‘Atmospheric river’ dumps more rain and snow across the West
LOS ANGELES — A storm fueled by a plume of moisture stretching over the Pacific Ocean almost to Hawaii dumped rain on California Thursday, boosting the threat of debris flows from saturated slopes and flooding from rising creeks and rivers. The storm made stronger by the phenomenon called an atmospheric...
Ex-FBI official: Justice Department discussed removing Trump from office
WASHINGTON — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview aired Thursday that he worried that investigations into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice would be shut down after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. According to CBS, which conducted the interview, McCabe...
Watch: Pittsburgh Banjo Club remembers its founder at Elks Lodge Banjo NightVideo
The Pittsburgh Banjo Club honored its founder Wednesday just the way Frank Rossi would have wanted them to. They played. Rossi, who founded the club 30 years ago, died Tuesday. He was 83. The club played some of Rossi’s favorite tunes during its weekly performance Wednesday at the Allegheny Elks...
Highlands senior champions ‘feeling good in your own skin’Video
“Let me take a selfie.” That familiar phrase is a daily norm for Highlands High School senior Olivia Grace Fertig. Fertig, 18, of Tarentum has almost 12,000 followers and subscribers on her Instagram and YouTube social media accounts. “I post a lot of make-up, fashion and daily life on there,”...
Saint Vincent senior gets Iowa writers scholarship
A Saint Vincent College senior from Belle Vernon, whose professors challenged her to be a “curious learner” and take risks, is extending her education at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop in Iowa City. Mallory Truckenmiller, a graduate of Belle Vernon Area High School, is receiving a no-teaching fellowship and...
Contemporary Craft moving to new $5.5 million home in Lawrenceville
Contemporary Craft is on the move. The cutting-edge, contemporary arts hub is leaving its longtime location in the historic Produce Terminal Building in the Strip District and buying a permanent home in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. At the ceremony announcing the move, Contemporary Craft Executive Director Janet McCall said finding a...
Scientists warn ‘zombie’ deer disease could spread to humans
Just as mad cow disease eventually spread to humans, scientists are concerned that chronic wasting disease, or CWD, could end up infecting people. Speaking last week to lawmakers in Minnesota, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, “It is...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto prepared to take city gun bills to Supreme Court
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said he’s prepared to battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court over the city’s proposed gun ban. The mayor, in an interview with reporters Wednesday, said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is another possibility “depending on what’s being challenged.” Gun activists have promised to sue...
Scrutiny, family woes pile pressure on pregnant Meghan
LONDON (AP) — When Meghan Markle became engaged to Prince Harry, the American TV star seemed to charm everyone she met. She and Harry toured Britain to adoring crowds, and she pledged to hit the ground running once she officially joined the royal circle. Britain’s rambunctious, royal-obsessed press praised her...
One hurt in Rostraver school bus crash
One person was hurt in a crash involving a school bus in Rostraver Thursday morning, according to Westmoreland County 911. The crash between a car and the Belle Vernon Area School District bus on Fayette Street happened around 8:20 a.m. None of the 11 students on the bus was injured,...
Border security brawl seems near a serene resolution
WASHINGTON — Congress is set to resolve its clattering brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion as lawmakers prepare to pass a border security compromise providing a mere sliver of the billions he’s demanded for a wall with Mexico and averting a rekindled government shutdown this weekend. With...
School massacre 1 year later: A time to remember the victims
PARKLAND, Fla. — The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre a year ago renewed the national debate on guns and school safety, turned some victims’ parents and surviving students into political activists and at least temporarily ended the local sheriff’s career. But Thursday’s anniversary will primarily be about remembering the...
Prince Philip won’t be charged in UK car crash
LONDON — British prosecutors say Prince Philip won’t face charges in connection with a car collision that left two women injured. The decision came just days after Buckingham Palace said the 97-year-old royal would stop driving. Prosecutors said Thursday they had decided that it would not be in the public...
Oakland CVS robbed at gunpoint
Police are looking for two men who robbed a CVS pharmacy at gunpoint in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood early Thursday morning. The men went into the store on Centre Avenue around 3 a.m. and robbed a clerk at the register, fleeing with an undetermined amount of cash, according to the Pittsburgh...
Their love story began at the Allegheny Valley School of Nursing
More than a thousand young women came of age and had courtships in the building that once housed the Allegheny Valley Hospital School of Nursing in Harrison. Reba Weltner Blackburn was one of them. The women not only studied there, they also lived in the brick building along Carlisle Street....
Power outage closes California University of Pennsylvania
California University of Pennsylvania was closed and all Thursday classes canceled because of a power outage, the university posted on its website. The announcement said “only essential personnel” were to report for work. The university set up a warming center in its Convocation Center. Dining services were still available, and...
Cancer death racial gap narrows but still higher for blacks
NEW YORK — For a long time, blacks have died of cancer at higher rates than other Americans. But a new report says the gap is narrowing. Nearly 30 years ago, black men had a 47 higher cancer death rate than white men. Now it’s 19 percent higher. Black women...
Allegheny County Democrats sponsor campaign kickoff in Harmar next week
Allegheny County Democrats are holding a petition kickoff next week to gather support in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Allegheny County District Attorney Steve Zappala, Controller Chelsa Wagner, Treasurer John Weinstein, Councilman Nick Futules and county Labor Council President Darrin Kelly are hosting the event, which will be held from 6 p.m....
Baby doll hung from Pittsburgh light pole prompts police investigation
A baby doll found hanging from a light pole in Pittsburgh’s Homewood section Thursday morning has prompted a police investigation and outcry from a local state representative. Pittsburgh police officers found a weather-beaten, African-American doll hanging from a light pole at the intersection of Bruston Avenue and Mohler Street, said...
Art Institute of Pittsburgh running out of money, federal overseer says
A federal receiver controlling the finances of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh is nearly out of cash to manage the entities he’s tasked to oversee. Mark Dottore, the Cleveland-based receiver in the case, wrote in a Feb. 7 letter to the Department of Education that he has $3.8 million on...
Penn Twp. man loved golf, Albanian family roots
Theodore Peshkopia came home one day with a surprising announcement for his wife. “He said he and a partner had bought a 100-acre property in Penn Township,” said Joanne Peshkopia. Considering that Mr. Peshkopia was an elementary school principal at the time, his wife wasn’t sure what to make of...
Lindsey Vonn retires as 1 of greatest skiers of all time
Lindsey Vonn competed in her last race Sunday, ending a ski career in which she has made herself one of the greatest athletes of all time. The Associated Press has covered her exploits, from the Olympics to the world championships to the annual World Cup circuit, from the beginning. Starting...
Truck spills load on Parkway West, snarls traffic between Green Tree, Robinson
A truck lost its load along the Parkway West midday Thursday, snarling traffic for hours while crews worked to clear metal debris from the interstate, officials said. By 5 p.m., about five hours after the incident, Interstate 376 reopened to traffic after closing to a single lane in both directions...
Thousands speak out on legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania
Thousands of Pennsylvanians have filed online comments in response to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s call for feedback on the pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana. Officials said Fetterman, who recently launched a 67-county statewide listening tour to gauge public sentiment on the issue, drew a crowd of more than...
Pittsburgh, Lamar Advertising bicker in court over Mt. Washington billboard
Legal arguments reignited Thursday over the large Lamar Advertising sign looming over Pittsburgh from atop Mt. Washington. A Pittsburgh attorney argued that Lamar Advertising has operated a “blatantly illegal” sign for more than three years, while representatives from Lamar contended the city is violating its due process, property and free...
