Top Stories category, Page 448
Off-duty trooper accused of entering Connellsville home, assaulting resident
An off-duty state trooper from the Uniontown barracks is accused of forcing his way into a Connellsville home and assaulting a man, according to state police. James T. Stevenson Jr., 29, of Connellsville, was charged Tuesday with felony aggravated assault and trespassing. According to a criminal complaint, Stevenson arrived at...
Super Smash Burgh in Penn Hills poised to bring all the flavor — and a family vibe
Marcus Porter has been around good food his entire life. Sunday dinners growing up were always at his house. When surrounded by delicious fare, he said, you quickly learn how to cook — and so he did. Now, Porter is poised to open Super Smash Burgh on June 1, and...
Deer Lakes to refund more than $700K to 3 Pittsburgh Mills properties after reassessments
Deer Lakes School District and Frazer Township are facing some hefty unforeseen expenses after a recent reassessment of three Pittsburgh Mills commercial properties. The school district will refund a total of more than $700,000 to the owners of Walmart, Sam’s Club and the SpringHill Suites hotel in Frazer. The district...
Trump prosecutor focuses on ‘cover-up’ in closing arguments while defense attacks key witness
NEW YORK — Donald Trump engaged in a conspiracy “to hoodwink voters” in 2016, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday during closing arguments in the former president’s hush money trial, while a defense lawyer branded the star witness as the “greatest liar of all time” and pressed the panel for an...
Police charge Pittsburgh man with Reserve bank robbery
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in connection with a May 16 bank robbery in Reserve, according to Allegheny County Police. Detectives had been investigating a robbery at Dollar Bank on Mount Troy Road. Through multiple surveillance videos, images of the suspect fleeing the bank and witness interviews, police were...
Register of wills conservator no stranger to Westmoreland courthouse
Jim Antoniono’s travels have taken him from Cold War-era Germany to the Westmoreland County Courthouse, through thousands of miles of mountain trails and into courtrooms and boardrooms. After a more than a half- century, Antoniono, 78, of Unity, will return to his roots in county government when on Tuesday he begins...
New traffic signals set to launch at Routes 286 and 380 in Murrysville
Temporary traffic signals are being installed where Route 380 and Golden Mile Highway meet, but the permanent improvements proposed for the intersection have a Murrysville family upset. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is funding traffic improvements as part of its Hermes fracking well pad project, being constructed nearby on the Murrysville/Plum border....
Wildlife, plants, paddlers find a haven on Sycamore Island
From a passing watercraft or the banks of the Allegheny River, Sycamore Island appears untouched by humans. A wall of invasive Japanese knotweed anchors the 14-acre island’s northern end, giving way to silver maple, cottonwood and, of course, sycamore trees, each grasping the silt against the river’s current. From off...
Longtime Apollo eatery, Patrick’s Pub, set to close at month’s end
Jennifer Boyd will close her life-long family business, Patrick’s Pub in Apollo, at the end of the month. “My parents have owned this for 43 years, I don’t want to sell it, but I can’t afford it,” Boyd said. “In order for us to fix everything, including the roof, electrical...
Lower Burrell parade fans mix remembrance with funVideo
Patriotism was on full display Monday for the annual Memorial Day parade in Lower Burrell. A bigger-than-ever crowd lined both sides of Leechburg Road to cheer, applaud, wave and honor those military members who lost their lives. “We have no way to truly measure, but that was the most people...
Bill Walton, Hall of Fame player who became a star broadcaster, dies at 71
Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Famer for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting, died Monday, the league announced on behalf of his family. Walton, who had a prolonged fight with cancer, was 71. He was...
Netanyahu acknowledges ‘tragic mistake’ after Rafah strike kills dozens of Palestinians
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that a “tragic mistake” had been made after an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah set fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people. The mistake...
93-year-old woman killed in 3-vehicle crash in Washington County
A 93-year-old woman has died at a Pittsburgh hospital after being injured in a crash Sunday afternoon in Washington County. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Rose Marie Gillespie of Washington died shortly before 7 p.m. after being transported to the emergency room at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. The crash...
2 wounded in McKeesport shooting
Two men were wounded in a shooting Sunday evening in McKeesport. The men were taken to area hospitals in stable condition after they were found by first responders in the 100 block of Marshal Drive, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting was reported to county 911 dispatchers shortly after...
California woman sentenced to prison for harassing calls to Squirrel Hill synagogue official
Joel Goldstein received the first phone call laced with antisemitic slurs within weeks of a mass shooter murdering 11 Jewish congregants at Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018 — the worst antisemitic attack on U.S. soil. The former executive director of the Squirrel Hill synagogue had left...
‘For those who didn’t come home:’ Family, friends mark Memorial Day at national cemeteryVideo
Sunday marked Peggy Quatman’s first Memorial Day service without Bob. The Glenshaw resident’s husband, a factory worker and Neville Island steelworker, once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his U.S. Navy peers while serving during the Vietnam War. His bleach-white headstone — section 13, site No. 460 — in the National Cemetery of...
At least 21 dead in Memorial Day weekend storms that devastated several U.S. statesVideo
A series of powerful storms swept over the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, killing at least 21 people and leaving a wide trail of destroyed homes, businesses and power outages. The destructive storms caused deaths in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky and were just north...
A final farewell: Honor guards pay respects at military funerals
Army Maj. Eric Gass finds it difficult to talk about the times he carried a meticulously folded American flag and placed it in the trembling hands of a young widow. Seeing children cling to their mother’s side during the funerals of their killed-in-action fathers is difficult to take — no...
Former host cities gush about NFL Draft as Pittsburgh gears up
The NFL Draft attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, generates millions of dollars for local businesses and thrusts its host cities into a national spotlight. It takes years of meticulous preparation, clear communication and strong partnerships to put on an event of that magnitude — but local leaders in recent...
On patrol: Mounted police officers create a presence
Their steps are choreographed, part of the job training the horses and their riders go through. The majestic animals are stationed in stables across the city, county and state. They perform details throughout the year, but spring is when you begin seeing them more often. Typically January through March there...
‘Gentle giant’ Dylan Tarbi, 13, mourned by family, community
Dylan Tarbi wasn’t the best third-baseman Freeport Area Youth Baseball coaches ever saw. That didn’t matter to the 13-year-old Buffalo Township boy, several people close to Dylan said Saturday. He always just worked to be his best. On Thursday, a day before a single-cab pickup fatally struck Dylan as the...
Communities fear health, environmental harms as they await more info on hydrogen hub projects
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The federal government and private developers are collecting public feedback on two major hydrogen production networks that will be partly located in Pennsylvania...
1 person hospitalized after McKnight Road crash; lanes closed
One person was transported to a hospital Saturday afternoon following a vehicle crash on McKnight Road in Ross. The person was driving near the 7800 block of McKnight Road around 12:45 p.m. when they crashed into an electrical pole, according to Brian Kohlhepp, public information officer for the Ross Township...
Blairsville man dead after crashing motorcycle over embankment in Derry Township
A man died when the motorcycle he was driving went over an embankment in Derry Township on Saturday morning, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Joshua M. Haynes, 24, of Blairsville, was traveling south near 216 Derry Lane just before 9 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway and...
Pittsburgh’s top summer concerts include 3 stadium events, sold-out Star Lake shows
Pittsburgh may have lost what was slated to be a huge music festival when Sudden Little Thrills abruptly announced its cancellation last week, but there are still plenty of big shows in the region. The summer concert season unofficially kicks off Wednesday with Noah Kahan’s sold-out show opening the Pavilion...
