Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1859
Swede gets 4½ years for royal jewels heist
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A 22-year-old Swede was sentenced Friday to four and a half years in prison after he was convicted of stealing 17th-century Swedish royal treasures estimated to be worth $7 million from a cathedral last year. The Eskiltuna District Court said Johan Nicklas Backstrom stole two crowns and...
Powerful 7.5-magnitude quake hits eastern Ecuador
LONDON — A very powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck southern Ecuador in the early hours of Friday close to the country’s border with Peru, although no immediate reports of possible casualties or damage were available. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake happened at 5:17 a.m. (EST) 71 miles southeast...
Fugitive extradited from Israel to Pittsburgh on rape charge denied bail
Moshe Journo will not be cut loose a second time. Journo, 53, who had been on the run for about 15 years after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl inside his Dormont business in 2004, was denied bail Friday and is being held at the Allegheny County Jail,...
Belle Vernon superintendent, 3 board members resign
The Belle Vernon Area School Board this week accepted the resignation of three board members and received the intent of resignation from the superintendent, according to board solicitor Victor Kustra. Superintendent Michele Dowell and board members Aaron Bialon, John Nusser and Dan Sepesky all resigned, taking the nine-person board down...
Coast Guard lieutenant ordered held 14 days while prosecutors weigh terror charges
GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant spent hours on end planning a wide-scale domestic terrorist attack, even logging in at his work computer on the job at headquarters to study the manifestos and heinous paths of mass shooters, prosecutors say. He researched how to carry out sniper attacks,...
Israel flying to moon as a result of SpaceX launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch Thursday night by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel’s privately...
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan blasts RNC for ‘unprecedented’ steps to shield Trump from a primary
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who is flirting with a 2020 White House run, on Thursday accused the Republican National Committee of taking “unprecedented” steps to shield President Trump from primary challengers. Hogan, who is being courted by Republican dissidents seeking an alternative to Trump, told Politico in an...
Kevin Gorman: Hard to embrace Bob Nutting’s spin on Pirates’ payroll
BRADENTON, Fla. — Spend an hour asking Bob Nutting questions and the first thing baseball fans want to know is whether even the Pittsburgh Pirates chairman believes his own bull. The answer is an unapologetic yes. Nutting puts a politician’s spin on his ownership, with evasive answers that tend to...
White House says U.S. will keep 200 troops in Syria
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. “A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time,” White House press...
UPMC rejects state Attorney General Shapiro’s attempt to halt breakup with rival Highmark
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is overstepping his authority by attempting to force UPMC to work together with rival health system Highmark beyond this summer’s expiration of a state-brokered agreement, UPMC argued Thursday in court filings. UPMC asked the Commonwealth Court to reject Shapiro’s petition to rewrite a 2014 consent...
Kraft Heinz plunges near record low on $15.4 billion writedown
Kraft Heinz Co. recorded a $15.4 billion non-cash charge to write down assets including some of its most well-known brands, a striking acknowledgment that changing consumer tastes have destroyed the value of some of the company’s most iconic products. The packaged food giant’s charge to reduce the goodwill value of...
New Kensington business owner has big plans for Fifth Avenue buildingVideo
A New Kensington-based businessman has big dreams for a building he bought in November on Fifth Avenue. Sean Watson bought the building across Fifth Avenue from The Corner, an entrepreneur training center and co-working space that’s one of Penn State University’s innovation hubs it operates in association with its branch...
Construction of Allegheny Health Network’s mini hospital in Harmar stalled by land issuesVideo
Construction of Allegheny Health Network’s new neighborhood hospital in Harmar has been delayed as the company works to finalize leasing and land agreements related to the site. AHN officials initially hoped construction would start shortly after a ceremonial ground breaking last October, but the lot remains empty with no construction...
New election ordered in disputed North Carolina House race
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s elections board Thursday ordered a new election in the nation’s last undecided congressional race after the Republican candidate conceded that his apparent victory was tainted by evidence of ballot-tampering by political operatives working for him. The State Board of Elections voted 5-0 in favor of...
Penn State ex-president Graham Spanier’s request for appeal denied
HARRISBURG — Penn State’s president when the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal erupted may soon be going to jail after Pennsylvania’s highest court declined Thursday to hear the appeal of his conviction for child endangerment. The state Supreme Court ruled it will not take up Graham Spanier’s appeal of the...
Skeleton found in Pittsburgh backyard identified as woman who disappeared in 1964
Investigators have identified bones found a year ago in a Pittsburgh backyard as a woman who lived at the home in the 1960s. A DNA match from a living family member shows that the skeletal remains belong to Mary Arcuri, who purchased the house with her husband, Albert Arcuri, in...
17 people homeless after fast-spreading McKees Rocks fireVideo
Owners of homes in McKees Rocks damaged by a fast-moving fire returned Thursday to sift through the debris and salvage what they could. The Wednesday night fire ripped through three homes on Munson Avenue and left 17 people homeless, officials said. The American Red Cross provided emergency funding to help...
Designs unveiled for $1.1 billion Pittsburgh airport terminal
Airport officials unveiled concept designs Feb. 20 for a new landside terminal at the Pittsburgh International Airport — a $1.1 billion overhaul project proposed in 2017. The bright, airy, two-level design was inspired by Pittsburgh’s rolling topography. It features high ceilings, big windows and lots of greenery and natural light,...
Peter Tork, bassist for The Monkees, dead at 77
Peter Tork, one of the four lovable wisecracking musicians in The Monkees, died Feb. 21 at age 77. The Washington Post reports Tork’s death was confirmed by his sister, Anne Thorkelson. She didn’t divulge how or where he died. In 2009, Tork was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare...
‘Ugly produce’ trend may have limits, as grocers end tests
URBANDALE, Iowa — Is the “ugly produce’” trend already reaching the end of its shelf life in supermarkets? Walmart and Whole Foods in recent years tried selling some blemished fruits and vegetables at a discount, produce they said might otherwise be trashed because it’s not quite the right size, shape...
Authorities: 3 people found stabbed in Delaware County home
FOLSOM, Pa. — Authorities say three people have been stabbed at Pennsylvania home. But it’s not yet clear what sparked the stabbings, which occurred around 10 a.m. Thursday in Ridley. Authorities say the victims are all related. But their names and further details about them were not disclosed. The injuries...
Pope offers 21 proposals to fight abuse at start of summit
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit Thursday by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words. The tone for the high stakes, four-day summit was set at...
Police: Man says he stole Pepsi truck to get to the airport
TULSA, Okla. — Authorities say an Oklahoma man stole a Pepsi truck as the driver was unloading soda in the back. Tulsa police say no one was hurt. The driver jumped out of the back when he felt his rig move. A trail of sodas spilled out as the truck...
Paris wants Olympic debut for breakdance
PARIS — From the streets of New York to the Olympic podium: Breakdancing’s conquest of the globe seemingly knows no bounds. Getting hip to breakdancing’s appeal with young audiences, organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics want the dance sport that spread from New York in the 1970s to become a...
Nike probing Zion shoe malfunction that led to injury
NEW YORK — Nike says it’s investigating why Duke freshman Zion Williamson split a shoe open during a game against rival North Carolina. But the sportswear giant says it’s an “isolated occurrence.” The Beaverton, Oregon-based company says it’s concerned and says quality and performance of its products are of “utmost...
