Police: Jeannette woman’s Florida trip ruined when man steals her ID, $7,000
A Jeannette man ruined his girlfriend’s roommate’s trip to Florida last month after he allegedly stole her purse, which contained her driver’s license and $7,000, according to police. Paul Michael Fogle, 33, was arrested Friday and jailed on $10,000 bail. Police said the victim had her bags packed for a...
Report: Polar vortex broke U.S. natural gas consumption record
Last week’s polar vortex resulted in record natural gas consumption in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The polar vortex, in which colder-than-normal temperatures blanketed much of the Midwest and Northeast, including Western Pennsylvania, set a single-day record for natural gas demand on Jan. 30, topping...
White House report tries to shift Trump health care rhetoric
WASHINGTON — A new report from the White House tries to shift the Trump administration’s combative rhetoric on health care, suggesting changes to the Affordable Care Act under President Donald Trump do not fundamentally undermine the health law. Due out Friday, the report from the Council of Economic Advisers says...
Fire at Brazilian soccer team complex leaves 10 dead, 3 hurt
RIO DE JANEIRO — A fire tore through the sprawling training complex of one of Brazil’s biggest soccer clubs Friday, killing 10 people and leaving three teenagers injured, firefighters said. Firefighters were called in just after 5 a.m. to battle a blaze at the Ninho de Urubu training ground of...
Veterinarians revive cat that nearly froze in Montana
KALISPELL, Mont. — Veterinarians in Montana revived a cat named Fluffy that nearly froze to death after being found in a snowbank covered from head to tail in ice and snow. Dr. Jevon Clark of the Animal Clinic of Kalispell said Thursday that Fluffy was unresponsive and her body temperature...
Husband accused of shooting wife in head convicted
ERIE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man who claimed he accidentally shot his wife in the back of the head has been convicted of first-degree murder. Forty-five-year-old John Grazioli will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole under Pennsylvania law. The Erie Times-News reports jurors returned the...
Emergency demolition ordered for crumbling Wilkinsburg building
Emergency demolition was ordered Friday morning for a building along Kelly Avenue in Wilkinsburg after it partially collapsed overnight. Police were called at about 2 a.m. after reports that bricks and other materials were crumbling to the ground, WPXI reported. Bricks were falling from the upper level of the 100-year-old...
Portion of North Shore River Walk closed for flooding
A portion of the North Shore River Walk is closed Friday morning because of flooding concerns. The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh expanded a flood watch through 9:45 a.m. across the region, including Allegheny, Westmoreland, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion and Indiana counties. The Mon Wharf remains closed as well after authorities...
AHN, Johns Hopkins researchers to study obesity, pancreatic cancer
Researchers at Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center are teaming up to study the link between obesity and pancreatic cancer. Researchers plan to study new treatments, potential screening methods and modifiable risk factors for pancreatic cancer, which includes obesity. AHN officials said pancreatic cancer is...
4 record labels making headway in Pittsburgh
With new and exciting bands frequently popping up in the city of Pittsburgh, it can be difficult to keep track of every new release. The city is home to some truly great and vastly different record labels. These four Pittsburgh-based labels are keeping listeners informed of what’s next in music,...
American Airlines pilot arrested, suspected of being drunk prior to Philly flight
LONDON — Police say an American Airlines pilot has been arrested at Britain’s Manchester Airport on suspicion of being drunk. The Greater Manchester Police force said Friday that police “received a report that an airline pilot may have been under the influence of alcohol” at the airport in northwestern England...
Support strong for recreational trail through Brackenridge
Support was strong Thursday night for the proposed Three Rivers Heritage Trail’s plans to pass through the Brackenridge riverfront. About 25 people attended the informational meeting in Brackenridge Council’s chambers. The Heritage Trail would run from Millvale to Freeport, where it would hook up with several other recreational trails. While...
Lebanese man sets himself on fire over withheld paperwork
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency is reporting that a man has set himself on fire in front of a private school that refused to provide him with transfer documents for his daughter due to unpaid fees. NNA said the man, whose name was not released, succumbed to his...
4 charged over Penn State tailgate party buzzed by helicopter
STATE COLLEGE — Four Penn State students face misdemeanor liquor law violations over a football tailgating party broken up when a state police helicopter flew so low it sent tents and other items flying. The charges filed Thursday in district court include selling alcohol without a license and providing alcohol...
Art Institute of Pittsburgh may have potential buyers
A federally appointed mediator has halted the closure of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and says he has two potential buyers interested in acquiring the Strip District-based school. Dream Center Education Holdings, which bought the art institute in 2017, filed for federal receivership in January, citing $41 million in debt...
Pittsburgh police seeking suspects who shot at officers in West End
Pittsburgh police are seeking suspects who shot at two officers late Friday night in the West End. No officers were hit, according to a Pittsburgh police Facebook post, and police did not fire any shots. Officers stopped a car with several people at about 11:30 p.m. on Broadhead Fording Road....
How to choose the best potting soil for the job
Question: I keep reading that I’m supposed to be using a special potting soil to start my seeds that’s different from the kind of potting soil I’m supposed to use to fill my patio containers. What’s the difference between different potting soils and how do I know which one I...
Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion clinic law
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court stopped Louisiana from enforcing new regulations on abortion clinics in a test of the conservative court’s views on abortion rights. The justices said by a 5-4 vote late Thursday that they will not allow the state to put into effect a law that requires...
Power outages reported in Plum, Ross, Lower Burrell
At least 130 Duquesne Light customers in Plum lost electric service starting at about 8:30 p.m., spokesman Gerald Lucci said. The outage was caused by an underground cable failure at Kellywood Estates. Crew discovered that the outage was caused by a fallen tree, Lucci said. He said service could be...
U.S. attorney charges Beaver County man with cocaine dealing
A Beaver County man has been indicted on federal drug dealing charges. Rickee Dawkins, 52, of Aliquippa, sold cocaine in 2016 and 2017, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. Dawkins’ arrest is part of a long-term drug investigation focusing on Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties. The...
Former Rep. John Dingell, U.S.’s longest-serving lawmaker, dies
DETROIT — Former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in American history who mastered legislative deal-making and was fiercely protective of Detroit’s auto industry, has died. The Michigan Democrat was 92. Dingell, who served in the U.S. House for 59 years before retiring in 2014, died Thursday...
Brian Snyder, Tarentum business owner, chosen to fill council vacancy
Filling an empty seat on Tarentum Council turned out to be more difficult than its remaining members anticipated. It was not for a lack of candidates, but because of the quality of the candidates they had to choose from. It was only after much mulling by Councilman Scott Dadowski, the...
Prosecutors: Paul Manafort continued Ukraine work in 2018
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors allege that Paul Manafort was working on Ukrainian political matters in 2018, after his indictment in the special counsel’s investigation, and also revealed that a former business associate of his who was assessed by the FBI to have ties to Russian intelligence attended President Trump’s inaugural, according...
Tarentum Council approves separation agreement with police sergeant
A Tarentum police sergeant will be paid just over $17,000 under a separation agreement and general release that borough council approved Thursday. Sgt. Ryan Hanford’s retirement was effective Thursday. Hanford, 44, has been a police officer for 25 years, including 22 with Tarentum. He had been on administrative leave for...
Woman trapped in car by fallen tree rescued by Penn Hills residents, another motorist
A pair of Penn Hills residents and nurses helped save a woman trapped in her car by a tree that had fallen onto Verona Road. Joe Marron and his girlfriend, Amanda Livingston, were unloading groceries at their home along the 4600 block of Verona Road on Thursday afternoon when they...
