Top Stories category, Page 1071
Pittsburgh tax preparer gets federal prison time for lying on tax returns
A tax preparer from Pittsburgh’s North Side has been sentenced to 4 months in federal prison for lying on tax returns he prepared for clients, including making up fake gifts to charity and phony business expenses. Jamar White, 49, also was ordered to pay nearly $70,000 in restitution to the...
Pittsburgh man gets 44 months in federal prison for ‘hijacking’ bank, credit accounts
A Pittsburgh man has been sentenced to 3 years and 8 months behind bars for using fraudulently obtained debit and credit cards to buy $250,000 worth of gift cards, clothes, jewelry and other items, U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung said. Sulemon Arowokoko, 32, a Nigerian native who also has ties...
Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor offering free scoops in Pittsburgh’s Strip District
Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor is holding what could be called Free Scoop Saturday. Klavon’s, which opened in Pittsburgh’s Strip District in 1923, is offering a free scoop of ice cream while supplies last from one of its 20 flavors, including seasonal choices such as...
GOP field in Pennsylvania’s Senate race heads for reshuffle
HARRISBURG — The Republican field of candidates aiming to capture Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election is churning anew, with the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump out and intriguing new candidates possibly in. Out is Sean Parnell — a favorite of Donald Trump Jr. —...
Westmoreland County shop owners have high hopes for Small Business Saturday
Tracy Alaia has seen firsthand the kindness expressed to small businesses during the covid-19 pandemic. As owner of Feathers Artist Market and Gifts in Irwin, Alaia predicts that kindness to continue during this weekend’s Small Business Saturday, when crowds are expected at locally owned shops to kick off holiday shopping....
World races to contain omicron variant — the new covid threat
Nearly two years into the covid-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible...
Police seek suspect in Munhall shooting
Police are searching for a man wanted in connection with a shooting late Thursday in Munhall. Allegheny County and Munhall police are seeking information on the whereabouts of Darnell Pearson, 53, after securing a warrant for his arrest. Police said Pearson illegally entered a home on Scotia Way shortly before...
Light dusting leads the way for weekend of spotty snow flurries
Western Pennsylvania residents waking up from a tryptophan-induced turkey coma likely saw a light dusting of snow on the lawn Friday. That was the first of several small patches of snow expected to move through the region over the weekend. “Across northwest Pennsylvania, more toward Erie and Crawford counties, they’re...
Explainer: What is this new covid variant in South Africa?
LONDON — South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in covid-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It’s unclear from where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in...
Man in critical condition following double shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side
One person was in critical condition following a double shooting early Friday on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Police from Zone 3 responded to a ShotSpotter notification at 1:40 a.m. in the area of East Carson and South 17th streets but found only shell casings. Later, police said two people arrived by...
Not your father’s opening of deer season: Full weekend of buck and doe statewide starts Saturday
For the first time, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will offer buck and doe hunting concurrently statewide for two weeks starting Saturday. It’s not even called the opening of buck season anymore, but the opening of firearms deer season. The regular firearms deer season begins Saturday and includes Sunday , one...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Nov. 26-28
Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to get out and do something after you are done shopping on Black Friday. Here are some choices. Light ‘em up The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s Zoo Lights Drive-Thru in Highland Park opens Friday. Guests stay in their cars as they make...
Staffing crisis at Pa. child care centers is upending family routines and slowing the economic recovery
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Baby giggles and occasional cries are supposed to spill from the infant room at The Willow School, where lyrics...
As Hempfield casino marks a year in business, local leaders say it provides more than a place to gamble
Westmoreland County leaders are touting Live! Casino Pittsburgh as an “incredible economic engine” after the facility pumped millions of dollars into the economy during its first year of operation. Located in Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall, the casino has seen economic impact investments totaling almost $135 million since opening last November, officials...
Feast of friendship served across Alle-Kiski Valley on Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, Freeport native Jean Urik kept her kitchen clean. She and Don Hines of Butler enjoyed a free holiday turkey meal with all of the trimmings at St. Mary’s Parish on High Street in Freeport. “It’s hard to cook Thanksgiving for just two people without having a ton of...
Officials, volunteers help serve meals at Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh’s North Side
Elected officials from Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, along with staff and volunteers helped serve Thanksgiving meals Thursday afternoon at the Voeghtly Street Mission operated by Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Pittsburgh Mayor-elect Ed Gainey, as well as current Mayor Bill Peduto, were there to help serve...
Greensburg Turkey Trot ends with a pop — a proposal, that isVideo
Manny Hidalgo had only one thought on his mind Thursday morning as he prepared to run in his first Greensburg Turkey Trot — proposing to his girlfriend. Hidalgo planned the surprise proposal for the end of the 5K race, when he got down on one knee to pop the question...
Who’s a hero? Some states, cities still debating hazard pay
HARTFORD, Conn. — When the U.S. government allowed so-called hero pay for frontline workers as a possible use of pandemic relief money, it suggested occupations that could be eligible from farm workers and childcare staff to janitors and truck drivers. State and local governments have struggled to determine who among...
Operation Santa Claus has new partner to help needy families
In the early 1980s, the Tribune- Review’s Operation Santa Claus started as an idea in the newspaper’s editorial department. “At the time, George Beidler was the Greensburg editor, and he kind of spearheaded the whole thing to get it off the ground,” said retired Tribune-Review General Manager Art McMullen, who has...
Pittsburgh man, 58, dies following Wilkinsburg shooting
Allegheny County Police on Thursday filed homicide charges against a Pittsburgh man in connection with a deadly shooting that took place early Thursday morning in Wilkinsburg. George Edwin Booker, 52, faces homicide and firearms charges for the alleged shooting of a 58-year-old Pittsburgh man inside a Wilkinsburg home, Allegheny County...
Police: McKeesport man knew his brakes didn’t work before fatal July crash
Police say that a McKeesport man knew his 2003 Yukon had no brakes and was unsafe to drive when he left ACS Auto Repair on July 3, but he drove off anyway and crashed about a mile away, killing his female passenger. Eric Oliver, 47, faces a slew of charges...
Feds press Pittsburgh-based Poopsenders.com to find client harassing postal employee
Officials from the U.S. Office of the Inspector General were in federal court in Pittsburgh Tuesday trying to determine who has been harassing a U.S. Postal Service employee by mailing multiple, anonymous packages of fake poop. The OIG issued a subpoena in November 2019 to a company called Poopsenders.com, located...
Officials: 1 killed after small aircraft crashes near Grove City
Police, firefighters and federal officials are investigating a plane crash that killed one person Wednesday evening near Grove City, officials said. A single-engine Cessna 210 with two people aboard crashed around 5:45 p.m. in a wooded area near a landfill on TCI Park Drive, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman...
Pittsburgh police officer charged with DUI and rear-ending car driven by WPXI reporter
A Pittsburgh police officer is on unpaid administrative leave after he was charged with rear-ending a car while intoxicated in Plum earlier this month. The driver of the car he hit, according to police, is WPXI-TV reporter Amy Hudak. Tariq Jamal-Francis is charged with driving under the influence, endangering the...
Health official: Breakthrough cases make up 38% of Allegheny County’s cases
Vaccinated residents made up about 38% of Allegheny County’s roughly 20,000 covid-19 cases in October and November, a health official said Wednesday. That’s around 7,700 cases among the vaccinated, said Dr. LuAnn Brink, chief epidemiologist for the county health department. Brink filled in for Dr. Debra Bogen, the county’s health...
