Top Stories category, Page 1491

A New Jersey woman admitted in federal court Thursday to entering a sham marriage with a Nigerian man who was living in Pittsburgh so he could become a permanent resident, according to prosecutors. Ajia Strauss, 28, of Newark, pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh federal court to conspiracy to defraud the United...

Valentine’s Day is Friday so make it a weekend to remember with the person you love. Some people might have three days off because Presidents Day is Monday. Here are some things to do in Pittsburgh. Sparkle and shine The Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze will present “Maker & Muse:...

Primanti Bros. is appealing to the singles crowd with lovers to scorn on Valentine’s Day, or at least those eager to move on with help from a french fry-slathered sandwich — and industrial-grade shredder. Dubbed the “Shred Your Ex” special, the regional chain’s timely marketing ploy will offer customers a...

A bit of a storm brewed across the Keystone State earlier this week — courtesy of Twitter — after Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman tweeted a photo of his wife, Gisele, suited-and-booted (not really) in a Carnival costume. “Waiting on confirmation from our PA Historian, gonna go out on a...

Lower Burrell’s mayor has named acting chief John Marhefka the city’s police chief. “John brings a wealth of knowledge and experience,” Mayor John Andrejcik said Thursday. “He was everyone’s best choice that I talked to including city police, employees and others.” Marhefka is Andrejcik’s brother-in-law. The State Ethics Commission has...

Nonunion firms no longer can say they are being frozen out of securing high-dollar construction contracts with Westmoreland County. Republican county Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew on Thursday terminated a controversial agreement with local trade unions. They said the Project Labor Agreement with the Pittsburgh Regional Building and Construction...

More testy court filings on Thursday in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case hurled more accusations at prosecutors as jurors wrapped up their third day of deliberations without rendering a verdict. The filing by defense attorney Randall McKinney, who represents homicide suspect Cheron Shelton, renewed calls for a mistrial in...

Greensburg is hoping a new TV show can bring some star power to the city’s efforts to eliminate blight. The city is one of many communities that applied for a shot to be featured on HGTV’s “Home Town Takeover,” which is set to premiere early next year. “Even though in...

Jason Brown was named director of the Carnegie Science Center on Thursday. Brown has served as the interim director of the Science Center since December 2018. He took the position following the retirement of former co-directors Ann Metzger and Ron Baillie. Before then, he was senior director of science education....

BEIJING — China reported a surge in deaths and infections from a new virus Thursday after changing the way the count is tallied, further clouding an epidemic that has stirred fear as it spread to more than two dozen countries. The spike came after two days in which the number...

Pittsburgh’s police union is throwing out a revised contract pitch by Mayor Bill Peduto’s office because it failed to generate enough votes, union officials said Thursday night. Just 32 police officers, or less than 5% of voters, supported the Peduto administration’s latest proposal — which offered a slightly higher pay...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is transferring $3.8 billion in recently passed military funding to finance construction of the president’s long-sought U.S.-Mexico border wall, angering not just Democrats but also GOP defense hawks. Thursday’s move by the Pentagon would transfer money from National Guard units, aircraft procurement and shipbuilding to...

Authorities responded to a crash that briefly snarled traffic Thursday afternoon in the northbound lanes of Route 28 just before the Aspinwall exit. No one was injured. Initial reports indicated the incident was a multi-vehicle crash shortly before 3 p.m. A school bus was spotted pulled over at the scene....

An 81-year-old woman was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer Thursday morning at the Crafton Ingram Shopping Center, police said. The woman, Florence Hall, of Pittsburgh, was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Police have not...

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a bipartisan measure Thursday limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran. The measure, authored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says Trump must win approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats to pass...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out against former White House chief of staff John Kelly for being disloyal after the ex-adviser came to the defense of a former national security aide who offered key testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The president’s comments targeting Kelly came after Kelly...

Complaints from neighbors about persistent foot traffic to and from a New Stanton apartment resulted in the arrest Wednesday of a 22-year-old woman on drugcharges, state police said. Olivia J. Vandyke of Jeannette was arraigned before East Huntingdon District Judge Charles Moore on charges of manufacturing, delivery and possession of...

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner on Thursday pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace during a confrontation last year with police in a Detroit hotel. In a plea agreement, Wagner had a felony count of obstruction reduced to disturbing the peace. She then pleaded no contest to that lesser charge...

Armstrong County 911 call centers are back online, after being down for about two hours Thursday. The call centers were not available to take any calls from around noon to 2 p.m., a county dispatcher said. A dispatcher wasn’t able to identify the cause of the problem, but said it...