Top Stories category, Page 121
Volunteers prep for upcoming Festa Italiana in New Kensington
Karen Mitchell has a simple answer when asked what has kept New Kensington’s Festa Italiana going strong for 44 years. Food! “The food is good, and people enjoy it,” said Mitchell of New Kensington, who’s in her third year as the main coordinator for Mount St. Peter Church’s annual event....
Editorial: Should Washington County DA be second-guessed on death penalty cases?
The world of fiction makes it seem like the death penalty is a simple, almost foregone conclusion in a courthouse. It isn’t, at least not in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State has a complicated relationship with capital punishment. Much like with a federal death penalty case, it is a multistep process...
Nas flexes his legend status with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Nas is a legendary rapper for a reason. The New York-born MC has been rocking the mic for more than 30 years, easily cementing his place as one of the best rappers of all time. His first album, “Illmatic,” earned its spot at No. 44 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest...
Is Downtown Pittsburgh safe? With NFL Draft looming, perception battles realityVideo
Downtown Pittsburgh, by turns glamorous and grimy, boasts a split personality. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey emphatically frames the gateway to the city as safe and vibrant. But persistent problems with homelessness, drugs and violent crime have long threatened to undermine that narrative. Just last month, police charged a man with...
Suspect arrested after University of New Mexico dorm shooting leaves 1 dead
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A shooting early Friday at a University of New Mexico dormitory killed a 14-year-old boy, wounded a 19-year-old and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of students and a campuswide search for the suspect, who has since been taken into custody. University officials lifted a shelter in place...
Man in Ligonier Township police incident died from self-inflicted gunshot wound, DA spokeswoman says
A man shot and killed himself during a traffic stop in Ligonier Township on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said Sunday. The incident happened around 5 p.m. near Route 30 and Baywood Road, spokeswoman Melanie Jones said. According to Jones, county detectives were called out...
15-year-old who left Pittsburgh hospital found safe, police say
A 15-year-old boy who was considered endangered after leaving a hospital in Pittsburgh has been found, Pittsburgh police said Sunday. He is safe, police said. Police originally said Timothy Powell was reported missing Saturday after leaving a hospital in the 3800 block of O’Hara Street. The hospital was not named....
Ohio woman dies following crash on Route 22 in North Fayette
A 66-year-old woman from Ohio was fatally injured on a crash on Route 22 in North Fayette on Saturday morning, according to state police. State police said the single-vehicle crash happened around 9:15 a.m. on eastbound Route 22 just east of the Oakdale exit, Exit 15. According to state police,...
State police identify woman killed, man hurt in Butler County 3-wheeled motorcycle crash
State police have released the name of a woman who died and a man who was seriously hurt in a crash involving a three-wheeled motorcycle in Butler County Saturday afternoon. According to state police, Betty E. Campbell, 66, of Butler died at the scene on Oneida Valley Road in Washington...
Large family descended from Lebanese immigrants gathers from across region, nation & world for overdue reunion at Boyce Park
Four generations of a family with roots in Lebanon that today spans from the Alle-Kiski Valley, across the U.S. and to Brazil gathered at Boyce Park in Plum on Saturday for a reunion some of them said was too long in coming. The more than 150 people expected at the...
7 people taken to hospital after fire engine collision in Wilkinsburg
Several people were taken to the hospital after a collision between a vehicle and a fire engine in Wilkinsburg on Saturday morning. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the crash occurred at the intersection of Graham Boulevard and William Penn Highway around 10:30 a.m. The fire truck was responding to an...
The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here’s what could happen next
WASHINGTON — A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes, working to subpoena President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Republican-led House Oversight...
Immigration judges fired by Trump administration say they will fight back
CHICAGO — Federal immigration judges fired by the Trump administration are filing appeals, pursuing legal action and speaking out in an unusually public campaign to fight back. More than 50 immigration judges — from senior leaders to new appointees — have been fired since Donald Trump assumed the presidency for...
Police investigate vandalism at U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly’s office in Hermitage
Local and federal police forces have opened investigations after the Hermitage office of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly was vandalized overnight. According to a statement from Kelly’s office, the damage was discovered Saturday. Expletives, disparaging accusations and derisive comments directed toward the Republican from Butler were scrawled across office windows in...
Wrong-way detection system work to restrict Route 28 ramp shoulders in O’Hara, Harmar
Work that is part of the installation of a wrong-way detection system on Route 28 will be done at exits in O’Hara and Harmar starting Monday. The work to install conduits is scheduled for between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the southbound Route 28 off ramp...
Soldiers & Sailors architect designed home for sale in Monroeville
There are quite a few surprises inside the stately Monroeville house at 1397 Abers Creek Road. First is the stark contrast of the early-20th-century exterior with the thoroughly modern trappings on the interior. But the 3,450-square-foot house, which sits on just over 11 acres, also has an architectural pedigree. The...
Police accuse man of stealing $18K from casino at the Meadows by switching hold ’em cards
A 25-year-old man is accused of stealing more than $18,000 from a Washington County casino by moving cards around in multiple hands of “Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em,” according to state police. State police charged Brando Castaneda, of Washington, Pa. with one felony count of theft Thursday for the crime alleged...
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Donald Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland’s coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American. Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain,...
1 dead, 1 injured in East McKeesport crash
A man is dead and another is in the hospital after a fatal two-vehicle crash Friday night in East McKeesport. Allegheny County Police reported to the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Penn Avenue just before 7 p.m. Both drivers were transported to an area hospital where one was pronounced dead,...
‘Deliberate, patient approach’ resolved Tarentum SWAT incident peacefully, police chief says
A roughly three-hour SWAT standoff in Tarentum on Thursday was resolved peacefully because of a “deliberate, patient approach that prioritized time, communication and containment,” said William Vakulick, the borough’s police chief. “We’re grateful that yesterday’s incident on East Eighth Avenue was resolved without injury to the individual involved, the public...
Grocery tenant to fill Community Supermarket in Harrison will be ‘a tough sell’
Local grocery guru Doug Sprankle predicts it will be a tough sell to replace the closing Community Supermarket in Harrison. “It’s probably going to be near impossible,” said Sprankle, whose family owns supermarkets in Saxonburg, Leechburg and Kittanning. “The capital to open a business like that is insane. It’s a...
Westmoreland Land Bank amps up effort to sell vacant properties
Formerly vacant properties could soon be on the market in Westmoreland County. The county’s land bank, the agency responsible for collecting and rehabilitating properties, has put out a call for private Realtors as part of an effort to amp up sales that officials say will help pay for the next...
Ligonier woman killed by falling tree branch at softball event in McKeesport
A Ligonier woman was killed Wednesday after tree branches fell on her at a youth softball event in McKeesport. Gendie Miller, 49, was attending the event to watch her teenage daughter participate. USA Softball of Western Pennsylvania officials said the incident took place prior to game play during the Western...
Charleroi councilman claims glass plant will reopen, but other officials cannot confirm
The former Corelle Brands LLC glass plant in Charleroi, which produced Pyrex bakeware until it closed in April, could be reopened this year with a foreign producer, according to a Charleroi official. Councilman Larry Celaschi claimed in an email to fellow borough officials Thursday that negotiations with a potential buyer...
In Epstein furor, Trump struggles to shake off a controversy his allies once stoked
WASHINGTON — Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to...
