Arnold, Pittsburgh churches team up to boost pierogi powerVideo
It’s a pierogi-making partnership to best foodie rivals. Teaming up are two Ukrainian Catholic churches: St. Vladimir in Arnold and St. John the Baptist in Pittsburgh’s South Side, whose iconic Byzantine domes often are photographed against the city’s skyline. The union of these two ethnic food powerhouses is for good...
Woman with baby dies from falling down NYC subway stairs
NEW YORK — A young mother has died after falling down stairs at a Manhattan subway station while holding her 1-year-old daughter in a stroller. Malaysia Goodson, of Stamford, Conn., fell down the stairs at a midtown Manhattan station at around 8 p.m. Monday, police said. Goodson was unconscious when...
British Parliament says Britain shouldn’t leave EU without Brexit deal
LONDON — The British Parliament on Tuesday sought to assert control over Brexit, declaring its opposition to leaving the European Union without a deal and voting to send Prime Minister Theresa May back to Brussels to reopen talks with European leaders. But the measures are nonbinding and aspirational. They do...
Justice Department watchdog wants to investigate Alex Acosta’s plea deal with serial sex abuser
MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general urged Congress on Tuesday to allow him to investigate Alex Acosta — the former U.S. attorney in Miami whose controversial 2008 plea deal with a politically connected serial sex abuser has led to calls for Acosta to resign as secretary of...
Tarentum man accused in jitney robbery deemed ‘danger to society’
A Tarentum man accused of robbing and threatening to shoot a jitney driver over the weekend remained in Allegheny County Jail without bond Tuesday. A judge deemed him a danger to society, according to court records. Vern Alexander Connor Jr., 36, was arraigned early Tuesday by District Judge Regis Charles...
Greensburg Beverage acquired by Johnstown-based beer distributor
Greensburg Beverage is now known as Inco-Greensburg, after it was acquired by a Johnstown-based beer distributor. On Monday, Inco Beverage began delivering products to Greensburg Beverage’s customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Washington and Fayette counties, according to a news release. “We kept the majority of the employees, and that was one...
Don White, GOP state senator, leaving seat in middle of term
State Sen. Don White said that when he came to the Pennsylvania Legislature, he was 50 years old but felt like he was 30. “I was full of energy, anxious to do a good job,” he said Tuesday in a video posted to his website. These days? “Now I’m 69...
Excela to preview new Frick family practice office in Mt. Pleasant
Excela Health will hold an open house 11-4 Feb. 13, allowing community members to preview the new, consolidated Excela Square Frick Family Medicine practice in Mt. Pleasant. Slated to open to patients Feb. 18 on the first floor of the Excela Square at Frick building, the practice will bring together...
Property debate sparks spat between Latrobe mayor, manager
The changing of locks on an office door at the municipal building and the sale of a blighted property by the Westmoreland County Land Bank brought a rift between Latrobe’s mayor and its city manager public. “You don’t report to anybody,” Mayor Rosie Wolford told Wayne Jones. “None of us...
Westmoreland assistant public defender announces candidacy for Monessen district judge
Assistant Westmoreland County Public Defender Jack Manderino on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the open district judge seat in Monessen. Manderino, 55, son of the late state House speaker Jim Manderino, has served as a lawyer in Westmoreland County and in Pittsburgh for the last 30 years. “I want to...
Youngwood woman charged with assaulting mother rejects plea deal
A Youngwood woman awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting her elderly mother over the television volume during a Steelers preseason football game rejected a plea bargain deal Tuesday that would have required her to serve up to four years in prison. Defense attorney Tim Dawson said his client, Delores Amorino, has...
Derry man gets probation after guilty pleas in 3 cases
A Derry man will serve six years on probation after pleading guilty Tuesday to a series of charges involving three different cases, including allegations he made threats to employees at a magisterial district judge’s office in 2017. Police said all three cases against Paul Barsoum, 54, occurred during a one-week...
New Kensington man to serve up to 50 years in jail on child pornography charges
A New Kensington man was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 50 years in prison for the possession of more than 20,000 images of child pornography. Joshua Pottle, 37, was convicted of 40 felony counts in October following a three-day jury trial in which he was accused of having pictures...
Swissvale woman charged in infant’s Tylenol overdose
Allegheny County police on Tuesday charged a Swissvale woman with child endangerment and assault in connection with an incident in which an infant suffered organ failure after a Tylenol overdose. The child, who was 19 months old at the time of the incident, was admitted to UPMC Children’s Hospital of...
Chicago police investigating report of assault on ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett
Chicago police said Tuesday they received a report of a “possible racially-charged assault and battery” involving an actor on the television show “Empire.” Police say two people approached a 36-year-old man at about 2 a.m. Tuesday as he was walking and got his attention by yelling racial and homophobic slurs....
Pittsburgh Council approves $62M bond issuance for capital projects in 2019
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a $62 million bond issuance for capital improvements in 2019. The money will be used for such things as street paving, facility improvements and equipment listed in the city’s 2019 capital budget. Members also approved the hiring of Clark Hill, a Downtown law firm,...
Cops: Man inappropriately touched 2 Greensburg girls, had child pornography
A Jeannette man remained jailed in Westmoreland County on Tuesday on allegations he had inappropriate contact with two girls while he temporarily stayed at a Greensburg apartment last year, city police reported. Police arrested Gerald A. Helzel, 24, last week following a report made to the state child abuse hotline....
Stacey Abrams to give Democrats’ response to State of Union
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Schumer told reporters Tuesday that he asked Abrams three weeks ago and he was “delighted” when she accepted. The role elevates Abrams...
Medical helicopter crashes in Ohio remote woods, killing 3
CINCINNATI — A medical helicopter crashed Tuesday in a remote wooded area on its way to pick up a patient, killing all three crew members, authorities said. Survival Flight medical transportation reported around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday losing communication with a helicopter flying from the Mount Carmel Hospital in Grove City...
Hempfield proposes public safety committee; police coverage could be examined
Almost a year after Hempfield’s fire bureau came into fruition, township supervisors are looking to establish a public safety commission — with police coverage being one area of potential focus. While the seven-person commission is far from being formed, Township Manager Jason Winters presented a conceptual plan that focuses on...
Pentagon to send thousands more troops to southern border, mostly for surveillance
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is preparing to dispatch several thousand more U.S. troops to the southern border as the military shifts its operations there from improving security at ports of entry to the vast areas between them that are less controlled, defense officials said Tuesday. Acting defense secretary Patrick M....
Mitch McConnell warns against early exit from Syria, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Islamic State and al-Qaida militants still pose a “serious threat” to the United States and cautioned the Trump administration against an early exit from Syria and Afghanistan. The comments by McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to be a pushback against the...
U.N.: More than 130 migrants appear to be missing off Djibouti
JOHANNESBURG — More than 130 migrants were thought to be missing after two boats capsized Tuesday off the tiny East African nation of Djibouti, the U.N. migration agency said. Local police had found five bodies and search efforts were underway, the U.N. statement said. Witnesses said the boats were overloaded...
Wolf calls for tougher gun laws after synagogue shooting
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf is renewing his call for lawmakers to pass legislation expanding background checks on firearms in Pennsylvania and end an exception for shotguns, sporting rifles and semi-automatic rifles that are sold at gun shows. The Democratic governor’s statement Tuesday comes three months after a truck...
Illinois State Police say driver caught going 115 mph in the snow ‘ridiculous’
The Illinois State Police posted a photo of a speeding ticket along with some words of warning to Facebook on Monday. The post starts with the alleged offense: 115 mph in a 35 mph zone. Then goes on to warn other speeders and concerned citizens: “If you think we don’t...
