Top Stories category, Page 684
Jury begins deliberating whether Pittsburgh synagogue shooter is eligible for death penalty
The prosecution told jurors they had all the evidence they needed to find that Robert Bowers intended to kill. He spent months planning the Tree of Life synagogue attack. He stockpiled weapons and ammunition. He announced his intentions online. Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo Song said in her closing argument Wednesday...
Pennsylvania budget still in turmoil over school vouchers and equity funding case
HARRISBURG — A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations. Along with a partisan divide over spending taxpayer money to help students attend private and religious schools, education funding has...
AGH nurses urge call for staffing, safety improvements as negotiations loom
Citing an ongoing shortage of nurses and concerns for patient safety, the unionized registered nurses of Allegheny General Hospital urged health care workers throughout the region to demand improvements to staffing levels. At a news conference Wednesday at Allegheny Commons Park North in Pittsburgh, the RNs represented by SEIU Healthcare...
Route 910 bridge replacement in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, begins Monday
Route 910 in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, will be closed beginning Monday as crews work to replace a bridge. Beginning at 7 a.m., bridge replacement work will start on Route 910 between Indianola Road and Bayer Drive. Route 910 will close at the bridge through Tuesday, Aug. 8, according...
Pioneering Anchor Brewing Co. to halt operations after 127 years with beer sales in declineVideo
San Francisco’s 127-year-old Anchor Brewing Co. will shut down and liquidate after years of declining sales, citing tough economic conditions. Anchor was a trailblazer in the United States, brewing craft beers in the 1970s when most Americans were loyal to a handful of major brands. Its unique brewing techniques ignited...
Lawsuit: Bad cellphone data led to botched raid of Monroeville home
A family whose Monroeville home was stormed by Pittsburgh SWAT officers in January is suing the city in federal court, claiming the violent raid violated their civil rights. The family said in the lawsuit that at least 20 officers carrying machine guns raided their Paulson Avenue home Jan. 22, scaring...
Chatham University auctioning contents of Shadyside mansion
Jim Crowley walked into what’s known as the Thomson House mansion and said he felt like he had just stepped back in time. Not much had been touched for years — the furniture was reminiscent of the Victorian era up to the 1920s, a woman’s wardrobe from decades ago hung...
New law will make it easier for Pittsburgh’s Land Bank to purchase properties
A new Pennsylvania law is expected to make it easier for Pittsburgh’s Land Bank to purchase blighted properties. An amendment to the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Law included a few technical and procedural changes to the way Sheriff Sales are conducted in Allegheny County. The changes will allow the...
Audubon’s Succop Nature Park will be energy self-sufficient by year’s end
Succop Nature Park, a prime trail-walking and bird-watching spot spread over 50 acres near Butler, will become even more eco-friendly as it transitions away from fossil fuels this year. The Audubon Society-owned property along West Airport Road in Penn Township, Butler County, will use solar panels to produce 100% of...
Vehicle and bus with 5 students collide in Springdale; no injuries reported
No injuries were reported Wednesday afternoon when a small school bus carrying five students and a vehicle collided in Springdale. Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub said officers were dispatched at 12:04 p.m. to the intersection of Pittsburgh and Butler streets to respond to the crash. It’s unclear what led to...
Jill Biden to visit Pittsburgh to tout Bidenomics
First Lady Jill Biden is coming to Pittsburgh next week to tout her husband’s efforts in revitalizing the economy. Biden will lead the Bidenomics tour that will go through Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, and Augusta, Ga., according to Bloomberg. No details have been provided yet on when and where the Pittsburgh...
Grocery store, apartments proposed in Bloomfield at Community Market site
A local developer is eyeing a site in Bloomfield to build a complex complete with a new grocery store, public square, retail, and hundreds of apartments at the Community Market — formerly the ShurSave IGA — site at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Main Street. O’Hara-based Echo Realty held...
FBI Director Chris Wray defends the ‘real FBI’ against criticism from House RepublicansVideo
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray defended the “real FBI” during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, rejecting a litany of grievances from angry Republicans who are harshly critical of the bureau, threatening to defund some operations and claiming the Justice Department is unfair to political conservatives, including Donald Trump. Wray...
Police continue to investigate fatal cat shooting in Gilpin
Amber Fouse of Gilpin is still reeling from the news that her beloved cat was killed by gunfire. Linus, a 5-year-old tuxedo (black-and-white) cat, was shot and killed June 21, according to the results of a recent necropsy report. Fouse, 27, said she went to the Southern Armstrong Regional Police...
Morning Roundup: Risk of severe weather rising into Thursday
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, July 12: Severe weather risk forecast Thursday The likelihood of severe weather will increase around the Western Pennsylvania area from Wednesday into Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. Forecasters say there is a marginal risk...
Don’t touch the thermostat: Experts advise against cranking down AC during high heat
When it’s hot outside, the instinct of some is to lower the temperature on the household thermostat. But local HVAC repair experts advise against dropping the settings too low. “Air conditioning controls humidity, not temperature,” said David Demilio, owner of Demilio Heating and Cooling in South Greensburg. “In the long...
New amphitheater will bring entertainment to West Deer in summer 2024
By this time next year, entrepreneur Charlie Vrabel says, there will be a new entertainment outlet in West Deer. The township supervisors approved plans last month to build an amphitheater at his business, No Offseason Sports, at 940 and 982 Little Deer Creek Valley Road in the township’s Russellton neighborhood....
Review: Weezer drives through greatest hits in sold-out Pittsburgh concert
At one point Tuesday night, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo mentioned that the band had recorded hundreds of songs in their 30+ years together. Weezer’s 90-minute set at a sold-out Stage AE leaned heavily on their first two albums as they rolled through most of their crowd-pleasing greatest hits from those...
GOP hails him as Hunter Biden whistleblower; Feds say he was really Chinese agent who brokered Iran arms and oil deals
A think tank director and energy analyst hailed by Republicans as a Hunter Biden whistleblower illegally advanced Chinese interests in the U.S. and violated laws barring him from selling Chinese weapons and arranging Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, Manhattan federal prosecutors say. Gal Luft, 57, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, has...
Carson City Saloon owner says South Side violence an ‘absolute nightmare’
Brian Vetere, co-owner of the South Side’s Carson City Saloon, said his decision to temporarily close the popular Pittsburgh bar has been mounting for two years. “My staff is scared to death every time they come to work,” he said Tuesday. “So am I. My wife is terrified for me...
Teen jogger details her struggle to avoid abduction in Ligonier Township
Madeline Smith knew she had little choice but to fight her attacker as he attempted to force her at gunpoint into his car on a cold Sunday morning in January. “I figured I might as well fight. I was terrified. I knew he was going to get me into his...
Editorial: South Side violence closes more doors as little changes
On Monday, Carson City Saloon announced it was closing its doors — at least temporarily. A sports bar on the South Side doesn’t do that lightly. It isn’t a new business. It has been around for 17 years. It’s baseball season. But right now crime season is taking the spotlight....
Police: Items believed connected to Pa. jail escapee still being found; reward increasesVideo
WARREN — Authorities searching for a homicide suspect who used bedsheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail last week say items found in the last 24 hours lead them to believe he is still in the area. Authorities added that reward money in the case has more than doubled....
Commonwealth Court orders Allegheny County to provide autopsy reports to journalists, public
A state court has ruled that Allegheny County must release a medical examiner’s full autopsy report to journalists or members of the public when they request it, reversing an earlier court decision. An attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association called the decision “a great win for public access.” In a...
Leslie Van Houten, follower of cult leader Charles Manson, released from California prison
LOS ANGELES — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders. Van Houten “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a...
