Police: Derry Township man raped, choked Ligonier Township woman
A Derry Township man allegedly choked a Ligonier Township woman while raping her in September, according to court papers. Khachek Alexan Hamerski, 26, was arrested Wednesday on charges of rape, sexual assault, strangulation and related offenses. Police said Hamerski went to his accuser’s home on Sept. 7 at 4:30 a.m....
Hearing set for proposed Harmar food pantry, worship site
Harmar officials denied a zoning permit to an organization hoping to offer Bible study classes and food pantry services to the Alle-Kiski Valley. Feeding the Flock Ministries hopes to move into a former Jehovah’s Witness hall at 490 Nixon Road. But township officials denied its application because it isn’t a...
East End police chase nets one person in custody
A brief police chase through Wilkinsburg overnight ended with one person in custody. The incident started at about 1:30 a.m., WPXI reported. It traveled through East Liberty and lasted about 20 minutes. Police were able to stop the suspect in the area of Broad Street and North Atlantic Avenue in...
Irwin postpones amusement tax, will work with Lamp Theatre officials on issueVideo
After a heated discussion that at times turned into a shouting match, Irwin officials this week decided to table a controversial proposed amusement tax that would slap a 5 percent charge on tickets sold at entertainment venues such as The Lamp Theatre. Instead of potentially voting on the tax at...
Reactions laud, slam Trump’s SOTU address
Here are a few responses from around the country to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night: “The President should have pledged tonight “no more shutdowns” and committed to taking additional steps to help the 820,000 federal employees recover from the adverse impact of his government...
Abrams rebuts Trump: ‘We do not succeed alone’
ATLANTA — Stacey Abrams stepped onto the biggest stage of her political career Tuesday and accused President Trump and his fellow Republicans of abandoning working Americans and fomenting partisan and cultural discord. The Georgia Democrat introduced herself to the nation months after narrowly losing her bid to become America’s first...
In State of the Union, Trump shares the power but needles Democrats
WASHINGTON - Over his shoulder, a female speaker of the House. In the audience, a sea of suffragette white. President Donald Trump spent his last two speeches to Congress surrounded by men. But on Tuesday, in the glare of television spotlights, he began his State of the Union address with...
State of the Union puts Western Pa. residents in the national spotlight
Tuesday night might have seen the first State of the Union address where the halls of Congress rang out with the sounds of “Happy Birthday.” Senators, representatives, Washington officials and guests spontaneously broke into the celebratory song after President Trump recognized Judah Samet. Samet arrived late to the Tree of...
5 takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union address
President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address in a divided Washington Tuesday night. Here are some big takeaways: 1. A discordant call for unity From the start, it was clear Trump wanted his speech to be remembered as a call for bipartisanship, a high-minded missive about common...
Fact check: What Trump got right and wrong in his State of the Union address
WASHINGTON — The Associated Press is fact-checking remarks from President Trump’s State of the Union speech. Here’s a look at some of the claims we’ve examined: TRADE-NAFTA TRUMP: “Our new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — or USMCA — will replace NAFTA and deliver for American workers: bringing back our manufacturing jobs, expanding...
Penn Hills School District financial recovery officer has been selected
State Department of Education officials have selected former Wilkinsburg Superintendent Daniel Matsook as Penn Hills School District’s financial recovery officer. The state placed the district in financial recovery in January after being in financial watch the past two years. Matsook, who once worked as Wilkinsburg’s liaison during a transition of...
Hawaii lawmaker proposes bill setting legal smoking age at 100
Lawmakers in Hawaii have proposed legislation that would begin phasing out cigarettes in the state, banning them altogether within the next several years. At least, for people younger than 100. The bipartisan bill, HB1509, aims to raise the legal minimum age to use cigarettes to exclude everyone but centenarians by...
Mister Green: Saint Vincent professors working on book about Fred Rogers, the environmentalist
Even when it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Fred Rogers knew that wasn’t always the case in the world outside. In April 1990, on the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, he devoted a week of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” episodes to environmental themes and ways that his viewers —...
Cranberry EMS veteran fired over camera in women’s room
A member of Cranberry Township EMS is facing charges after, police say, he put a hidden camera in a women’s restroom. WPXI-TV reports that Matt Leonard, a 12-year veteran of the EMS company, was charged Tuesday with invasion of privacy by viewing or photographing a person without consent and invasion...
Woman taken to Western Psych after SWAT situation in Friendship
A woman was taken into custody and transported to a mental health facility following an incident with Pittsburgh police Tuesday night. Public Information Officer Chris Togneri said Zone 5 police officers attempted to serve a mental health warrant on a woman at a residence along the 100 block of Roup...
After 2 years of rancor, Trump to call for unity in address
WASHINGTON — After two years of bitter partisanship and personal attacks, President Trump will call for unity and cross-party cooperation in Washington during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, a message likely to ring hollow with Democrats determined to block his push for a border wall. Trump’s prime-time address comes...
Republican reactions to Wolf’s budget proposal run the gamut
Republican lawmakers’ reactions on Tuesday to Gov. Tom Wolf’s $34.1 billion 2019-20 budget proposal varied from cautious optimism to accusations of fiscal recklessness. “I thought the governor’s budget address had a positive message and I thought his emphasis on workforce development was significant and a goal that we all have...
Sunday hunting clears first hurdle in state Senate
The State Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Tuesday approved legislation for the Pennsylvania Game Commission to allow Sunday hunting. The bill still has to go to the Senate floor for a vote and then to the state House for approval before being sent to Gov. Tom Wolf. Efforts over the...
Model-actress Dayanara Torres says she has skin cancer
NEW YORK — Actress Dayanara Torres says she has skin cancer and is awaiting news on the treatment to follow as a result of having undergone two surgeries. The former Miss Universe said in an Instagram post Monday that doctors have “already removed a big area from the back of...
Loyalhanna nurse served her country, community
Kathleen Michelle Rudy of Loyalhanna and her family believed in serving their country. Her father served in World War II and her brother in the Vietnam War. She served with the Army’s 339th General Hospital Reserve Unit in Pittsburgh. “Michelle was a really kind-hearted person,” said her brother, Paul Rudy...
Plum school board member says anti-Muslim Facebook share was ‘accidental’
Some residents are calling for the resignation of a Plum Borough School District board member after he shared a social media post that has been criticized as being anti-Muslim. Brian Wisniewski, who is in his second year of his four-year term on the board, shared a Facebook post Feb. 1...
Bogus charity phone calls resurface in Indiana County
State police in Indiana County on Tuesday alerted area residents to a possible phone scam in the form of a bogus charitable solicitation. Police received a tip Tuesday from an Indiana County resident who reported receiving several recent phone calls from someone who claimed to be representing a “state police”...
Stephen Yakopec Jr. out as Lower Burrell solicitor
For the first time in 26 years, Stephen Yakopec Jr. won’t be the solicitor for Lower Burrell. City council on Monday voted 4-1 not to renew the city’s contract with Yakopec, according to Mayor Richard Callender. “I’ve been friends with Steve for years,” said Callender, who voted against renewing Yakopec’s...
After 20 years police in 2 states link dead mother and son
Decades after the unidentified bodies of a woman and a 10-year-old boy were found in separate states beside a Southern interstate highway, investigators now say they were a mother and son and the boy’s father has confessed to killing them. The case was cracked thanks to an online DNA database,...
Trump judicial nominee Neomi Rao backs away from remarks on date rape
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s nominee to replace Brett Kavanaugh on a high-profile appeals court backed away from language she used as a college student in writing about sexual assault, race and equal rights for women. “To be honest, looking back at some of those writings … I cringe at some...
