Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1844
Pennsylvania fishing license fees and an olive branch
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissioners are trying to meet anglers and state lawmakers halfway. Or, well, at least 30 percent of the way. Commission executive director Tim Schaeffer recently delivered his agency’s annual report to members of the House of Representatives game and fisheries committee. Much of his commentary –...
Chelsa Wagner, husband give their side in confrontation with Detroit police
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband on Saturday recounted their version of what happened early Wednesday during a confrontation with Detroit police. Their story contradicts the way Detroit police Chief James Craig characterized the encounter, in which Wagner’s husband, Khari Mosley, was handcuffed after being locked out of...
Allegheny County Jail hot water restored, normal operations, visitation resume
Visiting and normal operations will resume Sunday morning at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh after repairs to the water tower were completed and hot water was restored to the facility. A problem with the jail’s water tower prompted a modified lockdown at the facility through Sunday, officials said. Fixing...
Police seeking information in death of Manor Township woman
State police are seeking information about the death of a 40-year-old Manor Township woman. Alyssa Rene Claypool was found dead in her home early Saturday afternoon. Upon arrival, police found several used and unused stamp bags. Toxicology tests and an autopsy are scheduled to be conducted Sunday. Anyone with information...
Spring forward — and clean out the medicine cabinet
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. wants residents to consider cleaning out their medicine cabinets while they are setting their clocks ahead this weekend. He says it’s a good way for people to make their homes and the community safer. “The beginning of daylight saving time is the...
They go after suspected pedophiles while others watch online
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Many days, Brandi Lehrian wakes up to five or six text messages from men wishing her a good morning — and sometimes more. She spends most of the day and night letting multiple men believe that she can make their fantasies come true: No, she’s never been...
Pa. proposal aims to ease government efforts to reclaim records
State and local government records that have been stolen or have otherwise ended up in private hands without authorization would be much easier to reclaim under legislation that could pass the Pennsylvania House in the coming days. A bill scheduled for a vote this week would give the Pennsylvania Historical...
Freshman Trey McGowens snaps slump; Pitt beats Notre Dame to end skid
Jeff Capel had several reasons to smile Saturday. The final score, obviously, felt good for Pitt’s first-year coach. Pitt stopped a 13-game, nearly two-month losing streak with a 56-53 victory against Notre Dame at Petersen Events Center, escaping last place in the ACC. Now, the Panthers (13-18, 3-15) enter the...
R. Kelly: ‘We’re going to straighten all this stuff out’
CHICAGO — R. Kelly walked out of a Chicago jail on Saturday after someone who officials say did not want to be publicly identified paid $161,633 that the R&B singer owed in back child support. Kelly, who was ordered taken into custody on Wednesday by a judge after Kelly said...
Jayme Closs kidnapping suspect reportedly confesses in letter from jail
A man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs from her rural Wisconsin home in the fall after her parents were killed has purportedly written a letter from jail saying he regretted the crimes and committed them “mostly on impulse.” The letter supposedly from Jake Patterson, who was arrested in January...
Some Peoples Gas customers in Moon might not get service back until Monday
Nearly 1,000 Peoples Gas customers in Moon lost service Saturday morning because of a gas leak, and it might not be restored until Monday morning. A leak at a meter on Western Avenue was repaired Saturday afternoon, Peoples spokeswoman Jackie Ziemianski said. But gas company workers must go to each...
Boy, 16, wounded in overnight shooting in Wilkinsburg, police say
Allegheny County police are investigating an overnight shooting in Wilkinsburg that sent a 16-year-old boy to the hospital. The victim had multiple gunshot wounds but is in stable condition at a Pittsburgh hospital, police said. A 911 call shortly after midnight Saturday brought police to the 1500 block of Montier...
Harrold One Room Schoolhouse to open doors for events
It might not have a teacher standing in front of the chalkboard, but a historic school-turned-new event space promises to take guests back in time. The Harrold One Room Schoolhouse, which was built in 1881 and has recently been used by Hempfield Area School District students, is now opening its...
Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross
SALT LAKE CITY — A teacher in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah was placed on administrative leave after she forced a Catholic student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead. William McLeod, 9, had just returned to his school near Salt Lake City after attending Catholic...
Art Institute of Pittsburgh closes after attempt to sell it falls through
The hopes of keeping open the Art Institute of Pittsburgh were dashed Friday when the private school closed because its bankrupt owner had run out of money and a deal to sell the school fell through. The institute sent letters to students Friday announcing the closing, according to Tribune-Review news...
Trump surveys devastation, pays respects to tornado victims
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Standing near the slab that’s all that is left of one family’s garage, President Donald Trump on Friday surveyed the devastation wrought by a powerful tornado that ripped through a rural Alabama town, uprooting trees, tearing homes from their foundations and killing nearly two dozen people. “We...
Penguins announce new development team, start of construction at Civic Arena site
The Penguins on Friday announced a new team for redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and that the first phases of construction would begin by year’s end. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse said in a statement that the Buccini/Pollin Group would serve as master...
Smollett indicted on 16 counts stemming from reported attack
CHICAGO — A grand jury in Chicago indicted “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that he was attacked by two men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs. The Cook County grand jury indictment dated Thursday and made public on Friday gives details...
Authorities vow to aggressively rid Western Pa. of illegal opioid suppliers
Overdose deaths plummeted across Western Pennsylvania last year, but federal authorities said Friday they would continue working aggressively to further reduce the toll drugs are taking on the region’s communities. “Every person addicted to drugs is a son or a daughter, a mother or a father, a brother or a...
New Mexico moves toward legalizing recreational marijuana
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico took a step toward legalizing recreational marijuana when its House approved a bill that would allow state-run stores and require customers to carry a receipt with their cannabis or face penalties. The measure, narrowly approved Thursday following a late-night debate, mixes major provisions of...
Trout season in Pennsylvania: by the numbers
Trout season is coming, and the state Fish and Boat Commission is hard at work stocking streams and lakes across Pennsylvania. Stocking efforts started March 1 will continue into April in preparation for April 13, the statewide opening of trout season. A full list of upcoming trout stocking events is...
No injuries reported after gun fired inside South Greensburg business
No one was injured Friday when a shot was fired inside a South Greensburg tax law office, according to police Chief Scott A. Fanchalsky. Attorney Jeffrey Burzawa, 59, was charged with reckless endangerment and discharging of a firearm in an occupied structure. He was freed on $5,000 unsecured bond after...
Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to end seasonal time change
Pennsylvanians, like most Americans, will set their clocks ahead one hour by 2 a.m. Sunday, as the nation switches to daylight saving time. If House member Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County Republican, has his way, it will be the last time Keystone State residents “spring forward.” He intends to sponsor...
Jury convicts man of 3rd-degree murder for killing family in Thanksgiving Day crash
A jury Friday convicted Demetrius Coleman of three counts of third-degree murder in the 2016 Thanksgiving Day crash in North Versailles that killed a family heading to dinner, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors intend to argue that Coleman should face life in prison without the possibility...
State Rep. Kulik reintroduces ‘Alina’s Law,’ named for slain Pitt student
Another state lawmaker is trying to push forward with a law inspired by a University of Pittsburgh student murdered in 2017 by her ex-boyfriend. State Rep. Anita Astorino Kulik, D-Kennedy, on Thursday introduced House Bill 588, or Alina’s Law, a year after a similar bill passed the state Senate but...
