Top Stories category, Page 1768
Old Yingling mansion in Wilkinsburg renovated into the Sleeping Octopus
Nicole Santella wasn’t impressed when her husband first showed her the rundown Yingling mansion in Wilkinsburg. The 30-plus room house on Wood Street had served over the years as Wilkinsburg’s hospital, a convalescent home and a personal care facility. It was abandoned for two years and a wreck when Santella...
Pentagon tells White House to stop politicizing militaryVideo
Acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan had a message for the White House: Politics and the military don’t mix. Shanahan and Navy officials have faced intense scrutiny over a White House request to hide the USS John S. McCain warship during President Trump’s visit to Japan last month — a moment,...
Environmental concerns shared at Greensburg’s Green Gathering
Concern about diminished recycling options was among issues that brought about 20 people to an informal Sunday meeting of a Greensburg-based citizens environmental group. Chaired by educator Paula Purnell of Greensburg, the Greensburg Group of 10 held its first Green Gathering networking session at Major Stokes restaurant in the city....
Homicide investigators seek public’s help after teen found shot dead in McKeesport
Investigators are seeking the public’s help in connection with a fatal shooting Sunday afternoon in McKeesport. Detectives from the Allegheny County homicide unit responded to request for assistance after a man was discovered shot to death in the 1300 block of Tube Works Alley at around 1:45 p.m. Authorities say...
Electrical fire hits parking garage of Oakland apartment building, no injuries reported
A smoky electrical fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the parking garage under an Oakland apartment building forced residents out in the street, according to authorities. Police and firefighters responded to a call of an explosion shortly after 3 p.m. in the garage of the SkyVue Apartments located in...
Bishop Thomas Tobin faces backlash from tweet about Pride MonthVideo
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s Roman Catholic bishop on Sunday defended a tweet urging Catholics to not support or attend LGBTQ Pride Month events, saying it was his obligation to teach the faith “clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues.” Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin sparked a...
Indiana County man killed by falling carport
An Indiana County man was crushed to death when the carport he was sitting under collapsed, according to authorities. Richard Wade Rearick, 52, of Shelocta was sitting on a chair against a wall under the carport attached to his home when the roof caved in on him, according to Tribune-Review...
Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant perfect setting for annual family festivalVideo
Mammoth Fest is “really the best of both worlds” for Melissa Bushik of Irwin. She attended Sunday’s annual family oriented festival at Westmoreland County’s Mammoth Park with her daughter, Parker, as she has for many years. “You get all the carnival stuff, and you get to be around nature,” Bushik...
Pittsburgh police investigating Uptown shooting in which woman was shot
Police are investigating after a woman showed up to a local hospital Saturday shot in her stomach. Pittsburgh police and officers from the Major Crimes Unit responded to the hospital just before 7 p.m. where the victim said she was shot by another female in an alleyway in the Uptown...
Pittsburgh police: Wrong-way driver causes crash on Boulevard of the Allies
Three people were injured in an early morning, wrong-way crash on the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh. According to police, the crash happened just before 3 a.m. when it appears a vehicle was driving westbound into the oncoming eastbound traffic on the Boulevard of the Allies. The car eventually...
Kids help out as environmental group cleans trash out of the Allegheny River
Elliott Covolo, 8, spotted the first piece of litter that was collected out of the Allegheny River in Tarentum during a cleanup event Sunday. He grabbed a net and waited until the boat idled next to the object. “I don’t know what it is,” he exclaimed as he pulled it...
Trump family to get red-carpet royal treatment on UK visit
LONDON — It’s a unique odd couple: A 93-year-old sovereign who has made a point of keeping her opinions to herself during her long reign is hosting a 72-year-old reality TV star-turned-president who tweets his uncensored thoughts daily to 60 million followers. For Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s unflappable monarch, the...
Virginia Beach attacker notified boss of plans to leave job
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The gunman who opened fire inside a Virginia Beach government building, killing 12 people, had notified a superior of his intention to leave his job, officials said Saturday. The assailant, who worked as a civil engineer, was an employee “in good standing” in his department, said...
Huge cruise ship plows into tourist boat, dock in Venice
VENICE, Italy — A towering, out-of-control cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist river boat on a busy Venice canal on Sunday morning. Italian media reported that at least five people were injured in the crash. The collision happened about 8:30 a.m. on the Giudecca Canal, a major...
Pa. minimum-wage hike may be big horse trade in Capitol
HARRISBURG — June in Harrisburg is when mayflies swarm from the Susquehanna River and the state Capitol teems with lobbyists and politicians horse-trading over the tens of billions of dollars that will keep Pennsylvania ticking for another year. This year, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage might be the biggest horse traded. Raising...
White House: Trump ‘deadly serious” about Mexico tariffs
WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “deadly serious” about slapping tariffs on imports from Mexico but acknowledged there are no concrete benchmarks being set to assess whether the U.S. ally was stemming the flow of migrants enough to satisfy the administration. “We...
Auditor general releases look at Game Commission finances
Lack of oversight is the biggest problem with how the Pennsylvania Game Commission handles its money. So says Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. His office audited the commission, looking at the years from July 2014 through June 2017. It released its report on May 30. The audit outlined 11 findings...
Rare color footage brings D-Day memories alive, 75 years onVideo
WASHINGTON — Seventy-five years ago, Hollywood director George Stevens stood on the deck of the HMS Belfast to film the start of the D-Day invasion. The resulting black-and-white films — following Allied troops through Normandy, the liberation of Paris, Battle of the Bulge, the horror of the Dachau concentration camp...
Did ‘silencer’ make a difference in Virginia Beach carnage?
The shooter who killed 12 people in a government office building in Virginia Beach used a firearm equipped with a suppressor that muffles the sound of gunfire. It’s the nightmare scenario that gun-control advocates have warned about amid efforts in recent years to ease restrictions on the devices, which they...
Is your favorite swimming pool being inspected?
More than 3,600 swimmers took a dip in Rogers-McFeely Memorial Pool in Latrobe last year. Located in downtown Latrobe, the community pool is one of 130 public swimming facilities in Westmoreland County. Unlike ones in Derry, Greensburg and Youngwood, which were all last inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health...
After success in Africa, Open Field launches programming in Pittsburgh
Soccer’s more than football. It can — and has — made a difference in people’s lives, thanks to enthusiasts like Justin Forzano. In 2010, Forzano founded the Cameroon Football Development Program, a non-profit that uses soccer as a means to help youth in the central African nation. On Saturday, the...
PPG donates new paint job to iconic Mars flying saucer
She’s gleaming now, Jim. The flying saucer that’s been a landmark in Mars has a new paint job that “Star Trek’s” James T. Kirk would appreciate, thanks to PPG. The Pittsburgh-based coatings company donated a new paint job to the spaceship that’s been in the Mars town square since the...
Police: Bethel Park crash that injured 4 was driver’s attempt to kill girlfriend
A Finleyville man is accused of attempting to kill his girlfriend by wrecking his pickup truck into another vehicle Thursday in Bethel Park. Jeffrey Dezardo, 27, fled on foot from the crash, which injured his girlfriend and two occupants of the other vehicle, Bethel Park police said. Dezardo’s truck flipped...
Hempfield National Guard drill delivers goods to local charities
Thirty recent recruits with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard detachment in Hempfield completed a march with a mission Saturday. Packing most of it on their backs, the young men and women delivered more than an estimated 1,200 pounds of non-perishable items to the Saint Vincent College campus in Unity for...
Hogan will not challenge Trump, leaving president’s GOP critics with limited options
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who was considering an insurgent White House bid that would have championed traditional GOP values, will not challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican Party’s 2020 nomination. “I’m not going to be a candidate for president in 2020,” Hogan said in an interview. Hogan’s choice dashes...
