Top Stories category, Page 1170
Wendy Bell out of WJAS lineup
Wendy Bell is no longer in the weekday lineup on talk radio station WJAS. “All I can tell you is it’s a personnel matter and it’s currently being handled by the company,” said Michele Bradac, a spokeswoman for St. Barnabas, which owns the radio station. The radio station posted a...
Pittsburgh’s mayoral election features 2 established candidates and 2 novices
Pittsburgh’s mayoral race pits two political insiders, the incumbent and a longtime state representative, against two outsiders, a retired cop and an Ivy League-educated math tutor/ride-hailing driver. Talk of equity and reform unite the men, but each have different approaches to the subject. The May 18 Democratic primary likely decides...
2 charged in Jeannette break-in, assault of resident
A Jeannette man is being held without bail after police said he broke into a city home and attacked a sleeping woman, according to court papers. Police said Jamar Abdul McIntosh, 42, pointed a gun at the woman and punched her several times. He was arrested Thursday. Police said the...
Drenched: Steady rainfall sets records in Western Pa.
May showers bring May flowers? Yes they do. The steady rains the area has received in the early part of this month are setting records. The seven straight days of precipitation that fell in the Pittsburgh-area from May 3 through May 9 brought an unprecedented total of 2.32 inches of...
U.S. trashes unwanted gear in Afghanistan to be sold as scrap
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — The twisted remains of several all-terrain vehicles leaned precariously inside Baba Mir’s sprawling scrap yard, alongside smashed shards that were once generators, tank tracks that have been dismantled into chunks of metal, and mountains of tents reduced to sliced up fabric. It’s all U.S. military equipment. The...
AP-NORC poll: Biden approval buoyed by his pandemic response
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is plunging into the next phase of his administration with the steady approval of a majority of Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey shows Biden is buoyed in particular by the public’s broad backing...
TV Talk: Stacy Smith to retire from KDKA-TV
Another veteran KDKA-TV news anchor will depart the station with the May 30 retirement of Stacy Smith. Unlike the recent news about Paul Martino’s retirement, this departure was more expected and had been in the works for some time. Smith departs after 38 years at KDKA and 50 years in...
35K pounds of medication collected in Pa. during Take Back Day
About 420 tons of prescription medication was collected nationwide during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Take Back Day last month. In Pennsylvania, about 35,000 pounds of unused, expired and unwanted medication was turned in on April 24, according to agency statistics. The event, held twice a year, is meant to prevent...
Police: Man in critical condition after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood
A man is in critical condition after police say he was shot in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood early Monday morning. Officers who responded to 911 calls for a person shot in the 300 block of Mathews Avenue around 2:20 a.m. found a man with gunshot wounds to the buttocks and legs,...
California man used $5 million in coronavirus relief loans to buy luxury cars, federal authorities say
LOS ANGELES — An Irvine man was arrested on fraud charges this week after authorities say he used $5 million in pandemic relief loans to buy luxury sports cars, take lavish vacations and cover his personal expenses. Mustafa Qadiri, 38, submitted bogus applications for federal loans under the Paycheck Protection...
‘Stress-free’ Jim Rutherford watches, enjoys Penguins’ success, considers future
Jim Rutherford is mindful of his pronouns. It’s not “we.” It’s “they.” The Pittsburgh Penguins would be “they.” “I’m usually very careful with my words, as you’ve known over the years,” the team’s former general manager said by phone Saturday. “I went to ‘they’ relatively quickly as I left.” Rutherford...
7 dead including gunman in Colorado birthday party shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A gunman opened fire at a birthday party in Colorado, slaying six adults before killing himself Sunday, police said. The shooting happened just after midnight in a mobile home park on the east side of Colorado Springs, police said. Officers arrived at a trailer to find...
Ownership of Pucketa Creek bridge split between 2 counties; repair plans underway
It’s not usual for residents to complain about potholes. But when Upper Burrell residents recently complained about huge potholes on the Lincoln Beach bridge off of Greensburg Road (Route 366) at Lincoln Boulevard, township officials had to check who exactly owned the span over Pucketa Creek. They knew it wasn’t...
Cyberattack on U.S. pipeline is linked to criminal gangVideo
NEW YORK — The cyberextortion attempt that has forced the shutdown of a vital U.S. pipeline was carried out by a criminal gang known as DarkSide that cultivates a Robin Hood image of stealing from corporations and giving a cut to charity, a person close to the investigation said Sunday....
Police: Leechburg man accused of assaulting woman on a sidewalk
A Leechburg man is charged with assaulting a woman on a sidewalk and inside a residence in Leechburg, according to a criminal complaint. Brad Lee Reidy, 21, was arraigned Wednesday and faces a felony strangulation charge and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and unlawful restraint from an incident Tuesday night....
What are cicadas and why do they bug some people?
Cicadas, red-eyed bugs singing loud sci-fi sounding songs, can seem downright creepy. Especially since the trillions of them coming this year emerge from underground only every 17 years. But they’re not monsters or a plague of locusts. Once you get to know them, scientists say you can appreciate the wonder...
Vax Live concert raises $302 million, exceeds vaccine goalVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Global Citizen fundraising concert advocating the importance of vaccine equity has pulled in $302 million, exceeding the goal for the organization’s campaign. Global Citizen announced Saturday that the funds raised helped procure more than 26 million doses at the “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the...
Tearful reunions mark second Mother’s Day under pandemic
Joyous reunions among vaccinated parents and children across the country marked this year’s Mother’s Day, the second one celebrated during the coronavirus pandemic. Some families separated by worries of transmitting the virus saw each other for the first time in over a year, emboldened by their vaccinations. Jeanie Codianni of...
China says most rocket debris burned up during reentry
BEIJING — China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and that most of it burned up early Sunday. Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An ocean reentry was always...
Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ imperils Republicans who don’t embrace it
WASHINGTON — Allegiance to a lie has become a test of loyalty to Donald Trump and a means of self-preservation for Republicans. Trump’s discredited allegations about a stolen election did nothing to save his presidency when courtrooms high and low, state governments and ultimately Congress — meeting in the chaos...
Elon Musk shows humility and hubris as ‘SNL’ hostVideo
Elon Musk showed a combination of humility and hubris as he opened his highly anticipated hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.” The 49-year-old Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder and one of the world’s richest men opened his monologue by mocking his monotonal speaking style, saying no one can tell when he’s...
Police standoff in Beltzhoover ends with no arrests
Pittsburgh police Sunday morning continued to look for a suspect that officials said was at the center of a standoff with officers late Saturday night in Beltzhoover. Officials said members of Pittsburgh’s SWAT team surrounded a house on the 100 block of Freeland Street just before 10 p.m. after a...
Churchill residents debate potential Amazon site during planning commission meeting
Details of a potential Amazon distribution site in Churchill were shared at a Borough Planning Commission meeting this week as debate continues to stir about the possible impact on the community. Hillwood Development, a Texas-based group that has acquired land for Amazon in the region before, is the potential buyer...
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh on the North Side to reopen after 15 months
The reopening date for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is significant. It will reopen on June 12 — the date it officially opened back in 1983. “We are so excited about coming back,” said Bill Schlageter, marketing director for the museum. “We have been looking at the timing to open...
Alle-Kiski Valley superintendents earn combined $1.85M
When it comes to determining a superintendent’s salary and benefits packages, school board members consider a variety of factors, including the size of the district, the number of students, the economics of district communities, the administrator’s years of experience and expertise offered by a candidate. “We try to check the...
