Top Stories category, Page 158
Final member of trio charged in fatal Pittsburgh drug robbery heads to trial
Police say Sammie Lane Jr. executed Tayrod Ford in August 2022 during a drug robbery in Pittsburgh’s East End and then fled several hours later aboard a Greyhound bus. It would take nearly three years for authorities to track Lane down. They found him in March in a Lancaster County...
Botched bail hearing sparks memo to judges in wake of homicide
Allegheny County’s top judge has clamped down on a controversial legal maneuver that freed a violent crime defendant from jail, enabling him, authorities say, to walk away from an unsecured facility and kill a woman several months later. A judge in the court’s criminal division repeatedly denied bail for Isreal...
Girl, dog rescued from fire at Penn Township home
A young girl and a dog were rescued from a fire that extensively damaged a Penn Township home Monday afternoon. The juvenile female was unconscious when two Irwin firefighters and a Harrison City firefighter reached her in a second-floor room, said Irwin Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Stitely. “It was very...
NLRB approves union election by nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
UPMC must allow nurses working at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital to hold a union election, the regional National Labor Relations Board ruled Friday. Nurses at the Oakland hospital in May announced they wanted to unionize, calling for better staff-to-patient ratios, higher pay and more transparency from UPMC. About 1,000 nurses will...
Former Greensburg police chief pleads guilty to evidence tampering charges
Former Greensburg police chief Shawn Denning pleaded guilty Monday in Westmoreland County court to three misdemeanor counts of tampering with evidence. Denning, 44, of Delmont was sentenced to serve three concurrent one-year probation terms, which will run alongside the 15-month federal prison sentence he is serving after pleading guilty this...
South Buffalo bridge to remain closed for weeks as township plans informational meeting
A wooden bridge that provides one of only two access points to South Buffalo’s Clinton neighborhood is set to remain closed for at least a few weeks, according to a spokesman for the railroad that owns the structure. Last week, crews closed the 115-year-old bridge, which carries Clinton Road over...
Man grazed by shots fired in Brighton Heights
One man was grazed in the head by a bullet fired Monday morning in Brighton Heights, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The shot was among 27 detected by two ShotSpotter alerts detected at the 600 block of Brighton Woods Road, according to WTAE. Jack Stack pool and playground are...
Fire damages North Huntingdon house
North Huntingdon firefighters were fighting a fire early Monday morning on a house in the western edge of the township, according to North Huntingdon fire dispatch. The fire was reported in the 200 block of Sherrick Drive around 7 a.m. This story will be updated....
Texas governor says Democrats have ‘forfeited’ their offices as they try to block GOP gerrymander
Texas Democrats on Monday prevented their state’s House of Representatives from moving forward, at least for now, with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Donald Trump to shore up Republicans’ 2026 midterm prospects as his political standing falters. After dozens of Democrats left the state, the Republican-dominated House was...
Domestic assault suspect shot by McKeesport resident after escape attempt, police say
Police are investigating an incident that they said led a McKeesport resident to shoot a man who was attempting to enter their apartment early Monday morning. According to Allegheny County Police, first responders arrived at the scene of a domestic incident at the 2300 block of Highland Avenue in McKeesport...
New Kensington bustling 5 years into revitalization plan
Mike Malcanas took the advice he got years ago at a business convention to heart. “Everybody — no matter where they were from — said the day a brewery came into town, the attitude started to change,” said Malcanas, operator of New Kensington’s Voodoo Brewing and founder of Olde Towne...
National Night Out events to be held this week and next
First responders in local communities will participate in the National Night Out events this week and next. The National Night Out campaign, launched in Philadelphia in 1984, focuses on fostering positive relationships between residents and first responders — including firefighters and police officers. The movement has spread throughout the country,...
Exchange of gunfire leads to standoff in Scott Township, 2 arrested
Two men were arrested after an exchange of gunfire led to a standoff in Scott Township Sunday morning, according to township police. Travis Coles, 30, and Ean Strimlan, 21, will be charged with three counts of simple assault and three counts of terroristic threats, Scott police said. Coles has an...
‘Rallying for Rescues’ in Lower Burrell brings financial support, awareness to animal rescues in the region
Sometimes, it’s those who do the saving that need the help. That’s the idea behind Rallying for Rescues, first held in 2024 and brought back for a second year Sunday at Derek Kotecki Memorial Park in Lower Burrell. Proceeds from this year’s event are benefiting 16 rescues, primarily for dogs...
Texas Democrats leave the state to block vote on redrawn House map backed by Trump
Texas Democrats are leaving the state in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. The dramatic move Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other...
Pittsburgh police identify ‘person of interest’ in Downtown shooting
Pittsburgh police released photos Sunday of a person of interest in the Friday afternoon shooting in Downtown Pittsburgh. Two people were wounded in the incident, which took place on a busy section of Penn Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets. On social media, police said they are seeking the public’s...
Monroeville shooting sends 2 to hospital
Two people were injured in a shooting Saturday evening in the Monroeville retail corridor. Monroeville police were notified of the shooting at 6:49 p.m. in the 4000 block of William Penn Highway, near Miracle Mile Shopping Center. The Allegheny County Police Department responded as well. At the scene, first responders...
Senate heads home with no deal to speed confirmations
WASHINGTON — The Senate left Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!” Without...
Magnitude-3.0 earthquake shakes N.Y. area, USGS says
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. — A small earthquake rattled the New York metropolitan area Saturday night. The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 3.0. It hit in the New Jersey suburb of Hasbrouck Heights, less than 8 miles west of Central Park, at a depth of about...
Rooney family connection with Saint Vincent College spans generations, runs deeper than Steelers football
No matter where you look on the Saint Vincent College campus, it’s hard not to find the influence of the Rooney family. From Rooney Hall and Chuck Noll Field to Verostko Center for the Arts and the under-construction Dunlap Family Athletic and Recreation Center, the Rooneys — and by extension...
Watchdog agency investigating ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith for alleged illegal political activity
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — An independent watchdog agency responsible for enforcing a law against partisan political activity by federal employees has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who brought two criminal cases against then-candidate Donald Trump before his election to the White House last year. The...
Ohiopyle State Park tops list of nation’s ‘great-value stays’
Nine state parks in Pennsylvania have been listed among the United States’ best when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck. In fact, one topped the list. As conducted and published by HomeToGo, the list ranked Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County as the No. 1 state...
New Kensington house fire displaces residents of 4 apartments
No one was hurt in a fire that severely damaged a house containing four apartments on New Kensington’s Sixth Avenue early Saturday. The fire appeared to start at the back of the three-story house at 533/535 Sixth Ave. and burned through the roof. A state police fire marshal will investigate...
Harmar riverfront fire battle without hydrants closes Freeport Road, stops train traffic
When popping sounds from her neighbor’s burning home woke Holly Bills up early Saturday morning, her fire safety training kicked in. She knew to get out and away from her home along the Allegheny River in Harmar, but it wasn’t easy. “I had difficulty opening the door because the siding...
Jefferson Hills homicide by vehicle suspect turns himself in
The suspect in a vehicle homicide turned himself in Friday, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. William George Haughey surrendered shortly after 1 p.m. to deputies and was arrested. Haughey, 42, was charged by Jefferson Hills Police earlier in the week with numerous counts — including homicide by vehicle,...
