Top Stories category, Page 544
Pittsburgh police search for teen missing since June
Detectives from the Pittsburgh police Special Victims Unit are searching for a teenager has been missing since June. Jordan Boyd, 15, was reported missing Thursday by Pittsburgh police. Police suspect he is in the Pittsburgh or McKeesport areas. Boyd is about 6 feet tall and 155 pounds. He has brown...
Jurors deciding how much Rudy Giuliani must pay for lies in a Georgia election workers’ case
WASHINGTON — Jurors began deliberating Thursday to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives. The jury left for the day without announcing a decision and were expected to...
Man shot at Arby’s in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man was injured Thursday afternoon during a shooting in a fast-food restaurant Downtown. Pittsburgh police responded to an Arby’s in the 800 block of Liberty Avenue around 3 p.m. after shots were fired inside the restaurant, spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. A total of 15 rounds were fired. Two men...
For the first time, Pa. will provide counties with funding to help indigent defendants
For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the state next year will provide funding to counties for indigent legal defense. While the proposed $7.5 million in funding passed earlier this year with the budget, it wasn’t until Wednesday night that the funding mechanism to allow the money to be allocated...
Westmoreland commissioner criticizes 3.5% raises for elected county officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will receive bigger paychecks starting in January. Annual cost-of-living increases for 2024 will total nearly 3.5% for county commissioners and row officers, marking the third year in a row that elected leaders will see a significant bump in pay. Since the start of 2022, Westmoreland’s elected...
Jury begins deliberating in Western Pa. federal nursing home fraud case
Federal prosecutors said the criminal case against two nursing care facilities and five people who worked there is about lies and greed. “It’s not complicated,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gal-Or. “It’s very simple. The defendants lied. They lied about patients … just to squeeze as much money as possible...
Against the odds, European Union agrees to open membership negotiations with Ukraine
BRUSSELS — The European Union decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had struggled to find the backing for its membership aspirations and long faced obstinate opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. European Council President Charles...
EPA begins formal review of vinyl chloride, toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following a fiery train derailment earlier this year in eastern Ohio. The Environmental Protection Agency said it will review risks posed...
DA to prosecute crash that killed Serra Catholic student as ‘murder case’
An Irwin man accused of racing another motorist in Dravosburg in September was speeding at 107 mph seconds before he crashed into a Serra Catholic school van, killing a 15-year-old student and hospitalizing four other people, authorities said Thursday. The second driver also was speeding and fled the scene, authorities...
Steelers to build community field, youth recreation complex at Hazelwood Green
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced plans Thursday to build a new community field and youth recreation complex at the Hazelwood Green site in Pittsburgh. The Steelers Charities will operate the complex, which will be branded with the NFL team’s logo. Kids will participate in youth football, clinics with current and former...
Proposed apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Bluff would feature local art on facade
A proposed six-story apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood would prominently feature 10 large panels of artwork on the building’s façade. Pittsburgh-based GSX Ventures has proposed the 211-unit apartment building on a 1.4-acre site that occupies nearly an entire city block bounded by Forbes Avenue and Watson, Marion and Van...
UPMC to reinstate medical mask policy
Pittsburgh health care giant UPMC is requiring masks at its facilities as it sees an increase in cases of covid, flu and other illnesses. “UPMC is seeing an increase in cases of respiratory viruses, including covid, influenza and RSV,” according to a statement from UPMC. “To protect the health and...
Springdale planners hold off on renewing demolition permit for power plant site
Springdale planners on Wednesday pressed pause before making a recommendation on renewing a demolition permit at the borough’s former Cheswick Generating Station. Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group, a subsidiary of property owner Charah Solutions, and Grant Mackay Co. requested renewal of the demolition permit, which expires Jan. 17. “The next...
Skip the turnpike: Frontier offers flights from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia
Western Pennsylvanians are finally getting some cost relief to travel across the Keystone State. Frontier Airlines announced Thursday it was adding service to four U.S. cities from Pittsburgh International Airport starting in May 2024, including new twice daily service to Philadelphia. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said residents have been...
North Huntingdon man pleads guilty to smuggling Hondurans, cocaine into U.S.
A North Huntingdon businessman’s scheme to smuggle Hondurans and cocaine into the country came undone when the U.S. Coast Guard found his yacht floundering in the Gulf of Mexico, the Justice Department said in court documents. Carl “Car” Allison, 47, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans this month...
Pa. lawmakers free up funding for community colleges, public libraries
Lawmakers in Harrisburg agreed Wednesday night to release almost $262 million for the state’s 15 community colleges that had been held up for almost six months, plus $70 million for public libraries. The breakthrough on the last scheduled day for legislators to meet this calendar year also means K-12 school...
Feds say owner of Pa. snow, ice removal company padded bills; seek forfeiture of his Mt. Washington mansion
The owner of a Pittsburgh-based snow and ice removal company has been indicted on accusations that he padded customer bills for services that weren’t performed, and authorities are seeking the forfeiture of his Mt. Washington mansion. Charles W. Lantzman, 50, owner of Snow and Ice Management Co. of Pennsylvania, is...
Pennsylvania is in its Taylor Swift era, her home state decides
HARRISBURG — She’s Time magazine’s person of the year. She’s the most-played artist globally on Spotify. She’s helmed the first tour to gross more than $1 billion and then the highest-grossing concert film of all time. And now Taylor Swift can add one more accolade: A state House of Representatives...
Morning Roundup: Small fire at Norwin football stadium; state police car damages vehicles in traffic stop
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Dec. 14: Small fire extinguished at Norwin football stadium A small fire was extinguished Thursday morning in the visitor side concession stand at Norwin School District’s football stadium in North Huntingdon, according to Lauren Steiner, district director of...
Holiday displays appear at Westmoreland courthouse despite resolution passed in 1997
A holiday display outside the Westmoreland County Courthouse on Main Street in Greensburg is something passersby may not have seen in years. A 23-foot Christmas tree and a menorah in a frame were donated and placed last week. Commissioner Sean Kertes said he asked Public Works Director Greg McCloskey to...
Wanna get Pitt volleyball fever? Here are 5 things to know about the fast-paced college sportVideo
Women’s volleyball has become one of the most entertaining sports across the college sports universe. ESPN will televise Thursday’s NCAA Division I semifinals in Tampa, Fla., as Pitt takes on Nebraska at 7 p.m., followed by Texas vs. Wisconsin. The championship match will is set for 3 p.m. Sunday on...
Freeport Area student-produced documentary to air on WQED
An award-winning media course has united aspiring student filmmakers and resulted in benefits that go beyond book learning at Freeport Area High School. Students channeled their inner lights, camera, action for months, filming a behind-the-scenes peek into all aspects of creating a high school musical. Junior and senior students enrolled...
JetBlue mum on post-merger service at Arnold Palmer airport
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport enters the holiday travel season shrouded in turbulence. The airport is forging ahead with expansion plans despite passenger traffic plummeting this year — all while the lone airline serving the Unity facility is poised to merge with another airline that has failed to commit to retaining...
Private schools, child care legislation pass in Pennsylvania as lawmakers move past budget feud
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers moved past a monthslong budget feud Wednesday in Pennsylvania’s Capitol, with the House and Senate advancing legislation to tie up loose ends and send millions more to subsidize private school tuition and child care tax credits for parents. After days of negotiations that typically play out before...
2 arrested in September van crash that killed Serra Catholic student
Allegheny County Police arrested two men in connection with a September school van crash in Dravosburg that left a 15-year-old Serra Catholic student dead. William Soliday II, 43, of North Huntingdon and Andrew Voigt, 37, of Pittsburgh were arrested Wednesday. Soliday is facing charges that include third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter...
