KDKA’s Julie Grant leaving station for ‘dream job’ at revived Court TV
Julie Grant, a reporter, legal editor and anchor at KDKA-TV, will leave the station for the relaunch of Court TV in May. Grant, 37, wrote on her Facebook Wednesday that “only a dream job like this” could make her leave and that she would be moving to Atlanta in the...
Greene County man faces attempted homicide charges in Fayette kidnapping, beating
A Greene County man is accused of attempted homicide, kidnapping and assault after police said he kept a man against his will and beat him with his fist, a belt and a gun over the course of several days, at a Fayette County residence where a murder was committed just...
Report: Ohio pipeline damaged in explosion part of same system damaged in 2016 incident
The natural gas pipeline in Noble County, Ohio, that exploded on Monday is part of the same system that had an explosion in Salem Township in 2016, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Monday’s explosion on the Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline in Noble County in eastern Ohio resulted in one injury, the...
Multi-week Australia heatwave is blasting through records, threatening wildlife
A multi-week heatwave in Australia has parched the landscape, triggered damaging wildfires, pushed the demand on the power grid to the brink and has toppled at least two significant records as of Thursday. The first record was broken twice in one night Jan. 18, when the low temperature in Noona,...
Confused about REAL ID? This Q&A session could help
State Sen. Lindsey Williams and Rep. Sara Innamorato have scheduled a workshop for Friday in Millvale to help constituents navigate Pennsylvania’s REAL ID program. Starting in October 2020, state residents will need federally accepted identification such as a REAL ID drivers license for domestic air travel or to enter a...
Bogus AT&T rep tried to scam Allegheny Township resident
Allegheny Township Police are warning residents of unsolicited phone calls from someone falsely claiming residents are eligible for a phone service upgrade. Police say someone claiming to be a representative of AT&T called a township resident recently and tried to scam them into releasing credit card information. The bogus caller...
High heat but no record: 2018 was 4th warmest year on Earth
WASHINGTON — While Earth was a tad cooler last year than the last couple of years, it still was the fourth warmest on record, a new analysis shows. With the partial U.S. government shutdown, federal agency calculations for last year’s temperatures are delayed. But independent scientists at Berkeley Earth calculate...
Natural gas impact fee revenue expected to be up this year, agency says
A state agency projects that natural gas impact fee collections for 2018 will exceed those from 2017 by $37.4 million. Total collections on the impact fee for 2018 are projected to be $247 million, according to the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office. Should the projection hold, it will be the largest...
Fetterman to launch statewide listening tour on merits of recreational pot
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will wade into the weeds to gauge public interest in legalizing recreational marijuana during a 67-county tour of the state beginning Saturday in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, Fetterman, the former Braddock mayor who was sworn in as lieutenant governor last week, said he is planning a...
Regent Square’s Istanbul Sofra temporarily closed
Istanbul Sofra has temporarily closed as the restaurant changes ownership, an employee at the Regent Square eatery told the Tribune-Review on Thursday. The lights are off, and there are no diners. The tables outside are covered in snow. The Mediterranean-style restaurant had remained open for about eight months as its...
Rivertowne liquor licenses sold at bankruptcy auction
A Monroeville real estate owner bought the closed Rivertowne Pub & Grille’s restaurant liquor license in North Huntingdon and the tavern’s inventory of equipment and supplies for $107,500 in a bankruptcy court auction in Pittsburgh Thursday. Sheldon Klasfeld of Monroeville Properties LLC, which rents houses, purchased the license and inventory...
McCandless Catholic deacon in child sex sting gets probation, community service
A Roman Catholic deacon from McCandless was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service for convictions related to sending sexually explicit material to an undercover police officer posing online as a teenage boy. Deacon Rosendo “Ross” Dacal, 74, pleaded guilty in October to felony...
Cops: Man charged in Dravosburg woman’s death feared she’d rat him out to drug dealer
A West Mifflin man charged with killing a Dravosburg woman allegedly feared she’d tip off a drug dealer that he had stolen $700 and an ounce of crack, according to the criminal complaint filed against the man. The skeletal remains of 46-year-old Heather Short were found Wednesday in a wooded...
North Braddock man accidentally shot himself, police say
A man accidentally shot himself in the leg Thursday morning in North Braddock, police said. Police and paramedics responded about 10 a.m. to a home on Lobinger Avenue for a report of a shooting, said Allegheny County police Inspector Andrew Schurman. Paramedics transported a 28-year-old man to a hospital with...
Leechburg Area students thriving at Lenape Tech
Leechburg Area students continue to thrive at Lenape Technical School. That’s the word from Wesley Kuchta, administrative director at the vocational technical school in Manor Township. “In 2018, 12 of the 13 seniors from Leechburg achieved advanced or proficient on national exams,” Kuchta said. “Our students average just below 90...
Senate votes down two bills to end shutdown; House Dems to offer new plan
WASHINGTON — The Senate blocked two competing bills Thursday to reopen the federal government, demonstrating that neither President Trump nor the Democrats has produced a plan so far that can end the nation’s longest government shutdown. The twin failures came on the shutdown’s 34th day, and were the first Senate...
Police describe execution-style killings inside Florida bank
SEBRING, Fla. — Investigators have found no obvious reason why a man accused of fatally shooting five women picked a small-town bank in Florida as the place to carry out his attack, authorities said Thursday. Zephen Xaver’s attack did not appear to be part of a robbery, and he had...
Historic Westmoreland County covered bridge damaged in hit-and-run
Part of Bells Mills Road was closed this week after a portion of Westmoreland County’s last covered bridge was damaged in a hit-and-run. County engineer Vaughn Neill said a state trooper reported the damage on Bells Mills Bridge. “Somebody struck this, we don’t know who, we don’t know when,” Neill...
Retired teacher’s book aims to preserve a snapshot of Westmoreland’s natural areas
Dick Byers of Stahlstown loves nature. The 81-year-old retired biology teacher has enjoyed the natural areas of Westmoreland County and the surrounding region for decades. While there are plenty of publications exploring the trails that crisscross the area, Byers was more interested in preserving a snapshot of what nature looks...
Drunk man on smoke break ends up between train cars at 125 m.p.h. in frigid German weather
BERLIN — Police say an intoxicated German man who ducked out of a train for a cigarette during a short stop got into trouble when he tried to jump back on board between two cars after the train departed without him. Police said Thursday the 33-year-old clung on to the...
Student arrested for stealing own car settles suit for $1.25M
EVANSTON, Ill. — A Chicago suburb has tentatively agreed to pay a former doctoral student $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging police officers tackled him to the ground and arrested him for stealing a car that turned out to be his own, his attorney said. Evanston City Manager Wally...
Iowa Sen. Ernst says she was raped in college by boyfriend
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Joni Ernst says in an interview that she was raped by a boyfriend while she was a student at Iowa State University but didn’t report the assault. In an interview with Bloomberg posted online Wednesday night, Ernst disclosed the attack. She also clarified her discussions...
Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf takes new step on marijuana with town hall sessions
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is taking a new step in its exploration of legalizing marijuana, with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman preparing a series of town hall-style public listening sessions. Fetterman, himself an advocate for legalizing marijuana, said Thursday he’ll hold a listening session in each of Pennsylvania’s...
Authority lifts boil water advisory for McKeesport, Port Vue
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Thursday morning lifted its boil water advisory for customers in Port Vue and McKeesport. The authority said tests confirmed there is no longer a contamination risk to the more than 2,100 Allegheny County water customers impacted by a water main break earlier this...
Walnut Grill offers free meals to furloughed federal employees
As the government shutdown trudges toward its sixth week, furloughed and unpaid federal employees can enjoy a free meal thanks to local restaurant chain Walnut Grill. Employees – and their spouses and children – can choose from a menu of salads, sandwiches and flatbread pizzas. The meal also includes a...
