Madasyn Lee stories, Page 9

State police say a Jefferson Township man admitted taking photos of two underage girls while they were in a bathroom and had dozens of images of child pornography on his cellphone. Joshua Michael Pethtel, 33, allegedly told troopers he would take photos of the girls from an outside window, knowing...

DNA evidence helped police identify a man who they said burglarized a Leechburg home nearly four years ago, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. Derek Justin Hare, 32, of Vandergrift is accused of breaking into his former employer’s Spring Street home and taking $100 on Sept. 2, 2016....

A pilot suffered minor injuries after his bright yellow Piper J-3 Cub plane ran off a runway and flipped onto its roof at the Rostraver Airport on Sunday, officials said. The call came in shortly after 2:45 p.m. as an “aircraft down” at the airport. According to a Westmoreland County...

A Penn Hills home suffered minimal damage Sunday morning after leftover materials from a campfire burned through a storage container on the back porch, a fire chief said. The fire was reported around 2 a.m. at 252 Springwood Drive. No one was injured. Chief Al Wickline of Penn Hills Station...

No one was injured after welding machines caught on fire at a Shaler warehouse on Sunday morning, a firefighter said. The blaze was reported shortly after 7 a.m. at V B Fabricators Inc., a metal fabricating warehouse located at 1467 Glenn Ave. Firefighters arrived at the warehouse to see heavy...

Local and federal officials are warning people not to ingest hand sanitizers as more people turn to the popular cleansing agent to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are liquids, gels or foams that can disinfect hands. Such products should contain only ethanol or isopropanol. But...

When life hands you a pandemic, you still make lemonade — to find a cure. “Even though there is a virus, Alzheimer’s is still out there and I want to make my ‘Joe Joe’ happy and not make anyone else suffer from this,” said Brody Toy, 8, of West Leechburg....

Deer Lakes School District released additional details regarding its modified reopening plan, which the school board is expected to vote on next week. A key modification to the plan applies to the district’s in-person learning option, which was made based on community feedback, district officials said. Should the district not...

A Delaware County man previously charged with domestic assault was arrested Tuesday after he was found hiding inside a North Apollo home where the assault occurred, according to police. Police said Devante Grant, 21, of Lansdowne isn’t allowed in the Allison Avenue home because he previously assaulted a woman who...

A 26-year-old man was taken to the hospital in critical condition Tuesday afternoon after he was shot near an elementary school in Wilkinsburg, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said they detained a 29-year-old man who they believe was responsible for the shooting. They did not identify him. The shooting...

The West Deer Police Department plans to hold its annual golf outing this month despite the coronavirus pandemic that has prompted many organizations to cancel similar fundraising events. “We’re actually very excited,” police Chief Jon Lape said. “Whatever it takes and however we have to social distance and all that,...

Retail giant Walmart will open nine additional covid-19 drive-thru testing locations at stores across Pennsylvania this week, most of them in Western Pennsylvania, state health officials announced Monday. But one health expert is concerned those sites will do little to help control the outbreak. “It is an important goal to...

Cassius Saulsgiver was a happy kid who always woke up with a smile. He went to bed with one, too. “He just loved life,” said his mom, Dominique Kemp. “He just loved everything. Everybody. You could be a complete stranger and he’d warm up pretty quick.” Two-year-old Cassius tragically died...

Ian Coyle isn’t letting a canceled fundraiser stop him from doing something nice for people. Coyle, founder and president of the nonprofit Semper Gratus, will be handing out Semper Gratus cups and gift baskets at Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Leechburg on Aug. 16. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Coyle had...

Pennsylvania’s registered voters strongly approve of coronavirus-related safety guidelines suggested by state and federal health authorities, a recent poll shows. According to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll, two in three, or 68%, registered voters believe it is “extremely important” to wear a mask whenever they leave home, and close...

The covid-19 pandemic isn’t stopping West Leechburg from thanking its first responders. But the borough will have to celebrate them a little differently this year. For this year’s National Night Out, the West Leechburg Crime Watch Committee is holding a car parade instead of the usual community get-together. National Night...

President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has not appeared to change registered voters’ overall perception of him much in Pennsylvania, a new poll shows. A Franklin & Marshall College Poll released Thursday said 29% of registered voters think the Trump administration is doing an excellent or very good job...

A New Kensington nonprofit store dedicated to helping the less fortunate is still open for business despite being burglarized earlier this week, its executive director said. Habitat for Humanity Allegheny Valley said someone broke into Habitat’s ReStore, which resells donated goods in the city’s Parnassus neighborhood, and made off with...

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine on Tuesday broke her silence about people who have harassed and directed transphobic comments at her in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. At the start of a news briefing, Levine said she felt compelled to “personally respond to the multiple incidents of...

A Fox Chapel man accused of killing another man and leaving his body near the Settlers Ridge Road home he shared with his parents has been deemed “legally incompetent” to stand trial, his attorney said Tuesday. Adam Rosenberg, 22, is charged with homicide and other offenses in connection with the...

Starting Aug. 1, members of Planet Fitness won’t just be banned from grunting. They’ll be banned from going bare-faced too. The fitness club company said the mandatory mask mandate for all members and employees was put in place to ensure that all gym members can “gym confidently in a safe...

A 27-year-man died after he was shot Sunday morning in Wilkinsburg, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said the man was shot inside his vehicle at the intersection of Ardmore Boulevard and Marlboro Avenue shortly before 11:30 a.m. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died. Witnesses...

The percentage of Pennsylvanians being tested for covid-19 is among the lowest rates in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Commonwealth came in 47th out of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with 8,244 tests performed per 100,000 people, the...