Top Stories category, Page 415
Mark Madden: Despite growing optimism for the Pirates, front office failings can’t be ignored
There is legit optimism concerning the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first time in a long time. Paul Skenes is a phenom, Jared Jones isn’t far behind and Mitch Keller is a solid No. 3 starter. Their rotation could win a playoff series right now. The trick is getting there. That’s...
Want to live in a former funeral home in McKeesport? You can
When Marlene Fait-Schmalz bought her childhood home in 2011, she reclaimed a piece of McKeesport history. The unique Victorian-style residence, once the Richard L. Fait Funeral Home, boasts a parlor, chapel and grand entrance on the main level, while the upper floors offer cozy living spaces. Now on the market...
A new account rekindles allegations that Trump disrespected Black people on ‘The Apprentice’
Gene Folkes had just been jettisoned as a contestant on “The Apprentice” and was commiserating with a crew member at a bar inside the lobby of Trump Tower. He was indignant — and not just at having been kicked off the reality show after its star, Donald Trump, had delivered...
Like Reagan before him, Biden looks to capture magic of Pointe du Hoc story
PARIS — President Joe Biden will return to Normandy for a second day during his trip to France as he tries to rally Americans in defense of democracy from Pointe du Hoc, a legendary spot along the coast where Army Rangers scaled cliffs during the D-Day invasion. The site’s prominence...
Woman charged with homicide in Carrick shooting
Pittsburgh Police have charged a woman with homicide for a deadly shooting in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood on Thursday morning. Breanna Didolce, 23, of Pittsburgh was charged Thursday with criminal homicide and tampering with evidence for allegedly hiding the gun that was used, said police. Police alleged that Didolce shot Jeremiah...
Man killed in shooting outside of bar in Braddock Hills
A man was shot and killed early morning on Friday in the parking lot of a bar in Braddock Hills, said Allegheny County Police. Police said a man was shot multiple times just before 2 a.m. outside of J Cats Bar on Wilkins Avenue. The man was pronounced dead at...
Upper Burrell shifts from police regionalization to improving its own force
With police regionalization off the table for now, Upper Burrell is focusing its efforts on bolstering its force. Fifteen months ago, the township supervisors cited staffing issues as it sought interest from Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships on the possibility of a regionalized police force. Upper...
Ex-Greensburg officer still getting $5K pension payment a month after pleading guilty to drug distribution
Retired Greensburg police Officer Regina McAtee collected another $5,160 pension payment June 1, one month after pleading guilty in federal court to engaging in a methamphetamine distribution operation with the former city police chief. McAtee, 51, of New Kensington has received about $56,500 in pension payments from the city since...
Texas sheriff says 7 suspects arrested, 11 migrants hospitalized after sting near San Antonio
AUSTIN — Eleven people were hospitalized and seven smuggling suspects were arrested Thursday when authorities found more than two dozen migrants who had been driven from the border packed in a secret compartment of a trailer with little water and in sweltering heat. Acting on a tip about a smuggling...
Innamorato wants 500 affordable housing units in 500 days
Pam Steimer was working two jobs when she was priced out of her Pittsburgh apartment 18 months ago. She moved into a hotel while she searched for a new place to live. But rent prices were “out of my reach,” she said, and often required deposits equal to about three...
U.S. Steel closes portion of Clairton Coke Works as part of settlement
U.S. Steel has permanently shut down one of the most prolific batteries at its Clairton Coke Works, part of a settlement reached with environmental groups and the Allegheny County Health Department earlier this year. Battery No. 15 contained around 10% of the facility’s coke ovens, according to Zach Barber, a...
Downtown Greensburg gets ready for trio of popular events this weekend
Just as downtown Pittsburgh saw a trio of packed events last weekend, Greensburg will erupt in activity with its own trifecta of performances, celebrations and gatherings beginning Friday night. The Palace Theatre will be hosting soft-rock duo Air Supply for a show at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Seton Hill University...
Point Park University extends offer to students as Philadelphia college closes
The urgent calls and emails to Point Park University started within hours of the abrupt announcement that a venerable arts campus in Philadelphia would close within a week, leaving hundreds of students suddenly without fall college plans. University of the Arts, dating to the 1870s, had become the latest small...
Authorities ID man fatally shot by Brentwood police
Authorities on Thursday identified the man fatally shot a day earlier by a Brentwood police officer as Craig W. McGrath of Pittsburgh. McGrath, 37, was shot multiple times Wednesday in Brentwood. Investigators said that an armed McGrath rammed a police vehicle while driving a stolen car and fought with an...
A 102-year-old World War II veteran dies en route to D-Day commemorations in Europe
A World War II Navy veteran was being mourned Thursday following his death while en route to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a trip friends said he’d talked excitedly about making. Robert “Al” Persichitti of Fairport, N.Y., fell ill during a stop in Germany last week and...
Biden calls for solidarity with Ukraine at D-Day anniversary ceremony near the beaches of Normandy
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — President Joe Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday by pledging “we will not walk away” from Ukraine, drawing a direct line from the fight to liberate Europe from Nazi domination to today’s war against Russian aggression. “To surrender to bullies, to bow down to...
Widow of Beau Biden tells jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial that she threw firearm in a trash can
WILMINGTON, Del. — The widow of Hunter Biden’s brother told jurors in his federal gun trial Thursday about the moment she found the revolver in his truck, describing how she put it into a leather pouch, stuffed it into a shopping bag and tossed it in a trash can outside...
‘When her son was killed, God gave her a purpose’: Pittsburgh gun-violence opponent Valerie Dixon dies at 63
For more than 20 years, Valerie Dixon was a fixture in Pittsburgh’s fight against gun violence. Whether comforting victims and their loved ones in the Allegheny County Courthouse, lobbying politicians in the City-County Building, or doing outreach on Pittsburgh’s streets, it was Dixon’s life’s work — but not a job...
Trump ally Steve Bannon must surrender to prison by July 1 to start contempt sentence, judge says
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol insurrection, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington...
SummerSounds series set to open its season under watchful eye of new events manager
Although Anna McClain’s new job has come with a “giant learning curve,” she said she loves it. In February, McClain became the events manager for SummerSounds, a Greensburg nonprofit that has hosted an annual concert series in Greensburg for the past 23 years. The role is a new position for...
From the Newsroom Podcast: Expert insight on Trump’s hush money trial
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial on May 28, becoming the first former president to become a convicted felon. For many observers, the focus was on Trump’s reaction, while Trump and his supporters claimed the trial was rigged....
As Hillcrest Plaza auction looms, outlook positive on strip mall investment, experts say
The state of strip malls and shopping centers isn’t all doom and gloom, experts say. “Open-air shopping centers are in a pretty good spot into the future,” said David Caputo, a data scientist with Moody’s Analytics. “There was a lot of concern with the pandemic, but that hasn’t been the...
Photo gallery: Here are some historic D-Day images
Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. On June 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy during “Operation Overlord” to try and take away Nazi control of western France. More than 2,500 American troops were killed during battle and a total of 4,414 Allied troops died. More than...
Hour by hour: A brief timeline of the Allies’ June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of occupied France
OMAHA BEACH, France — A brief timeline of events on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Shortly after midnight: More than 2,200 Allied aircraft begin bombing German defenses and other targets in Normandy. They are followed by 1,200 aircraft carrying more than 23,000 American, British and Canadian airborne troops. British forces landing...
Remembering D-Day: Key facts and figures about the invasion that changed the course of World War II
OMAHA BEACH, France — The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France was unprecedented in scale and audacity, using the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to punch a hole in Adolf Hitler’s defenses in western Europe and change the course of World War II. With veterans...
