Top Stories category, Page 1726
Court rules that Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave law can stand
Pittsburgh went 1-1 in cases before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday with justices ruling the city has authority to require paid sick leave for workers employed in the private sector and striking down an ordinance requiring training for security guards. Pittsburgh City Council in 2015 approved both ordinances and...
Bike run to honor fallen servicemen from Westmoreland, Beaver counties
Two Western Pennsylvania servicemen killed last year in Afghanistan will be honored during the second annual Fallen Heroes Run, set for Aug. 10 in Hempfield. Beginning at 8:15 a.m. at the Z&M Harley-Davidson dealership on Route 30, the motorcycle run will pay tribute to Army Sgt. Jason McClary, 24, an...
Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman sentenced to life in prison
NEW YORK — The Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to life behind bars in a U.S. prison, a humbling end for a drug lord notorious for his ability to kill, bribe or tunnel his way out of trouble. A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down the...
Animal Friends waives adoption fees because of abundance of cats
Those looking to add a furry friend to the family should head to Animal Friends this weekend, when all requested adoption donations will be waived. The Ohio Township facility says it’s filled to capacity because of an extremely active kitten season and the recent rescue of 31 cats from a...
After ‘person of color’ quip, Rep. Mike Kelly clarifies: ‘We’re all created equal’
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, is defending comments he made to a reporter Tuesday, in the wake of President Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from. “You know, they talk about people of color. I’m a person of color. I’m white,” Kelly...
Pa. State Police seize $11 million in illicit drugs during past 3 months
State troopers across Pennsylvania confiscated 84 pounds of heroin and nearly 33 pounds of fentanyl between April 1 and June 30, according to an announcement. The seizures were part of $11 million in illicit drugs that troopers got off the streets during the second quarter of 2019. The heroin was...
Driver flown to hospital after truck rolls over in Butler County crash
A Johnstown man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after the truck he was driving rolled in a two-vehicle crash on Route 422 in Butler County on Tuesday afternoon. According to state police, Ryan S. Kimmel, 37, was driving a Freightliner east on Route 422 between the Jefferson Street and...
1 dead, 1 hurt in Lawrence County shooting
Two men in their 20s were shot at a residence in Lawrence County around 1 a.m. Wednesday, state police said. The shooting happened at a residence on Bryson Hill Road in Shenango Township. Brian Robert Eisenhuth, 23, died at the scene, police said. The other victim, Ronald L. Lantz Jr.,...
Heavy downpours to be followed by extreme heat heading into weekend
The Pittsburgh region is set to get up to an inch of rain Wednesday followed by hot and muggy weather that could see heat indexes reach and exceed 100 degrees this weekend, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Isolated and scattered showers crossed the region early Wednesday, meteorologist Jason Frazier...
Missing Pittsburgh girl found safe
A missing 10-year-old girl has been located and is safe, according to Pittsburgh police. Police had sought the public’s help in finding India Ford. She had last been seen at about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Rosedale Street....
Rescuers look for survivors after building collapse in India
MUMBAI, India — Rescuers cleared debris and used sniffer dogs Wednesday to find possible survivors under the rubble of a dilapidated building that collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. At least 12 people were killed, and several are still feared trapped. Dozens of rescuers worked overnight at the site...
Girl found shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
A 15-year-old girl was found shot in the Hill District Tuesday night. According to city police, officers went to the 2100 block of White Hill Drive just after 10 p.m. in response to a 911 call of a shot fired. There, they found the girl with a gunshot wound to...
Pittsburgh rescue helps cat that lost leg after firecracker abuse
A cat named Pickles is being cared for by Pittsburgh’s Humane Animal Rescue after her leg was injured by firecrackers and had to be amputated. The rescue organization posted on Facebook Tuesday about the case of animal cruelty, which it discovered when good Samaritans brought the 3-year-old cat to the...
Two men shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Pittsburgh police are investigating a double shooting in the Hill District. Officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation and 911 calls of shots fired in the area of Reed and Brackenridge streets shortly before 7:40 p.m. Tuesday. They discovered one man with a gunshot wound to his leg, and another man...
State officials approve Penn Hills School District’s recovery plan
State Department of Education officials gave their approval to a plan to save the financially struggling Penn Hills School District. The plan was crafted over the past several months by state-appointed recovery officer Dan Matsook with input from a special advisory committee, district officials and residents. School board members approved...
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies at 99
WASHINGTON — John Paul Stevens, the bow-tied, independent-thinking, Republican-nominated justice who unexpectedly emerged as the Supreme Court’s leading liberal, died Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after suffering a stroke Monday. He was 99. During nearly 35 years on the court, Stevens stood for the freedom and dignity of individuals, be...
Robert Wideman begins new life in Pittsburgh halfway house after 44 years in prison
Last winter, after seven unsuccessful appeals to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Robert Wideman had given up hope of ever leaving the state prison system that had been his home for more than four decades. On Wednesday, Wideman, who finally was released from prison last week after a final appeal...
A divided House votes for resolution condemning Trump’s ‘racist’ remarks
WASHINGTON — In a remarkable political repudiation, the Democratic-led U.S. House voted Tuesday night to condemn President Trump’s “racist comments” against four congresswomen of color, despite protestations by Trump’s Republican congressional allies and his own insistence he hasn’t “a racist bone in my body.” Two days after Trump tweeted that...
PennDOT to clean drains along flood-prone area of Route 28
PennDOT plans to clean drainage pipes along an area of busy Route 28 in Pittsburgh that flooded last week for the second time in two months. The work, scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, will occur between the 40th and 31st bridges. Motorists...
Penn Township could get turnpike ramp on Route 130 following commission’s approval
A turnpike interchange could be coming at last to Penn Township, though advocates likely still have a while to wait. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday to allocate $30 million to build a cashless tolling interchange at state Route 130. The project was added to the commission’s 10-year capital plan....
Pittsburgh’s black population accounts for majority of arrests, report says
An annual report from Pittsburgh police shows a continuing racial disparity among the people they arrest, pull over and frisk. The total number of arrests, traffic stops and frisks has dropped in recent years, but African-Americans continue to experience numbers disproportional to their population in the city. A consent decree...
Lawrenceville added to National Register of Historic places
The U.S. Department of the Interior has added Lawrenceville — one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and trendiest neighborhoods — to the National Register of Historic Places. Sarah Quinn, the city’s historic preservation planner, said the designation carries no restrictions for private property owners. Certain eligible buildings being rehabilitated or redeveloped would...
Jeannette residents work to recover after heavy rains flooded basements with wastewater
Toni Crawford’s new washer and dryer were destroyed Thursday when 4 feet of sewage and water flowed up through a drain in her West Jeannette basement. By Tuesday, her basement had been scrubbed clean three times, but her anger had not subsided. “I’m disgusted with this sewer system,” she said....
Turnpike commission hikes tolls for 12th straight year — and will until 2044
Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls are set to go up, again. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on Tuesday approved a 6% hike for all customers, which will take effect Jan. 5. The most common toll for passenger vehicles will rise from $1.40 to $1.50 for E-ZPass users and from $2.30 to $2.50 for...
2 charged in killing Wilkinsburg woman for tax refund plead guilty
Two of three people accused of killing a Wilkinsburg woman in 2018 to rob her of her tax refund pleaded guilty Tuesday to their part in the crime, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. A third man is awaiting trial in the case. Keiauna Davis, 27, was shot...
