Top Stories category, Page 1703
Trump to spotlight Beaver County cracker plant during Western Pa. visit
President Trump plans to spotlight the ethane cracker plant under construction in Beaver County as a welcome example of economic progress and job creation when he visits Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon. Trump will discuss his administration’s efforts to bolster the manufacturing and energy sectors against the backdrop of one...
Gov. Wolf wants answers on 4 kids separated from families
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s governor says at least four children from his state were recently separated from their parents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and wrote Monday to demand the agency halt the practice until it has a plan to ensure the welfare of children. Gov. Tom Wolf asked Homeland...
Kevin Gorman: Rocky Bleier’s return to Vietnam gives new perspectiveVideo
When Rocky Bleier surveyed the open rice paddy at Hiep Duc in the Que Son Valley last August, the Pittsburgh Steelers great tried to visualize the differences of nearly five decades. “Jesus Christ,” Bleier said, stopping in his tracks. “You think about those guys that got killed.” Bleier sniffled, then...
Loyalhanna man seeks to overturn conviction for killing his mother, sister and aunt
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Monday challenged a judge’s ruling allocating up to $2,500 in taxpayer money for defense lawyers to hire a ballistics expert to help craft an appeal for a death row inmate. Kevin Murphy, 58, of Loyalhanna, is seeking to overturn his conviction to three counts of first-degree...
The Raconteurs plan phone-free concert at Pittsburgh’s Stage AE
The 21st-century concert experience largely means having one’s focus on the stage compromised by the glow from someone’s cellphone, or having a view obscured by people taking photos or making video recordings of their favorite song. That won’t be the case at Stage AE on Tuesday night, however, when Jack...
2 sent to hospitals after Route 28 crash near Tarentum exitVideo
Two women were taken to a hospital Monday afternoon after the car in which they were riding veered off Route 28. Witnesses told police the car flipped several times in the area of mile marker 19, just past the Tarentum exit, according to state police. The driver and her passenger...
Longtime Animal Friends CEO terminated
Animal Friends longtime President and CEO David Swisher has been terminated. According to Animal Friends board Chairwoman Gina Carlos, Swisher has been replaced by Kathleen Beaver, former chief strategy officer. “Upon being made aware of allegations against President and CEO David Swisher involving violations of the organization’s employment policies, Animal...
Sandcastle to add a new water slide: Bombs Away
There will be a new way to cool off at Sandcastle next summer. The West Homestead park announced it will next year debut Bombs Away, described as “a high altitude, looping free-fall body slide.” The park said the slide will take riders up more than six-stories. “Riders will enter the...
Motorcyclist ID’d in fatal Squirrel Hill tunnel crash
A 26-year-old Pittsburgh man was identified as the driver of the motorcycle involved in a fatal crash Friday morning in the eastbound lanes of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Aaron Pascal died at the scene of the crash, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said. Pascal was driving a motorcycle in...
Greensburg police track down three women charged in fatal heroin overdose
Greensburg police Monday afternoon announced they were looking for three women charged with supplying a fatal dose of heroin that killed a city woman May 16. By evening, all three had been arrested — including one more than 600 miles away. Police allege Janae M. Brown, 41, of Scottdale; Britnee...
Cops: Derry Township man drove 110 mph past state police patrol car
A Derry Township man was clocked driving more than 100 mph after passing a state trooper in a marked patrol car early Sunday along rural Route 217, according to police. Mark J. Wherry, 58, was arrested a short time later at his home along Tannery Hollow Road, where troopers tracked...
Firefighter was dad to 3 of 5 kids killed in day care blaze
ERIE — Three of five kids killed in a fire at a home child care center in Pennsylvania were the children of a volunteer firefighter who was responding to another call, an official said Monday. Luther Jones’ two daughters and a son were trapped in a blaze in the lakeside...
Trump overhauling enforcement of Endangered Species Act
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday rolled out some of the broadest changes in decades to enforcement of the landmark Endangered Species Act, allowing the government to put an economic cost on saving a species and other changes critics contend could speed extinction for some struggling plants and animals....
Attorneys for accused synagogue gunman Robert Bowers seek more time for evidence
A status conference Monday for accused synagogue shooter Robert Bowers yielded little more than an extension for both sides to trade evidence and file pre-trial motions. Bowers, 46, wasn’t at the hearing, which lasted about five minutes. The deadline for pre-trial motions was Thursday, but U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose...
4th person caught illegally dumping in Penn Hills
A fourth man has been caught illegally dumping in Penn Hills. Teron Allen, 34, of Verona, will face a maximum fine of $2,000 and clean-up costs for unloading a trailer full of debris on Manilla Street in the municipality’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on July 26, officials said in a news...
Steelers WR coach Darryl Drake’s autopsy shows ‘nothing suspicious’
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office is awaiting the result of toxicology tests to formally rule on the cause of death of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver coach Darryl Drake who was found Sunday in his dormitory room at Saint Vincent College, Coroner Ken Bacha said Monday. Bacha said an autopsy on...
Health Department lifts closure on Bruegger’s in Oakland
Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery on Forbes Avenue in Oakland reopened following an inspection by the Allegheny County Health Department earlier this week. The restaurant was closed after a health department inspection Aug. 9 found raw sewage backed up in the basement of the restaurant, grimy floors, overhead leaks and water damage...
Police: Bookkeeper took $63K from Murrysville real estate agency
An Indiana County woman is accused of transferring nearly $63,000 from a Murrysville real estate agency into her personal bank accounts, according to court papers. Angelica S. Botti, 40, of Robinson, was working as a bookkeeper for Re/Max Heritage when police said the thefts occurred. She is charged with unlawful...
Woman, teens accused of dumping over 300 tires in lot
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — State police say a woman and two teenagers dumped over 300 tires in a parking lot of a vacant motel in Pennsylvania. The Reading Eagle reports troopers found 61-year-old June Kuzowski and the two 15-year-olds throwing the tires out of a truck and onto the lot on...
Wilkinsburg man killed in Penn Hills shooting
A Wilkinsburg man was shot and killed early Monday in Penn Hills, according to authorities. Curtiss E. Meeks Jr., 48, was pronounced dead at the scene early Monday when police found him in the street with several gunshot wounds. The incident happened just after 2 a.m. in the 1200 block...
Hong Kong airport shuts down amid pro-democracy protest
HONG KONG — One of the world’s busiest airports canceled all flights after thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters crowded into the main terminal Monday afternoon. Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement that the demonstration “seriously disrupted” airport operations. Hong Kong has experienced more than two months of...
Looking for an apartment in Greensburg? There’s space above the Palace TheatreVideo
Spacious rooms? Check. Washer and dryer? Yes. Brand new appliances? Hooked up and ready to go. A reserved parking space? Two blocks away. The Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s open house Sunday in newly finished, third-floor apartments above the Palace Theatre in Greensburg showed off those amenities and more. Three apartments at...
Fire erupts in Moon Township when Jeep strikes gas line
No one was injured Sunday night when an unoccupied Jeep rolled into a Moon Township home, hit a gas line and burst into flames, according to Moon Township police. Members of the Moon Township Volunteer Fire Company responded at about 10:30 p.m. to the 200 block of Scottsdale Drive where...
Mercurio’s offers a little taste of Italy by the slice or in a coneVideo
Authentic Neapolitan pizza and award-winning gelato has landed in O’Hara. Mercurio’s, a family owned and operated Italian eatery in Shadyside since 2012, opened a second location in June at 1335 Freeport Road. Three sibling co-owners, Anna Crucitt and Michael and Joe Mercurio, were raised around the original family gelato business...
Festival to showcase rejuvenated Alcoa property in New Kensington
A one-day festival featuring art, music and food is growing into a three-day affair for its second go ’round. The first Arts, Beats and Treats was held on one day last year at AK Valley Park, the former Alcoa research center on Freeport Road in New Kensington. This year, the...
