Top Stories category, Page 805
Voyeurism takes disturbing turn as mini cameras become more accessible
Across the country, miniaturized hidden cameras keep popping up in the most unseemly location: public restrooms, where latter-day peeping Toms record every zip, wipe and flush of unsuspecting victims. This year alone, the unwanted intrusions have shaken locals at a Utah university, inside a New York state middle school, at...
Westmoreland elected officials to receive record raises
Westmoreland County elected officials are getting huge raises in 2023. Commissioners, along with row officers and judges, will receive 7.8% higher wages next year under an existing pay structure put in place more than two decades ago to ensure the county’s election officials receive annual cost of living increases. Raises...
Pa. Republicans fight to prolong House majority and pass far-reaching constitutional amendments
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 — Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state House could hold a functional majority until at least mid-February thanks to Democratic vacancies —...
Pittsburgh delays lease extension for police headquarters
Pittsburgh City Council tabled a proposal to extend the city’s lease for its police headquarters building after discovering that it still has one year left on its existing lease. The mayor’s office proposed a six-year lease extension for the Western Avenue building on Pittsburgh’s North Side last month. That lease...
3 people hurt, 1 critically, after vehicle hits 2 homes in Marshall-Shadeland
Three people were taken to local hospitals, including one in critical, but stable, condition after a vehicle struck two homes early Saturday morning in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, according to police. Police were called to the 2600 block of Woodland Avenue for a report that an SUV had struck the porch...
Teachers see tech center preparing students for a career
Greensburg Salem High School senior Allyssa Mattes wants to go to a technical school and work in a machine shop after graduation. Mattes was among those who told about 15 teachers from several school districts about the career-preparation programs at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center this week. As the...
3 family members killed in overnight fire in Brighton Heights, 1 victim identified
Three members of one family died in an overnight fire in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood, in a house where about a dozen people lived, according to police and neighbors. Pittsburgh firefighters responded to the 3400 block of McClure Avenue just before 2 a.m. The situation quickly developed into a three-alarm...
Health providers advise caution around illness as holidays approach
Home for the holidays? Amid a seasonal squall of viruses that doctors say arrived early and may stay late, there are simple ways to improve your chances of staying healthy. Basic health precautions — wearing a mask when around large groups of people, washing your hands, staying home when sick...
Carnegie man acquitted of 2021 Scott stabbing death
A Carnegie man accused of killing a 70-year-old man at a homeless encampment in Scott last year was found not guilty Friday. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer announced his verdict in the nonjury trial following three days of testimony, which began on Nov. 1. Vendell Nasir III, 29,...
Jan. 6 panel eyes recommending 3 criminal charges for Trump
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering recommending the Justice Department pursue an unprecedented criminal charge of insurrection and two other counts against former President Donald Trump. Besides insurrection, an uprising aiming to overthrow the government, the panel is also considering...
Irwin man among 3 suspects nabbed in West Mifflin drug bust
An Irwin man was among three people jailed in Allegheny County this week after drugs, guns and cash were found during a raid in West Mifflin, West Mifflin police said. Police said the illegal items confiscated were heroin, cocaine, pure fentanyl and fentanyl pills, marijuana, as well as four handguns,...
Zappala criticizes Gainey administration, Pittsburgh police over response to city violence
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Friday criticized Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and the city’s police department for failing to curb violence and ensure that the public feels safe. “You have to have the cooperation of the elected officials,” Zappala said. “The city’s a problem right now....
Police charge Blairsville man in connection with Latrobe burglary, theft
A Blairsville man faces charges after police say he burglarized a Latrobe home and stole a laptop from it. Thursday morning, a man told police that someone entered his Spring Street home and stole his MacBook, backpack and several other items. Using security cameras, Latrobe police found that Vincent Skillings,...
Pittsburgh police to survey residents in effort to improve community relations
Pittsburgh police in the city’s Zone 3 said they plan to use survey results to improve relations with residents. Starting Monday, police in Zone 3 will launch a trial of AXON My90, a program that uses brief surveys to allow community members to provide feedback on police interactions. “The anonymous...
Army soldier charged with murdering sergeant from Plum
FORT STEWART, Ga. — The Army has charged a 28-year-old soldier with murder in the fatal shooting of a sergeant at a Georgia base. Officials at Fort Stewart identified the suspected gunman Friday as Spc. Shay A. Wilson of Cambria Heights, New York. He has been charged in a military...
Shell issued violation notice for exceeding emission limits during startup of Beaver County cracker plant
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a notice of violation against Shell’s multibillion-dollar ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, which became fully operational last month. Shell was hit with the violation notice on Wednesday after the DEP said it exceeded the emission standards set between the company and...
Want to email your doctor? You may be charged for that
WASHINGTON — The next time you message your doctor to ask about a pesky cough or an itchy rash, you may want to check your bank account first — you could get a bill for the question. Hospital systems around the country are rolling out fees for some messages that...
Zappala to seek 7th term as Allegheny County district attorneyVideo
Surrounded by hundreds of people representing many of Pittsburgh’s labor unions, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Friday announced he will seek a seventh term in office. Zappala, a Democrat from Fox Chapel, made the announcement at the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Christmas party in the Champions...
Vote totals from recounted precincts certified in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Election Board this week issued a final certification of results from five voting precincts subjected to a court-ordered recount. Voters from precincts in Salem, Hempfield, Loyalhanna, Lower Burrell and Ligonier Borough petitioned the courts to recount votes cast as part of the Nov. 8 general election for...
Russia launches another major missile attack on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s capital came under one of the biggest attacks of the war Friday as Russia’s invading forces fired dozens of missiles across the country, Ukrainian officials said, reporting strikes in at least four cities that triggered widespread emergency power outages. Gunfire from air defense systems and thudding...
Pittsburgh Starbucks stores among those affected by nationwide 3-day worker strike
Starbucks workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday as part of their effort to unionize the coffee chain’s stores. More than 1,000 baristas at 100 stores are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the effort. The strike will be...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 16-18
‘Tis the season for holiday music, theater and partying and, from the classics to prog rock to on-screen hilarity, Pittsburgh is filled with it this weekend. Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is back in Pittsburgh for 2022 with the return of “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO...
Corporate exec pleads guilty to forging fake divorce papers to keep up affair
A North Huntingdon corporate executive pleaded guilty Thursday to forging a judge’s name on a fake court record as part of a plot police said was designed to convince his lover to continue an extramarital affair. Dennis George Durmis Jr., 50, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform...
PPG to drop naming rights to Pittsburgh aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo will start the new year with a new, but not unfamiliar, name. PPG and the PPG Foundation will relinquish their naming rights to the aquarium at the zoo, the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh and PPG announced. Beginning Jan. 1, the name will return to Pittsburgh Zoo &...
Westmoreland Mall seeing strong holiday turnout
It seems as if — at least this holiday season — what was old is new again at Westmoreland Mall. On a December afternoon, the mall is buzzing with happy shoppers, hungry food court patrons and cheerful Christmas tunes. Children wave to their parents from the Christmas train, a kiosk...
