Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1666
Police: North Versailles man hid drugs in mouth, buttocks
When police arrested a North Versailles man in Manor on Thursday after an apparent drug deal, they found the suspect had drugs hidden in his mouth and clenched between his buttocks, according to court papers. Damian Igles, 22, is charged with drug offenses, criminal use of a communication facility and...
Members of international malware ring who targeted Western Pa. prosecuted
Three members of an international malware cybercrime syndicate have been sentenced in what U.S. authorities are calling a “borderless response” that has involved police agencies in America and Europe. Krasimir Nikolov, 47, of Varna, Bulgaria, was sentenced Monday in Pittsburgh by U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer to time served...
3 cars damaged in crashes on icy stretch of Route 910 in HarmarVideo
Two vehicles were heavily damaged Friday morning in a head-on crash on an icy stretch of Route 910 in Harmar, but the two drivers involved managed to walk away unhurt, Harmar police said. Also damaged in the crash was an unoccupied third vehicle that had been disabled on the side...
Steelers safety Kameron Kelly charged after alleged South Side bar tussle with police
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Kameron Kelly fought with police after he was thrown out of a South Side bar early Friday morning when he became irate at the jukebox selection, according to charges filed against him. Kelly, 23, is charged with two counts of making terroristic threats and one count of...
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner to stand trial again on Detroit charge
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner will go to trial again in Detroit next year on a charge of obstruction during a March 2019 incident at a hotel with her husband, according to the Wayne County prosecutor’s office. A Detroit jury last month found Wagner not guilty of disturbing the peace...
United pulls 737 Max until June, adding to Boeing woes
NEW YORK — United Airlines says the Boeing 737 Max has been pulled from its flight schedule until June, the latest in a string of troubling news plaguing the airplane manufacturer. The developments follow Boeing’s announcement Monday that it would halt Max production in January. It did not say when...
A tale of 3 Santas: They’re making the holidays extra special
What makes Santa Claus, well, Santa? Beyond the red suit, sack full of gifts and general jolliness, it may come down to how he relates to the smallest among us. If children look past the generous belly, twinkling eyes and white beard and believe, truly believe, then Santa is Santa....
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Dec. 20-22Video
And just like that, the last weekend before Christmas is upon us. There may or may not be a flurry of snowflakes, but a flurry of fun awaits. Music, train displays and movies will help calm any seasonal stress, and keep the kiddos from bouncing off the walls — maybe....
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 20-22
The first day of winter is Saturday. Welcome the season this weekend with a few more holiday events. Angelic Johnny Angel & The Halos take the stage on Saturday at the Rivers Casino Event Center on the North Shore. The Pittsburgh-based group performs music of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s....
Yough student earns national title at Florida dog-diving championshipVideo
It was 25 degrees in Mt. Pleasant Township on Thursday, but that didn’t stop a German short-haired pointer from going muzzle and paw first into a pool to retrieve one of his favorite toys. Caesar was at Rustic Lodge Diving Dogs, and thankfully inside the organization’s heated training center on...
Parents of premature baby killed in Warren County crash
A GoFundMe campaign has raised almost $14,000 to help the four children of a couple killed in a car crash in Warren County. Stephen Charles Rothrauff, 39, and his fiancee, Jessica Lee Camp, 32, of Mead Township, had four children, including a premature baby born just five days before they...
Buttigieg-Warren clash on campaign trail spills into debate
LOS ANGELES — The long-festering feud between Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg erupted Thursday night in a high-stakes debate that tested the strength of the Democratic Party’s shrinking pool of presidential contenders just six weeks before primary voting begins. Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has emerged as...
Key takeaways from Democratic presidential debate in L.A.
LOS ANGELES — Democratic presidential candidates offered two very different debates during their final forum of 2019. In the first half, they spent much of their time making the case for their electability in a contest with President Donald Trump. The second half was filled with friction over money in...
CNN’s feed of Democratic debate goes dark in China when candidates mention human rightsVideo
The live feed on CNN of the Democratic presidential debate went black on Thursday in Beijing when the candidates veered into the discussion of China’s human rights abuses. Former vice president Joe Biden criticized China over its mass detention in Xinjiang for Uighurs, a Muslim minority in the country. “We...
Plum School District’s Make-A-Wish telethon hopes to top $1 million
A Plum School District fundraising effort has a chance to hit the $1 million mark on Monday. Students and staff have raised funds for Make-A-Wish since 1999 with each year’s efforts culminating with a telethon at the high school. This year, activities took place October through December and included car...
Penn Hills police, firefighters free deer stuck in railingVideo
Firefighters and police freed a deer stuck in a railing outside a Penn Hills home last month. Resident David Sullivan pulled into the driveway of his Golden Gate Drive home about 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 when he saw two deer on his property, according to his brother-in-law, James Pastirak. “One...
Evangelical magazine Christianity Today: Trump must go; Trump blasts back
NEW YORK — A major evangelical Christian magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham on Thursday published an editorial calling for President Donald Trump’s removal from office. The editorial in Christianity Today — coming one day after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives made Trump the third president in American...
West Mifflin man guilty of storing 404 pounds of marijuana in Squirrel Hill ‘stash house’
A West Mifflin man accused of using an apartment in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood to store hundreds of pounds of illegal marijuana pleaded guilty to federal drug charges, prosecutors said Thursday. Wayne Barker, 61, had operated what officials called a large-scale “stash house” as part of a drug trafficking ring...
Traffic snarled by 3-vehicle crash on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza
One lane of traffic on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza was blocked Thursday afternoon as emergency crews responded to a three-vehicle crash. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said at least one person suffered minor injuries. The dispatcher said eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane as a result of the...
Police: Braddock home raid turns up 450 stamp bags of heroin, fentanyl
Allegheny County Police said they arrested a Braddock man Thursday after raiding his home and finding a gun and drugs. James Wise, 28, was charged with illegal gun possession, possession with intent to deliver heroin and fentanyl, receiving stolen property and three counts of possession of controlled substances. Police said...
New Castle man accused of selling crack cocaine in Butler faces new charges
A New Castle man has been accused of scheming to sell large amounts crack cocaine to addicts in Western Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zaamar Stevenson, 43, who goes by the nickname “Scrap,” faces new charges from a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh related to possessing and selling more than...
After impeachment, House bestows big trade victory on TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — One day after its historic impeachment votes, the Democratic-led House gave President Donald Trump an overwhelming bipartisan victory Thursday on a renegotiated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. By a 385-41 vote, the House approved a bill that puts in place terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The...
White secretary at Pittsburgh Public Schools sues district, alleging racial discrimination
A secretary employed by Pittsburgh Public Schools is suing the district in federal court contending she’s been discriminated against for the last 12 years because she’s white. Kristen Frankovich says she’s been discriminated against because of her race in every position she’s held since 2007, when she started with the...
Westmoreland County’s 2020 budget brings 1st tax increase in 15 yearsVideo
Westmoreland County officials said a 2.4% property tax increase approved Thursday is needed to balance the 2020 budget, a spending plan that will nearly drain a surplus fund and relies on a $10 million loan to pay the bills at the start of next year. Commissioners Gina Cerilli and Charles...
SUV crashes into Primanti’s in North Versailles
One person was injured when an SUV crashed into a Primanti Bros. restaurant Thursday in North Versailles. The incident happened just before 12:30 p.m. at the restaurant on East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard, according to an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher. No one inside the business was injured, officials said, but the driver...
