Top Stories category, Page 575
Tree of Life unveils memorial to victims of 2018 synagogue shooting
It’s been five long years since Diane Rosenthal’s brothers, Cecil and David, were killed during a Saturday morning Shabbat service in Squirrel Hill. Part of her family’s struggle has been deciding how to ask Pittsburgh and others to remember the two Jewish congregants known to their community as “the boys.”...
Liberty Tunnel, McCardle Roadway reopen after nearly 5-hour closure due to multi-vehicle crash
The Liberty Tunnel has been reopened after a multi-vehicle crash at PJ McCardle Roadway had it closed for nearly four hours Thursday. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said nine cars were involved in a collision around 5:15 p.m. and remained closed until about 10 p.m. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said...
Rooster’s Roadhouse employee remembers 1800s-era Collier tavern destroyed by fire
Tiffany Parnes had worked at Rooster’s Roadhouse in Collier for only a couple of weeks. But she sensed something special about the historic tavern, from its wood-paneled walls and game room’s high-backed chairs to the homemade, honey jalapeno-flavored relish in which it marinated its Buffalo wings every Wednesday. “Their food...
Families of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack unveil a memorial design
PITTSBURGH — In the years following the deadly 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack, relatives of those slain have gone through their own private grief, public memorial services and the trial and death sentence of the perpetrator. They’ve also been deliberating, slowly and methodically, on what kind of permanent memorial should be...
Pittsburgh pays Dr. Bennet Omalu $10K to investigate man’s death after police run-in
Pittsburgh paid a famous pathologist $10,000 this week to investigate the death of a homeless man who city police shocked repeatedly with a Taser in October 2021. Tuesday’s payment to Dr. Bennet Omalu came eight months after the city settled a lawsuit with the man’s family for $8 million. The...
Ex-Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez expelled from U.S., returned to Venezuela
Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez has been returned to his native Venezuela, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Vazquez, 32, was taken to Venezuela on Dec. 1 by members of Enforcement and Removal Operations in the Philadelphia Field Office. He was convicted in Westmoreland County court in 2021...
Hempfield Area makes it easier to search students with security policy update
Hempfield Area School District students and their belongings can be searched at the discretion of the superintendent under a revised policy the school board approved this week. The changes allow the district to search students and their belongings with metal or weapons detectors regardless of whether there has been a...
Video footage before Uber driver’s killing in Monroeville can be used in court, judge rules
An Allegheny County judge this week said that the Pitcairn man accused of killing an Uber driver did not have the right to privacy inside the car where he attacked the woman. Calvin Crew, 24, is scheduled for trial in the death penalty case in January before Common Pleas Judge...
2nd lawsuit targets Lower Burrell nursing home over death blamed on rogue nurse
A second lawsuit was filed Thursday against a Lower Burrell nursing home over the death of a resident injected with a lethal dose of insulin, one of numerous victims whom authorities said were targeted by a rogue nurse during a yearslong killing spree. The 15-count lawsuit against Belair Healthcare and...
Washington County controller’s dead dog prompts investigation, records show
North Strabane police said they are investigating a possible case of animal cruelty after removing a dead dog from the home of Washington County’s top elected financial officer. A search warrant affidavit said Washington Area Humane Society received a report that a dog owned by Controller April Sloane had died...
Community Market developer calls zoning rejection for Bloomfield site ‘arbitrary’
The developer of a proposed mixed-use housing and grocery store site in Bloomfield is challenging the city’s zoning variance rejection that stalled the project last month. O’Hara-based Echo Realty sought to increase the maximum height allowed on a site at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and the Bloomfield Bridge. Echo...
Texas judge grants pregnant woman permission to get an abortion despite state’s ban
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge on Thursday gave a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion in an unprecedented challenge over bans that more than a dozen states have enacted since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The lawsuit by Kate Cox, a 31-year-old...
Few remain to remember infamous Pearl Harbor attack 82 years ago today
The Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was 82 years ago today. With a death toll of more than 2,400, it was the deadliest attack on the United States prior to 9/11 and hastened the country to enter World War II. Here are a few...
UPenn president says calling for Jewish genocide allowed ‘in context,’ then issues correction
Embattled University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill is under fire yet again for her problematic response to antisemitic speech on campus, telling a congressional hearing that calling for Jewish genocide is allowed depending on its “context.” Then, after 24 hours of backlash, Magill released a video refuting her previous statement....
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...
