Top Stories category, Page 1099
Pittsburgh police lose 2nd officer to covid-19
A second Pittsburgh police officer has died from covid-19, police officials said Thursday night. Sgt. Richard ‘Rick’ Howe, of Cecil, died Thursday afternoon at St. Clair Hospital, officials said. He was 51. “We lost a good officer, a good supervisor and an even better person today,” said Cmdr. Edd Trapp,...
3 tornadoes confirmed in region, power being restored
Radar confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in the region Thursday evening and National Weather Service surveyors will spend the next couple days gathering information about them and other potential twisters, according to meteorologist Jason Frazier. Those tornadoes were near Mt. Nebo and Hampton in Allegheny County and Buffalo Township...
Federal lawsuit accuses Pittsburgh police of using excessive force during George Floyd protest arrest
A McKees Rocks man filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against three unnamed Pittsburgh police officers, as well as the city of Pittsburgh, claiming he was falsely arrested following his participation in a protest over the death of George Floyd last year. John Connors alleges in the lawsuit filed by Pittsburgh...
FBI: Remains found in Florida park ID’d as Brian Laundrie
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The FBI on Thursday identified human remains found in a Florida nature preserve as those of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple was on a cross-country road trip. The remains, a backpack and notebook believed to...
Covid-19 vaccine: CDC panel backs expanded booster rollout
WASHINGTON — Millions more Americans are closer to getting a covid-19 booster as influential government advisers on Thursday endorsed extra doses of all three of the nation’s vaccines — and opened the possibility of choosing a different company’s brand for that next shot. Certain people who received Pfizer vaccinations months...
House votes to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in contemptVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. In a rare show of bipartisanship on the House floor, the committee’s...
Allegheny County jury tells judge it is deadlocked in South Side sex assault case
The jury deliberating the sexual assault case against former Istanbul Sofra owner Adnan Pehlivan told the judge Thursday afternoon that it was deadlocked. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani asked the jury of seven men and five women to continue their deliberations until 4 p.m. and return Friday...
Pittsburgh police: Bloomfield man hit woman in head with pumpkin during parking dispute
A man from Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood launched pumpkins at a grandmother who parked in front of his home to pick up her grandchild a few doors down, police said. James Gazis, 41, is charged with aggravated assault and propulsion of missiles in connection with the Wednesday altercation. A criminal complaint...
Lawsuit alleges UPMC is refusing to provide medical exemptions for school mask mandate
A group of parents and guardians from across Western Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the acting secretaries of the state health and education departments, as well as UPMC, alleging that their children are being illegally denied medical exemptions from the school mask mandate. Ten plaintiffs from Kittanning, New...
Gov. Wolf calls for improved worker wages, sick leave, safety during Pittsburgh visit
Touting an economy “on the comeback,” Gov. Tom Wolf during a Thursday stop in Pittsburgh announced an executive order and his support for a slew of bills aimed at improving the wages, benefits and safety of workers statewide. “It’s a misconception that stiffing your workers is the way to high...
Ballot misprint affects some Allegheny County voters
An “isolated calibration issue” led to barcodes being printed on the wrong mail-in ballot envelope for some Allegheny County voters, officials said Thursday. The printing issue resulted in a barcode that was supposed to be on the declaration envelope instead being printed on the secrecy envelope, said county spokeswoman Amie...
Injunction halts separation agreement with Penn Hills police chief, voting on his successor
A court injunction has been granted to postpone Penn Hills Council votes on a separation agreement with the municipality’s police chief and the naming of his successor. A special meeting to vote on the matters had been scheduled for Oct. 18, but was canceled because three council members said they...
John Fetterman has raised $9.3M this year in Senate bid, dwarfing Democratic and GOP rivals
John Fetterman’s campaign war chest is dwarfing the coffers of his opponents early in the race for U.S. Senate. Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s Democratic lieutenant governor and former Braddock mayor, has outraised and outspent every other candidate in the crowded field vying to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, records show. From...
U.S. unemployment claims fall to new pandemic low of 290,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted, evidence that layoffs are declining as companies hold onto workers. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s...
Trump announces launch of his own social media site
NEW YORK — Nine months after being expelled from social media for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s launching a new media company with its own social media platform. Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology...
Existing home sales surge as interest rates point higher
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes bounced back in September to their strongest pace since January as mortgage rates tick higher, motivating buyers to get off the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing homes sales rose 7% compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Big changes in White House ideas to pay for $2 trillion plan
SCRANTON — In an abrupt change, the White House is floating new plans to pay for parts of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social services and climate change package, shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates though also adding a new billionaires’ tax on the investment gains of...
Rare coin made in Colonial New England could fetch $300,000
An extraordinarily rare coin with a face value of just pennies when it was minted in mid-17th century New England could sell for the equivalent of about $300,000 when it’s put up for auction in London next month. The silver one shilling coin made in Boston in 1652 — considered...
Some Alle-Kiski Valley families go all out to decorate their yards, houses for Halloween
Hyped for the haunted hilarity of Halloween? Janna Schrader of Harrison is. The temperatures hadn’t dipped below 80 degrees when Schrader started scattering skeletons, purple lights and tombstones across her Oregon Avenue lawn. “You might say I’m a Halloween freak,” said Schrader, who moved to the neighborhood from Verona a...
Route 51 crash in Pittsburgh caused traffic slowdowns
Traffic disruptions dissipated throughout the morning on Route 51 in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood after an SUV caught fire when it crashed into a pole. Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported that the driver fled from the crash scene on Route 51 in the area of Whited Street. The crash happened just...
Turtle Creek woman sentenced to federal prison for role in drug trafficking
A Turtle Creek woman was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for working with two siblings to distribute fentanyl in the area. Marleka Robinson, 26, was ordered to spend two years on supervised release after the prison term. She pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in June. A grand...
Fights, ‘credible threats’ send Woodland Hills students home Thursday and Friday
Woodland Hills High School students will shift to remote learning Thursday and Friday after district officials cited “credible threats” and multiple fights at the school on Wednesday, according to a district letter distributed to families. “After today’s events, we are reevaluating our safety and security protocols in regard to student...
Greater Latrobe: Note from chiropractor won’t suffice for student mask exemption
Greater Latrobe students who seek a medical exemption from the state mandate requiring masks in schools must provide a valid doctor’s note. District officials told parents this week that an exemption request backed by another type of medical professional, such as a chiropractor, isn’t sufficient. “We’re being consistent with what...
Operation Safe Stop puts spotlight on stopping for school buses
The only misbehavior on the road Wednesday morning during a state police ride-along on a Greater Latrobe school bus was from a deer and three raccoons. No motorists broke the law while Trooper Brandon Boyd was on board, but many of the youngsters catching a ride to school were thrilled...
Blawnox man died after canoe capsized in the Allegheny River near Sharpsburg
A man who died after a canoe capsized near Sharpsburg Wednesday afternoon was identified as Ralph Raymond Fuchs, 64, of Blawnox, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Greg Porter, Etna fire chief, said Fuchs’ body was recovered from the Allegheny River after dark. Sharpsburg police Officer Brian Hoebel said...
