Top Stories category, Page 491
Former Pittsburgh police commander charged with spying on officers, recording conversations
A former Pittsburgh police zone commander is charged with spying multiple times on several of his officers, secretly recording up to 75 hours of their conversations. Matthew Lackner, 50, of Mt. Lebanon, was charged Friday by Allegheny County Police with four counts of illegal use of wired or oral communications,...
Piatt ready to seek Pittsburgh OK for waterfront ‘Esplanade’ project with giant Ferris wheel on the North Side
After years of delays, developers are on the verge of officially proposing a massive waterfront development project on Pittsburgh’s North Side that would feature a nearly 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel. Canonsburg-based Piatt Cos. first proposed the project dubbed Esplanade along the banks of the Ohio River in the city’s Chateau neighborhood...
MLB’s new uniforms don’t pass the eye test for Pirates players in spring training
BRADENTON, Fla. — Some Pittsburgh Pirates players have grumbled privately about the new MLB uniforms, expressing their dissatisfaction with the differences. The names and numbers are visibly smaller. The mesh material on the game jerseys and pants is stretchier and, with home whites, can be see-through. By adding mesh to...
Audit: Jeannette underpaid pension funds nearly $190K; city manager says issue has been resolved
Jeannette underpaid its three pension funds by $189,356 in 2021, and the state auditor general’s office said turnover in the fiscal office in 2020 and 2021 contributed to the error. The compliance audit of the city’s fire, police and nonuniformed pension plans recommended that Jeannette add the amount, plus interest,...
Student loan forgiveness plan in Pennsylvania wipes out $45.1M in debt for 5,600 borrowers
The Biden administration this week canceled $1.2 billion in student debt nationwide. In Pennsylvania, that means 5,600 borrowers with a total of $45.1 million in debt have had their loans wiped clean, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The agency on Friday released a state-by-state breakdown of where the...
Councilmen say there’s not much Springdale can do with railroad intersection
There’s not much that Springdale Borough can do with an apparently complicated railroad crossing near Colfax Street. About 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a tractor-trailer’s dolly legs got stuck under the rail at the Colfax Street crossing, police said. The driver, unable to get the rig off the tracks, evacuated the truck...
Lander ‘alive and well’ after company scores first U.S. moon landing since Apollo era
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The moon’s newest arrival was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first U.S. landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its...
Pitt becomes latest to extend student decision deadline amid FAFSA worries
The University of Pittsburgh Friday became the latest institution to extend the deadline for first-year admitted students to decide whether to enroll. The May 1 deadline will be extended to May 15, officials said Friday. The move impacts thousands of applicants to Western Pennsylvania’s largest university and is the result...
Avella man killed in Washington County crash
A 21-year-old man was killed early Friday morning after a crash in Independence Township in Washington County. Pennsylvania State Police said Anthony G. Georgetti of Avella was traveling westbound on Washington Pike when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. The crash was reported to county 911...
AT&T says the outage to its U.S. cellphone network was not caused by a cyberattack
AT&T said the hourslong outage to its U.S. cellphone network Thursday appeared to be the result of a technical error, not a malicious attack. The outage knocked out cellphone service for thousands of its users across the U.S. starting early Thursday before it was restored. AT&T blamed the incident on...
Morning Roundup: Aviary welcomes new condor; 1 injured in stabbing in Downtown PittsburghVideo
Here are a few morning news item for Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. National Aviary welcomes condor The National Aviary in Pittsburgh welcomed it newest resident yesterday. A 43-year-old male Andean condor named Bud is the latest addition, arriving from the Dallas Zoo. Bud will join adult female Lianni and juveniles...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 23-25
It’s the final weekend of February. Here are some ways to spend it. Take the plunge The 14th annual Pittsburgh Polar Plunge is Friday and Saturday on Art Rooney Avenue near Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore. This event invites participants of all ages — plungers under 18 will need...
‘Quiet’ New Kensington neighborhood unsettled by cocaine seizure, arrests
Holly Knapp knows there are places illicit drugs are bought and sold in New Kensington. She didn’t think her neighborhood was one of them. Knapp has lived for 25 years on Beamer Avenue, a short distance from where police Saturday descended on a house at the corner of Seventh Street,...
Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team filed multiple motions Thursday night urging a Florida judge to dismiss the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents, claiming in part that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution — an argument they have already submitted to the U.S. Supreme...
U.S. is imposing more than 500 new sanctions on Russia’s war machine, indicts Russian businessmen
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department plans to impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine on Friday as the U.S. vows to keep up its financial pressure on Moscow with the war entering its third grueling year. The sanctions represent the largest single tranche of penalties...
Private lander touches down on the moon but sending weak signalVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back until flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact. Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the...
Pittsburgh’s top engineer pledges better bridge maintenance to avert another disaster
Pittsburgh is already making improvements to the way it handles bridge upkeep, the city’s chief engineer said a day after the National Transportation Safety Board pinpointed the city’s lack of maintenance as a key reason the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. The NTSB on Wednesday condemned the city for years of...
A deficit of experienced voting officials could mean trouble for Pa.’s 2024 election
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. As the presidential election approaches, Pennsylvania is facing a deficit of experienced election directors, increasing the risk of errors that could cause difficulties for voters, disenfranchise their votes, and...
Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to U.S. custody
LAS VEGAS — A former FBI informant accused of lying about multimillion-dollar bribery allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and purportedly having links to Russian intelligence was again taken into custody Thursday, two days after a judge said he could be freed ahead of trial, his attorneys...
Voters push to toss Summer Lee challenger Laurie MacDonald from primary ballot
The region’s most contentious primary election race just got spicier. Laurie MacDonald, one of two Democratic challengers trying to unseat a surging U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, is now facing a threat to her place on the ballot. This week four Democratic voters in the 12th Congressional District went to...
Dick’s signs lease for former Westmoreland Mall Sears
Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to move into the former Sears at Westmoreland Mall, according to the company that controls the property. The Findlay-based sporting goods chain already has a store behind the mall in Hempfield. Dick’s hasn’t responded to requests seeking comment about the move. Transformco Properties, a Chicago-area company...
Texas school legally punished Black student over hairstyle, judge saysVideo
ANAHUAC, Texas — A Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday. Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular Houston-area high school...
Lawrenceville restaurant closes after health inspection
The Industry Public House Restaurant in Lawrenceville voluntarily closed Wednesday after an Allegheny County Health Department inspection found food being stored and prepared in the same area where plumbers were currently working on an exposed sewer line. The restaurant is currently having a sewer line repaired, health department officials said...
Allegheny County to add 5 ballot drop-off locations for primary election
Voters in Allegheny County will have more options to drop off mail-in ballots in time for April’s primary. The drop-off service is expanding from one location in Downtown Pittsburgh to up to a half-dozen across the county. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato announced Thursday the election office will be adding...
AT&T cellular service returns to customers across the nation
Wireless service has been restored for all AT&T customers affected by the nationwide cellular outages on Thursday, according to NBC News. The cause of the outage is still unknown, NBC News said. Federal Communications Commission is investigating, with help from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, NBC News reported....
