Top Stories category, Page 502
FAFSA angst sweeps across Western Pa. for prospective college students
Many prospective college students and their parents are feeling angst over delays associated with the federal financial aid application, known as FAFSA, that millions rely on. An update to the application system last year has resulted in delays this year. As a result, it could be mid-March before colleges receive...
Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority pauses collection enforcement after uncovering billing error
Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority customers who spotted bad math on recent bills aren’t alone. A notice went out to customers Feb. 8, warning a “small number” of them may have received incorrect information on their monthly bills. Customers have not been charged incorrectly, according to Doug Komandt, WPJWA executive director,...
‘These new leaders’: 13 Pittsburgh cops promoted during ceremony
More than a dozen Pittsburgh police officers were promoted Friday, including several to some of the force’s highest-ranking posts, during a ceremony in the City-County Building, Downtown. Three commanders took the oath to become assistant chiefs, overseeing the roughly 800-strong Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. The new assistant chiefs — Chris...
Fire destroys South Huntingdon houseVideo
A fire destroyed a multi-story wooden house along Boy Scout Road in South Huntingdon house Friday. Firefighters from Turkeytown, Smithton and Scottdale fought the blaze, which was reported at 11:45 a.m., a Westmoreland County Public Safety Supervisor said....
Accused killer nurse indicates she will plead guilty in Western Pa. insulin deaths
A Harrison nurse charged with killing two nursing home residents and attempting to kill 17 others by deliberately giving them lethal doses of insulin indicated her wish to plead guilty during a short court appearance Friday. Heather Pressdee, 41, appeared to be frustrated with her defense attorneys when they asked...
Feds accuse Sewickley retirement fund administrator of embezzlement amid missing millions
A federal judge this week issued a temporary restraining order against a Sewickley man accused by the U.S. Department of Labor of embezzling millions of dollars from retirement funds that he and his company administer. Authorities say at least $8 million could be missing and unrecoverable from 17 funds overseen...
Diocese of Pittsburgh, Greensburg offer guidelines as Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day
Catholics celebrating Valentine’s Day might want to find a seafood restaurant or meatless dining option — or choose a different day to celebrate altogether. The Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Diocese of Greensburg confirmed this week that they are adhering to fasting and no meat on Ash Wednesday, which is...
Netanyahu orders population of Gaza’s crowded Rafah evacuated ahead of an expected ground invasion
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza town. Netanyahu made the announcement Friday following international criticism of Israel’s plan to invade the...
Putin uses Tucker Carlson interview to press his Ukraine narrative, hints at swapping WSJ reporter
Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks. Putin also said that Russia stands ready to negotiate a potential prisoner exchange that would free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan...
TV Talk: W.Pa. pups compete in ‘Puppy Bowl XX;’ area native hosts ‘Rescue Bowl’Video
Super Bowl Sunday has gone to the dogs — this time to some dogs with local ties. The annual pet-centric tradition of “Great American Rescue Bowl” (noon-2 p.m. today, Great American Family), hosted by Fox Chapel native Beth Ostrosky Stern, and “Puppy Bowl” (2 p.m. today, Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS,...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in industrial accident in Chartiers; missing Jeannette teen found safe
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Feb. 9: 1 injured in industrial accident in Chartiers One person was sent to a local trauma center Thursday after an industrial accident in Chartiers Township, according to Ambulance & Chair EMS. The EMS service said it worked...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 9-11
It’s the weekend. Here are some ways to spend it. Monster Jam The Monster Truck show rolls into PPG Paints Arena this weekend. Shows are at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. More than 100 truckloads of dirt were dumped onto the...
Potholes at Pittsburgh Mills are mall owners’ responsibility, not Frazer’s
Grant Becker had just left work at the Pittsburgh Mills shopping complex in Frazer when he heard a giant crunch. Becker’s car hit a pothole on Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard that he said was more like the size of a crater. “It was humongous,” said Becker of Springdale Township. “It had...
Gibsonia man charged in fatal hit-and-run in McCandless last March
A Gibsonia man has been charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 78-year-old pedestrian last year in McCandless. Karl Vincent Scott, 36, was arraigned Wednesday, Feb. 7, charged by McCandless police with causing an accident involving death or injury. Police say Scott struck Donald Leach of Wexford at about...
Pitt trustees discuss ways to raise national profile
University of Pittsburgh trustees Thursday heard an update on the university’s five-year strategic initiative dubbed “Plan for Pitt” and elected a new board chairman. Their meeting was punctuated by a noisy but peaceful pro-Palestinan protest outside the Assembly Room in the William Pitt Union. The demonstrators numbering a few dozen...
Body-camera footage shows chaotic lead-up to Times Square brawl between police and migrantsVideo
NEW YORK — The confrontation begins with police officers ordering a group of migrants to leave a bustling Times Square block. It escalates when one of those men, slowly walking away, lobs an insult in Spanish: “They look like Ugly Betty.” Second later, he is pushed up against a wall...
Mon Incline set to reopen following monthlong closure
The beleaguered Monongahela Incline will get new life again. The incline, which connects Pittsburgh’s Station Square to the city’s Mount Washington neighborhood, is set to reopen sometime this weekend, pending a state inspection, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced Thursday. Transit officials said repairs are nearly complete and state inspection workers will...
Police investigate crash in Washington County that killed McMurray man, Venetia woman
A McMurray man and a Venetia woman died when their vehicles collided Thursday afternoon in Washington County. The motorists were dead at the scene on Route 837 in Carroll Township, according to a report from the county coroner’s office. That office has identified one of the crash victims as Michael...
Vandergrift man convicted in sexual assaults of 2 children
A Westmoreland County jury deliberated more than five hours before returning guilty verdicts against a Vandergrift man for the sexual assaults of two children. Following a three-day trial that ended Wednesday night, Timothy Robert Johnson, 38, was found guilty of nine felony counts including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, conspiracy, indecent...
Former Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann wins defamation suit over comparison to molester, jury decides
WASHINGTON — A jury on Thursday awarded $1 million to climate scientist Michael Mann who sued a pair of conservative writers 12 years ago after they compared his depictions of global warming to a convicted child molester. Mann, a professor of climate science at the University of Pennsylvania, rose to...
Westmoreland County commissioners approve $2.7 million boost in pay
Raises for Westmoreland County’s union and nonunion employees will cost taxpayers an additional $2.7 million in 2024. Commissioners ratified a union contract and approved pay hikes for nonunion workers Thursday. A new three-year labor deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare Pa. includes average raises of...
Register of Wills says work continues to ease backlog as office restructuring OK’d by commissioners
A restructuring and boost in staff pay approved by Westmoreland County commissioners is expected to improve operations in the Register of Wills office. Filing delays and other deficiencies prompted Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton to be admonished last week by a county judge, who issued a court order that...
Longtime Allegheny County chief medical examiner Karl Williams to retire after 17 years
Karl Williams, Allegheny County’s longtime chief medical examiner, who toiled largely in obscurity while overseeing some of the region’s most grisly death investigations, is stepping down. A doctor by training, Williams, 75, is retiring Friday after 17 years as the county’s top forensic pathologist. He leaves behind a $238,000 salary,...
‘There’s consequences,’ judge tells Pittsburgh man before sending him to prison for killing toddler with stray bullet
Zaphora Bernard held up the baby book, “The Life of Zykier Young. I love you.” Zykier was just 5 pounds, 9 ounces when he was born. But 22 inches long, his mom said. She flipped through the pages, displaying them for the judge to see, thrusting the book toward the...
6 members of Philadelphia area family feared dead in house fire and shooting, prosecutor says
EAST LANSDOWNE — Six members of a family — including three children — are feared dead, an official said Thursday, from a fire at a house in suburban Philadelphia that went up in flames as two police officers who responded to the scene were shot and injured. Delaware County District...
