Top Stories category, Page 568
As substance abuse rises, need for additional programs comes into focus, experts say
Jillian Hauser spent more than a decade addicted to drugs, went through six rounds of rehab, did time in jail and lost custody of her two daughters. She hit bottom when Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio offered her one last chance to regain control of her life through the county’s...
Ex-congressman: Lawmakers must do more to protect children of addicted parents
When Jim Greenwood was a Bucks County child welfare caseworker, he was haunted by the images of babies born addicted to drugs. When he became U.S. Rep. Jim Greenwood, he did something about it. As a six-term Republican congressman from eastern Pennsylvania, the now-retired Greenwood penned a federal law requiring...
Experts tell firsthand stories of children harmed by addicted parents
Dr. Bill Jenkins thought he had seen most of what life could throw at people during his years as an emergency room physician and medical director of Greensburg-based Mutual Aid, one of the state’s largest ambulance services. In the past three decades, he has tended to patients with drug overdoses,...
‘Frightening rate’ of children dying due to parents’ drug abuse
Four days after Christmas 2020, Hannah Moore felt horror like no other when she awoke to find her 2-month-old daughter’s cold, lifeless body nestled next to her in bed, inches away from her other two children. Traces of blood trickled from Avery Davis’ mouth and nose as Moore frantically dialed...
Traffic stop on South Side yields, drugs, money and stolen gun
Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies confiscated drugs, money and a stolen gun during a traffic stop Saturday afternoon on Pittsburgh’s South Side. They arrested Glen Cleveland, 22, of Carrick after witnessing a suspected drug deal shortly before 1 p.m. at a gas station at East Carson and 10th streets. Cleveland drove...
Pittsburgh police probe Northview Heights infant’s death
Pittsburgh police are investigating the death Saturday of a newborn. First responders were dispatched Friday around 11:36 p.m. to the boy’s home in the 600 block of Mt. Pleasant Road in the Northview Heights neighborhood for a report of an infant in distress. The 5-day-old baby, Jah’Shawn O. Martin, was...
Steelers allow 30 straight points vs. Colts, fall to .500 after 3rd loss in row
INDIANAPOLIS — For 16 minutes Saturday, it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers might race to a win that would soften the ills created by consecutive losses to two-win teams. For the remainder of the game, they remained stuck in neutral on offense and defense while watching the Indianapolis Colts run...
Steelers’ Damontae Kazee ejected for hard hit during loss to Colts
INDIANAPOLIS – Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was ejected for a hard hit on Michael Pittman during the second quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Kazee was assessed a 15-yard personal foul penalty on a second-and-8 passing play originating at the Indianapolis 31 yard-line. Pittman was full-out diving...
Federal Reserve on cusp of what some thought impossible: Defeating inflation without steep recession
WASHINGTON — It was the most painful inflation Americans had experienced since 1981, when “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Jeffersons” were topping the TV charts. Yet the Federal Reserve now seems on the verge of defeating it — and without the surge in unemployment and the deep recession that...
As Trump threatens to repeal Obamacare, these ‘insurance godmothers’ are signing Florida Latinos up
MIAMI — Salsa music blares from the food court in a rundown Miami shopping center as Latinos head to a kiosk and an office showing signs for ” Obamacare,” where they hope to renew their health coverage plans before the year ends. It’s areas near this mall where former Democratic...
‘My husband just shot me,’ wounded Springdale woman tells 911
The 911 call Friday from a Springdale Township home was chilling: A woman named Judy described how her husband had shot her in the stomach then put the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger, according to court papers. “My husband just shot me,” Judy told the operator. “He’s...
Tenants move out as Latrobe apartment building inspections ongoing
The owner of the Latrobe apartment building cited with more than 100 code violations is working to correct the “most serious issues,” a city official said, but two tenants have left, claiming the nightmare of living there still haunts them. The three-story building at 333 Main St. has been inspected...
Retailers, shoppers gear up for final holiday rush
Shoppers had their pick of products and parking Friday ahead of what retailers hope will be a chaotic and profitable weekend — the last full weekend before Christmas celebrations get underway. “It’s not very crowded. I was thinking it would’ve been busier on a nice Friday,” said Karen Belin of...
Philly City Council bars hospitals from carrying out ‘medical deportations’ of undocumented immigrants
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia City Council enacted what immigration advocates say is a landmark law to stop so-called medical deportations, in which hospitals spirit seriously ill, undocumented patients out of the country to deeply uncertain futures. Critics call it international patient dumping, an attempt by health systems to avoid the cost...
Arizona’s governor sending National Guard to border to help with migrant influx
PHOENIX — Arizona’s governor Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage an influx of migrants. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep...
Ohio man indicted on sex-trafficking charges involving Monroeville hotel
An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges that he transported a minor to a Monroeville hotel to engage in “commercial” sex acts, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a news release. Donte Lashawn Cole, 39, of Euclid, an Ohio suburb of Cleveland, allegedly used...
Georgia teacher accused of threatening student in dispute over Israeli flag
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A middle school teacher in Georgia was arrested because witnesses told a sheriff’s investigator he threatened to cut off the head of a student who objected to an Israeli flag in his classroom. Benjamin Reese, a teacher at Warner Robins Middle School, was taken into custody...
Police charge Springdale Township man in wife’s shooting
A Springdale Township man is accused of shooting his wife, then turning the gun onto himself in their home on Friday, according to court documents. Scott A. Mishler, 65, was charged by Allegheny County Police with aggravated assault and attempted criminal homicide in connection with the shooting that was reported...
Illinois man pleads guilty for role in multi-county catalytic converter theft ring
An Illinois man was ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison for his role in a multi-county theft ring that police said was responsible for stealing dozens of catalytic converters from vehicles. Stewart Hinton IV, 37, pleaded guilty racketeering, theft and conspiracy offenses in connection with allegations he...
Matthew Perry died from effects of drug ketamine, coroner says
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, according to the results of an autopsy on the 54-year-old “Friends” actor released Friday. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in the autopsy report that Perry also drowned in “the heated end of...
Jury awards $148 million in damages to Georgia election workers over Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 vote lies
WASHINGTON — A jury awarded $148 million in damages on Friday to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. The damages verdict follows emotional testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss...
Westmoreland DA: Woman found dead in St. Clair
Westmoreland County detectives are investigating the death of a 71-year-old woman found Thursday afternoon in her St. Clair home, according to authorities. The cause and manner of Alice I. Robson’s death is pending final autopsy results, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. Toxicology results will not be available for several...
Christmas-delivery shipping deadlines are fast approaching
People are running out of time to have gifts shipped in time for Christmas, with at least one deadline arriving as early as this weekend. Saturday is the last day you can have something shipped by the U.S. Postal Service in time for the holiday. The Postal Service’s first-class or...
Remembering Pittsburgh pioneering Black journalist Jean Bryant’s life and legacy
Jean Bryant was an icon. A pioneer in journalism, an activist and an author, Bryant was known for her grandeur, grace, indelible laugh and infectious smile. She drew widespread acclaim for her work as a journalist in Pittsburgh, but Bryant felt her greatest accomplishment was the work that she did...
Pittsburgh’s URA to invest more than $2M in affordable housing preservation
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority plans to spend more than $2 million to preserve over 420 apartments as affordable housing. The money comes from the URA’s Housing Preservation Program, which the authority created in April with $8.9 million in pandemic relief money. Wood Street Commons in Downtown is set to receive...
