Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1858
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to close 2 schools, merge 2 others next school year
Bishop David Zubik announced Saturday that two Catholic schools will close next school year, while another two will merge to form a new school. St. John Bosco Academy in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood and St. Agnes School in West Mifflin will close, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Saturday. St. Malachy...
Cyber charter school costs are under the microscope
Tiffany Nix, superintendent of Leechburg Area schools, watched in frustration for years as hundreds of thousands of dollars went out the doors of her small, cash-strapped district with families who enrolled their children in cyber charter schools. “We were paying $13,000 to $24,000 a year for each of them. It...
Police say DNA, debit card, receipt all point to Penn Hills man charged with fatal 2017 crash
A Penn Hills man has been charged with causing the death of a woman driver in a 2017 head-on crash in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood. Pittsburgh police charged Taariq Tyler, 22, with homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment and other related charges on Friday, Feb. 22 after determining his rental pick-up...
Sheriff: No likely survivors in cargo plane crash near Houston
HOUSTON — A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner heading to Houston with three people aboard disintegrated after crashing Saturday into a bay east of the city, according to a Texas sheriff. Witnesses told emergency personnel that the twin-engine plane “went in nose first,” leaving a debris field three-quarters of a mile...
Route 130 in Hempfield reopens after crash caused 2-hour closure
State police have reopened a section of Route 130 in Hempfield after a head-on crash closed it for two hours on Saturday, said a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch official. The road reopened at about 5:15 p.m. It was shut down at 3:15 between Oakford Park and North Greengate roads as...
Sen. Feinstein debates children over climate change
SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a group of San Francisco Bay Area students squared off over climate change in a sometimes tense exchange captured on video and widely shared on social media. The 15-minute video of the impromptu Friday meeting captures the students and Feinstein debating the...
Steelers draft picks set after NFL omits them from list of compensatory picks
Don’t look now, but the NFL draft is only nine weeks away. And now the Pittsburgh Steelers officially know exactly at which spots they will be selecting. With the league’s release of awarded compensatory picks Friday – the Steelers did not receive any picks – the final order of selection...
Fire displaces Hampton townhouse residents
Residents a Hampton townhouse were evacuated after emergency crews responded to a fire Saturday morning. Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported the fire happened on Red Oak Court and that there were no injuries reported. Calls to fire and police officials were not immediately returned....
Attorney for Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held appeals for acquittal
The attorney for embattled Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held contends at least six errors were made during his December public corruption trial, and according to a detailed appeal filed this week, wants the two remaining criminal charges against Held to be dismissed. Held, 44, of Hempfield, is currently awaiting a...
Man takes stand to deny flipping woman to her death in a Pennsylvania river
SCRANTON, Pa. — A man accused of hurling a woman to her death in a northeastern Pennsylvania river two years ago took the stand to deny that he was responsible and accuse police of lying about an alleged confession. Ryan Taylor, 26, said Friday he blacked out after smoking synthetic...
‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin celebrated by Google Doodle
Google’s home page Friday featured the original Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, cuddling a croc. The legendary Australian outdoorsman’s 57th birthday would have been Feb. 22, (it was also the date of National Wildlife Day this year) so it was doubly appropriate the search engine pay homage by showing the man...
WWE legend Ric Flair surprised with 70th birthday party
Ric Flair not only had a hard time “holding these alligators down,” he had a hard time holding the tears back Friday. “The Nature Boy,” as he was commonly known as during his days in the squared circle, was surprised with a 70th birthday celebration in Atlanta, with attendees ranging...
Patriots owner Kraft denies charges of soliciting prostitute
JUPITER, Fla. — Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, faces charges of soliciting a prostitute after he was twice videotaped in a sex act at a shopping-center massage parlor in Florida, police said Friday. The 77-year-old Kraft denied any wrongdoing. The case comes amid a crackdown...
Chicago police: Singer R. Kelly arrested at precinct
CHICAGO — R&B star R. Kelly was taken into custody after arriving Friday night at a Chicago police precinct, hours after authorities announced multiple charges of aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17. The 52-year-old singer, whose real name is...
Retired cop on Garfield skeleton discovery: ‘This is the end of the story.’
Retired Pittsburgh police Assistant Chief Therese Rocco knew Albert and Mary Arcuri intimately. She was godmother to their daughter. Her family and the Arcuri’s were neighbors when Rocco lived in the Lower Hill District. She described the couple as loving parents and great people. But unsettled details started to add...
Judge brokers deal on Rivertowne Pub equipment
A federal bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh on Friday brokered a deal between owners of the former bankrupt Rivertowne Pub & Grille in North Huntingdon and the man who bought the tavern’s inventory last month so the buyer can remove the tables, chairs, coolers and freezers from the site. U.S. Judge...
Deal near in civil rights lawsuits over Pennsylvania prison mail policy
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania prison officials said Friday they were close to settling two federal lawsuits over how the system processes mail sent to inmates by their lawyers. The Department of Corrections and civil rights groups involved in the lawsuits announced a settlement was being finalized after a trial was stopped...
High wind watch issued for Sunday; gusts up to 55 mph forecast
Strong winds forecast for Sunday could bring down trees, limbs and power lines, leading to scattered power outages. A high wind watch will start Sunday morning and run until Monday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Redmond said Friday. Sustained winds of 15-to-30 mph are expected, with gusts up to...
Police: ‘Very large marijuana dealer’ arrested in Hempfield
A Hempfield man who police described as a “very large marijuana dealer” was arrested Friday after a search of his home. Nickolas Boyd Hobaugh, 28, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. Investigators seized more than 55 pounds of marijuana and 2,200 vape pens that contain THC,...
New Brighton woman charged after child tests positive for fentanyl
A Beaver County woman was charged this week after her 11-month-old son was rushed to the hospital and tested positive for fentanyl and three other drugs, Aliquippa police said. Michelle Bradley, 30, of New Brighton called 911 on Feb. 6 because her boy was unresponsive and barely breathing, according to...
Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution after he was twice videotaped paying for a sex act at an illicit massage parlor, police in Florida said Friday. Jupiter police told reporters Friday that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn’t been arrested. A warrant will be...
Condemned home collapses in landslide-riddled area of Perry North
No one was injured when a condemned home in Pittsburgh’s Perry North neighborhood collapsed Friday, city officials said. The city ordered the home at 45 Semicir St. to be evacuated a year ago. Officials said the home wasn’t demolished because the hillside was insecure, causing unsafe conditions for contractors to...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 22-24
Here are some fun ways to spend the final weekend of February in Pittsburgh. Back after a break Singer Michael Buble will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at PPG Paints Arena, Uptown. His newest release “Love” is his eighth major studio album for Reprise Records. Buble returned to the stage...
Troopers seize 510 pounds of marijuana on Pennsylvania Turnpike
State police on Thursday seized 510 pounds of what they suspect to be marijuana from a box truck traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to court papers. Mark Joseph Doyle, 63, of Oregon, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. Troopers stopped the truck in Mt. Pleasant...
Landslide closes section of Freeport Road in Springdale Township
A section of Freeport Road in Springdale Township closed Friday because of a landslide could potentially stay shut down until Monday as officials worry more debris could fall. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the slide, reported to PennDOT about 7 a.m., closed Freeport Road between the New Kensington Bridge and...
