive. Rep. Stephanie Borowicz began the day’s session with a Christian invocation that thanked Jesus for the honor and President Donald Trump for standing “behind Israel unequivocally.” “At the name...
Pittsburgh would pay teen $77,500 to settle police brutality lawsuit
Pittsburgh and a West End company that provides security at Heinz Field would pay a South Park man $97,500 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging a former city police officer assaulted him and violated his civil rights during high school football championships at the stadium in 2015. Gabriel Despres, 23,...
Police: Road rage made Arnold man attack truck with golf club
An Arnold man told police he struck another man’s truck with a weighted golf club this month because the other man cut him off in traffic and slammed on his brakes in front of him, according to a criminal complaint. Theodore Clayton Volkar, 47, admitted that he got out of...
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner arraigned on felonies in Detroit
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband were arraigned Monday afternoon in Detroit on charges related to an altercation with police at a hotel earlier this month. After the brief hearing, Wayne County Judge Ronald Giles set a $5,000 personal bond with no travel restrictions for each defendant, Wayne...
Editorial: Mueller, Rosfeld and what justice looks like
We have a Hollywood fairy-tale idea of justice. It’s something that makes the hurt go away and heals rifts. Maybe sometimes that’s true. It would be nice if it was. But justice doesn’t always look like that. In Pittsburgh, a significant number of people look at the Michael Rosfeld verdict...
Loyalhanna Twp. man, 15-year-old boy accused of shooting 4 bulls, killing 2Video
State police charged a 60-year-old Loyalhanna Township man and 15-year-old boy with shooting four bulls with a crossbow at a nearby farm over St. Patrick’s Day weekend and then attempting to cover up the incident. Shaun D. Ross was arrested on charges of agricultural vandalism, ecoterrorism, aggravated cruelty to animals,...
As students walk out for Antwon Rose, his mother urges Woodland Hills students to stay putVideo
As hundreds of students marched in Downtown Pittsburgh to honor Antwon Rose II, kids at Woodland Hills High School, where Rose was a student, stayed put. They stayed at the request of Rose’s mom. “There is nothing to accomplish by walking out,” Michelle Kenney said to the group of Woodland...
Michael Avenatti charged with trying to extort millions from Nike
LOS ANGELES — Michael Avenatti, the pugnacious attorney best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, was arrested Monday on charges that included trying to shake down Nike for as much as $25 million by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti, who was also...
Photo shows Earth equally balanced with day and night on spring equinox
A stunning new photo of the Earth captures the balance of day and night near the spring equinox. The image shared by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the world perfectly aligned at the start of spring on last Wednesday. You can see the lights of American cities and...
State officials urge farmers to apply for disaster relief aid
Farmers swamped by last year’s record rainfall may be eligible for relief aid thanks to a disaster declaration from the federal Farm Service Agency. Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday urged eligible farmers to apply for aid in advance of the next growing season. Farmers across the region said they suffered...
Father of Sandy Hook victim found dead of apparent suicide
HARTFORD, Conn. — The father of Avielle Richman, one of 20 first-grade students and six educators killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, was found dead of an apparent suicide at Edmond Town Hall early Monday, police said. The death of Jeremy Richman, 49, appears to be suicide, police...
Jury foreman in Rosfeld trial says ex-cop ‘has a right to do what he did’
Jesse Rawls Sr. believes Antwon Rose II would be alive today had he not run from police. “When someone jumps out of a car that you know was just involved in a drive-by shooting, would you assume that they’re not armed?” said Rawls, the foreman of the jury from Dauphin...
West Mifflin’s Nate Walker goes to hospital on ‘American Idol’ episode
There’s always drama on “American Idol,” and Sunday night’s Hollywood Week episode was no different. Unfortunately, the drama came from the sudden illness of Nate Walker, with the West Mifflin singer heading off to the hospital. Walker started feeling sick after a soulful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in...
Dick’s Sporting Goods closing Century III Mall store
A sign at the declining Century III Mall in West Mifflin says the Dick’s Sporting Goods store there is closing on Saturday. The notice follows a decision by a bankruptcy judge earlier this month to reject the Dick’s lease at the mall, where the sporting goods retailer has had an...
Police: Woman attacked child, driver of vehicle on Route 30 in Hempfield
A Mt. Oliver woman was arrested Saturday after state police said she slapped a 6-year-old boy repeatedly in a moving vehicle and attacked the driver. Troopers found an open can of malt beverage Four Loko in the backseat where Christina Dawn Hall, 38, was sitting, according to court papers. Hall...
Some Americans cheer Mueller conclusion, others disappointed
PHILADELPHIA — The first glimpse into the special counsel’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election did little to mend a gaping American political divide. The four-page summary of Robert Mueller’s probe released by Attorney General William Barr didn’t satisfy many who wanted more details. But in a bitterly...
Apple takes on Netflix, will debut streaming TV service this fall
CUPERTINO, California — Apple says its new subscription TV service will be available this fall. But the company isn’t saying yet how much the service will cost or when exactly it will launch. Apple announced the service, Apple TV Plus, at an event Monday in Cupertino, California, where it also...
Trump declares victory now but legal perils far from over
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump may be reveling in what he sees as “complete and total exoneration” from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but his legal perils are far from over. Federal and state investigators in New York are deep into investigations of their own into Trump and those...
Mueller finds no Trump collusion, leaves obstruction open
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence President Donald Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of...
Bingo and bongs: More seniors seek pot for age-related aches
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. — The group of white-haired folks — some pushing walkers, others using canes — arrive right on time at the gates of Laguna Woods Village, an upscale retirement community in the picturesque hills that frame this Southern California suburb a few miles from Disneyland. There they board...
Pennsylvania’s 2020 Democratic primary could be competitive
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Beto O’Rourke’s splashy campaign event in Pennsylvania last week appeared to herald the start of the state’s presidential primary season. But if Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party faithful are searching for a favorite from among the crowded 2020 primary field, it may be in vain. Early-voting states typically make...
