Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1680
Family, police searching for missing Plum man
The family of a man who has been missing since mid-November has taken to social media and law enforcement to find out if he is safe. David Ellefson, 37, was last seen Nov. 14, said his wife, Heidi Ellefson. She said he had met their children and his grandmother at...
Victim of fatal wreck near Holy Trinity church in McCandless identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified the man who died in an SUV that crashed near the parking lot o a McCandless church on Wednesday, according to authorities. Thomas James Reardon, 61, was found dead in the vehicle near Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in the 900 block of...
Food Podcast: Greater Pittsburgh, Westmoreland food banks unite to end hunger
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank serves 11 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. All but Westmoreland County. Given the size of the area the Westmoreland County Food Bank covers, the organization separated from Greater Pittsburgh in 2000. “Our area of the region is about the size of Delaware, so it made sense...
Police release photo of ‘person of interest’ in robbery of Harmar off-track betting parlor
Allegheny County Police are seeking the public’s help identifying a person of interest in the Nov. 25 robbery of the Meadows Off Track Betting parlor in Harmar. Investigators said a man claiming to have a gun forced an employee to open the cash room at the betting facility about an...
Winter weather advisory: Parts of Western Pa. could get 7 inches of snow
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory that includes parts of Westmoreland County. The advisory, which runs from noon Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday, is forecasting between 3 and 7 inches of snow in an area that stretches from Franklin County southwest to Tucker County, W.Va. The...
Community mourns sudden death of West Mifflin student-athlete
A student-athlete in the West Mifflin Area School District has died. High School principal Chad Licht sent a letter home to parents on Tuesday informing them of the “recent loss to our school community” who “unexpectedly passed away.” “This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns and questions for...
Oak Ridge Boys prepared to fill Palace Theatre with holiday cheerVideo
The audience will get a bargain when the Oak Ridge Boys return to Greensburg for their “Down Home Christmas” show. “It’s two shows for the price of one,” says bass singer Richard Sterban of the Dec. 6 date at The Palace Theatre. “At the start of the show, we do...
Phish jams out at Petersen Events Center
Phish rolled into Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center on Wednesday for its seven-date Fall Tour. The rock band, formed in 1983 on the campus of the University of Vermont, performed its massive catalog of songs to the delight of the crowd. Phish kicked off the show with “555,” “AC/DC Bag” and...
Pittsburgh man charged in 2015 North Side homicide
A North Side man already in jail has been charged with killing a man more than four years ago. Pittsburgh police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for Randy Johnson, 25, on charges of criminal homicide, robbery and criminal conspiracy. Johnson was already at the Allegheny County Jail on unrelated charges,...
Longtime head of Highlands School Board loses bid to retain presidency
Debbie Beale has been a member of the Highlands School Board for nearly a quarter of a century, with half of that spent as its president. But the new school board that was seated on Tuesday ousted Beale from her post as president, and any other leadership position. The board...
Petition wants to bring back giant rubber duck in honor of Steelers’ Devlin Hodges
Welp, it looks like Pittsburgh has a new cult hero in Devlin “Duck” Hodges. The third-string quarterback, who didn’t even make the final cut for the season but has recently been named a starter, is loved by some yinzers so much that they are calling for the 40-foot inflatable rubber...
Terrelle Pryor says he ‘stared death in the eye’ in hospital after stabbing
Terrelle Pryor declared he “was coded twice” before medical personnel brought him back to life while tending to the injuries he sustained from a Saturday morning stabbing on Pittsburgh’s North Side. TMZ shared a social media post Tuesday afternoon from the free agent NFL receiver that showed a full-body shot...
Allegheny County’s $1B budget includes no tax increase
Allegheny County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt the proposed $1 billion county budget for 2020. The budget does not include a property tax increase. The $959.8 million operating budget is $27.4 million larger than the 2019 operating budget of $932.4 million, a 2.9% increase. The $100.1 million capital budget...
FBI warns of holiday scams as Western Pa. victims cheated out of $1M in 2019
Don’t be fooled this holiday season by scammers posing as charities or fly-by-night websites offering surprisingly steep discounts on popular gifts, FBI officials in Pittsburgh warned Tuesday. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Chad Yarbrough, FBI Pittsburgh assistant special agent in charge, said at the...
Unauthorized biography of first lady Melania Trump offers lurid details of life in the White HouseVideo
The unauthorized biography of first lady Melania Trump by CNN correspondent Kate Bennett that was released Tuesday provides details of her marriage of President Donald Trump. The title “Free, Melania: the Unauthorized Biography,” offers details of life inside the White House such as Melania and the president not only sleep...
Highmark First Night Pittsburgh invites people to share their vision for the futureVideo
A traveling public art installation known as the Dream Wall Project is a new addition to this year’s Highmark First Night Pittsburgh events on New Year’s Eve. The project, which promotes the idea of inclusion, is the work of artist and photographer Anna Schuliger, a Marshall native who lives in...
Handler of slain Pittsburgh police K-9 Rocco promoted to sergeant
The newest Pittsburgh police sergeant proved his ability as a leader on Jan. 28, 2014, when his partner, the police K-9 Rocco, was killed in the line of duty. Mayor Bill Peduto swore in Sgt. Philip Lerza on Tuesday. “The one thing I will always remember is your compassion,”Peduto told...
Aliquippa football coach Mike Warfield tapped as feds’ new law enforcement coordinator
The leader of Aliquippa High’s storied football program has a new day job. Mike Warfield recently completed his second year as the Quips head coach. On Monday, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady tapped Warfield, 50, of Center, to be the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the...
Pittsburgh man accused of ethnic intimidation, harassing 2 off-duty EMTs in Murrysville
Two black emergency medical technicians with Murrysville Medic One were first harassed after a farewell party and then nearly driven off the highway by a Pittsburgh man who tailed them in his pickup truck, according to police. Murrysville police on Tuesday charged Michael W. Klaus, 43, of West End, with...
Gun background checks are on pace to break record in 2019Video
Background checks on gun purchases in the United States are climbing toward a record high this year, reflecting what the industry says is a rush by people to buy weapons in reaction to the Democratic presidential candidates’ calls for tighter restrictions. By the end of November, more than 25.4 million...
Pittsburgh police find mystery cookie gifter
Pittsburgh police have found the source of an unexpected delicious delivery. “The Cookie Angel, as we have come to call her, has identified herself,” Pittsburgh Bureau of Police posted to their Facebook page Wednesday. The police on Tuesday posted to Facebook that “a kind woman delivered a significant amount of...
Pittsburgh council requires owners of alligators and other reptiles to register with cityVideo
Pet owners in Pittsburgh must register alligators and other dangerous reptiles with the city under an ordinance City Council approved on Tuesday. Councilwoman Darlene Harris, who represents the North Side and sponsored the bill, said the regulations are needed, particularly after several incidents this year of alligators being caught in...
Pittsburgh Council advances plans for North Side pedestrian bridge
Pittsburgh is moving forward with plans to build a pedestrian bridge in place of the North Side’s demolished Davis Avenue Bridge. City Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized the Mayor’s Office to apply for a $1.8 million grant from PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund and pledge matching funds totaling $772,943 for the...
House releases report on evidence for Trump impeachment
WASHINGTON — The House released a sweeping impeachment report Tuesday outlining evidence of what it calls President Donald Trump’s wrongdoing toward Ukraine, findings that will serve as the foundation for debate over whether the 45th president should be removed from office. The 300-page report from Democrats on the House Intelligence...
Man accused of exposing himself in busy Hempfield shopping plaza parking lot
A 40-year-old video game enthusiast exposed himself in the parking lot of a busy Hempfield shopping plaza Saturday, state police reported. Gregory M. Galek of Hempfield is charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct in connection with the 11:45 a.m. incident in the parking lot of Hempfield Square, according to...
