Top Stories category, Page 550
Malnourished cat found at Pittsburgh airport begins new life with officer
A new chapter for Spirit began last week at Pittsburgh International Airport. Spirit the stray cat, not the airline. An Allegheny County Police officer stepped up to provide a home and a name for the female cat, the department reported on its Facebook page. The cat was “extremely malnourished” and...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in fire at Fayette County business
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Dec. 7: 1 injured in fire at Fayette County business One person was injured after a fire broke out Wednesday evening at a Fayette County business, according to a county 911 supervisor. The fire was reported shortly before...
Editorial: Let Hanukkah candles be new prayer for peace
The first candle will be lit tonight. As the sun sets, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins — an eight-night celebration of a miracle in a time of war. In the second century B.C.E, a struggle between the Jewish people and the Syrian Greeks resulted in the temple in Jerusalem...
Pittsburgh police seek missing juvenile
Pittsburgh police are seeking information about a male teen reported missing on Wednesday. Police said they are looking for Sh’Kia Ross, 14, of Pittsburgh, last seen Downtown on the 1400 block of Forbes Avenue. He is a Black male, 5-feet-9-inches tall and 150 pounds with brown eyes and black hair....
Murrysville Council OKs lease for gas, oil rights under 2 parks
Murrysville Council has approved oil and gas rights leases for several hundred acres of land beneath its two largest parks. Council voted 4-2 Wednesday to enter into separate leases with the sole bidder, Olympus Energy, for 74 acres below Duff Park and just under 306 acres of Murrysville Community Park,...
Nikki Haley targeted in the 4th Republican debate by her rivals. They all trail TrumpVideo
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nikki Haley was targeted Wednesday from the opening moments of the fourth debate for Republican presidential hopefuls as time runs out for the shrinking field to shake up a race dominated by former President Donald Trump. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused Haley of backing down from media...
2 men accused of releasing alligator spotted this summer along Kiski River ordered to pay fines
Two men who sparked a series of alligator sightings along the Kiski River this summer have been ordered to pay fines for allowing a pet reptile to escape into the waterway. Austin Randall, 23, of Lyndora, Butler County, told investigators that he lost his pet alligator, Neo, when he tried...
New Kensington slaying co-defendant testifies shooting victim was feared
One of the seven people charged with robbery and murder of a man last year in New Kensington told a Westmoreland County jury that the shooting victim was a known drug user and thief who was feared in the community. Raquan Carpenter, 20, of Pittsburgh, testified Wednesday for the prosecution...
Pitt students, friends hold memorial vigil for pedestrian killed by UPMC shuttle bus
Emily Watson read books voraciously, exercised each day at the gym, and drove frequently to Presque Isle Beach, where she liked to watch the sun set over Lake Erie and reflect. A Pittsburgher and Point Park University alumna, Watson supervised the transport department at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland and...
Rankin police Chief Jeremi Gregory remembered as a champion of the community
Rankin police Chief Jeremi Gregory was the embodiment of a man walking in his purpose, with a magnanimous presence and a genuine soul, according to those who knew him best. He was a cop’s cop, according to those who knew him well. “He wouldn’t ask his cops to do anything...
Ex-con headed to Allegheny County court in fatal Stowe Township shooting
A jitney-driving ex-con who said he was looking to buy drugs is headed to Allegheny County court next month in connection with the fatal Nov. 22 shooting of a Stowe Township man, authorities said. Allegheny County Police had charged Arrmon Hagans, 43, of Wilkinsburg, with criminal homicide; three counts each...
Western Pa. lands $144M in federal funding for expanded passenger rail service
It’s all aboard for more passenger rail service in Western Pennsylvania. Federal lawmakers said Wednesday that the Federal Railroad Administration is putting $144 million toward a project that will add a daily round trip on Amtrak’s passenger rail line between Pittsburgh and New York City. The funding will be used...
Greensburg woman charged after police say she boarded school bus, berated driver
A woman is charged with disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry of a school bus after police said she boarded a Greensburg Salem School District bus and berated the driver a few days before Thanksgiving. City police were called to Allegheny Street near the Autumnbrook Apartments on Nov. 20 for a...
Judge nixes minimum wage hike for Allegheny County workers
An effort to establish and increase a minimum wage up to $20 an hour for Allegheny County employees was ruled invalid by a judge this week. The bill was challenged by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald after it was passed over his veto. Fitzgerald said when he filed an action...
Pittsburgh considers banning fur sales, horse-drawn carriage rides, foie gras
Animal-rights legislation being considered by Pittsburgh City Council would ban fur sales, horse-drawn carriages and the French delicacy foie gras in the city. The would-be ban on fur sales and manufacturing is needed because of the “tremendous suffering” that millions of animals face each year when they are killed for...
Late Homer City astronaut and IUP graduate receives space mission name
Dr. Patricia Hilliard Robertson, a 1985 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, devoted her life not only to medicine but to the advancement of human spaceflight. She never made it into space herself, dying months shy of a mission. On Wednesday, the space industry became the latest to honor the...
Las Vegas shooting suspect was a professor who recently applied for a job at UNLV
LAS VEGAS — The man suspected of fatally shooting three people and wounding another at a Las Vegas university Wednesday was a professor who unsuccessfully sought a job at the school, a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed in...
Ross man gets probation for threatening congresswoman, senator
A Ross man who federal prosecutors said threatened members of Congress will serve a year of probation, including six months on house arrest. Harry E. Miller, 65, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2021 and charged with...
Former Pa. state cop sentenced to federal prison for child porn offenses
Sean R. McKenzie said he joined the Pennsylvania State Police in 2008 in hopes of doing good and helping others. Instead, he did the exact opposite, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Grogan. McKenzie, 39, was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in a federal prison on child pornography possession charges....
Allegheny County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato focusing transition on community input
With less than a month until she takes office, Allegheny County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato is undertaking a large transition effort with a focus on gathering community input from across the county. “I want the county’s priorities to be the community’s priorities,” Innamorato told a crowd of about 200 people at...
$10M to go toward affordable housing programs in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh City Council has approved a $10 million budget for a trust fund supporting affordable housing programs in the city. The amount of money provided to the Housing Opportunity Fund in 2024 could be adjusted in the coming weeks as City Council finalizes the city’s budget, Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South...
GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California is resigning 2 months after his ouster as House speaker
LOS ANGELES — Two months after his historic ouster as House speaker, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California announced on Wednesday that he is resigning from his congressional seat and will leave by the end of the year. His announcement marked the stunning coming end of the House career of...
Pitt grad identified as fatal shark attack victim in Bahamas
A University of Pittsburgh alumna was attacked and killed by a shark while vacationing with her husband in the Bahamas. Lauren Erickson Van Wart, a 44-year-old Boston resident, was paddleboarding with her husband on Monday when she was bitten by a shark, according to Royal Bahamas Police Sgt. Desiree Ferguson....
Rankin police chief dies
Rankin police Chief Jeremi Gregory died Tuesday, the borough announced on its Facebook page. “Chief you will be greatly missed and remembered by all,” the borough posted. Officials didn’t indicate the cause of Gregory’s death or his age. Gregory served with the borough department since July 2018, according to his...
Man shot by Pa. Attorney General’s agents at Pittsburgh’s Greyhound station
A man was in critical condition Wednesday after two state Attorney General’s Office agents shot him at the Greyhound bus station in Downtown Pittsburgh, police said. Two men began fighting on a bus around 6:40 a.m. and their altercation continued outside on the station’s concourse, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said....
