Police offer reward for information in Penn Hills murderVideo
Pittsburgh Crime Stoppers and the Allegheny County Police Department are asking for the public’s help in a murder investigation. Investigators are looking for information on the death of Brian Kelly “Popcorn” Dalton, 26, of Pittsburgh. They’re offering a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killers....
Feds tie spike in Western Pennsylvania bank robberies to opioid epidemic
Federal investigators believe a spike in bank robberies over the past several months can be tied to the opioid epidemic, agents said Thursday. There have been 28 bank robberies in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia since Oct. 1, a rate of about seven a month, according to Glen Galeone, a...
Jeff Bezos says National Enquirer threatened to publish revealing photos
LOS ANGELES — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday he was the target of “extortion and blackmail” by the publisher of the National Enquirer, which he said threated to publish revealing personal photos of him unless he stopped investigating how other private photos and messages were obtained by the tabloid....
Pittsburgh gang member sentenced for owning gun used in murder
A Pittsburgh gang member received a two-year prison sentence for illegally owning a gun that was used in a 2017 murder, according to the office of United States Attorney Scott W. Brady. Tre Goins, 24, did not commit the murder, but did provide the gun, according to Brady’s office. Goins...
State lawmakers meet to discuss air quality concerns following Clairton Coke Works fire
U.S. Steel representatives told a panel of state lawmakers Thursday that operations will not be business as usual following a fire at Clairton Coke Works that heightened concerns over the region’s air quality. “I’ll take responsibility,” Chris Masciantonio, U.S. Steel director of government affairs and public policy said. “I should...
Group to make its case for Sunday hunting this weekend at Penn State New Kensington
Allowing hunting on Sundays garnered some support in the past before fizzling and dying in the state Legislature. With a Senate committee’s recent passage of another Sunday hunting bill, the battle is on again, pitting hunting groups against farmers and even other outdoors enthusiasts. The state Senate Game and Fisheries...
Cops: Groom assaulted teen waitress at Bucks County wedding reception
In pictures he posted on Facebook of his country club wedding in Bucks County, Matthew Aimers is beaming in a tuxedo as he gazes over at his new bride. But the smiling photos belie the reality of his wedding day, when he was led away from the reception in handcuffs...
Police say they’ve seized $62k in drugs, guns from Monroeville house
Authorities say a raid at a house in Monroeville on Tuesday netted illegal drugs with a street value of about $62,000. Allegheny County and Monroeville police and the FBI on Tuesday searched a house in the 2500 block of Monroeville Boulevard. County police Inspector Andrew Schurman on Wednesday said they...
Ted Kopas announces re-election campaign for county commissioner seat
Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas said Thursday he will seek re-election for the seat he has held since 2010. Kopas, 45, a Hempfield Democrat, touted his role in enhancing economic development, upgrading county parks and reducing blight in communities throughout the county as well as his support of initiatives to...
Victim in Penn Hills crash identified
The victim of a fatal head-on crash Thursday in Penn Hills was identified as Steven Prazenica, 33, of Allison Park. Allegheny County homicide detectives believe alcohol was a factor in the crash which happened at 4:30 p.m. A Dodge pick-up truck traveling along the 12000 block of Frankstown Road toward...
Youngwood railroad museum gets early jump on Lenten fish fry season
Ray Alincic never thought he’d run a fish fry, let alone one that starts three weeks before the Lenten — and unofficial Western Pennsylvania fish fry — season kicks off. As manager of Station Cafe and board member of the Youngwood Historical and Railroad Museum for 14 years, Alincic is...
University of Pittsburgh-owned grocer opens, fills healthy food voidVideo
University of Pittsburgh junior Jason Earle has always traveled off campus by public transportation to buy groceries, taking hours out of his day. Now, he can simply walk out of class and down Forbes Avenue in Oakland and have his choice of fruits, vegetables, fresh meats and other healthy food...
County to borrow $44 million for new voting machines, other projects and to refinance debt
Westmoreland County commissioners said Thursday they won’t wait for more state funding — which could become available later this year — to buy a new voting system. “We have to move forward with this now so we have it in place before the presidential election. We want to make sure...
Analysis: Is socialism on the rise in the United States?
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump alleged in his State of the Union that the United States was on a dangerous course to socialism. On Thursday, democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) proposed a “Green New Deal” - which was instantly supported by several Democratic presidential candidates. The package isn’t socialism,...
Sex abuse allegation against deceased Pittsburgh Central Catholic teacher
A new abuse accusation has surfaced in the ongoing scandal involving the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, the latest involving a priest who died in 2004. The allegation against the Rev. John O’Brien dates back to the mid-1960s, according to an alert from the diocese. At the time, O’Brien was a...
Justice Department sues Philadelphia over supervised injection facility
The federal government has filed a lawsuit to block the city of Philadelphia from opening a site where people can go to illegally use drugs while under supervision, an effort aimed at preventing overdoses amid the nationwide opioid epidemic. The lawsuit sets up a court battle over whether such facilities...
County to pay $25,000 to Hempfield man who claims guards beat him in Westmoreland jail
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved a $25,000 out-of-court settlement with a Hempfield man who claimed he was “savagely beaten” by guards while incarcerated at the county jail. Kevan Kolling, 68, was arrested in December 2014 and charged with burglary offenses. According a lawsuit filed last year, Kolling claimed he...
Matthew Whitaker refuses to testify unless Dems drop subpoena threat
WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Thursday that he won’t appear before Congress unless a House committee drops its threat of a subpoena for his testimony, calling the Democratic-led move an act of “political theater.” The statement from Whitaker came soon after the House Judiciary Committee approved a...
Deer Lakes students losing spring break days to make up for cold cancellations
Students in the Deer Lakes School District are losing three of their spring break days to make up for days lost to the recent bitterly cold weather. Deer Lakes was among the numerous districts that cancelled classes on Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1 because of the cold and icy...
Vet sentenced for implanting heroin in puppies as drug mules
NEW YORK — A veterinarian who surgically implanted liquid heroin in puppies on behalf of Colombian drug traffickers was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday. One of the puppies went on to become a drug-detection dog named Heroina. The sentence for Andres Lopez Elorez was announced in Brooklyn by...
Federal jury awards $2.2M to sex abuse victim of former Pittsburgh school cop
A federal jury on Thursday awarded $2.2 million to a man who was sexually abused by a Pittsburgh Public Schools police officer in the late 1990s, a crime for which the former police officer is already serving a lengthy prison sentence. Robert Lellock, 50, is five years in to a...
Monessen police chief seeks district judge job
Monessen’s police chief the past 12 months wants a new job as the district judge for Monessen and the Pricedale and Webster sections of Rostraver. Chief James B. Smith, who has only headed the department since February 2018, announced Thursday he is running for the district judge’s post vacated by...
Ice jam on Allegheny River in Armstrong County starting to break up
An almost 9-mile-long ice jam in Armstrong County is slowly breaking up between the Mosgrove and Rimer locks and dams on the Allegheny River. Flooding is a threat in areas with tributaries north of Kittanning in the Allegheny River area, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the...
Pa. Supreme Court justice denies benefit from alleged stolen union funds
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice who is the brother of an indicted Philadelphia labor leader is denying that he knowingly benefited from any money allegedly embezzled from the union. The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday cited five unidentified people familiar with the investigation as confirming Justice Kevin Dougherty is...
‘The View’ host Joy Behar under fire for use of blackface
NEW YORK — Joy Behar and ABC were silent Thursday after an old photo resurfaced of “The View” co-host using makeup to darken her skin for a Halloween costume, the latest flashpoint in a series of blackface scandals making national headlines. The 76-year-old didn’t mention the clip on Thursday’s show,...
