Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 762
Corporate exec pleads guilty to forging fake divorce papers to keep up affair
A North Huntingdon corporate executive pleaded guilty Thursday to forging a judge’s name on a fake court record as part of a plot police said was designed to convince his lover to continue an extramarital affair. Dennis George Durmis Jr., 50, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform...
PPG to drop naming rights to Pittsburgh aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo will start the new year with a new, but not unfamiliar, name. PPG and the PPG Foundation will relinquish their naming rights to the aquarium at the zoo, the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh and PPG announced. Beginning Jan. 1, the name will return to Pittsburgh Zoo &...
Westmoreland Mall seeing strong holiday turnout
It seems as if — at least this holiday season — what was old is new again at Westmoreland Mall. On a December afternoon, the mall is buzzing with happy shoppers, hungry food court patrons and cheerful Christmas tunes. Children wave to their parents from the Christmas train, a kiosk...
Lori Falce: Are we ready for killer robots?
I am OK with robots. Hey, I’m a product of my time. I grew up with R2-D2 and C3PO. My siblings and I were just sharing pictures of Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit” in our chat group this week. I married a sci-fi nerd who adored the various metal monsters...
Louisiana officers charged in Black motorist’s deadly arrest
FARMERVILLE, La. — Five Louisiana law enforcement officers were charged Thursday with state crimes ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a death authorities initially blamed on a car crash before long suppressed body-camera video showed white officers beating, stunning and dragging the...
Twitter suspends journalists who wrote about owner Elon Musk
Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists who cover the social media platform, the latest battle over what can and cannot be said on the site since billionaire Elon Musk took control of it. Accounts of reporters with The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America and other...
Crash in Penn Hills leaves 5 people hospitalized, 1 critical
A woman was in critical condition Thursday night and three other women and a child riding with her were also hurt in a two-car crash on Frankstown Road in Penn Hills. An Allegheny County Police spokesman said the crash occurred at about 6:50 p.m. in the 10900 block of Frankstown...
Senate passes defense bill rescinding covid vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON — A bill to rescind the covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the Senate on Thursday and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The bill provides for about $45 billion more for...
GOP seeks vote in May on Dem vacancies in House power struggle
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House’s Republican leader on Thursday submitted paperwork seeking to wait until the May primary before holding special elections in two vacant districts, the latest move in a power struggle over control of the nearly evenly divided chamber. Republican Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County sent Allegheny...
Medical marijuana company to lay off workers at McKeesport growing facility
Trulieve, a medical marijuana company with locations throughout Pennsylvania, is laying off an unspecified number of people at its growing facility in McKeesport. The company said in a statement the cuts are the “result of greater efficiencies throughout our supply chain and retail operations in the state.” “Where possible, we...
16-year-old Monessen boy charged as adult in fatal November shooting of another teen
A 16-year-old Monessen boy has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting last month of another Monessen teen. Terry Newton is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Amari Altomore, 16, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced Thursday. Newton, who was not in custody as of...
Tensions boil over in UPMC hearing over secret recording
A court hearing over a secretly recorded conversation between two UPMC physicians on Thursday devolved into shouting and threats to have an attorney jailed before cooler heads prevailed. Dr. James Luketich, the head of cardiothoracic surgery for UPMC, filed a motion for an injunction to prohibit the use of the...
House approves referendum to ‘decolonize’ Puerto RicoVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. The bill, which passed 233-191 with...
Democrat Dave Fawcett announces run for Allegheny County Executive
A former Allegheny County councilman said Thursday that he is running to replace outgoing County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Attorney Dave Fawcett, 64, of Oakmont, said he is seeking the Democratic nomination in next year’s race. He joins a growing Democratic field, which already includes Allegheny County Councilwoman Liv Bennett, Pittsburgh...
Trump, quiet since announcing reelection bid, makes ‘major announcement’ to hawk trading cards of himself
Former President Donald Trump has kept a low profile since announcing last month that he’s running for president again. That is, until Thursday. Trump took to social media and the internet to make what he called “a major announcement.” No, it wasn’t to announce his running mate or weigh in...
Crews shut down homeless encampment on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Pittsburgh officials on Wednesday shut down a homeless encampment in the city’s North Side and helped to relocate most people who had been living there. City officials worked to develop “transition plans” for people living at the encampment along Stockton Avenue near Sue Murray Pool before closing it down and...
White House reveals winter covid-19 plans, more free tests
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is again making some free covid-19 tests available to all U.S. households as it unveils its contingency plans for potential coronavirus surges this winter. After a three-month hiatus, the administration is making four rapid virus tests available through covidtests.gov starting Thursday, a senior administration official...
Ohio truck driver pleads guilty to causing fatal crash on Interstate 70
Sheila Walton dabbed tears from her eyes as she told a Westmoreland County judge that the Ohio truck driver who initiated a fatal rear-end collision two years ago on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon changed her family forever. Walton’s 27-year-old son, Dillon Walton of New Stanton, was killed as he...
A holiday gift? Reopening Fern Hollow Bridge will clear some headaches for businesses, customers
For almost a year, driving around parts of Pittsburgh’s East End has been pretty tricky. With the Jan. 28 collapse of Fern Hollow Bridge, an important artery connecting the Squirrel Hill and Regent Square neighborhoods and points beyond, traffic jams and detours — and the stress that comes along with...
Donations down as Salvation Army kettle drive nears final stretch before Christmas
Todd Harris’ well-wishing bellows and bell ringing can be heard throughout a Hempfield parking lot when he’s on duty. The Greensburg man is dedicated to volunteering for The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, ringing a bell so much during his shifts that he hears it in his sleep. He is...
Caution advised as freezing rain slicks roads north, east of Pittsburgh
Commuters in the Pittsburgh metro area should be seeing mostly wet roads Thursday morning, but icy conditions could be encountered north and east of the city, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Temperatures in most of the Pittsburgh area were above freezing as of about 5:30 a.m. with just rain...
Pittsburgh police arrest 2 men after a chase on and off the Parkway, at least 2 cars struck
Two men were arrested by Pittsburgh Police after a chase ended in a crash downtown Wednesday evening. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz reported plainclothes detectives saw a man wanted on a federal drug warrant in the parking lot of a gas station at Beechwood Boulevard and Browns Hill Road shortly...
Former Lt. Gov. candidate Carrie Lewis DelRosso won’t run for late state Rep. Tony DeLuca’s seat
Carrie Lewis DelRosso will not seek the Republican nomination for representative of the state House’s 32nd District. The former Oakmont councilwoman and most recently lieutenant governor candidate made her announcement Wednesday. “After much consideration and many discussions with my family and colleagues, I have decided not to be a candidate...
House passes bill to extend government funding for 1 weekVideo
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House passed a short-term spending bill Wednesday to keep government agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 23, giving lawmakers more time to craft a roughly $1.7 trillion appropriations package that would cover the full fiscal year. Congress faces a deadline of midnight Friday to pass...
Hearing on secret recording between UPMC doctors continues
A surreptitious recording of a conversation between UPMC’s head of cardiothoracic surgery and the doctor treating him with suboxone was “part of a years-long vendetta,” an attorney for the hospital behemoth said in court on Wednesday. UPMC attorney John Conti argued during a preliminary injunction hearing that circumstantial evidence in...
