Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1125
Verizon Wireless service restored in Freeport
Verizon Wireless service has been restored to the Freeport area after cuts to fiber-optic cables disrupted service Tuesday. Company communications manager Chris Serico said service was restored Wednesday afternoon after technicians fixed the cables. He said one cut was made by wildlife and the cause of the other cut still...
Murrysville man gets probation, house arrest in estranged wife’s 2017 death
Elizabeth Arrington’s memories of Feb. 6, 2017, constantly replay in her mind. Arrington had been trying to get in touch with her daughter but got no answer. Finally, she called her estranged son-in-law to come to her daughter’s Penn Hills home to let her in. Once he got there, he...
Nurse at Lower Burrell health and rehab center charged with sexually assaulting 2 patients
A male registered nurse at the Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lower Burrell has been charged with sexually assaulting two female patients. Police charged Jacques G. Wagner, 58, of New Kensington on Wednesday with a felony count of aggravated indecent assault and two related misdemeanors in connection with the...
Allegheny County had 90 covid-related deaths in September, officials say
Covid-19 killed 90 people in Allegheny County in September, the highest monthly total since April, said Dr. Debra Bogen, the county’s health director. From Sept. 1 through early October, the death toll is 105. Of those, nine residents in the 25 to 49 age range have died from the virus,...
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold pleads guilty to failing to properly register as sex offender
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold pleaded guilty in Armstrong County Court on Wednesday to failing to properly register as a sex offender. Diebold, 44, was charged by state police in Armstrong County in January 2020 with two felony counts of failing to provide accurate information when he registered as...
Feds to crack down on passengers with guns at Pittsburgh airport checkpoints
Travelers who bring guns to security checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport — accidentally or otherwise — now face losing their concealed carry permit along with getting fined, authorities said Wednesday. Transportation Security Administration agents have caught 27 guns in carry-on baggage at Pittsburgh International so far this year. “In almost...
2 women accused of siphoning money from incarcerated Hempfield woman’s trust funds
Two Hempfield women are accused of stealing more than $100,000 from trust funds they had access to while a relative of one of the women was in prison for a purse snatching spree, according to court documents. The state attorney general’s office this week charged Roni K. Boltich, 35, and...
South Buffalo man killed in tractor accident
An 80-year-old man was killed in South Buffalo when his riding lawnmower flipped over a hillside late Tuesday, officials said. Police did not yet release the victim’s name. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident happened at 660 Freeport Road. “As best as we could tell, he was...
Man accused of shooting 3 at Kinloch Fire Hall baby shower ordered to stand trial
A man charged with shooting three people during a Sept. 18 baby shower in Lower Burrell was ordered to stand trial in Westmoreland County Court. Isiah J. Hampton, 25, of Victoria Avenue in Arnold is accused of shooting a 23-year-old man in the torso, a 19-year-old woman in the leg...
Terrelle Pryor, former Jeannette star and NFL player, accused of hitting woman
Former NFL player and Jeannette football star Terrelle Pryor was arrested early Wednesday after a woman told Penn Township police he hit her. Police arrested Pryor after the alleged 2 a.m. incident. He is charged with simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief. District Judge Charles R. Conway released Pryor on...
Summer-like weather hanging around for rest of week
It’s commonly referred to as “Indian summer,” a period of unseasonable warm, dry weather in autumn. Southwestern Pennsylvania is experiencing such a period this week with temperatures at or near 80 degrees for the next few days. And the warmer than usual weather is likely to continue for most of...
Fort Ligonier Days back in force with parade, period reenactments, spirits and wine tasting
Fort Ligonier Days returns this weekend with a full schedule of activities including a parade Saturday, craft and food booths, musical entertainment and battle reenactments. The nonprofit organization that operates the festival in Ligonier expects the annual event to rebound after pandemic restrictions resulted in last year’s scaled-back version —...
Can $1 trillion coin fix debt limit? Quirky law says maybe
WASHINGTON — Some politicians think they’ve found a silver bullet for the impasse over the debt limit, except the bullet is made of platinum: Mint a $1 trillion coin, token of all tokens, and use it to flood the treasury with cash and drive Republicans crazy. Even its serious proponents...
Troubled student loan forgiveness program gets an overhaul
The Biden administration is temporarily relaxing the rules for a student loan forgiveness program that has been criticized for its notoriously complex requirements — a change that could offer debt relief to thousands of teachers, social workers, military members and other public servants. The Education Department said Wednesday it will...
TV Q&A: Will AT&T SportsNet ever return to DISH Network?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh is no longer available on DISH Network. Is this a temporary situation or permanent? I rely on this channel to watch local...
2 people taken to hospital after early-morning fire in Wilkinsburg
Two people were taken to the hospital following a fire early Wednesday in Wilkinsburg, officials said. Crews responded to a reported apartment fire in the 1200 block of Wood Street, near North Avenue, around 12:10 a.m. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said first responders reported seeing heavy smoke coming...
FBI raids offices of New York City police sergeants union
NEW YORK — Federal agents raided the offices Tuesday of a New York City police union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, and the Long Island home of its bombastic leader, who has clashed with city officials over his incendiary tweets and hard-line tactics. FBI spokesperson Martin Feely said agents were “carrying...
California pipeline may have been hooked by ship’s anchorVideo
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — The pipeline that leaked tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the water off Southern California was split open and apparently dragged more than 100 feet along the ocean floor, possibly by a ship’s anchor, officials said Tuesday. The segment of the pipe that was...
Dozens object to proposed development in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood during public hearing
Several dozen Pittsburgh residents, most from the city’s Oakland neighborhood, spoke in opposition to a proposed development that would require a zoning amendment. Dubbed Oakland Crossings, the proposed 17-acre development would include a neighborhood grocery store, a 25% increase in urban green space and a pedestrian bridge stretching over the...
Neville Chemical fined, blamed for chemical smell that wafted through McKees Rocks area last month
The Allegheny County Health Department has fined Neville Chemical, alleging a leaky valve caused the strong chemical odor reported in and around McKees Rocks last month. In the hours after residents from McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh and other nearby areas began reporting the strong smell, the health department blamed a weather...
State charges Mariner East II gas pipeline owner with 48 environmental crimes
The owner of the Mariner East II natural gas pipeline has paid the state about $20 million in fines over the past four years after being cited for a series of environmental violations. Now, Energy Transfer L.P. is accused by a statewide investigating grand jury of committing 48 environmental crimes...
City Council resolution declares housing a human right in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution declaring housing a human right in the city. The Rev. Ricky Burgess, a councilman who has been an advocate for making housing accessible for all residents, introduced the legislation. The resolution said that “studies have shown that the most important piece of...
GOP U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell seeks to have child custody case sealed
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell testified Tuesday that sealing the docket in his ongoing child custody case, closing the custody trial to the public and imposing a gag order on the parties involved is necessary to protect his three children. “It is for my children, and it’s to protect...
Amazon series based on ‘A League of Their Own’ films in Greensburg
Parts of Greensburg are being transported to the 1940s as filming continues for an upcoming Amazon Prime series based on “A League of Their Own,” the 1992 movie. The Sony-Amazon Studios production began filming in June in areas across Western Pennsylvania. Crews recently have been spotted around Greensburg and have...
$100K winning Powerball ticket sold at Asay’s in Tarentum
Asay’s manager, Melanie Dabkowski, eagerly watched as customers at the Tarentum store checked their lottery tickets Tuesday afternoon. A winning Powerball ticket worth $100,000 was sold at the newsstand a day earlier. “The (PA Lottery officials) just called to tell us,” Dabkowski said. “I’m hoping it was one of our...
