Top Stories category, Page 826
Norwin superintendent addresses board member’s controversial social media post, school director defends it
Norwin’s top administrator Friday pushed back against a school director’s social media posts this week that used a meme of a Halloween costume titled “(expletive) Retard” and signed the post with “Reeee..,” a sound that some autistic persons sometimes make when overstimulated. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said in an emailed statement...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit says worker shortages, other issues contributing to service cuts
The pandemic hit public transit agencies hard, especially with decreases in ridership and large service cuts, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit has not avoided those issues. Starting on Nov. 20, PRT will reduce service hours by nearly 2%, which will impact 11 bus routes and the blue line light-rail route, according...
Boulevard of the Allies/Parkway East ramp closure set for entire weekend; more detours next week
Construction fatigued Pittsburghers will have another road project and accompanying detour to look out for this weekend. PennDOT has announced the closure of the westbound I-376 (Parkway East) ramp to northbound Boulevard of the Allies from Friday at 8 p.m. continuously through 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. All ramp traffic will...
Ross police sergeant claims defamation against township, police association
A Ross police sergeant is suing his employer and former police union, accusing them of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from unfounded allegations that he improperly shared a video from a juvenile sex crime investigation. Joseph Serowik, 51, has worked for the Ross police department since 2004...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to incident with teen babysitters
A Hempfield man was ordered Friday to serve two years on probation in connection with an incident in 2018 that prompted two teenage babysitters to flee his home. Gregory Bittner, 40, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of corruption of a minor and simple assault after two 15-year-old girls claimed he...
102-year-old former bank building on market in Verona
In the market for a building with serious pillar presence? A former bank in downtown Verona that towers above its neighboring buildings along Allegheny River Boulevard is listed for sale at $424,900. The property was previously a PNC bank and most recently the Verona Variety Store. It originally listed for...
Washington County is charging people to search court documents — an unusual and undue burden, experts say
This story first appeared in Spotlight PA’s Investigator newsletter, which offers behind-the-scenes looks at our reporting and a roundup of the best accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free. HARRISBURG — A Western Pennsylvania county is imposing a $10.50 “search fee” on public requests for court documents, a...
Police: 6 people shot outside Brighton Heights church
Update: Police later corrected information to reveal that five people were shot, and one person was injured while trying to escape the melee. The Rev. Nicita Moses was speaking from the pulpit in her church during a funeral service in Brighton Heights on Friday afternoon when shots started to ring...
Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen announce divorce after 13 years
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have finalized their divorce, they announced Friday, ending the 13-year marriage between two superstars who respectively reached the pinnacles of fashion and football. Brady and Bündchen posted statements on Instagram late Friday morning, each saying they had “amicably” reached the decision. Checks of court dockets...
3 shot, wounded in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood
Three people were wounded in a North Side shooting late Thursday. Pittsburgh police said a total of 34 rounds were fired on the 100 block of Rhine Place in Spring Hill around 11:55 p.m. Thursday. A woman suffered a gunshot wound to the arm, a second woman was struck in...
Intruder attacks Pelosi’s husband, calling, ‘Where is Nancy’
SAN FRANCISCO — The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday, searching for the Democratic leader and shouting, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” The assault on the 82-year-old Paul...
Vandergrift police shock man who bit officer, fought with others arresting him for warrants
Vandergrift police say a man wanted on multiple warrants had to be repeatedly shocked with a stun gun after he ran from officers and then bit one of them in the arm while being taken into custody. Antjuan Dewayne Smith, 39, of the 2600 block of Brown Avenue in Hempfield...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 28-29
Natural wonders — like dinosaurs and other spooky specimens, talented teens and musical geniuses — are in the spotlight this weekend in Pittsburgh. Tyrannosaurus time Dinosaurs roam the earth again in the Jurassic World Live Tour, coming this weekend to PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh. Show times are...
5 things to watch in Week 9 of high school football
Almost everyone has an off year once in a while, yet Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz and North Catholic’s Pat O’Shea have never had a team miss the playoffs in their head coaching careers. That might change after this week. Kasperowicz’s teams reached the playoffs eight consecutive years at Pine-Richland from...
Officials look to market shuttered Westmoreland test track
Westmoreland County officials will continue to pursue development of a $20 million test track facility despite the shuttering of Argo AI, a marquee tenant at the East Huntingdon site. “There’s a strong demand for test track space, and I’m pretty confident we will be able to back-fill this facility with...
8 found dead after house fire in Tulsa area; homicide feared
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Eight people were found dead Thursday in a burning Tulsa-area house in what was being investigated as multiple homicides, police said. The fire was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday in a quiet residential area of Broken Arrow, 13 miles southeast of Tulsa. Broken Arrow police said...
State employees to get 20% discount for online courses from PennWest University
PennWest University will offer a 20% online tuition discount for all of Pennsylvania’s state employees offered through its PennWest Global Online. The reduction, announced Thursday, will be available on about 150 programs under a partnership with the state, effective for the 2023 spring semester. The discount applies for undergraduate and...
Pittsburgh community comes together for Tree of Life 4th-year commemorationVideo
Pittsburgh gathered to remember on Thursday, a bright, mild and sunny day that provided a stark contrast to the gloomy, rainy day when 11 worshippers were shot to death at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Oct. 27, 2018. An estimated 500 members of the Pittsburgh community...
Man hid camera in Frick Pittsburgh bathroom, police say
Pittsburgh police are looking for a man suspected of hiding a camera inside a city museum’s bathroom to spy on museum-goers. The man is believed to have taken “multiple pictures and video of victims (ranging) from children to senior citizens” at The Frick Pittsburgh on South Homewood Avenue in Point...
Pittsburgh’s soaring homicide rate leaves officials baffled
Pittsburgh police said Thursday its officers have investigated 59 homicides to date in 2022 — the highest rate in at least seven years and a 25% spike year over year. There have been nearly 700 homicides in Pittsburgh since 2010, county records show. Homicides in Pittsburgh hit 60 in 2015...
Economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6%Video
WASHINGTON — The economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate from July through September, snapping two straight quarters of contraction and overcoming high inflation and interest rates just as voting begins in midterm elections in which the economy’s health has emerged as a paramount issue. Thursday’s better-than-expected estimate from the...
AG’s office announces sex charges against 4 men; Butler suspect kills himself before arrest
A Butler County man who was about to be arrested Thursday morning on charges of rape and sexual abuse killed himself in the bathroom of his home, officials said. Eric E. Eleam Sr., 61, of Butler, was one of four men facing charges in connection with a statewide investigating grand...
Elon Musk takes control of Twitter, ousts top executives
Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter and ousted the CEO, chief financial officer and the company’s general counsel, two people familiar with the deal said Thursday night. The people wouldn’t say if all the paperwork for the deal, originally valued at $44 billion, had been signed or if the...
Looking back at the 2018 Tree of Life attack in Squirrel HillVideo
On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, killing 11 worshippers and wounding two. It was the deadliest act of anti-Semitic violence in U.S. history. Four Pittsburgh police officers were injured by gunfire as they responded to the attack. To capture...
Antisemitism decried 4 years after Tree of Life attack
PITTSBURGH — In what has become an annual ritual, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community Thursday honored the memory of the 11 Jews who were murdered on this date in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. For many community leaders, their grief is mixed with dismay over the continued and growing incidents...
