Top Stories category, Page 772
Jury quickly finds Murdaugh guilty of murder of wife, son
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction. The jury deliberated for less than three hours...
Police seek McKees Rocks man in connection with shooting
Allegheny County Police are seeking a man known to frequent the McKees Rocks and Stowe areas in connection with a shooting early Thursday morning in McKees Rocks. McKees Rocks police and paramedics were called to the 100 block of Irwin Street just after 6 a.m. Thursday for a woman who...
Hundreds of Pa. residents turn to Beaver County resource center near train derailment site for help
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health opened a resource center in Beaver County for state residents concerned about the impact of last month’s train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio. In the two days after it opened Tuesday, officials said about 200 residents of Beaver County and neighboring Lawrence County went to...
Baldwin man gets 18 to 36 years in drug overdose death of infant son
Allegheny County Police Detective Greg Renko remains haunted by the scene he found inside a home on Baldwin’s Oakleaf Road 2-1/2 years ago. Renko went to the red-brick Cape Cod home on Sept. 13, 2020, to investigate the death of a 12-month-old boy. The boy, as it turned out, had...
Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?
After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, the U.S. senators from Ohio, sent a letter to the state’s environmental protection agency expressing concern that...
Ross woman missing for 3 decades found in Puerto Rico, police confirm
Robert Kopta waited three decades for the news that was revealed Thursday at Ross police headquarters. His wife, Patricia, who went missing from the area in 1992, was alive in Puerto Rico. “What would you do when somebody’s gone for 30 years?” Robert Kopta asked a room full of reporters...
As Tennessee, others target drag shows, many wonder: Why?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — “If I hadn’t been a girl, I’d have been a drag queen.” Dolly Parton has uttered those words famously and often. But if she really were a drag queen, one of Tennessee’s most famous daughters would likely be out of a job under legislation signed into law...
New Pa. House rules expand who can file a sexual harassment complaint against lawmakers
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Two months into an impasse-riddled session, the members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives have passed the rules that will...
NTSB: Key tank car part melted after Ohio train derailment
OMAHA, Neb. — The fire that erupted after last month’s train derailment in Ohio melted a key part of the tank cars filled with toxic chemicals, so federal officials warned railcar owners Thursday to check their fleets for similar flaws. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that investigators determined...
No bail for Pennsylvania man with explosives in suitcase
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania man admitted packing explosive materials, fuses and a lighter in a suitcase he checked for a commercial flight to Florida and fled the Lehigh Valley airport when he feared arrest, federal authorities said in a court document filed Thursday. Marc Muffley, 40, of Lansford, called his...
Prospective jurors in Tree of Life case being summoned to federal court to fill out questionnaires
Prospective jurors in the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting case are being summoned to federal court beginning Monday to fill out questionnaires to determine whether they can serve on the jury. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville summoned the prospective jurors to appear in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh...
Experts, ideas abound at Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show
At first glance, the giant arch appears to be made of rock — but looks can be deceiving. Decide for yourself when you encounter it at the 41st annual Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, which opens Friday and runs through March 12 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown....
Trump can be sued for Jan. 6 riot harm, Justice Dept. says
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot. The Justice Department...
Police: McKeesport teen opened fire at housing complex in father’s defense
A McKeesport teen is facing weapons charges after police said he attempted to shoot a man who, during a fight Wednesday afternoon, had pulled a gun on the teen’s father. The teen survived, but two other men died as a result of the shootout. Davon Flewellen-Belton, 18, was arrested Wednesday...
Police: New Kensington woman arrested after 1-year-old tests positive for drugs
A New Kensington woman was arrested after traces of cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs were found in her 1-year-old daughter’s urine, according to investigators. Caroline Willa Cramer, 33, of Fifth Avenue was charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children. She is being detained in the Westmoreland...
‘Operation Lake Effect’ drug raids sweep through the Alle-Kiski ValleyVideo
FBI agents, assisted by state and local police, conducted a wide-ranging series of drug raids in the Alle-Kiski Valley early Thursday. According to residents who witnessed some of the raids, police activity was seen in the hours just before and after dawn in Arnold, Gilpin, New Kensington, Tarentum, Upper Burrell...
NASA mission with North Allegheny grad launches to space stationVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched four astronauts, including a North Allegheny graduate, to the International Space Station for NASA early Thursday morning. The mission also includes the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay. The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly...
Man identified who was fatally shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington Heights
Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting that left a man dead Wednesday evening in the city’s Arlington Heights neighborhood. At about 5:45 p.m., officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert for 10 rounds of gunfire in the 3100 block of Cordell Place. They found a man with multiple gunshot wounds lying...
Cocaine possession added to child endangerment charges against Latrobe pair
A Latrobe woman and man charged with child endangerment last summer in Jeannette were arrested Tuesday in Latrobe and have been additionally charged with drug possession. Latrobe police and Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies served a warrant Tuesday morning at a Lloyd Avenue home in their search for Samantha Linn Stanford,...
Belle Vernon Area community gathers to remember 6-year-old Aria Woznick
Aria Woznick would have loved the spotlight that her family, friends, teachers and classmates shined upon the 6-year-old North Belle Vernon girl Wednesday. A community in mourning gathered en masse to remember the child described as a precocious kindergartener who loved life and embraced everyone she met. “I really think...
Explosive found in bag at Pennsylvania airport, man arrested
ALLENTOWN — A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked onto a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said. Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device...
Aldi announces closing, opening dates for Lower Burrell, New Kensington stores
Aldi’s new store in New Kensington is slated to open March 23, a spokesperson for the company said Wednesday. The opening of the newly built store in Riverview Plaza on Tarentum Bridge Road will be preceded by the closing of the nearby store in Lower Burrell, scheduled for two days...
Pa. lawmakers introduce rail regulation bills in wake of Ohio train derailment
A group of Pennsylvania lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate have set their sights on regulating rail companies following last month’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and John Fetterman, D-Braddock, have introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, while U.S. Rep. Chris...
3 dead, 2 injured in separate McKeesport shootings, police say
Three men were killed and two others injured in a pair of afternoon shootings in McKeesport that police say are not related. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified two of the three deceased late Wednesday night. The first shooting was reported at 12:08 p.m. in the 3100 block of the...
‘We’re back’: Bushy Run’s 2023 battle reenactment will be held
HARRISBURG — This year’s Battle of Bushy Run reenactment is back on after Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission members unanimously voted to allow the Penn Township site to hold the event this August. The fate of future reenactments has yet to be determined. The commission plans to conduct a study...
