Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1220
Former Pittsburgh mobster, Youngstown mob boss Lenny Strollo dies at age 90
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A former mob boss whose criminal enterprise helped earn Youngstown the name “Crimetown U.S.A” before turning federal witness has died at age 90. The funeral home handling arrangements on Thursday confirmed Lenine “Lenny” Strollo’s death. Authorities accused Strollo of running a criminal enterprise that involved gambling, drugs...
Jury finds Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a teen girl
A Westmoreland County jury late Thursday found former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. The jury found Vazquez guilty on 15 counts, including the most serious charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact or communication with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of...
More than 50% of Pennsylvania adults fully vaccinated for covid
Pennsylvania passed a milestone with more than 50% of adults considered fully vaccinated against covid-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 5,088,210 million adults — those 18 and older — who are considered fully vaccinated. That’s 50.1% of the adult population. Pennsylvania’s mask mandate can...
Hacker who sold UPMC employee data on the dark web pleads guilty
A Michigan man pleaded guilty Thursday morning to hacking a UPMC employee database in 2014 and stealing the personal information of more than 65,000 people and then selling it on the dark web. Justin Sean Johnson, 30, will be sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Mark Hornak in about four...
U.S. jobless claims fall again as some states end extra $300-a-week federal aid
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week — the latest encouraging sign for the rebounding U.S. economy — just as Republican-led states are moving to cut off a federal benefit for the jobless. Twenty-two states, from Texas and Georgia to Ohio and Iowa, plan to begin blocking a...
81-year-old incumbent defeats challenger, 20, in Pitcairn mayoral primary
A person’s first foray into politics is often a disappointing one. And so it was for 20-year-old Mika Petrosky, who lost her bid to unseat 81-year-old incumbent Margaret “Betsy” Stevick in Tuesday’s Pitcairn Democratic mayoral primary. With 100% of the vote counted, Stevick had 247 votes to Petrosky’s total of...
As Pittsburgh mayor, @billpeduto was prolific on Twitter, so he fittingly signaled his concession in a tweet
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s supporters were in the banquet room of a South Side union hall watching their candidate’s lead wither. The mood was strikingly different from two hours prior. Early returns had Peduto with a comfortable lead of more than 3,000 votes. It was...
Richard King Mellon Foundation gives $150M gift to Carnegie Mellon University
The Richard King Mellon Foundation on Thursday announced its largest ever grant — $150 million to Carnegie Mellon University. Half of the historic investment — $75 million — will go toward the construction of CMU’s long-awaited, cutting-edge $210 million science building on Forbes Avenue, adjacent to the Carnegie Museum in...
Man airlifted to hospital after fireworks spark blaze at McKeesport home
A McKeesport man was taken to the hospital by medical helicopter after fireworks sparked a blaze in his home. The fire in the two-story building in the 2600 block of Banker Street was reported shortly before 3 a.m., according to emergency dispatchers. Firefighters encountered flames shooting from the second floor...
Sewickley Manager Marla Marcinko fired; officials won’t say why
Sewickley Council has fired borough manager Marla Marcinko. However, officials remain mum on their reasoning for the termination via a split vote earlier this month. “The elected officials voted to make a change in the manager’s position,” council President Jeff Neff said when questioned about the move. He said he...
Technical issue, ballot reviews cause reporting delay of Westmoreland election results
It took more than 22 hours after Westmoreland County polls closed Tuesday night before complete unofficial results from the hundreds of primary races were posted to the county’s website. Updated results to reflect totals from all 307 precincts and the nearly 13,000 mail-in ballots that arrived at the courthouse by...
‘Better and better’: Allegheny County officials hopeful as covid numbers dropVideo
Allegheny County officials took an optimistic tone during a virtual news conference Wednesday, as they predicted the county is “near the end of the pandemic.” “We’re seeing better and better results,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, said Allegheny County is now averaging less than 130...
Here’s why some experts believe Bill Peduto lost Pittsburgh’s mayoral primary
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto may have been too complacent in his bid for a third term leading the city, political analysts say, as he fell short in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. The mayor also was hurt by a national trend against incumbents that played out locally during the primary election. State...
Pennsylvania casinos top $400 million for 2nd consecutive month
For the second consecutive month, revenue streams at Pennsylvania casinos topped $400 million, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Combined gambling revenues totaled more than $404.1 million in April. That’s up significantly from the $46.1 million seen in April 2020, when non-life-sustaining businesses were forced to...
35 Republicans buck Trump, back commission of Jan. 6 Capitol riotVideo
WASHINGTON — Thirty-five House Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday in voting to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, risking the wrath of former President Donald Trump and flouting GOP leaders who condemned the proposal as unfairly partisan and unneeded. The Republican mavericks were led...
Incumbent Pittsburgh council members edge challengers in Democratic primary
Two of the four Pittsburgh City Council races were contested in Tuesday’s primary election. Unlike the mayoral race, where Bill Peduto failed in a re-election bid, the council races saw the incumbents move on with two-to-one support. Council President Theresa Kail-Smith defeated challenger Jacob Williamson in the District 2 race...
Wife of former Pagans gang leader denies knowing Penn Township double murder suspect
The wife of Dennis “Rooster” Katona, the former national president of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, said Wednesday neither she nor her husband knows why Victor F. Steban repeatedly mentioned Rooster’s name as Steban was arraigned Tuesday in the shooting deaths of a Penn Township couple. “We don’t know Victor Steban,...
Activists praise vote that bans solitary at Allegheny County Jail
Over just 10 weeks, volunteers working with a consortium of groups and Alliance for Police Accountability collected more than 45,000 signatures to get a question on Allegheny County’s ballot: Should jail officials be prohibited from using solitary confinement, the restraint chair and chemical agents on those incarcerated there? The answer,...
Pa. woman charged in Capitol riot recorded saying she wanted to ‘hang’ Nancy PelosiVideo
Two McKean County residents were charged Tuesday in connection with their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Pauline Bauer, of Kane, organized a bus trip to the “Stop the Steal” rally that day in Washington, D.C., according to the FBI. She then illegally entered the Capitol,...
$1 million scratch-off ticket sold in UPMC Mercy Gift Shop
A scratch-off ticket winning $1 million was sold in the UPMC Mercy Gift Shop, the Pennsylvania Lottery said Wednesday. The ticket was for Mining for Millions, a $20 game that offers five top prizes of $1 million. So far, four $1 million prizes remain, according to the state lottery website....
‘You can’t stop progress’: Black residents see Ed Gainey’s win as one for all of PittsburghVideo
In 2013, the day after Mayor Bill Peduto was elected in a lopsided general election, Jerome Jackson said he was optimistic. That optimism came in part from Peduto’s promises to Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Jackson, the head of the nonprofit Operation Better Block, said at the time that if Peduto didn’t...
Pennsylvania surpasses 9,000 covid deaths in 2021, as new cases continue to drop
As new covid cases throughout Pennsylvania continued to decrease, the state on Wednesday surpassed 9,000 deaths recorded in 2021. The Allegheny County Health Department reported 93 additional covid cases Wednesday, bringing its total to 100,460. The county’s seven-day average of new cases dropped to 128, its lowest since 118 on...
Leslie Rossi, creator of Trump House, holds 2-1 margin in 59th District special election
Unofficial returns Wednesday showed Republican Leslie Rossi holding a 2-1 lead in the special election to fill a vacancy in the 59th legislative district, even as the final count for four of 41 precincts in Westmoreland County remained unreported. Unofficial returns from the district that spans 42 precincts in eastern...
Pa. voters backed curtailing Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency powers in a win for Republican lawmakers
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — Pennsylvania voters have approved two ballot questions that would curtail the governor’s emergency powers, a victory for Republican lawmakers...
The Carlton Restaurant in Downtown Pittsburgh to close
After nearly four decades, The Carlton Restaurant in Downtown Pittsburgh will close. “I offer my deepest and most heartful appreciation to the city of Pittsburgh, and the patrons who made the last 37 years so memorable,” owner Kevin Joyce said in a statement. “Our customers are our family, and we...
