Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1633
New streets, bike lanes open at Hazelwood Green as development takes shape
Three newly paved public streets, freshly painted bike lanes and innovative landscaping features are among the latest visible signs of activity taking shape at Hazelwood Green, a 178-acre development along the Monongahela River that’s been in the works for nearly two decades. The infrastructure improvements, which took two years to...
Some bumps, but overall violent crime continues to fall in Pittsburgh
As violent crime fell slightly last year citywide, both violent crime in Downtown Pittsburgh and hate crimes citywide increased, according to data released Thursday by public safety officials. The combined number of homicides and non-fatal shootings dropped for the fourth year, to a combined 146 shootings — a drop of...
County begins treating Westmoreland Manor water sources
Westmoreland County has started treating water sources at its nursing home in Hempfield to remove what officials say is the likely presence of bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Preliminary tests revealed earlier this week the likely presence of the Legionella bacteria in water at Westmoreland Manor. Those tests were initiated...
Wind topples U.S. border wall being built; it falls in MexicoVideo
CALEXICO, Calif. — A portion of border wall being built in California toppled in strong wind, falling on a busy street on the Mexican side, authorities said Thursday. No one was injured. Concrete had not yet dried on several panels of steel poles topped with metal plates, which fell Wednesday...
Rahmael Holt’s mother convicted of hindering son’s arrest after he killed Brian Shaw
The mother of Rahmael Sal Holt, who was sentenced to death last year for shooting and killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, was found guilty Thursday in Allegheny County of helping her son elude police after the 2017 shooting. In a nonjury trial, Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski found Sherry...
U.N. agency declares global emergency over virus from China
BEIJING — The World Health Organization declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has been exported to more than a dozen countries as a global emergency Thursday after the number of cases spiked tenfold in a week. The U.N. health agency defines an international emergency as...
AHN Hempfield hospital set for opening, cancer center begins treatmentsVideo
AHN Hempfield — Neigborhood Hospital is set to open Monday after months of delays related to the state’s licensing process. The hospital at Route 30 and Agnew Road in Hempfield will start accepting patients at 8 a.m. Construction of the $30 million micro-hospital wrapped up in the fall and Allegheny...
Verona teen arrested, charged with attempted homicide in Wilkins shooting
A Verona teenager was arrested Thursday for allegedly shooting another teenager in Wilkins last week , Allegheny County Police said. Shawn Nazier Frye-Culbreth, 16, is charged as an adult with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, theft of a motor vehicle, theft, receiving stolen property, firearms violations and criminal conspiracy in connection...
Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park Skating Rink to reopen, celebrate 45 years
Sharpen those skates. The Schenley Park Skating Rink will reopen Friday night. After it closed in March for an overhaul, the rink is ready for skaters to glide across a new surface. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Pittsburgh officials at 6 p.m. followed by the first session of...
U.S. reports 1st case of person-to-person spread of new virus
NEW YORK — Health officials Thursday reported the first U.S. case of person-to-person spread of the new virus from China. The man is married to the Chicago woman who got sick from the virus after she returned from a trip to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. There have...
Family demands charges against Wilkinsburg witness who allegedly confessed to toddler’s killing
An attorney for the family of a toddler killed in a drive-by shooting in 2013 demanded Thursday that the District Attorney’s Office file homicide charges against the jailhouse snitch who allegedly confessed to the slaying. The man alleged to have confessed is known only as Witness 3, and his purported...
Pittsburgh prepping public safety personnel to identify signs of coronavirus
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials are taking steps to ensure that first responders are prepared in the event of a local outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said Thursday he is more concerned about Allegheny County’s increasing flu deaths this year, but stressed that city paramedics, firefighters...
Citing Bolton revelations, Sen. Casey reiterates call for witnesses in impeachment trial
Pennsylvania senior U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, reiterated a call for the inclusion of “relevant” witnesses and documents Thursday morning as he prepared to attend the second day of questioning at the impeachment trial of President Trump. Casey’s comments during a press call Thursday morning came as Republicans continued to...
Winning Cash 5 tickets sold in New Ken, Pittsburgh; $400K jackpot will be split
There’s another lucky Pennsylvania Lottery winner in the Alle-Kiski Valley. One of two jackpot-winning Cash 5 tickets was sold at the Golden Dawn supermarket on Freeport Road in New Kensington, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Thursday. The other ticket was sold at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The ticket...
Trump trial could end soon; Lamar Alexander says no to witnesses
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee declared late Thursday he will oppose calling more witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but dashing Democratic efforts to hear more testimony and boosting chances the Senate will vote quickly to acquit the president. The retiring senator announced his decision...
Cops: Traffic stop yields more than 500 stamp bags, 22-gram crack rock
A McKeesport man and an Indiana woman face drug charges after state police said they discovered more than 500 stamp bags of heroin and crack cocaine during an Indiana County traffic stop Wednesday. Shortly after noon, state police said, they pulled over an SUV on Laurel Road in Armstrong Township...
Trump support edges up in Pennsylvania poll as impeachment continues
President Trump has grown stronger with Pennsylvania voters despite ongoing impeachment proceedings, a poll finds. A majority of the 628 registered Pennsylvania voters who responded to a Jan. 20-26 Franklin & Marshall Poll said it is time for a change in the White House. Still, 38% of them said President...
GOP optimism grows on blocking witnesses as Democrats focus questions on what John Bolton might knowVideo
WASHINGTON — Former national security adviser John Bolton loomed large in Democratic senators’ inquiries during the question-and-answer phase of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday, but Republicans are increasingly confident that by the end of the week they will have the votes to rebuff calls to subpoena him and other...
Penn Hills School District’s preliminary budget adopted, tax increase likelyVideo
Penn Hills School District officials moved a step closer to plugging an estimated $6 million budget shortfall and possibly raising real estate taxes more than 7%. School directors voted 7-0 Wednesday night to adopt their 2020-21 preliminary budget, which includes a 2.0319-mill hike and no program cuts. Board members Evelyn...
WCCC to train dealers for new Hempfield casino
When visitors try their luck playing blackjack at the new casino under construction at Westmoreland Mall, chances are they will compete against dealers trained by Westmoreland County Community College. College trustees have approved a letter of intent to offer instructional courses for casino dealers in partnership with the Maryland-based company...
Pittsburgh elementary teacher quits amid probe into girl burned during class project
A Pittsburgh elementary school teacher has resigned amid the district’s investigation into why a 5-year-old girl suffered burns to her chest during a classroom project last month, officials said. The employee of Pittsburgh King, a K-8 school in the Allegheny Center section of Pittsburgh’s North Side, submitted the resignation letter...
Satellites avoid massive collision in space over Pittsburgh
What could have been a grand collision between two decommissioned satellites directly over the Pittsburgh area — 559 miles above to be exact — turned out to be a just a fly-by. The AFP news agency reports the objects — one a space telescope, the other an experimental U.S. satellite...
Authorities find longest Southwest border smuggling tunnelVideo
SAN DIEGO — U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego area. The tunnel featured an extensive rail cart system, forced air...
Squirrel keeps outfoxing Pittsburgh bald eagles
When it comes to a sly fox, the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles don’t give it more than a passing glance. But a rascally squirrel? That’s another story. According to antics captured on a live webcam provided by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and CSE Corp., the eagles have been...
Pennsylvania has early primary envy, plots to move up in 2024
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania wants to be a player in the presidential primary, instead of an afterthought. The state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would move up Pennsylvania’s primary elections in presidential election years by five weeks, starting in 2024, in a state where critics say its presidential...
