Top Stories category, Page 1833
Sheds catch fire in Cheswick, send flames ’60 feet into the air’
Firefighters responding to a call on Cheswick’s South Highland Avenue on Sunday night knew they weren’t going to an ordinary fire. The volunteers could see towering flames above the neighborhood and then heard multiple explosions. “You could see the flames all across Cheswick,” Cheswick fire Chief Rick Franks said. “Flames...
Hiking and biking trail, roads open at Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Green siteVideo
Pittsburgh’s sprawling Hazelwood Green property along the Monongahela River opened to the public Monday for the first time in more than 100 years. Officials opened Blair Street, a $21 million thoroughfare formerly known as Signature Boulevard, providing the first public access to the 178-acre site that until the 1990s featured...
Hope springs eternal on Pirates’ Opening Day
It’s important to have priorities. As big-league baseball returned to Pittsburgh on Monday with the Pirates opening their home schedule at PNC Park, die-hard fans chose going to the sun-drenched yet chilly opener over work, school and other lesser priorities. “I skipped school for this, but I don’t think I’ll...
AGH honors Tarentum teen and fallen officer Sciullo as organ donors, lifesavers
It’s been 10 years since Max and Sue Sciullo lost their son and only five months since Joy Krumenacker lost her son, but the two families came together at Allegheny General Hospital on Monday to recognize the impact their children made on the lives of others through organ and tissue...
Consumer alert issued for Homestead’s Me Lyng after mice found in kitchen
Allegheny County health officials issued a consumer alert for Homestead’s Me Lyng, citing dirty surfaces and a mouse infestation. The inspection late last week at the family-style Asian restaurant on Eighth Avenue turned up mouse droppings throughout the kitchen, including on shelving and in food storage areas of the basement,...
Three local winners share in $400,000 Cash 5 jackpot
This might be as rare as lightning striking twice in the same place. The odds of picking all five numbers in Pennsylvania’s Cash 5 lottery game start out at just a hair below one in a million — one in 962,598, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery Commission. On Saturday, two...
British Airways offers Pittsburghers chance to win prizes, free flight
British Airways and VisitBritain is promoting its new non-stop service from Pittsburgh to London Heathrow by taking a — small — step back in time. A red phone booth is set up on the North Shore today as a way to celebrate the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener, giving attendees the...
Allegheny County Health Department fines U.S. Steel for emissions problems
The Allegheny County Health Department has levied an additional $707,568 fine against U.S. Steel, bringing the total fines issued since June 2018 to more than $2 million, according to a statement from the health department Monday. The new fine addresses continued emissions problems at the Clairton Coke Works facility during...
Child welfare agencies scrutinized after teen’s brutal death
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania officials are scheduled to release a report on how child welfare agencies handled the case of a teenager who endured years of abuse before her 2016 rape and murder. Sara Packer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced Friday to life without parole for plotting...
West Mifflin’s Nate Walker misses top-20 cut on ‘American Idol’Video
Nate Walker didn’t make the cut on Sunday night’s episode of “American Idol,” but at least he got a trip to Hawaii for his final round. Following a week in which he struggled through vocal issues, the 18-year-old from West Mifflin made what might have been a risky choice: He...
Stove dropped on Route 30 results in theft arrest in North Huntingdon
A stove that fell out of the bed of a pickup truck leaving a new North Huntingdon housing plan resulted in the arrest of a Hazelwood man on burglary and theft charges, police said. Gary W. Cawley, 40, was arrested Friday along Route 30 as he attempted to flee after...
McDonald’s customers soured over ‘McPickle Burger’ April Fools’ prank
McDonald’s teased its customers in Australia with a new offering: the McPickle Burger. However, it turned out to be just an April Fools’ Day joke — much to the chagrin of customers. The fast-food chain posted the gag on its Facebook and Instagram accounts, saying, “Pickle lovers, it’s the news...
Cold temps, clear skies set stage for Pirates’ home opener
Clear skies and bright sunshine greeted fans arriving at PNC Park on Monday morning for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home season. Yet, the temperature was 28 degrees at 8:30 a.m., with reports of it climbing no higher than 36 by first pitch at 1:05 p.m. Who didn’t scrape ice off their...
Police seeking 4th suspect accused in Jeannette home invasion
Jeannette police are looking for a fourth suspect in connection with a home invasion Friday that left a man injured. Authorities have an arrest warrant for Isaiah Morton, 16, of Jeannette, who is charged as an adult with conspiracy, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and related offenses. Police arrested three suspects...
Technical outage causing flight delays for airlines
NEW YORK — A technical outage is impacting major airlines and causing flight delays that may impact travel. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that several airlines were dealing with computer issues. The agency recommended people contact their airline directly for flight information and updates. There are delays already at...
Icy road blamed for fiery 2-vehicle crash in Fawn
Icy road conditions caused a fiery, head-on collision Monday morning in Fawn, state police said. The collision was reported about 6:50 a.m. in the 1200 block of Millerstown Road. Trooper Patrick Carlson of the Kittanning barracks said a southbound pickup on Millerstown Road crossed the center line and collided with...
Officials say rapper Nipsey Hussle shot and killed at 33
LOS ANGELES — Nipsey Hussle, a respected rapper who earned a Grammy nomination this year for his major-label debut, was fatally shot outside his clothing store, authorities said. He was 33. Police said Hussle was one of three men shot Sunday outside Marathon Clothing, his store in South Los Angeles;...
TSA’s social media highlight weird stuff in travelers’ bags
WASHINGTON — David Johnston stands over a table full of peculiar items confiscated at Dulles International Airport: A glittery clutch with brass knuckles as a clasp. A perfume bottle shaped like a grenade. A rusted circular saw blade. A pocket-sized pitchfork. None of those are quite right. Then Johnston sees...
If convicted, Robert Bowers could face death penalty — but not necessarily executionVideo
Robert Bowers could become the only person from Western Pennsylvania on federal death row if he is convicted and sentenced to death for the mass shooting inside a Squirrel Hill synagogue last year. But with an attorney known for sparing the most notorious killers from the execution chamber, added to...
Couple hopes to bowl over community by restoring Carrick Classic Lanes
In nearly every corner of Carrick Classic Lanes, dusty bowling balls peer out of the shadows like surprised faces. “If they could talk, they’d have one heck of a story to tell about this place,” said Lisa Casen, who has owned the alley with her husband, Jeff Jackson, since 2007....
Walmart looks for expansion into Pa. alcohol sales in Fayette
Walmart is looking to begin selling alcoholic beverages in Fayette County, a first for the retail giant in Pennsylvania. The chain submitted a winning bid of $65,000 for an expired restaurant liquor license in Redstone Township — one of 62 offers received from various bidders for 22 such licenses in...
Rapper Nipsey Hussle killed in South L.A. shooting
LOS ANGELES — Rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed Sunday afternoon, shot in broad daylight outside his store in South Los Angeles, and two other people were wounded, police said. Hussle, known as much for his music as for his civic efforts in South L.A., was shot multiple times about 3:20...
Trump White House doubles down on threat to close U.S.-Mexico borderVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House doubled down Sunday on President Trump’s threat to close the U.S. border with Mexico, despite warnings that the move would inflict immediate economic damage on American consumers and businesses while doing little to stem a tide of migrants clamoring to enter the United States. Sealing...
One of Russia’s richest women dies in plane crash in Germany
FRANKFURT, Germany— One of Russia’s richest women, S7 Group co-owner Natalia Fileva, died Sunday in a plane crash in Germany, the airline operator said. Fileva, 55, was aboard a single-engine, six-seat Epic LT aircraft that crashed and burned in a field as it approached the small airport at Egelsbach, a...
Car plummets over Route 66 hillside, lands in creek in Washington Township
A car crashed over a Washington Township hillside, plummeted about 50 feet and landed on its roof in a creek Sunday morning, officials said. Dispatchers received a report of the crash along Route 66 at Greensburg Road shortly after 10 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 shift commander said. One person...
