Mueller investigation is ‘close to being completed,’ acting attorney general says
WASHINGTON — The head of the Justice Department said Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is nearing an end - the first official acknowledgment that the probe that has ensnared President Trump may soon reach a conclusion. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker made the comment during a news...
N.Y. law change would deliver abuse survivors day in court, hope to Pennsylvanians
New York on Monday was poised to become the 10th state to temporarily suspend the statute of limitations to provide adult survivors of child sexual abuse an opportunity to sue their abusers. Child protection advocates said the new law, passed only after a change of leadership in that state’s Senate,...
Happenstance brought radio host, good Samaritan to Parkway East tragedy
Family and friends of two men killed in a tragic incident along the Parkway East are trying to come to terms with the bizarre happenstance of it all. “It’s only fitting he lose his life while in service to strangers,” Danielle Willey said of her friend, Landen Jones. “He was...
4 generations of Fawn family celebrate milestone at Allegheny Valley Hospital
As Allegheny Valley Hospital marked the 110th anniversary of accepting its first patients Monday, a Fawn family reflected on four generations of their own history at the hospital. The legacy started with Barb Kutchko’s mother, Monie Hanford, who was a switchboard operator there until the late 1970s or early 1980s....
Returned Christmas cards anger prison activists, inmates’ loved ones
Local activists demanded an apology from Gov. Tom Wolf and the state Department of Corrections on Monday, alleging the department and its mail handler unfairly kept 500 Christmas cards from prison inmates. The activists are part of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration, or...
2 convicted in 2001 Bell Township murder get life sentences reduced
Tyler Gett has just a few fuzzy memories of his grandfather, murdered nearly 18 years ago in a Bell Township field. On Monday, Gett, 22, and other family members watched as two of the now-grown men convicted of the 2001 beating and shooting death of 48-year-old Larry Dunmire were given...
Man shot in Homewood North on Monday remains hospitalized
A man with a gunshot wound flagged down a Pittsburgh police car in Homewood along Frankstown Avenue and Murtland Street just before 4 p.m. Monday, police said. The man had a wound to his abdomen. A police spokeswoman said he was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable...
Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks
WASHINGTON — It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to parts of the United States thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic. Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years. It all...
Nancy Pelosi invites Trump to give State of the Union on Feb. 5
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to deliver his State of the Union speech on Feb. 5, a week later than originally scheduled because of the partial government shutdown. “It is my great honor to accept,” Trump said in a letter to Pelosi. “We...
Armstrong County Jail inmate faces more charges for throwing feces
An inmate at the Armstrong County Jail is accused of throwing feces on his cellmate and threatening correctional officers. Edward Daniel Wilson Jr., 18, of Kittanning is facing a felony charge of aggravated harassment by a prisoner as well as two misdemeanor counts of harassment, said Trooper Michael Dunlap of...
Warming centers open as Arctic blast expected this week
Warming centers in the region are beginning to open as temperatures are expected to plummet to the single digits Wednesday and Thursday. The list below will be updated as more shelters open. Allegheny CountyMagee, West Penn, Brookline and Phillips Community Recreation Centers in Pittsburgh will be open until 9 p.m....
Pittsburgh preparing for Arctic blast predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday
Pittsburgh is gearing for a blast of Arctic cold this week by opening warming centers and having emergency personnel ready to contend with weather-related problems. Pittsburgh will extend hours of city senior centers and make recreation centers available for residents to escape frigid temperatures. Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill...
Allegheny Township looks to borrow money for $1.6M building project
Allegheny Township is seeking proposals for bank loans to help it pay for an anticipated $1.6 million in improvements to its community Building. The proposals are due by Feb. 6. Township supervisors are expected to pick one of the proposals in the next few months, and construction could start as...
Pittsburgh’s Rachel Carson Bridge closing in February for more than a year
One of Pittsburgh’s three “Sisters Bridges” connecting Downtown to the North Side will close in February for more than a year during a $23.3 million rehabilitation project, Allegheny County announced Monday. The Ninth Street Bridge, dubbed the Rachel Carson Bridge, will close on Feb. 11 and remain closed through the...
Troopers seeking clues in 2016 brutal beating of Somerset County woman
On Jan. 28, 2016, Somerset County native Rachel Mishler returned to her home in Greenville Township after finishing an evening shift as a health care worker at a Cumberland County, Md., hospital. “I felt someone was behind me when I walked into the basement. … I turned around briefly and...
Neville Roller Drome owner happy to watch the world wheel on by
Jim Park remembers exactly where he was each time the Steelers won a Super Bowl. He was at the Neville Roller Drome, making dizzying circles under the starburst lights. Nothing, not even a black-and-gold football dynasty, could lure him way from the rink. “My parents met skating,” he said, noting...
Pittsburgh resident takes aim at impeaching Mayor Bill Peduto
A Pittsburgh Republican official is attempting to impeach Mayor Bill Peduto over the city’s proposed gun ban, but an Allegheny County judge 16 years ago dismissed a similar case filed against former Mayor Tom Murphy. Brooke Nadonley, 42, of Mt. Washington said she was following the charter when she attempted...
Green Tree boarding business will host its own ‘Puppy Bowl’ on Super Bowl Sunday
The owners of Camp Bow Wow in Green Tree are more than willing to provide a cute distraction to this weekend’s Super Bowl with their first-ever “Puppy Bowl.” From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 3, adoptable puppies will “take the field” in the hopes of getting “drafted” by...
Vote for what piece of Pittsburgh should land on the Moon
What’s smaller than a quarter but represents the entire city of Pittsburgh? That’s for you to decide. The Heinz History Center and Pittsburgh-based robotics company Astrobotic wants your help choosing an item to be sent to the moon through Astrobotic’s MoonBox program. The small keepsakes should represent the spirit and...
Driver, man clinging to hood in road rage case, arraigned
WALTHAM, Mass. — Two Massachusetts men involved in an apparent case of road rage in which one drove at speeds of up to 70 mph with the other clinging to the hood of his vehicle, some of which was caught on video , were released after their arraignments Monday. Mark...
Perdue chicken nuggets recalled for undeclared milk ingredient
Perdue Foods is recalling more than 16,000 pounds of chicken nuggets because the label doesn’t indicate the product contains milk ingredients, an allergen for some consumers. The recall is in effect for 12-ounce packages of refrigerated, ready-to-eat Perdue Fun Shapes Chicken Breast Nuggets that are dated for use by March...
Allegheny County Jail inmate died of natural causes
Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that an Allegheny County Jail inmate taken to the hospital Monday afternoon died of natural causes. Edward Davis, 55, of Pittsburgh, was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy hospital at 1:44 p.m. The medical examiner’s office reported late Tuesday the cause of death was a...
Insurance claims from deadly California wildfires top $11.4B
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance claims from California’s deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion, making the series of fires one of the most expensive in state history, officials said Monday. More than $8 billion of those losses are from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise, killing 86...
Phipps conference to explore connections between cancer, environmental hazards
A conference exploring the connections between cancer and environmental hazards will be held at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on Tuesday. All the registrations are filled. “Cancer and the Environment: Priorities for Research, Clinical Practice and Policy” will feature experts discussing the latest science on how cancer develops and...
Washington baker apologizes for ‘Build that Wall’ cookie
SEATTLE — A Washington state baker is apologizing for a politically charged Valentine’s Day cookie that generated an uproar on social media. KING-TV reports that Ken Bellingham, who owns Edmonds Bakery, has gotten phone calls from frustrated customers about the heart-shaped cookie with “Build that Wall” in frosting letters. The...
