Top Stories category, Page 1666
Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez held without bail on child sex charges in Westmoreland CountyVideo
Suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez arrived at a Westmoreland County courtroom Wednesday and shook hands with a district judge before being arraigned on child sex allegations. The Venezuela native wore dark frame glasses, a blue jail uniform and had his hands cuffed in front of him. An interpreter translated...
Police investigating after bullet discovered in cafeteria at Pine-Richland High School
Pine-Richland School District activated its safety response team Sept. 25 after a single, nine-millimeter bullet was found in the cafeteria at Pine-Richland High School. The bullet was found by a student and given to a staff member who shared it with the building administration. According to a post on the...
A Few Bad Apples is spoiling Pittsburghers with their delicious hard cider
As a kid, Mike Sturges was urged by his mother to set up a roadside stand and sell apples from his parents’ Gibsonia property. When his first-grade teacher stopped to buy some, Sturges was too embarrassed to sell her any. The fruit didn’t meet stereotypical schoolhouse standards: It was blemished...
Iowa State fan raises $1 million for children’s hospital with beer money sign
Carson King, a 24-year-old Iowa State fan from Altoona, Iowa, became famous last week after he and his hand-written sign made a cameo on ESPN’s “College GameDay.” “Busch Light supply needs replenished,” read his sign, which provided a Venmo account to send money to. He thought he’d gets some laughs...
International priests now make up 25% of those serving in Greensburg diocese
A quarter of the Catholic priests serving in the Diocese of Greensburg now come from outside the United States, mostly from the Philippines. Five new international priests arrived over the summer, bringing the number to 20, according to the diocese. Four are Filipinos awaiting pastoral assignments after completing a time...
Hempfield casino construction expected to start soon
Construction is expected to begin soon on a new mini casino at Westmoreland Mall, with a predicted opening date of mid-to-late summer 2020, according to Doug Harbach, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Slated for the former Bon-Ton store at the Hempfield shopping mall, Live! Casino Pittsburgh will feature...
Police make another arrest in Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller’s death
Police in Arizona arrested a man Tuesday in connection with the death of Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller. The Arizona Republic reported Ryan Reavis, 36, of Lake Havasu City was arrested Tuesday, and police said a search of his home yielded a prescription pad, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia and marijuana. The...
Gas leak that forced evacuation of New Kensington vo-tech school to be investigatedVideo
The state’s Public Utility Commission said it will investigate a gas line break Wednesday in New Kensington that forced the evacuation of a school. Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center was evacuated in the morning and closed for the rest of the day after work crews ruptured a natural gas...
Memo: Trump prodded Ukraine leader to investigate Biden
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump repeatedly prodded Ukraine’s new leader to work with Rudy Giuliani and the U.S. attorney general to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, according to a rough transcript summarizing the call released Wednesday. In the call, Trump raised unsubstantiated allegations that the former vice president sought...
Dinosaur helps sell house in Pittsburgh’s Stanton HeightsVideo
Sometimes, when selling a house, a little help is a good thing. Of course, in the case of a home in Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood, it’s more of a “big” help. Like dinosaur-size. OK, so it’s not a real dinosaur. It’s just someone in an inflatable T-Rex costume. And it’s...
Trump says impeachment drive a plus, but he tweets with fury
NEW YORK — Fifty-eight floors above Manhattan, President Donald Trump watched his legacy change and his political future grow more uncertain. The president, back in his hometown of New York for the U.N. General Assembly, was taking “executive time” at his Trump Tower penthouse late Tuesday afternoon when Speaker Nancy...
Attempted rape in Whitaker under investigation
A bicyclist was able to fight off a man who assaulted and exposed himself to her Tuesday afternoon on a popular bike trail in Whitaker, according to Allegheny County Police. The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. while the woman was riding on the Great Allegheny Passage trail under the...
Western Pa. congressmen weigh in on Trump’s Ukraine dealings, impeachment inquiry
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said Tuesday afternoon that allegations of President Trump’s improper dealings with Ukraine’s new leader “add to the urgency of a full and immediate impeachment inquiry.” Doyle, a 13-term congressman, made the remark in a news release issued just before Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the...
Police: Mother left kids to help friend in a fight; ‘deplorable’ home conditions detailed
Police have charged a woman for leaving her two children alone in their Bedford Dwellings home. The 23-year-old woman, Mattie Viola Sims, told police that she left the residence in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood to help a friend who was about to fight nearby. The children, ages 4 and 1,...
Audit: Pittsburgh property sales ‘shrouded in secrecy,’ open to fraudVideo
Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority are sitting on thousands of tax delinquent properties for years because of a public sales process that is “shrouded in secrecy” and difficult to navigate for potential buyers, according to an audit released Tuesday by the city Controller’s Office. Controller Michael Lamb said...
Robert Hunter, Grateful Dead’s poetic lyricist, dead at 78Video
LOS ANGELES — Robert Hunter, the man behind the poetic and mystical words for many of the Grateful Dead’s finest songs, has died at age 78. Hunter died Monday at his Northern California home with his wife, Maureen, at his side, former Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally told The Associated...
Plethora of pumpkin choices at The Pie Place in the South HillsVideo
Pumpkin pastries will be prominent at the Pie Place. The bakery located on the Bethel Park/Upper St. Clair border created 31 days of pumpkin treats. Day one started Monday with pumpkins located throughout the store to introduce the promotion. On Tuesday, the choice of the day was pumpkin tarts. The...
Nancy Pelosi orders impeachment probe: ‘No one is above the law’Video
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, acquiescing to mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and plunging a deeply divided nation into an election year clash between Congress and the commander in chief. The probe centers on whether Trump abused his...
Gun debate revived in Pennsylvania statehouse
The debate over guns was revived Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature after a year of shocking violence, although Democrats went away frustrated and warning the process could end up actually loosening gun laws. The day marked the start of a two-day Senate committee hearing on gun violence and a slate...
Trump says transcript of Ukraine conversation to be released
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he has directed the release on Wednesday of the “unredacted” transcript of his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump has acknowledged that he discussed former Vice President Joe Biden in the call. Trump tweets Tuesday that “You will see it was...
Police: Woman urinated on state agent searching her during Jeannette drug arrest
A Johnstown woman is charged with aggravated assault after she urinated on an agent from the state attorney general’s office who was searching her Monday at the Jeannette police station, according to court papers. Ashley Evon Sanders, 33, vomited as she was being placed in a holding cell at the...
Sheetz to open tech, innovation hub at Bakery Square
Along with convenience, breakfast burritos and blueberry beer, Sheetz is hoping to deliver innovation. The convenience store chain announced the upcoming opening of its technology and innovation hub at Bakery Square in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood. According to the company, Sheetz will use the hub to develop and test products and...
Sugar and Smoke restaurant at former Del’s building in Bloomfield closes
Say goodbye to another restaurant at the Bloomfield location once occupied by the iconic Italian bistro Del’s. Sugar and Smoke, an eatery that offered Southern-style cuisine such as brisket, smoked meatballs, po’ boys, and fried green tomato sandwiches, has apparently closed after being in business for a year. The windows...
Bill Peduto: Assault of black women at North Side gas station ‘made me sick’Video
Watching the video of two women being assaulted at a North Side gas station last week made Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto sick, he tweeted Tuesday morning. “We cannot be a civilized society and tolerate any violence against women. We must come together as one unified community and end all violence...
Westmoreland County sued over requirement that union workers complete major projects
Westmoreland County’s agreement with a Pittsburgh trades council has been challenged in federal court, claiming the deal excludes nonunion businesses from securing county construction contracts. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, seeks to invalidate the county’s project labor agreement approved in 2016 by Commissioners Gina Cerilli and...
