Top Stories category, Page 4
Morning Roundup: Train strikes box truck in West Newton; wrong-way driver on I-79
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Feb. 5: Train strikes box truck in West Newton Emergency crews responded Thursday morning a report of a train striking an unoccupied box truck in West Newton. Responders were called shortly after 5 a.m. to the intersection of...
Man hospitalized after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood
A man was hospitalized in critical but stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. Public Safety spokeswoman Eliza Durham said officers responded to the 2100 block of Spring Street around 12:30 p.m. . Police found a man inside a residence suffering from a gunshot would to...
Savannah Guthrie posts message to her mother’s kidnapper asking to provide proof she is aliveVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday that her family is ready to talk to people holding their mother, but they want to see proof that she is alive. Guthrie said in a recorded video posted on social media that her family has heard about a...
Environmentalists urge DEP to make Tenaska power plant meet air pollution requirements to get permit
Environmental regulators should revise a draft permit for a natural gas-fired power plant to operate in South Huntingdon to make the plant comply with air pollution regulations or reject the permit. That’s what a group of residents and environmentalists told state officials Wednesday. The 90-minute hearing attracted about 60 people...
Clairton Coke Works to resume work at battery that saw fatal explosions in August
Almost exactly six months after two workers were killed and 11 injured in a series of explosions at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the nation’s largest coke manufacturing facility will resume operation at one of its batteries Thursday. The first of three explosions occurred at the facility around 10:45 a.m....
Plum police: ICE detains Scott Township man at court hearing after he tried to run
A Scott Township man arrested last year in connection with a series of road rage incidents was detained by ICE agents following an altercation at the district court office in Plum, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Vishavdeep Singh, 22, of Scott was charged in November with multiple felonies after...
‘She had a presence’: Fashionistas recall model Jacinta Stevens, who died in Monongahela River crash
The Pittsburgh fashion industry is mourning Jacinta Stevens, a promising model who was killed last week when her car crashed into the icy Monongahela River. North Hills fashion designer Eva Dixon will always remember the 31-year-old mother of two in a single outfit: the striking, emerald halter-top gown Dixon designed...
Pitt researcher studies lingering health impacts from East Palestine train derailment
University of Pittsburgh researcher Juliane Beier is a leading authority on how colorless, sweet-smelling vinyl chloride can cause cancer and worsen liver disease. Her expertise meant she feared the worst when vinyl chloride vapors — the result of a controversial vent-and-burn operation by first responders — began billowing from derailed...
Pittsburgh property owners could see later deadline for early-filing discount
Pittsburgh property owners are set to get a bit more time to take advantage of the tax discount offered to early filers. Mayor Corey O’Connor and City Council members want to extend the deadline for the 2% property tax discount by one week, to February 17 from February 10. Officials...
Former Heinz Endowments IT manager pleads guilty to embezzling nearly $1M
The former IT manager for the Heinz Endowments pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to embezzling nearly $1 million from his former employer. Charles A. Richardson, of Pittsburgh, will be sentenced on June 4 before U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand. A message left for Richardson’s attorney on Wednesday was...
‘You’re killing me’: Victim testifies in preliminary hearing for Crossroads Plaza shooting suspect
Joshua Logan had just finished a workout at Planet Fitness in East Huntingdon and was getting into his pickup truck to leave when the estranged husband of his girlfriend pulled up. Within seconds, Logan testified Wednesday, Steven Heald was shooting at him. A bullet hit him in the shoulder, spinning...
Former Allegheny County public defender Matt Dugan to help lead Pennsylvania Prison Society
The Pennsylvania Prison Society has named Matt Dugan, a former chief public defender for Allegheny County, as its first Western Pennsylvania region director. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Prison Society is a nonprofit advocacy group for incarcerated people. The only organization in the state with legal authority to visit any prison...
5 charged in connection with Lower Burrell vape shop raids
Lower Burrell police filed drug-related charges against five people following a yearslong, undercover investigation into three vape shops in the city. Those charged are: Hussain M. Almerdaie, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Maulik H. Thakkar, 43, of Mars; Qasem A. Almardeai, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Baldwiner Singh, 54, of Monroeville; and...
Supreme Court allows new California congressional districts that favor Democrats
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration. No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is...
Speers man accused of ethnic intimidation in connection with racist video made at Rostraver Walmart
Ethnic intimidation charges were filed Wednesday against a man accused of recording a video that includes racist language at the Rostraver Walmart store, according to state police. They say the video was recorded by Michael Todora, 36, of Speers, Washington County. Troopers have been investigating the video, which was posted...
Thomas Stanko trial: Cassandra Gross’ mother testifies about possessive relationship
Kathe Gross took an immediate dislike to the man her daughter, Cassandra Gross, was dating in 2017 and 2018. During the first day of testimony in the trial of the man charged with her daughter’s murder, Kathe Gross told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday that she found Thomas G. Stanko...
Mysterious metal shards causing flat tires around Harrison
Low tire pressure lights are coming on throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley — and it’s not because of the cold. Dozens of drivers are reporting flat tires caused by small metal fragments of unknown origin, mostly around the Harrison area. Beverly Lydic of Springdale Township heard a hissing noise coming from...
Attorney claims jury erred in conviction of roommate in Penn Township shooting
A North Versailles woman claims a Westmoreland County jury reached the wrong verdict when it convicted her last year of the attempted murder of her Penn Township roommate. In an appeal filed this week, the lawyer for Leah Gillis said jurors failed to adequately consider testimony that suggested the gun...
Pittsburgh council confirms O’Connor’s picks for police chief, public safety director
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved Jason Lando as police chief and Sheldon Williams as public safety director. The pair have been serving in their roles in an acting capacity since Mayor Corey O’Connor took office last month. A Squirrel Hill native and veteran of Pittsburgh’s police force, Lando...
Lawsuit claims Allegheny County Jail failed to care for man who died of pneumonia
A lawsuit filed in federal court last week accuses Allegheny County Jail staff and the contractor that runs the medical unit there of failing to properly care for a man who had pneumonia and later died at a hospital. Joseph King Jr., who had been incarcerated starting in 2023, died...
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan pulling 700 immigration officers out of Minnesota immediately
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration officers in Minnesota but will continue its enforcement operation that has sparked weeks of tensions and deadly confrontations, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. About 700 federal officers — roughly a quarter of the total deployed to Minnesota —...
Democrats demand ‘dramatic changes’ for ICE, including masks, cameras and judicial warrants
WASHINGTON — Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement...
ICE buys $87M warehouse in Berks County as it plots expansion of detention centers across U.S.
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. UPPER BERN — The Trump administration has quietly purchased a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans...
Harrison native keeps Super Bowl streak alive, plans to attend his 60th matchup in Calif.
At 84, Harrison native Tom Henschel won’t let a stroke — or disappointment in his beloved Steelers — keep him from celebrating at the Super Bowl this weekend in Santa Clara, Calif. After all, why break a 59-year streak? The football enthusiast will be in the stands at Levi’s Stadium...
Shelter from the storm: Pittsburgh-area homeless community finds relief from brutal weather
A Greyhound bus dropped Drezon “Dre” Pankey in Downtown Pittsburgh two weeks before a winter storm shut down the city with 14 inches of snow. Born in Ohio and raised in Florida, the former high school football running back knew no one here. He carried everything he owned, including a...
