Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1937
Judge brokers deal on Rivertowne Pub equipment
A federal bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh on Friday brokered a deal between owners of the former bankrupt Rivertowne Pub & Grille in North Huntingdon and the man who bought the tavern’s inventory last month so the buyer can remove the tables, chairs, coolers and freezers from the site. U.S. Judge...
Deal near in civil rights lawsuits over Pennsylvania prison mail policy
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania prison officials said Friday they were close to settling two federal lawsuits over how the system processes mail sent to inmates by their lawyers. The Department of Corrections and civil rights groups involved in the lawsuits announced a settlement was being finalized after a trial was stopped...
High wind watch issued for Sunday; gusts up to 55 mph forecast
Strong winds forecast for Sunday could bring down trees, limbs and power lines, leading to scattered power outages. A high wind watch will start Sunday morning and run until Monday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Redmond said Friday. Sustained winds of 15-to-30 mph are expected, with gusts up to...
Police: ‘Very large marijuana dealer’ arrested in Hempfield
A Hempfield man who police described as a “very large marijuana dealer” was arrested Friday after a search of his home. Nickolas Boyd Hobaugh, 28, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. Investigators seized more than 55 pounds of marijuana and 2,200 vape pens that contain THC,...
New Brighton woman charged after child tests positive for fentanyl
A Beaver County woman was charged this week after her 11-month-old son was rushed to the hospital and tested positive for fentanyl and three other drugs, Aliquippa police said. Michelle Bradley, 30, of New Brighton called 911 on Feb. 6 because her boy was unresponsive and barely breathing, according to...
Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution after he was twice videotaped paying for a sex act at an illicit massage parlor, police in Florida said Friday. Jupiter police told reporters Friday that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn’t been arrested. A warrant will be...
Condemned home collapses in landslide-riddled area of Perry North
No one was injured when a condemned home in Pittsburgh’s Perry North neighborhood collapsed Friday, city officials said. The city ordered the home at 45 Semicir St. to be evacuated a year ago. Officials said the home wasn’t demolished because the hillside was insecure, causing unsafe conditions for contractors to...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 22-24
Here are some fun ways to spend the final weekend of February in Pittsburgh. Back after a break Singer Michael Buble will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at PPG Paints Arena, Uptown. His newest release “Love” is his eighth major studio album for Reprise Records. Buble returned to the stage...
Troopers seize 510 pounds of marijuana on Pennsylvania Turnpike
State police on Thursday seized 510 pounds of what they suspect to be marijuana from a box truck traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to court papers. Mark Joseph Doyle, 63, of Oregon, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. Troopers stopped the truck in Mt. Pleasant...
Landslide closes section of Freeport Road in Springdale Township
A section of Freeport Road in Springdale Township closed Friday because of a landslide could potentially stay shut down until Monday as officials worry more debris could fall. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the slide, reported to PennDOT about 7 a.m., closed Freeport Road between the New Kensington Bridge and...
Swede gets 4½ years for royal jewels heist
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A 22-year-old Swede was sentenced Friday to four and a half years in prison after he was convicted of stealing 17th-century Swedish royal treasures estimated to be worth $7 million from a cathedral last year. The Eskiltuna District Court said Johan Nicklas Backstrom stole two crowns and...
Powerful 7.5-magnitude quake hits eastern Ecuador
LONDON — A very powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck southern Ecuador in the early hours of Friday close to the country’s border with Peru, although no immediate reports of possible casualties or damage were available. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake happened at 5:17 a.m. (EST) 71 miles southeast...
Fugitive extradited from Israel to Pittsburgh on rape charge denied bail
Moshe Journo will not be cut loose a second time. Journo, 53, who had been on the run for about 15 years after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl inside his Dormont business in 2004, was denied bail Friday and is being held at the Allegheny County Jail,...
Belle Vernon superintendent, 3 board members resign
The Belle Vernon Area School Board this week accepted the resignation of three board members and received the intent of resignation from the superintendent, according to board solicitor Victor Kustra. Superintendent Michele Dowell and board members Aaron Bialon, John Nusser and Dan Sepesky all resigned, taking the nine-person board down...
Coast Guard lieutenant ordered held 14 days while prosecutors weigh terror charges
GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant spent hours on end planning a wide-scale domestic terrorist attack, even logging in at his work computer on the job at headquarters to study the manifestos and heinous paths of mass shooters, prosecutors say. He researched how to carry out sniper attacks,...
Israel flying to moon as a result of SpaceX launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch Thursday night by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel’s privately...
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan blasts RNC for ‘unprecedented’ steps to shield Trump from a primary
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who is flirting with a 2020 White House run, on Thursday accused the Republican National Committee of taking “unprecedented” steps to shield President Trump from primary challengers. Hogan, who is being courted by Republican dissidents seeking an alternative to Trump, told Politico in an...
Kevin Gorman: Hard to embrace Bob Nutting’s spin on Pirates’ payroll
BRADENTON, Fla. — Spend an hour asking Bob Nutting questions and the first thing baseball fans want to know is whether even the Pittsburgh Pirates chairman believes his own bull. The answer is an unapologetic yes. Nutting puts a politician’s spin on his ownership, with evasive answers that tend to...
White House says U.S. will keep 200 troops in Syria
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. “A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time,” White House press...
UPMC rejects state Attorney General Shapiro’s attempt to halt breakup with rival Highmark
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is overstepping his authority by attempting to force UPMC to work together with rival health system Highmark beyond this summer’s expiration of a state-brokered agreement, UPMC argued Thursday in court filings. UPMC asked the Commonwealth Court to reject Shapiro’s petition to rewrite a 2014 consent...
Kraft Heinz plunges near record low on $15.4 billion writedown
Kraft Heinz Co. recorded a $15.4 billion non-cash charge to write down assets including some of its most well-known brands, a striking acknowledgment that changing consumer tastes have destroyed the value of some of the company’s most iconic products. The packaged food giant’s charge to reduce the goodwill value of...
New Kensington business owner has big plans for Fifth Avenue buildingVideo
A New Kensington-based businessman has big dreams for a building he bought in November on Fifth Avenue. Sean Watson bought the building across Fifth Avenue from The Corner, an entrepreneur training center and co-working space that’s one of Penn State University’s innovation hubs it operates in association with its branch...
Construction of Allegheny Health Network’s mini hospital in Harmar stalled by land issuesVideo
Construction of Allegheny Health Network’s new neighborhood hospital in Harmar has been delayed as the company works to finalize leasing and land agreements related to the site. AHN officials initially hoped construction would start shortly after a ceremonial ground breaking last October, but the lot remains empty with no construction...
New election ordered in disputed North Carolina House race
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s elections board Thursday ordered a new election in the nation’s last undecided congressional race after the Republican candidate conceded that his apparent victory was tainted by evidence of ballot-tampering by political operatives working for him. The State Board of Elections voted 5-0 in favor of...
Penn State ex-president Graham Spanier’s request for appeal denied
HARRISBURG — Penn State’s president when the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal erupted may soon be going to jail after Pennsylvania’s highest court declined Thursday to hear the appeal of his conviction for child endangerment. The state Supreme Court ruled it will not take up Graham Spanier’s appeal of the...
