Top Stories category, Page 1799
Ligonier native spends summers in Yellowstone National ParkVideo
Leslie Giesey doesn’t remember when she first traveled to Yellowstone National Park with her family, but she knows she was young, and knows she went fishing for wild trout that fill the streams. Now, decades later, she returns each summer to work as a nurse and spend her free time...
Fines, jail time? Trump team resists oversight, Dems dig in
WASHINGTON — They’re talking at the Capitol about jailing people. Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot, measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers’ request for information about President Trump stemming from the special counsel’s Russia investigation. This is the remarkable state of affairs...
On the rise: Solar farms begin cropping up in Western Pennsylvania
Down a gravel road close to what constitutes downtown Slovan in rural Washington County, roughly 3,500 solar panels stand in a field of green grass, their blue-hued faces tilted toward the sun. The development, one of the largest solar farms in Western Pennsylvania, spans 4.5 acres and can power about...
What you need to know about measles
Allegheny County last week reported five confirmed cases of measles, its first ones of the year, and health officials are warning residents there will likely be more cases. Measles cases nationwide have exceeded 700 so far this year, making it the worst outbreak in more than two decades, according to...
Alba Tull, Ryan Shazier debut fitness facility in Sewickley
Innovative fitness studio Ramp ‘N’ Rize opened its doors in Sewickley on May 4 as owners rolled out the black carpet for a private gathering to showcase the new facility. The studio, developed by Alba Tull, boasts state-of-the-art equipment, instructors who have trained under master trainer Joy Johnson, group workouts...
Hempfield Area High School prom 2019
Hempfield Area High School had its prom Saturday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
A pregnant inmate came to term in jail. Lawyers say she was forced to give birth there – alone.
Tammy Jackson was ushered into an empty jail cell by sheriffs. Then one morning, she was there with someone else: her newborn baby. According to a letter dated May 3, written by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein, the full-term, mentally ill 34-year-old began complaining to officers about contractions around...
Expelled in 1956, black woman gets doctorate at U of Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, received an honorary doctorate degree Friday from the university where her presence brought mobs of protesters in 1956. The Tuscaloosa News reported that Foster, 89 received the degree during graduation ceremonies. She enrolled at...
Shaler woman to run Pittsburgh marathon dressed as pierogi, trying for world recordVideo
Some run for fitness and personal goals. Others run for fundraisers. On Sunday, Amanda Webb will run out of love of Pittsburgh. And she’ll do it dressed as a pierogi. Webb, 39, of Shaler will run the 26.2-mile Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon in a pierogi costume for a shot...
Westmoreland County Special Olympics celebrates 50 years at competitionVideo
Skyler Wood is an Olympian. Wood, 10, a fourth-grader at RK Mellon Elementary School in Bolivar, flashed a big smile as he was presented with a gold medal for winning his heat in the 50-meter dash Saturday morning at Westmoreland County’s Special Olympics track and field event. “I’m going to...
Steelers LB Ryan Shazier’s wedding creates social media buzz
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has yet to recover enough to return to the gridiron, but he was able to dance at his wedding Friday night, according to video that was spreading virally on social media. About a year and a half ago, Ryan Shazier was told he had a...
Nearly 50 dogs removed from Mercer County home, 10 others died
Nearly 50 dogs were removed from a house in Mercer County, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. “It’s probably one of the hardest calls we’ve ever been on,” officials from the Humane Society of Mercer County said in a post on the organization’s Facebook page. According to a report from...
2 Pittsburgh-based companies help refugee moms
This is about moms helping moms. Pittsburgh based Hello Neighbor and Lark Adventurewear, both founded by local mothers making an impact regionally and nationally through their individual work, have teamed to make a difference in the lives of refugee moms, according to a news release. Lark Adventurewear is a company...
Analysis: Pittsburgh crime rate declining
There was a 7% decrease in crimes in Pittsburgh during the first quarter of the year when compared to the first quarter of 2018, according to an internal analysis released Saturday. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s Crime Analysis Unit also found there was a 12% decrease compared to the five-year...
No deaths as plane carrying US military crashes into river
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the U.S. military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing onto the wings to be rescued....
Among the last to finish 2018 marathon, Beltzhoover man running again
William Harrison Sr. will crawl across the finish line if he has to. But he won’t quit. Harrison, 69, of Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood, was the among the last people to finish the 2018 Pittsburgh Marathon with the time of 7 hours, 7 minutes — seven minutes after the course officially...
Cause of fire that destroys vacant house in Plum under investigation
An Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating a fire that destroyed a vacant house Friday night in Plum. No injuries were reported. The blaze started shortly before 9 p.m. in the 800 block of Unity-Center Road. Smoke could be seen from blocks away. Unity Volunteer Fire Dept. Fire Chief Glenn...
Murder charges dropped in Swissvale shooting of father, 7-year-old
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn homicide and conspiracy charges against three men who had been accused of killing a father and his young son in a shootout in Swissvale in December 2017. The charges were withdrawn because of the death of a key witness, James Backus, according...
Police dog, GPS trackers help FBI nab trio accused in Harrisburg-Pittsburgh heroin ring
A police dog, cellphone location data and GPS tracking devices covertly planted on vehicles helped authorities apprehend two men and one woman from Western Pennsylvania accused of trafficking large amounts of heroin and cocaine from Harrisburg into Pittsburgh, court records show. Harvey Hicks, 48, of Penn Hills faces drug, conspiracy...
Mineo’s Pizza to open a third location in the North Hills
There is a third slice to this Mineo’s pie. The Squirrel Hill pizza staple for more than six decades, which also has had a location in Mt. Lebanon for 25 years, will celebrate a trifecta — opening on Wildwood Road in Hampton. The expected time frame is by the end...
Former McKeesport nurse charged with taking explicit photos of elderly patients
A former nurse at McKeesport’s Kane Hospital allegedly took photos of elderly patients — and one toddler patient — often when they were naked and in need of medical care, according to Allegheny County police. Ashley Ann Smith, 30, faces nearly three dozen charges, including invasion of privacy, neglect of...
Pittsburgh appeals arbitration ruling that reinstated police officer who was fired
Pittsburgh has appealed an arbitrator’s ruling that reinstated a police officer who was terminated after an alleged road rage incident in 2017. Officer Robert Kramer was charged with pointing a gun at another motorist while off duty on May 3, 2017. An Allegheny County jury last year acquitted him of...
Bridgeville man sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for child porn
A Bridgeville man was sentenced Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh to spend two years in prison for having child pornography. Senior U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on John Edward Desalome, 31. According to prosecutors, in November 2016, Desalome was found to have 43 videos in...
E-ZPass penalty charges irk Pennsylvania Turnpike drivers
Patty Wolfe was browsing Facebook when she saw a friend’s warning: Check your E-ZPass statement for higher-than-usual toll fees for trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Wolfe heeded the advice. “The very first statement I looked at showed me getting on at Irwin, for $10, and me getting off in Monroeville,”...
Here’s your chance to shape transportation projects for the next 30 years
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the regional planning agency for a 10-county area, is soliciting public comment on a draft transportation plan called “SmartMoves for a Changing Region.” The document identifies roadway, transit and multimodal transportation priorities for southwestern Pennsylvania over the next 25-30 years. Accompanying “SmartMoves for a Changing Region”...
