Top Stories category, Page 1695
Former Cleveland judge pleads guilty in ex-wife’s stabbing death
CLEVELAND — A former county judge in Cleveland pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally stabbing his ex-wife moments after she had dropped off their two daughters last November. Lance Mason, 51, told a visiting judge in a Cuyahoga County courtroom that he wanted to “take responsibility for my crimes,” adding, “There...
Southwest to drop Pittsburgh-to-Los Angeles nonstop flights
Southwest Airlines will eliminate nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles as it drops nonstop flights to many of the cities it serves. The changes are effective Jan. 6, 2020. Also in January, Southwest will add more flights to Atlanta, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Chicago Midway, Fort Myers and Tampa,...
Man rescued after clinging to capsized boat for 12 hours in Lake Erie
PORT CLINTON, Ohio — The U.S. Coast Guard says the crew on a Lake Erie fishing boat rescued a man who had been clinging to his capsized sailboat for about 12 hours. Authorities say the crew spotted the man Monday morning about 4 miles off the shores of Port Clinton...
Brownsville ambulance treasurer accused of stealing $132K
A Fayette County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations that he took $136,000 from the Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc. while working as the organization’s treasurer, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Edward T. Stevenson, 62, of Newell is accused of mail fraud and theft in...
VFW hall damaged by fire in Armstrong County
A VFW hall in Manor Township, Armstrong County, was damaged by fire early Tuesday, according to emergency dispatchers. The fire at VFW Post 4843 on Bailey Avenue was reported shortly before 4 a.m. Nobody was hurt. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within two hours. The cause of the fire and the...
Hearing to address Elizabeth Forward bus standoff
Elizabeth Forward School District officials hope a court hearing Tuesday afternoon will end the district’s standoff with its transportation provider, but it’s still uncertain whether students will be able to get on a bus when school starts Thursday. If the hearing does not go well, officials may delay the start...
Man convicted of 1994 rape, murder in Carnegie found dead in prison
A prisoner who killed a Carnegie woman 25 years ago was found dead in his cell Sunday, according to the state Department of Corrections. Prison employees at the State Correctional Institution in Greene County were making their rounds when they found Jake Wesley, 51, unresponsive in his cell around 11:30...
The hazards of ‘Running While Female’
The thrill of hitting the trail at full stride and the exhilaration of the fabled “runner’s high” is often replaced by fear and trepidation for female runners in the area, across the country and around the world. Aug. 21 marks one year since the discovery of the body of 20-year-old...
Norwin cuts ties with Chinese student exchange program
Norwin has cut ties to an educational firm that brought Chinese students and educators to one of its schools last year. The Norwin School District will terminate its August 2018 agreement with the International Foundation Alliance-EDU Chinese Youth Ambassador Program, which was to send a group of Chinese students to...
Ex-Uber driver gets a year in jail for kidnapping, assaulting woman picked up in Downtown Pittsburgh
A former Uber driver convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a woman he picked up while off-duty in Downtown Pittsburgh nearly two years ago will spend another eight months behind bars. Soumana Dao, 32, was sentenced Monday to a year in jail, and he will receive about four months of credit...
Ohio man pleads not guilty in Jewish center video threatVideo
STRUTHERS, Ohio — A 20-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday to threatening a Jewish community center in a video that authorities say showed him shooting a semi-automatic rifle. A judge near Youngstown set bond at $250,000 for James Reardon, ordered a mental health evaluation and told him to stay away...
Allegheny River group concerned it was victim of alleged scam
Boaters who can’t use locks on the upper reaches of the Allegheny River can count themselves among the alleged victims of what state prosecutors say was a scam. The Allegheny River Development Corp. (ARDC), a Kittanning-based nonprofit, canceled the opening of locks 6 through 9 in Armstrong County this past...
Mark Madden: Roberto Clemente was great but not nearly greatest
Roberto Clemente would have turned 85 this past Sunday. If he’s not the best player in Pirates history, he’s definitely the most revered and rightly so. Clemente oozed class and poise, conducting himself in forthright fashion. His plane crashed while on a mission of charity, further sanctifying him in the...
Rostraver Eat’n Park waiter serves up simple act of kindness to WWII veteran
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. Or so the saying goes. On Saturday evening, Lisa Meilander saw an example of simple kindness that so struck her she decided to post something publicly about it on Facebook. “I don’t normally make my posts public,” she said....
Police: 6-year-old started West Oakland fire that displaced nearly 80 peopleVideo
A 6-year-old boy started a fire in the laundry room of a second-floor apartment Saturday afternoon, causing a blaze that displaced nearly 80 people from a West Oakland apartment building, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said Monday. The boy, who isn’t being identified or charged by police, told investigators he used...
St. Margaret employees raise more than $129K for patients in need
The employee giving campaign hosted by St. Margaret Foundation drew record-breaking results this year, topping $129,000 to help patients in need. President Mary Lee Gannon said the total reaffirms that UPMC St. Margaret employees are confident that the foundation makes a meaningful difference. “They see first-hand the tragedies our patients...
Planned Parenthood will stop taking Title X funding rather than comply with abortion ‘gag rule’Video
NEW YORK — Planned Parenthood said Monday it’s pulling out of the federal family planning program rather than abide by a new Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood’s acting president and CEO, said the organization’s nationwide network of health centers would...
Missing Lake Erie boater identified as Plum man
A man missing in Lake Erie since Saturday morning is from Plum, according to information provided by Ohio authorities. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources identified the missing man as Raymond Burns, 58. The agency said Burns was in a recreational fishing boat that was swamped by a squall around...
Cops: Ex-Duquesne basketball players involved in South Side fracas
The two men who are charged for their part in a fracas on Pittsburgh’s South Side early Sunday morning are former Duquesne University basketball players. Pittsburgh police said that two officers were hurt while responding to the incident, which caused a large, unruly crowd to gather. Tarin A. Smith, 23,...
Tractor-trailer overturns on Tarentum Bridge, sending scrap onto tracks belowVideo
A tractor-trailer that overturned on the Tarentum Bridge early Monday afternoon dropped part of its load off the bridge onto Norfolk Southern railroad tracks below. The crash happened just before 1 p.m., according to an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher. It was just before the First Avenue exit ramp off the...
Animal rescue seeking tips, donations after dog found dead in North Huntingdon
Humane agents are seeking help from the public after a dog with an apparent gunshot wound was found dead in North Huntingdon wearing a muzzle and tied to a railroad post. All But Furgotten President Melanie Wedge said the animal may have struggled before its death along a set of...
4 accused in Crabtree baseball bat assault held without bond
A district judge denied bond Monday for four people accused in a baseball-bat beating that severely injured a Crabtree man outside his home late Sunday. Sarah A. Miller, 31, and Matthew J. White, 20, both of Greensburg, and Devon M. Allen, 25, and Treavair A. Green, 18, of Pittsburgh, are...
‘Bored’ volunteer firefighter pleads guilty to 2 Munhall arsons
A volunteer firefighter who told police he set two porches on fire in December 2018 in Munhall because he was bored pleaded guilty Monday in Allegheny County Court to arson charges. Judge Randal Todd is scheduled to sentence Ryan Laubham, 19, of Munhall, on Nov. 14. Laubham’s attorney, Casey White,...
Police: Wilkinsburg teen shot at girlfriend’s brother six times
A Wilkinsburg teenager told police he fired about six shots at his girlfriend’s brother with a borrowed gun Sunday evening because he feared for his own safety, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Robert Cook, 17, was taken into custody at his home after the shooting, which happened...
Allegheny County Council to hold hearing on countywide police review board
Over a year after Allegheny County Council took the first steps to form an independent, countywide police review board, the council is moving toward a vote on the ordinance to establish the body. The Special Committee on Independent Police Review, chaired by District 10 Councilman DeWitt Walton, D-Hill District, will...
