Top Stories category, Page 1094
Westmoreland commissioners told to ‘do the right thing’ with covid relief money
Westmoreland County residents have a big shopping list for federal coronavirus relief funds but one unified message: “Do the right thing.” That was the common refrain from the dozens who testified Thursday during two public hearings held at Westmoreland County Community College about how county leaders should spend $105 million...
Pittsburgh police’s graffiti squad seeks suspect in Bloomfield, East End vandalism
An Upper Saint Clair man wanted on a felony criminal mischief charge is accused of vandalizing Pittsburgh sites with graffiti. Pittsburgh police graffiti squad detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating Michael Coliane, 23, for whom a warrant has been issued. Coliane is accused of vandalizing Bloomfield’s Exercise...
U.S. cites ‘crisis’ as road deaths rise 18% in first-half 2021
DETROIT — The number of U.S. traffic deaths in the first six months of 2021 hit 20,160, the highest first-half total since 2006, the government reported Thursday, a sign of growing reckless driving during the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated number was 18.4% higher than the first half of last year,...
Officials identify truck driver killed in crash with train in Jefferson Hills
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man killed in a Jefferson Hills truck-train crash Monday as a West Virginia resident. Michael Peters, 64, of Rock Cave, was dead at the scene along Route 51, after his dump truck collided with a Wheeling and Lake Erie train. The...
McKeesport man who kept ‘ghost guns’ inside tattoo parlor gets 2-plus years behind bars
A McKeesport man has been sentenced to 2½ years behind bars for storing so-called “ghost guns” and other illegal firearms inside his tattoo shop, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Richard Watson, 33, was caught with several unregistered weapons, including silencers and home-milled, AR-style pistols, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R....
Pittsburgh police: Human remains found in woods near Crawford-Roberts neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating human remains discovered Thursday afternoon near the city’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood. Officers responded at about 2 p.m. to the 1900 block of Colwell Street and were directed by a work crew to the remains in wooded area. Detectives with the Mobile Crime Unit processed the scene. Additional...
Andrew Cuomo accused of forcible touching in criminal complaint
ALBANY, N.Y. — A criminal complaint filed by a police investigator with a court in Albany has accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of committing a misdemeanor sex crime, though there were reports Thursday that the document might have been submitted in error. The brief complaint, filed by an...
New Kensington boy, 16, remembered as ‘sweetest, kindest soul’
Isaiah Parks was too good of a person to go unnoticed. “He was honestly the sweetest, kindest soul ever,” said Jenelle Cole, a life skills teacher at Valley High School in New Kensington, who had been Isaiah’s teacher for four years. “He could be grumpy, but he just always made...
Carrick shop owner pleads to 105 animal cruelty charges for selling baby turtles out of store
The owner of a clothing shop in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood has pleaded guilty to 105 counts of animal cruelty for illegally selling turtle hatchlings that were being raised in poor conditions. A plea agreement accepted by Allegheny County Judge Kelly Bigley on Thursday forbids store owner Edward Muhammed Christian, 44,...
Police investigate swastika taped inside Mt. Lebanon classroom
A handmade swastika found inside a classroom at Mt. Lebanon School District’s Jefferson Middle School on the third anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting has prompted Mt. Lebanon police to investigate. An unknown vandal or vandals made a swastika out of masking tape and affixed it to a...
Long-awaited Pa. Turnpike interchange in Penn Township set to become a reality
Penn Township will be getting a Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange as the commission overseeing the highway has been relieved of a multimillion-dollar annual obligation to PennDOT, officials announced Thursday. It remains unclear when work on the $30 million connection at Route 130 might start, but it won’t be completed sooner than...
In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself MetaVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “...
Biden announces ‘historic’ deal — but still must win votes
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he and Democrats in Congress have reached a “historic” framework for his sweeping domestic policy package. But he still needs to lock down votes from key colleagues for what’s now a dramatically scaled-back bill. Eager to have a deal in hand before...
13th man charged in drug ring linked to ATF officer being shot
Federal prosecutors announced new charges this week and named a 13th defendant linked to a far-reaching narcotics investigation into a Hill District-based street gang linked to the shooting of a federal agent last year. Jeremiah Irving, 32, of New Castle is the latest suspect indicted on charges of participating in...
Pittsburgh poised to turn Hays Woods into newest city park
Pittsburgh is poised to take ownership of Hays Woods and turn it into the city’s newest public park. City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation that would allow the city to buy the land from the Urban Redevelopment Authority for $1 plus costs. “This is going to be a really unique...
Threats at 2 Westmoreland schools investigated; 1 connected to Florida incident
Social media threats in two area school districts were investigated this week and Greater Latrobe authorities connected a threat there to an arrest in Florida. Jeannette students switched to virtual learning Thursday out of “extreme caution,” Superintendent Matt Jones said in a letter sent to parents Wednesday. In it, he...
Defense seeks 2nd ballistics expert for Loyalhanna triple murder case appeal
A second expert will be sought to review ballistics as part of an appeal to be filed for a former Indiana County man on death row for the killing of his mother, sister and elderly aunt in 2009 at a family-owned automotive glass repair shop in Loyalhanna. Westmoreland County Common...
I-70 eastbound reopened near Yukon exit after 4-vehicle crash
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 reopened before noon Thursday after a crash among two tractor-trailers and two tri-axle trucks, according to PennDOT and a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The crash was reported just after 7 a.m. near the Yukon exit in South Huntingdon and the highway was shut down for...
Chartiers Valley student’s death at basketball practice triggers grief, donations
A 12-year-old student from Chartiers Valley School District died Wednesday after collapsing at basketball practice, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Jayson Kidd, of Bridgeville, collapsed during warm-ups at about 5 p.m. and was taken to a local hospital where he died. Kidd was a student at the...
Body of missing Ford City man found in Allegheny River lock
The body of a Ford City man missing since Sunday was discovered in the Allegheny River on Friday morning, according to the Armstrong County coroner. Todd Tremont, 59, was reported missing by family members, police said. Initial search efforts were focused along a Rails to Trails path near the Allegheny...
‘We just can’t forget what happened here’: Community observes 3 years since Tree of Life shootingVideo
Andrea Wedner was among the hundreds of people who gathered Wednesday to remember the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue attack three years earlier. Wedner’s mother, Rose Mallinger, was among the 11 people killed. “It helps to be with people,” Wedner said outside the synagogue. It helps to talk,...
North Allegheny’s Carson Middle School boosts security after unclear, online threat
Students at Carson Middle School in North Allegheny School District saw extra security when they arrived to class Thursday after someone posted an online threat that was vague but still concerning to district officials. Officials were notified Wednesday of an online threat against a “CMS student,” Superintendent Melissa Friez told...
No one injured in fire that spread to several homes in Pittsburgh’s Perry South
Some residents of Kennedy Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Perry South section had to jump to safety after their homes caught fire early Thursday, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. No one was injured in the fire that spread to at least three homes. The fire, which started in a two-story home...
Excela unveils $10 million robotic surgical center with focus on cancer
Excela Health unveiled a new $10 million surgical institute Wednesday with a focus on cancer treatment at the health system’s Latrobe Hospital. Officials said it will allow residents in the region to receive state-of-the-art robot-assisted surgery and care at the local facility. The robot-assisted surgery that has been performed the...
Family doctor guilty of giving patients opioid painkillers, Xanax in exchange for sex
A family doctor who practiced in Westmoreland and Fayette counties has pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing opioid painkillers in exchange for sex, federal prosecutors said. Emilio Ramon Navarro, 60, also pleaded guilty to health care fraud for billing the federal government to pick up the tab for illegal prescriptions, Acting...
