Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 658
Arrest warrant issued for mother convicted in 2009 drowning of baby in Monessen
A former Monessen woman who served 10 years in prison for the death of her 7-month-old son soon could be back behind bars. Seairia D. Henderson, 35, now of North Charleroi, failed to appear in a Westmoreland County courtroom Thursday for a hearing during which prosecutors sought to revoke her...
McKeesport teen suspected in 2021 shooting arrested in Pittsburgh’s West End, sheriff says
A McKeesport teen wanted in connection with the 2021 shooting of a girl in Clairton has been arrested, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said Friday. Anthony Gibson, 18, was charged in May 2021 after police said he fired multiple shots near the Soft Serve and Dee-Lights ice cream shop...
Morning Roundup: Grand jury to hear testimony on Pittsburgh Airbnb shooting
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, May 26: Grand jury to hear testimony over Pittsburgh Airbnb shooting More than a year has passed since two people were killed and eight injured in a mass shooting at an Airbnb in Pittsburgh’s North Side, but now...
Authorities identify man shot and killed in Oakland bar
A 55-year-old man who was shot and killed early Friday in an Oakland bar has been identified. The deceased is Calvin Baldridge of Pittsburgh’s North Oakland, according to an Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s report. The shooting occurred after an argument between two men inside Chief’s Cafe on North Craig Street,...
Excessive screen time a factor in loneliness, mental health risks for youth
Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts on the impact of isolation and loneliness. Michele Wentzel can tell when one of her three children is troubled. “They kind of isolate themselves and are very moody,” she said. “I can tell something’s going on.” Wentzel keeps the lines of...
Springdale’s iconic smokestacks set for implosion
The skyline in the Lower Valley will look different after June 2. According to authorities, that’s the day the Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestacks will be imploded at around 8 a.m. Local police will be coordinating with the Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group, the plant’s owner; Grant Mackay Co., the general...
GOP field in Pennsylvania Senate race still wide open as Doug Mastriano says he won’t run
HARRISBURG — A hard-right Pennsylvania state lawmaker said Thursday night that he will not challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, leaving the GOP field wide open as Republican Party officials try to recruit a strong candidate in the moderate battleground state to help capture a Senate majority in 2024. Doug Mastriano,...
Inmate dies days after being booked at Allegheny County Jail
An Allegheny County Jail inmate died Thursday just days after being booked, according jail officials. A 60-year-old man, who’s name has not been released, was brought in by a local police department on a bench warrant for retail theft from another county and booked on Monday, the jail report read....
Neighbors stunned by Harrison nurse’s arrest
Some colleagues who worked with Harrison nurse Heather Pressdee referred to her as the “Angel of Death,” according to one former co-worker. “Things continued to happen with her patients — rapid response calls and ‘code blue’ calls — more often than what anyone would consider normal,” said Adam Kissell, 29,...
Pittsburgh school board member critical of superintendent’s response to Oliver violence
A Pittsburgh school board member whose district includes Oliver Citywide Academy accused the superintendent of being “more concerned with the aesthetics of looking good in public than taking any real action” a day after a deadly shooting at the Marshall-Shadeland school. Oliver student Jaymier Perry, 15, of Hays, faces homicide...
Jury set for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
The people who will determine if Robert Bowers lives or dies include a Catholic and a Protestant, an ICU nurse, a real estate manager, a paralegal, a postal worker, a parole board employee, an event manager and a brand-new father. They are among the 11 women and seven men who...
Supreme Court limits EPA protection for wetlands, ruling for property rights over clean waterVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday limited federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, ruling for property rights over clean water. In a 5-4 decision, the justices said the Clean Water Act does not forbid discharges of pollutants into marshy areas or dry creek beds because water does...
Ex-Greensburg police chief accused of taking backpack of drugs from evidence room
Former Greensburg Police Chief Shawn Denning, who resigned in January after his arrest by federal authorities, is facing more trouble as Westmoreland County detectives on Thursday charged him with taking items from the department’s evidence room. Denning, 42, of Delmont, is charged with theft, conspiracy and three counts of tampering...
Bethel Park police lieutenant charged in illegal immigrant transport case
A Bethel Park police lieutenant was taken into federal custody Thursday afternoon after authorities said he transported an illegal immigrant. FBI spokesperson Catherine Coennen confirmed that Lt. Blake Thomas Babin, 59, of Bethel Park, is in custody. He is facing a felony charge of transporting an illegal immigrant, according to...
Braddock man gets 12 to 24 years in prison for role in fentanyl ring
A Braddock man was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in prison for running a million-dollar fentanyl drug ring. Domonique Taylor, 39, pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking, gun possession and money-laundering charges, state Attorney General Michelle Henry said Thursday. In March 2022, the state Attorney General’s office and local...
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON — Oath Keepers extremist group founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after winning the 2020 election. Rhodes,...
Lawsuit claims Leechburg school officials failed to protect 8th grader from being raped in restroom
The mother of a former middle school student alleges in a lawsuit filed against the Leechburg Area School District that a lack of supervision during an after-school program allowed another student to rape her daughter in a school bathroom in 2021. The civil lawsuit filed in Armstrong County Court by...
Pittsburgh implements new outdoor dining standards
A Pittsburgh commission voted Wednesday to standardize outdoor dining options in the city and streamline the process of getting city approval for outdoor dining areas. Restaurants need to apply for permits to use sidewalks and streets for outdoor operations. Pittsburgh’s Public Art & Civic Design Commission approved setting standards for...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh’s Heidi isn’t the sole ‘Survivor;’ Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in his first TV seriesVideo
Going into this 44th season of CBS’s “Survivor,” Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt of Jefferson Hills described a strategy of head-down, don’t-rock-the-boat, no-nonsense play. That worked for almost the entire season. It was clear from the first episode, in which she was barely featured, that Lagares-Greenblatt likely was in it for the long...
Kennywood launches Spinvasion, a new ‘extra-terrestrial’ rideVideo
Kennywood is debuting its newest addition just ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Spinvasion, a multi-action spin ride, is the first of its kind in the U.S., according to the amusement park. The ride, which comes as part of the newly revamped Area 412 section of the park, opens Friday....
Pa. State troopers more likely to do optional searches for Black, Hispanic drivers than white ones
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. Black and Hispanic drivers were slightly more likely to face discretionary searches during traffic stops in Pennsylvania last year, according to...
Jeannette woman accused of faking abduction may owe $11,500 for emergency response
A Jeannette woman accused by police of faking her own abduction could enter a probationary program that includes the possibility of paying nearly $11,500 in restitution for costs related to the massive, hourslong search for her. Chloe Stein, 23, waived her right to a preliminary hearing Thursday after attorneys negotiated...
Harrison nurse charged in deaths of 2 patients, injuries to another
A Harrison woman is charged with killing two patients and injuring a third while she cared for them as a nurse. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced charges Thursday against Heather Pressdee, 40, who is accused of administering unnecessary doses of insulin to patients, resulting in the deaths of two...
Baby boomers push nation’s median age to almost 39 as fewer children are born
The United States grew older, faster, last decade. The share of residents 65 or older grew by more than a third from 2010 to 2020 and at the fastest rate of any decade in 130 years, while the share of children declined, according to new figures from the most recent...
Federal rule could remove chocolate milk option in some Pa. schools
Young students could soon be without chocolate- and strawberry-flavored milks as an option at school cafeterias, if a federal proposal is approved, and some Pennsylvania officials are cautioning against the potential change. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently proposed banning flavored milk as a cafeteria option for elementary and middle...
