Top Stories category, Page 845
Jury: Kevin Spacey didn’t molest actor Anthony Rapp in 1986
NEW YORK — A jury sided with Kevin Spacey on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film star’s career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986. The verdict in the civil trial came...
Volunteer firefighter from Collier died in Parkway East crash
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday identified the man who died in a crash the day before on the Parkway East as 32-year-old Terry Tackett. Tackett, a volunteer firefighter who lived in Collier, was taken to UPMC Mercy in Uptown after the crash happened around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday...
2 school officers injured breaking up fight at Oliver Citywide Academy, police say
Two Pittsburgh Public School officers were injured after a fight broke out Thursday afternoon at Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy on the city’s North Side, officials said. The two officers’ injuries were “not too severe,” Pittsburgh Public School spokeswoman Ebony Pugh told the Tribune-Review. The two individuals planned to go to...
Dr. Oz made reputation as a surgeon, a fortune as a salesman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz rolled onstage inside of an inflatable orb, put on a hydrating face mask and proceeded to pitch a new line of skin care products to a convention of supplement distributors at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena in 2018. The crowd roared in applause. The celebrity...
Biden tours Fern Hollow Bridge work, touts infrastructure plans at Pittsburgh stop
President Joe Biden stopped in Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon to survey progress on the $25.3 million reconstruction of the Fern Hollow Bridge and tout his administration’s investments in infrastructure. The former Fern Hollow Bridge over Frick Park in the city’s East End collapsed on Jan. 28, injuring 10 people and...
2 residential developments proposed for Pittsburgh’s Strip District
Plans are in the works for two separate housing developments in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Developers on Tuesday presented their proposals to the city’s Planning Commission, which is expected to vote on the plans when they meet again in two weeks. The first proposal calls for a seven-story, 85-foot-tall apartment building...
Wrongful death lawsuit filed by family of man killed at Baldwin’s Loose Moose Saloon
The son of a man killed last year at Baldwin’s Loose Moose Saloon filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the bar and the man accused of killing him. Mark D. Thompson, 51, of South Park, died on July 22, 2021, four days after he was assaulted at the bar, police said....
Bus driver recruitment continues to challenge school district transportation contractors
Transportation company First Student is advertising school bus driver openings for several area districts the company serves, including Norwin, Jeannette City and Hempfield Area. But applicants have not been flocking to replenish the ranks at area school bus terminals. Driver shortages have been an issue for many districts in recent...
U.S. heating worries mount amid growing costs, uncertainty
JAY, Maine — Across the U.S., families are looking to the winter with dread as energy costs soar and fuel supplies tighten. The Department of Energy is projecting sharp price increases for home heating compared with last winter and some worry whether heating assistance programs will be able to make...
Truss quits, but UK’s political and economic turmoil persist
LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss quit Thursday after a tumultuous and historically brief term marred by economic policies that roiled financial markets and a rebellion in her political party that obliterated her authority. After just 45 days in office, Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be...
Biden to visit Pittsburgh to talk infrastructure funding
The campaign trail is bringing President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh on Thursday, part of his efforts to sway voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania ahead of the November midterm elections. The president plans to visit the Fern Hollow Bridge and discuss the importance of infrastructure funding, according to the...
Long-awaited Sobel’s Obscure Brewery opening in Jeannette
The anticipation has been building for the past three years as Sobel’s Obscure Brewery chipped away at transforming an old Jeannette department store into a taproom. It’s finally here — the Clay Avenue space is opening Friday. Jackie Sobel, who co-owns the craft brewery with her father, David Sobel, said...
Frazer files $2.8M lawsuit against Pittsburgh Mills property owners
Frazer supervisors are trying to recoup more than $2.8 million in delinquent special tax assessments from three companies in the Pittsburgh Mills complex. Earlier this month, the board authorized Solicitor Matt Marshall to file a “municipal claim-and-collection” lawsuit in Allegheny County Court against May Department Stores Co., the former parent...
Judge: Trump knew vote fraud claims in legal docs were falseVideo
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents challenging the results of the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew to be false, a federal judge said in a ruling Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter in an 18-page opinion ordered that four emails between Trump...
Penn State researchers engineer protein that could be used to develop 1-dose covid vaccine
Despite receiving one of the three covid-19 vaccines available in the U.S., many Americans continue to become infected with the virus. Penn State researchers hope recently engineered proteins could put an end to that cycle. The proteins, called immunogens, could protect people from new covid-19 variants — and other coronaviruses,...
New Kensington man claims self-defense for 2020 shooting in Arnold
A New Kensington man accused in the shooting death of a man inside an Arnold home more than two years ago told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday that he fired the fatal shots in self-defense. Mario Matthew Gatti, 33, was the lone defense witness to testify during his two-day trial....
Covid-19 linked to increase in U.S. pregnancy-related deaths
WASHINGTON — Covid-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report released Wednesday.. The report lays out grim trends across the...
Critics of Move PGH pilot program say it’s not adequately serving disabled, low-income residents
Move PGH and Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure recently lauded a two-year pilot program that brought Spin e-scooters to the city, but some critics say the effort isn’t doing enough to serve disabled and low-income residents. “This is the most extreme example of marginalizing the disability community I’ve seen...
Breast cancer screening bills pass Pa. Senate that would remove cost as a deterrent
HARRISBURG — Legislation aimed at helping Pennsylvanians detect breast cancer earlier and remove cost as a barrier to women having breast cancer screenings advanced in the state Senate on Wednesday. The two bills that accomplish these goals now move to the House of Representatives for consideration although the two-year legislative...
Noise complaints prompt regulations at Hartwood Acres
Hartwood Acres is one of the most sought-after wedding destinations in Allegheny County, but, starting next year, revelers will need to comply with scaled-back noise and time guidelines. “The township has received complaints of excessive noise from events at the mansion,” Indiana Township Manager Dan Anderson said. The 629-acre park...
Dozens of Post-Gazette workers cross picket line as newsroom strike enters Day 2
Dozens of journalists, photographers and editors have crossed the picket line to continue working at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Newsroom workers, represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, launched a strike at noon Tuesday in protest of what they consider unfair labor practices by the company. This comes after Post-Gazette employees...
Fetterman’s doctor says he’s recovering well from stroke
John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, released a doctor’s note Wednesday saying he is recovering well from a May stroke as he vies for an open seat in a bare-knuckle campaign against Republican rival Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has questioned Fetterman’s fitness to serve. Five months after...
Driver injured after school bus with no kids on board crashes in Forest Hills
A school bus driver was trapped and later extricated after crashing into a pole Wednesday morning along Ardmore Boulevard in Forest Hills. First responders were called to the 2300 block of Ardmore at 9:35 a.m., according to Allegheny County Police. The driver struck a steel sign pole, police said. No...
A passion for science: Seton Hill program pairs college, high schools with STEM education
It took only seconds, but the soft shuffle of paper fluttering to the floor quickly enthralled a class of Jeannette High School students last week learning about “Whirlybird Physics.” Over the course of a 40-minute physics class led by Seton Hill University seniors Mackenzie Longo and Brady Whalen, students stretched...
Here’s how to apply for student loan forgiveness
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. announced in August, will cancel up to $20,000 in debt per borrower. The application process is now open, and the administration says the forms should take five minutes to complete. Borrowers who apply before mid-November should see forgiveness before Jan....
