Top Stories category, Page 1584
Multi-vehicle wrecks cleared from inbound Parkway North
Traffic is back to normal after a pair of multi-vehicle crashes along the inbound Parkway North snarled traffic for several hours during the morning rush hour, according to authorities. The wrecks occurred shortly before 7 a.m. just past the East Street exit to Route 28, state police said. One of...
Pier 1 Imports closing nearly half of stores as sales falter
FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports is closing nearly half its 942 stores as it struggles to draw consumers and compete online. The home decor company said Monday it is closing up to 450 stores and will also shutter distribution centers. It didn’t say where the store closures would...
PennDOT vehicles enforcing speed limits in work zone on Boulevard of the Allies
PennDOT has launched a new automated system that records the speed of vehicles traveling through work zones to make it safer for road repair crews. The electronic speed timing devices, which will be mounted on vehicles so they can easily be moved to various locations, were deployed Monday in seven...
Dry January or Dry-ish January? Both can have health benefits
The holiday parties are over, the New Year’s resolutions are in and many likely revolve around a healthier 2020. For those who may have been over-served during December’s festivities, or are just looking for a challenge, that could include cutting out the glass of wine with dinner or the cocktails...
Former Passionist priest, who once served in Pittsburgh, gets probation for ‘unnatural acts’ on a minor
BOSTON — A Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to two counts of “unnatural acts” with a minor for accusations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s. James Randall Gillette was sentenced to five years of probation in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Jan. 2, according to court records....
‘It feels like a movie.’ Turnpike crash survivor recounts ordeal
Quwanjay Ellis was drifting off to sleep on a bus traveling from New York to Ohio about 3:30 Sunday morning when he heard a voice in his head: “Open your eyes.” He had only moments to brace for what came next. Sitting in the aisle seat directly behind the driver,...
Stowe police wound suspect in shooting near Sto-Rox High School
A Stowe Township police officer fired his gun at a man who had been driving a car that may have been involved in a shooting near Sto-Rox High School Monday afternoon, Allegheny County Police said. Police said the man was grazed by the bullet and taken into custody. After being...
Editorial: Is there enough talk about Pa. Turnpike safety?
There is a lot of talk about the turnpike. People gripe about the annually escalating tolls and the large amount of debt the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission carries with huge annual payments to the state Department of Transportation for non-turnpike-related services. But is there enough conversation about how safe the turnpike...
Jeannette woman gets 15 to 30 years in prison for boyfriend’s death
A Jeannette woman convicted last year in the fatal bludgeoning of her teen-aged boyfriend insisted in court on Monday she did not intend for him to die. Crystal Belle, 40, said during her sentencing hearing she cared deeply for her 19-year-old boyfriend, Khalil Parker, even as she used the wooden...
$1 million New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket sold in Salem
Someone who shopped at a Salem convenience store wanted to be a millionaire, apparently. Now they are, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. A winning $1 million New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket was sold at the GetGo store on State Route 22. The ticket matched one of four numbers picked in...
2 Pennsylvanians among the 5 people killed in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash
Two of the five people killed in Sunday’s deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash in Westmoreland County were from Pennsylvania. Dennis Kehler, 48, of Lebanon, a driver for UPS for 28 years, leaves behind his wife, Kathleen, a daughter and two stepchildren. “He was one of the most generous men I’ve ever...
Rostraver West Newton paramedic killed on I-70 remembered as dedicated, compassionateVideo
A 14-year-old Matthew Smelser showed up three decades ago for a youth emergency medical explorer program in Connellsville. Greg Cominsky, a longtime area paramedic, knew right away that he was destined for a career helping people. “Oh, Matt took an immediate interest in it. He was so eager, so dedicated...
Pittsburgh City Council elects new president, newest North Side rep takes officeVideo
As she continues her third term on Pittsburgh City Council, Theresa Kail-Smith had been content in a non-leadership role. “I was comfortable being led,” Kail-Smith said. That ended Monday, when Kail-Smith, 60, of the Westwood neighborhood in the city’s West End, was unanimously elected the new council president. “It was...
New Westmoreland County sheriff finds offices trashed
Newly installed Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert found a surprise when he arrived at work Monday morning. Stacks of boxes filled with old arrest warrants blocked the door to his administrative suite of offices, trash was strewn on floors and desks, and the former sheriff’s dirty uniforms were piled beneath...
Hulton Road fully reopens after months of landslide repair in Penn Hills
A section of Hulton Road along the border of Plum and Penn Hills that had been closed since July reopened Monday, PennDOT spokeswoman Yasmeen Manyisha said. Hulton Road had been closed for slide repair between Iowa Street and Michael Drive since July 1. A landslide in that area occurred in...
PennDOT to close I-70 West Newton ramp for 8 months
Motorists using the westbound on and off ramps of the West Newton/Mt. Pleasant exit on Interstate 70 will have to detour several miles and for several months beginning Jan. 15, PennDOT said. The westbound ramps will be closed starting at 8 a.m. Jan. 15 until about August for ramp reconstruction...
Freeport man involved in Brackenridge crash dies
A man involved in a two-vehicle crash in Brackenridge on Dec. 20 has died. Shane Conklin, 31, of Freeport died Jan. 1 in UPMC Presbyterian hospital, Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The car he was driving collided with a van carrying a driver and two passengers...
First day of jury selection in 2016 Wilkinsburg massacre yields 2 jurors
Two jurors were seated Monday in the trial for two suspects in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting, which killed five adults and an unborn child. Attorneys interviewed nine potential jurors in the first day of jury selection for the capital case against Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas. Counsel for defense...
Police: 4 hurt when Jeannette man hits them with pickup while drunk
Four people were hospitalized after state police said a Jeannette man hit them with a pickup truck early Saturday. Dominic Giovanni Bellone, 20, was drunk when he hit two men and two women in Derry Township and fled, according to court papers. He is being held at the Westmoreland County...
Police: Bus driver, 2 others ejected after hitting center barrier in deadly Turnpike crash
The driver of a tour bus involved in a deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash Sunday was ejected from the vehicle, as were two passengers, after it struck the center barrier at 3:30 a.m., state police said. Shuang Qing Feng, 58, of Flushing, N.Y., was driving west in the left lane when...
Westmoreland courthouse reopens after bomb threat
A bomb threat closed the Westmoreland County courthouse for nearly three hours Monday, the first day for new administration in the commissioner’s office and sheriff’s department. The Greensburg courthouse was evacuated after a threat was received shortly after 9 a.m., Sheriff Jim Albert said. Explosive-sniffing dogs from police agencies in...
Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Slack Tide’ tour coming to BurgettstownVideo
Spend an evening in Margaritaville with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band on July 16 at S&T Bank Music Park (formerly KeyBank Pavilion) in Burgettstown. The 8 p.m. show is part of Jimmy Buffett’s Slack Tide Tour 2020. Parrotheads can expect Buffett to dig deep into his catalog for...
T routes restored after stalled rail car causes delays
All light rail transit lines have returned to their regular routes after a rail car lost power at the entrance to the Washington Transit Tunnel this morning, according to Adam Brandolph, a spokesman for the agency. The stalled rail car caused delays across the system and forced Port Authority to...
Jury selection slated to begin in 2016 Wilkinsburg backyard massacre
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning for the trial against two men accused in the massacre of five adults and an unborn child in Wilkinsburg nearly four years ago. Cheron Shelton, 32, and Robert Thomas, 31, each face five counts of homicide, one count of homicide of an...
Pa. Turnpike tragedy: 5 dead in ‘horrific incident’ that could take weeks to investigateVideo
A deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash involving a tour bus and multiple tractor-trailers early Sunday left the vehicles so entangled that it took first responders hours to reach the dead and shut down the major thoroughfare for nearly 15 hours, authorities said. Five people died in what Pennsylvania State Police called...
