Top Stories category, Page 623
Saint Vincent professor seeks public participation in spotted lanternfly research
Saint Vincent professor and entomologist Michelle Duennes was walking the lots at a Steelers tailgate last year near Heinz Field. But she wasn’t looking for the perfectly grilled kielbasa. She was looking for spotted lanternflies. “We were also looking at the license plates of people who came from out-of-state,” Duennes...
Survivors, advocates shine spotlight on suicide as cases rise in Westmoreland County
Sue Soltis of Derry Township can empathize with those who have been touched by the rising number of suicides in Westmoreland County, which accounted for a record number of 62 deaths last year. She found help with a Survivors of Suicide bereavement support group in Pittsburgh when her family was...
Police: Woman found shot in car in Wilkinsburg
A woman was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot on Thursday afternoon while seated in her car in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County Police reported. Officers were dispatched around 4 p.m. for a shooting in the area of Pennwood Avenue and Rowland Connector. Police said the 65-year-old victim was found with...
Arrest made in Clairton homicide after standoff in McKeesport
A Clairton man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting Aug. 25 was arrested Thursday after a short standoff with law enforcement in McKeesport, the Allegheny County Police said. The suspect, Edwin Wiley-Biggs, 42, was arrested by the Allegheny County Police Department’s SWAT team when he peacefully came out of...
Kiski Township officials draft ordinance to end alligator ownership; police fear more gators are in Kiski River
Kiski Township officials are clamping down on alligator ownership in the township after two reported alligator sightings in recent weeks along the Kiski River. In light of the recent capture of a juvenile alligator some nicknamed Chomper in August and a rogue alligator named Neo that remains at large after...
Indiana man accused of threatening Homer-Center School District
An Indiana man was arrested Thursday after allegedly sending a threatening video to a Homer-Center student in which he was seen wielding a shotgun and indicating he was arriving at Homer-Center School District, state police at Indiana said. The suspect, Spencer T. Baker, 18, is accused of sending the video...
Nonmonetary bond questioned in multi-million dollar fentanyl, cocaine arrest
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is challenging the release of a New York City man accused of trafficking large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine after he was granted nonmonetary bond by a district judge. Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, 27, is charged with two felony counts of possession with intent...
Tailgate turmoil: North Shore development cuts into game-day experience for Pitt, Steelers fans
Dustin Helm arrived on the North Shore 90 minutes before parking lots opened for the first University of Pittsburgh football game of the season, as he has done for the past seven-plus years. When the lots opened last weekend, Helm attempted to turn left in Lot 7C and make his...
Trump White House official Peter Navarro convicted of contempt after defying House Jan. 6 subpoenaVideo
WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress charges filed after he was accused of refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The verdict came after a short trial for Navarro, who served...
Officials, nurses hope new Pa. licensing program changes will help with staffing shortages
Amid ongoing nursing shortages, RNs and LPNs from other states will find it easier to begin working in Pennsylvania starting this week, as the state takes its first steps toward joining the Nurse Licensure Compact. The interstate agreement allows nurses to more easily take their licenses with them across state...
‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison for rapes of 2 women
LOS ANGELES — A judge sentenced “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old Masterson after hearing statements from the...
Downtown panhandler arrested for trying to throw woman onto Parkway East, police say
A Downtown panhandler tried to throw a woman off a bridge over the Parkway East on Wednesday night, police said. A criminal complaint filed against Jonathan Boyle, 42, said he was panhandling near Fort Pitt Boulevard and Smithfield Street around 7:40 p.m. when he attacked the woman and tried to...
Self-driving truck startup launches in Pittsburgh
Almost a year after Argo AI closed its doors in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, the founders of that autonomous automobile startup have embarked on a new venture focusing on self-driving trucks. Called Stack AV, the firm plans to use self-driving technology to improve efficiency and enhance safety in the trucking industry....
Edibles unsafe for Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program, officials say
Officials tasked with monitoring the state’s medical marijuana program said this week edibles don’t belong in Pennsylvania’s marketplace. Concerns about safety, efficacy and legal enforcement gave members of the Medical Marijuana Advisory Program pause. Six abstained from voting on the recommendation at all during its Wednesday meeting. Only two members...
Spirit Airlines to add daily flights between Pittsburgh and Miami
Pittsburghers will soon have another travel option to get to South Florida. Spirit Airlines said Monday that it will begin new nonstop service between Pittsburgh International Airport and Miami International Airport on Nov. 15 The low-cost carrier will offer daily flights leaving Pittsburgh at 11:29 a.m. and arriving in Miami...
Hurricane Lee charges through open Atlantic waters as it approaches northeast CaribbeanVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Lee whirled through open waters on Thursday as forecasters warned it could become the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season. Lee was not expected to make landfall while on a projected path that will take it near the northeast Caribbean, although forecasters...
Search for escaped Pennsylvania murderer enters 8th day
WEST CHESTER — As the hunt for an elusive murderer stretches into a second week, residents of suburban southeast Pennsylvania say they’re unsettled and perhaps frustrated — but not panicked — as hundreds of heavily armed searchers scoured roads, neighborhoods and dense woodlands. Danilo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old from Brazil,...
Man arrested in Latrobe shooting of friend previously served time in 2015 beating death
A Greensburg man accused of shooting a longtime friend in Latrobe on Sunday previously served jail time in connection with a 2015 fatal beating, according to court records. Malik Crosby, 24, was arraigned Friday on attempted homicide and related charges in the Chestnut Street shooting that police said happened after...
Morning Roundup: Man fatally shot in McKeesport, suspect arrested
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Sept. 7: Man killed in McKeesport shooting, police arrest suspect A man was shot and killed Wednesday night in McKeesport, and Allegheny County Police have filed homicide charges in connection with the shooting. Police said they responded to...
Change in state police academy requirements generates burst in applications
Eliminating the requirement that Pennsylvania State Police cadets have college credits under their belts in order to apply for trooper jobs was met with a burst of applications. State officials said 137 of 297 people who applied in the two days after the announcement last week do not have college...
Pittsburgh Public Schools employee accused of sexually assaulting teen
A man who works for Pittsburgh Public Schools has been accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl. Police said Brian Deering, 45, returned to his Baldwin home after a night of drinking in August and gave a 14-year-old girl alcohol and marijuana before sexually assaulting her, according to Tribune-Review news...
Cold front brings rain, cooler temps to Pittsburgh region
The heat wave that hovered over the Pittsburgh region for the past several days has come to end as a cold front has brought rain and cooler temperatures. The Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service said scattered showers will continue through Thursday morning. The service warns that visibility will...
Aerosmith triumphantly bids farewell to Pittsburgh on Peace Out tourVideo
If Wednesday night’s concert was truly Aerosmith’s last show in Pittsburgh, the veteran rockers from Boston went out with a blast — of music and confetti. Aerosmith, which formed in 1970, in May announced their Peace Out farewell tour, a 40-date North American run through January celebrating their more than...
Pittsburgh construction worker rescued after partial building collapse
A Pittsburgh construction worker is lucky to be alive after the building he was helping to tear down partially collapsed. Around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, a construction crew was tearing down a building at 193 Chartiers Ave., when the structure partially collapsed. The collapse trapped the worker, who authorities did not...
Owner of 2nd alligator seen in Kiski River explains how it got there, efforts to bring him back home
The recent report of a second alligator swimming Sunday in the Kiski River appears to be a runaway reptile named Neo. Austin Randall, 23, of Lyndora, Butler County, said Wednesday he lost Neo on Aug. 29 while attempting to re-home the baby male alligator to Kiski Township resident and alligator...
