Top Stories category, Page 524
Court-appointed defense lawyers costs nearly doubled in 2023
A change implemented last year in how Westmoreland County pays defense lawyers appointed by judges to represent indigent criminal defendants nearly doubled costs for the program in 2023. Faced with opposition from the pool of lawyers who sought higher pay, the county in June shifted back to a system where...
Officials identify 2 men found dead in vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood
Officials have identified two men who on Friday were found dead in their vehicle after it crashed into a structure in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, Pittsburgh police said. Police said that first responders found two unconscious men in the vehicle that had crashed in the 200 block of Carver Street. Both...
U.S. military strikes another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, two U.S. officials said, a day after the U.S. and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels. Associated Press journalists in Sanaa, Yemen’s...
With Steelers-Bills set for blizzard, a look at some of the worst-weather NFL playoff games
Perhaps as much as three feet of snow. Possible wind gusts of more than 60 mph. Wind-chill factors well into negative numbers. It remains to be seen exactly how bad the weather ends up in Orchard Park, N.Y., for Sunday’s wild-card round playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo...
Police investigate fatal shooting in Arnold; victim identified
A man was found fatally shot in Arnold early Friday evening, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor said. The victim was found dead by an Arnold police officer about 6 p.m. in the 1600 block of Cherry Alley, authorities said. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson identified the victim as Allen...
Steelers prepare for perhaps unprecedented cold, snowy, windy conditions against Bills
Born and raised in Arizona and after a college career at Alabama, Levi Wallace wasn’t so much thrown into the fire in the NFL as he was thrown into an icebox. Wallace spent his first four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Now in his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers,...
Police arrest Pittsburgh man in baby’s death
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested in connection with the death of a 5-day-old infant last month, Pittsburgh police said Friday. The suspect, Shawn Martin, 30, who was accused of the death on Dec. 16 of Jah’Shawn O. Martin, was arrested in the city’s Brookline neighborhood on Friday by Pittsburgh...
Court again rejects cyanide killer Ferrante’s appeal, upholds murder conviction
The Pennsylvania Superior Court on Friday again affirmed the murder conviction of a former University of Pittsburgh neuroresearcher imprisoned for fatally poisoning his wife, a renowned neurologist. Robert Ferrante, 75, is being held in the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale, where he is serving a mandatory life sentence for the...
Union workers contend bankrupt Latrobe plastics company conducted unfair labor practices
A small group of union workers at a bankrupt Latrobe plastics company have been picketing outside the plastics plant the past few days to protest the firm’s failure to recall them back to their jobs. Westmoreland Plastics Inc. laid off its union workforce of about 14 workers in December when...
Parkway East ramp at Forest Hills reopens after tractor-trailer overturned
The Parkway East ramp from Forest Hills/Route 30 to westbound Interstate 376 has reopened after being forced to closed due to an overturned tractor-trailer, PennDOT announced. The crash occurred around 3:30 p.m. Friday. It is unclear what caused the crash. No injuries were reported....
After a rough week, Astrobotic finds silver lining in Peregrine mission
After a disastrous wave of setbacks, Pittsburgh space company Astrobotic is seeing things through a new lens. Astrobotic confirmed Wednesday that an image of a curved sliver in space taken from its Peregrine lander was Earth viewed from tens of thousands of miles away. That photo seemed to turn spirits...
Drew’s Family Restaurant in Forest Hills to close
Update: Drew’s Family Restaurant was closed Saturday morning. Most of its signage is gone, and empty parking lots on either side of the restaurant are taped off. Chatter on social media indicates the owners decided to close Friday night instead of Sunday. Nobody answered the phone at the restaurant Saturday...
Ex-PPG Paints Arena worker sues Aramark for racial discrimination over Afro
A Black woman is suing the company that runs concessions at PPG Paints Arena alleging that they discriminated against her because of her Afro. Asani Porch, of Spring Hill, filed the lawsuit against Aramark Sports and Entertainment Services LLC in federal court on Thursday alleging race discrimination and a violation...
High winds, cold temperatures forecast for weekend: Here’s how to prepare
With cold temperatures and high winds forecast for the Pittsburgh area this weekend, power outages may be on the horizon. High winds Tuesday afternoon left about 41,000 FirstEnergy customers without power in Western Pennsylvania, the power company said in a post on its website. Power was restored to homes Wednesday...
Teen struck by SUV while washing windows at McCandless restaurant sues driver
A teenage employee at Longhorn Steakhouse who was struck by an out-of-control SUV and severely injured while she washed the McCandless restaurant’s windows last summer is suing the driver. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the employee’s mother, Christine Maher, in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleges negligence against Mary E....
Modular homes offer a solution to Pittsburgh’s housing shortage
Harry Vine Homes, a modern modular home building company, prefabricates houses in a climate-controlled warehouse before transporting them to a specific address — a practice that can be a viable solution to the housing shortage. According to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh, there is a severe shortage of both...
Pittsburgh’s Adda coffee chain abruptly closes all locations
A small coffee chain has abruptly closed all four of its Pittsburgh locations, and some critics are claiming it is a move to undermine labor organizing. Adda Coffee & Tea House announced late Thursday on social media that it is closing all of its locations, claiming it has been running...
Morning Roundup: Multiple vehicles crash in North Versailles; hunt is on for South Side tagger
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Jan. 12: Crane truck overturns on Route 119 ramp An electrical truck carrying a crane overturned on a ramp on Route 119 coming off Route 66 at the New Stanton interchange. The crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. State...
Paul Spadafora’s rise to world champion, fall from grace chronicled in ‘Fighting Till The End’
Paul Spadafora was back where he believes he belongs, wearing gloves and working in and around the ring with aspiring fighters last month at Tom Yankello’s World Class Boxing Gym in Ambridge. The former IBF lightweight champion from McKees Rocks, who now resides in Las Vegas, returned to his hometown...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 12-15
It’s the weekend — a three-day weekend for some with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. Here are some ways to spend it. All aboard The Carnegie Science Center on the North Side is hosting Locomotion Weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will...
Doctors advise caution, watchfulness for Singulair side effects
Despite concerns about its possible side effects, Western Pennsylvania doctors say some patients can remain on Singulair to relieve asthma or allergy symptoms. But in most cases, the doctors say they aren’t prescribing the pill as a first-line, or first-time, medication. The asthma and allergy medicine, also known by its...
‘No way anybody can play in a game like this’: Blizzard could impact Steelers-Bills
Some in Pittsburgh might feel as if waking up on the day of a Steelers playoff game is their own personal Christmas morning. This past Dec. 25 was no White Christmas. So maybe for die-hard Steelers fans, their personal holiday will be coated in white. In Orchard Park, N.Y., at...
U.S., British militaries launch massive retaliatory strike against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Thursday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said. The U.S. Air Force’s Mideast command said it struck over 60...
Arnold man accused of terrorizing New Kensington family and fighting, threatening police
An Arnold man is accused of threatening and fighting with New Kensington police after he was arrested for allegedly terrorizing a family in their home in the middle of the night. New Kensington police filed charges, including felony counts of aggravated assault and criminal trespass, Thursday against Timothy Jamar Petty,...
Greensburg woman’s sentence in 2010 torture killing upheld
The 60 years-to-life prison sentence being served by a Greensburg woman for her role in the 2010 torture killing of Jennifer Daugherty has been upheld by a state appeals court. In an opinion released Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected a defense request to invalidate the...
