Top Stories category, Page 277
Robert Smith: Steel City’s steel saga continues
Pittsburgh was truly the Steel City. Coke plants, tar plants, steel mills, glass manufacturers and other ancillary heavy industry lined the banks of the rivers, producing the raw products of the country’s industrial revolution. A remnant of these days are the current U.S. Steel facilities still occupying their locations in...
Zappala won’t charge cops who killed Upper St. Clair man amid mental health crisis
After a nearly yearlong review, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced Friday he will not charge the South Hills police officers who in January fatally shot an Upper St. Clair man wielding a knife while in the throes of a mental health crisis. The DA, however, criticized...
‘Part of history going down’ as tower at former Fort Pitt Brewery razed in West JeannetteVideo
Colleen Ott stepped into the cold from her West Jeannette home Friday morning to get a good look at history happening on her street. She raised her cellphone to take a picture of an eight-story brick tower at the former Fort Pitt Brewery site being torn to pieces. She’s been...
Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the U.S.
A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
Plum homeowner accused of trying to blow up his house with natural gas
A Plum man’s apparent change of heart might have saved the borough from another house explosion, according to court documents. Neil Andrew Yetsko, 39, is charged with risking a catastrophe by creating a natural gas leak in his home then leaving town with two candles burning inside the home, police...
Is it legal to pass a working snow plow in Pennsylvania? Here’s what state guidelines say
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spends roughly $171 million preparing major roads for winter weather each season, and plows play a large role in keeping the commonwealth’s bridges and highways clear of snow and ice. According to agency estimates, PennDOT used 2,238 plow trucks, 396 rental trucks and 235 anti-icing...
Japan’s Nippon Steel sets sights on a growing overseas market in its bid to acquire U.S. Steel
KASHIMA, Japan — The signs at Nippon Steel read: “The world through steel,” underlining why Japan’s top steelmaker is pursuing its $15 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel. “We can’t expect demand in Japan to grow as the population is declining. We need to invest in production that leads to...
Police believe gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO has left New York City
NEW YORK — The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer may have fled the city on a bus, New York City police officials told CNN on Friday. Video of the gunman leaving the scene of Wednesday’s shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson showed him riding...
Grief, relief felt as Unity woman’s remains recovered from sinkholeVideo
Feelings of defeat and doubt creeping into the minds of first responders were replaced with relief Friday morning after a Unity woman who disappeared into a sinkhole was found about 80 hours after the search for her began. The body of Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was found about 12 feet southwest...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 6-8
Hopefully, the weather outside won’t be quite as frightful this weekend — the city should be thawing a little after a frigid week. Enjoy it while it lasts! Dance, shop, eat and even parade with these events in Pittsburgh this weekend. Saturday in Mellon Square Featuring the awe-inspiring Aurora light...
1 killed, 1 wounded in Penn Hills shooting
One man was killed and another is in stable condition following a shooting late Thursday night in Penn Hills, police said. First responders were called to the 200 block of Universal Road shortly before midnight and arrived to find Vanderlee Stevenson, 21, of Penn Hills with multiple gunshot wounds, according...
‘Foreign adversary’ is likely behind some Havana syndrome incidents, House report says
A foreign adversary of the United States is likely behind some of the reported Havana syndrome incidents, a House congressional inquiry has concluded, adding a scathing critique of the U.S. intelligence community for “attempting to thwart” the investigation and producing an earlier “dubious or misleading” assessment dismissing the incidents. U.S....
Testimony in 2nd day of Jordan Brown civil case recounts crime scene, police interviews
When state trooper Harry Gustafson arrived at the Lawrence County farmhouse early Feb. 20, 2009, he spotted a 4-year-old girl standing in the front doorway, crying. “I bent down to her, and she said, ‘My mommy’s dead. My mommy’s dead.’” Gustafson picked her up, put her on the couch in...
Man hospitalized after being shot in the face in Clairton
A man was recovering Thursday after being shot in the face in Clairton. Allegheny County Police said officers were dispatched around 1:35 p.m. to the 300 block of New York Avenue for a shooting at the City of Prayer. First responders found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to...
House rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
WASHINGTON — The House shut down Democrats’ efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings...
WESA, WYEP staff ratify 1st union contract
The journalists and content creators at Pittsburgh’s nonprofit radio stations WESA and WYEP finalized their first collective bargaining agreement Thursday. Over two dozen staffers unionized with the SAG-AFTRA labor union two years ago, and, according to a press release, have bargained in good faith with Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, which operates...
Fetterman says Trump deserves pardon since Hunter Biden got one
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday while appearing on TV talk show “The View” that recent criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump and Hunter Biden were politically motivated, and that since Biden received a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, then Trump also deserves one. Fetterman, a Democrat from...
Family holds out hope as search continues for missing Unity woman at sinkhole site
More than 72 hours have passed since authorities believe Elizabeth Pollard vanished into a sinkhole above an abandoned mine in Unity, yet her family remains hopeful that she will be found alive. Her niece, Tabitha Pollard, relayed a message Thursday on behalf of Pollard’s husband and son. “They are still...
7.0 earthquake off Northern California prompts brief tsunami warningVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern California on Thursday, knocking items of grocery store shelves, sending children scrambling under desks and prompting a brief tsunami warning for 5.3 million people along the West Coast. The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale,...
Audit flags Pittsburgh Public Schools for issuing employees too many credit cards
City Controller Rachael Heisler is urging Pittsburgh Public Schools officials to cut back on the millions of dollars charged each year to hundreds of district credit cards for business expenses, warning of the potential for abuse. From January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024, there were 59,936 credit card transactions...
Ohio man charged with stalking 1 day after release on similar charge
Hours after being released from jail Monday for stalking singer Lacey Sturm in Murrysville, an Ohio man was back behind bars after he showed up at the woman’s home, according to court papers. Anthony A. Carpenter, 43, arrived at the house at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in a flat bed truck,...
Pearl Jam announces 2 Pittsburgh shows in MayVideo
Get ready for a double dose of Pearl Jam this spring. The veteran alternative rockers are coming to Pittsburgh next year for a pair of shows on their Dark Matter tour, with concerts announced Thursday for May 16 and 18 at PPG Paints Arena. The grunge rockers erupted in the...
‘Justice was served’: Killer of off-duty cop slain in Blawnox gets maximum prison time
A judge Thursday sentenced a Pittsburgh man to 20 to 40 years in prison for killing an off-duty Oakdale police officer during a road-rage incident. Kevin McSwiggen, 42, of the city’s Greenfield neighborhood was convicted in July by a jury of third-degree murder in the July 3, 2022, shooting death...
Secret Service director vows overhaul as Congress presses him on Trump assassination attemptVideo
WASHINGTON — The acting director of the Secret Service said Thursday that the agency is “reorganizing and reimagining” its culture and how it operates following an assassination attempt against Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Members of a bipartisan House task force investigating the attempt on Trump’s life pushed Ronald...
Market Square facelift pitched by urban design group behind NYC’s High Line
A proposal to reimagine Market Square, a hub of Downtown Pittsburgh since the 1700s, would limit vehicle traffic, add more greenery and seating and install a semi-circular trellis canopy under which events could take place throughout the year. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership pitched the plans to the city’s Historic Review...
