Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1824
Greensburg woman serving life sentence claims she can’t leave prison for appeal hearing
Westmoreland County prosecutors argue a former Greensburg woman serving a life prison sentence for her role in the murder of a former boyfriend in 2006 should appear in person for her upcoming appeal hearing. Jennifer Vinsek, 37, contends she should receive a new trial based on allegations that her former...
Clairton Coke Works fire renews residents’ concerns over air quality
Some Mon Valley residents are once again wondering if their air is safe to breathe after another fire this week at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. “It’s really scary actually, because it’s summertime, and we like to be outside,” Clairton resident Tonya Carroll, 29, said Tuesday. Carroll, who has two...
Over 16 tons of cocaine intercepted at Philadelphia port in one of the largest busts in U.S. historyVideo
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. authorities seized 33,000 pounds, or 15,000 kilograms, of cocaine from a ship at Philadelphia’s port in what they described as one of the largest drug busts in American history. They said the haul could have been worth more than $1 billion on the street. The U.S. attorney’s...
Parole, probation violations crowd Pennsylvania, U.S. prisons, report says
About half of those committed to a Pennsylvania state prison in 2017 were jailed because of a probation or parole violation, according to figures released Tuesday. Around 7,400 people are in state prisons on any given day for a supervision violation, amounting to an annual cost of $334 million for...
Owners begin to pull classic cars from Etna warehouse destroyed by fire
The 1954 Ford Crestline convertible was like a member of the family to Dick Fischerkeller. The Shaler man watched Tuesday as the car, now speckled with ash, was driven onto a flatbed tow truck and hauled away from the STORExpress location in Etna, nearly six weeks after a massive May...
Cops: Woman ran up $17K in online purchases on ex-husband’s tab
The ex-wife of an 80-year-old Derry Township man was arrested Tuesday for using a credit line and bank accounts to defraud him of $17,464 since August, state police allege. Theresa L. Kinney, 48, of White Township, Indiana County, was arrested by state police at Kiski on charges of theft, access...
OpenTable shares tally of top-rated Pittsburgh area restaurants
A restaurant booking service has revealed their monthly tally of best reviews in the Pittsburgh area. OpenTable says they analyzed more than 400,000 new diner reviews to arrive at their top ten recommendations and they break them down by category. These have been voted the best of Diners’ Choice. The...
Work on $60M Rivers Casino hotel to begin soon on North Shore
High rollers and others visiting Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore will soon not have to leave to rest between bets. The $60 million Landing Hotel Pittsburgh will be attached to the casino and will face the Carnegie Science Center on the east facade of the casino, Rivers announced Tuesday....
Vatican to consider ordaining married men as priests
A document released by the Vatican on Monday proposes that the Roman Catholic Church will consider ordaining married men as priests. The New York Times reports the move is being considered to address the dire pastoral need in some areas of the Amazon. However, the document states that only “viri...
Authorities ID body found near Fox Chapel Yacht Club as Kenneth Himes
DNA testing helped authorities identify a man whose body was found in the Allegheny River in late March as 70-year-old Kenneth Himes, state police said Tuesday. Himes was reported missing from his brother’s home along Cadogan-Slate Lick Road in South Buffalo at about 2 a.m. Dec. 26. Police said he...
Pennsylvania woman bitten by venomous snake while doing laundry at home
MOUNT PENN — Officials say a Pennsylvania woman was bitten on the arm by a venomous snake when she went to her basement to do laundry. The Reading Eagle reports that the Mount Penn woman called 911 Tuesday morning to report that she’d been bitten by a rattlesnake. Authorities say...
Photographer on Dallas gunman: ‘He’s going to look at me around that corner’ and shoot
DALLAS — Veteran Dallas Morning News photojournalist Tom Fox said he thought he “was gone” when he hid in an alcove from a heavily armed masked man at the downtown federal courts building Monday morning. “I just kept thinking, ‘He’s going to look at me around that corner and he’s...
Bill for Rosfeld trial cost $1.5 million for Pittsburgh Public Safety
The Michael Rosfeld homicide trial cost Pittsburgh over $1.5 million, the bulk of which was spent on police overtime, according to information provided by public safety officials to the Tribune-Review on Tuesday. The city paid police $1.37 million in overtime during a month-long span from early March until after the...
Police: Seward man tried to steal money from mom’s flower shop
A 33-year-old man broke into his mother’s flower shop in Bolivar to steal money from a safe, Pennsylvania State Police said. The son of the owner of K&K Flowers was arrested late Sunday by state troopers, according to court documents. Chad E. Botteicher, 33, of Seward was arraigned Monday on...
Nemacolin Woodland Resorts plans ‘extravaganza’
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is extending the Fourth of July celebration, with an “Americana Extravaganza” set for July 6 at the Farmington, Fayette County, site. Planned are carnival games, crafts and face-painting for kids of all ages. According to event planners, the 6 p.m.-midnight event will include more than 10 acts...
Watch as final Steel Curtain track piece is installed at Kennywood
Finally! If you are an avid coaster enthusiast, it surely seems like a lifetime ago when plans for Kennywood’s newest ride — The Steel Curtain — was announced. And now, the structure is complete. On Friday, the park marked a major step in the process by placing the final piece...
Allegheny National Forest ranks as No. 2 camping destination in U.S.
The Allegheny National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania was among the top camping destinations in the country during the past year, according to Hipcamp.com. The state’s only national forest ranked second on a top 10 list of camping destinations, being beat out for the top spot by Cape Cod, Mass. The...
Podcast part 2: Eric Kasperowicz remembers ex-North Hills coach Jack McCurry
Eric Kasperowicz recalled the influence his high school coach had on him as a player and even today as a coach at Pine-Richland. “Coach Jack McCurry, one of the best in the whole country, if not the best,” Kasperowicz said during the second part of this week’s episode of the...
Franklin Regional school board awards $48.62 million in contracts for Sloan project
After three years of planning, multiple town hall meetings and mounting opposition from residents, Franklin Regional school board members this week agreed to spend $48.62 million for the Sloan school project. The board voted 8-1 to award bids for renovating Sloan Elementary School and converting it into a lower elementary...
Turn Key Clean Outs and Estate Sales owners are modern-day treasure huntersVideo
Jeff Harshman was digging through the garbage one day at a Mt. Washington home when he came across a pair of ticket stubs and a program for a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Harshman was liquidating someone’s estate in the Pittsburgh neighborhood and checked the...
Police: East Pittsburgh woman found dead after jailed man tips off therapistVideo
A woman has been found dead in an East Pittsburgh apartment, after an incarcerated Cambria County man told a counselor Monday he killed someone, according to state police. Troopers said the man gave the Cambria County Jail counselor an address for a home on Maple Street and the counselor passed...
U.S. sending more troops to Middle East as Iran tensions mount
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday ordered another 1,000 American troops to the Middle East, moving to bolster security in a region reeling from hostile attacks on commercial ships that the U.S. has blamed on Iran. Officials said the deployment includes security forces and troops for additional surveillance and intelligence...
Thief pepper sprays Unity man as he to stop car break-in, police say
A Unity Township man was pepper-sprayed in the face and eyes late Sunday night as he attempted to stop a man from breaking into his vehicle. State police charged Christopher W. Reynolds, 37, of Blairsville, with five counts each of theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and loitering/prowling...
Former ITT Tech students eligible for loan forgiveness in new settlement
Nearly 600 former ITT Tech students in Pennsylvania are eligible for $5.3 million in debt relief as part of a new settlement announced Monday by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro. A coalition of 44 state attorneys general reached a settlement with loan company Student CU Connect CUSO that includes more...
Police: 4 shot, 2 arrested at Raptors rally in TorontoVideo
TORONTO — Four people were shot and wounded at a rally Monday for the NBA champion Raptors, and two people were arrested “with firearms,” police said. Droves of Raptors fans ran from the shooting in a stampede from the City Hall square, which was packed with tens of thousands of...
