Top Stories category, Page 831
Rehabbed steel mill eagle Rosie released with a 7-foot wingspanVideo
A young bald eagle from a U.S. Steel mill near Pittsburgh that was missing all of its primary flight feathers on one wing is flying the skies of Crawford County. On Thursday, officials from Tamarack Wildlife Center, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and U.S. Steel released Rosie after she was “imped”...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 21-23
There’s more spooky season fun this weekend in the Pittsburgh area — and that’s not all there is to do. Not-so-scary ZooBoo ZooBoo, the annual kid-friendly Halloween celebration, is planned for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Oct. 29-30, at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in...
Biden stumps for Pa.’s Fetterman, says ‘world is looking’
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the “rest of the world is looking” to see who holds control of Congress after the upcoming midterm elections, warning that Republican victories would jeopardize the nation’s standing abroad as he tried to deliver a boost to Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign...
Fire marshal: Blaze at abandoned New Kensington house appears suspicious
The cause of a blaze Thursday evening that destroyed a vacant house on Third Avenue in New Kensington will be difficult to determine, a fire official said Friday. State police Fire Marshal Keith Sobecki said the house was vacant, but there was evidence squatters had lived there at some point....
Military suicides drop as leaders push new programs
WASHINGTON — Suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year, according to a new Pentagon report and...
Pittsburgh police: Delivery driver victim of carjacking in Garfield
Pittsburgh police are investigating a carjacking that targeted a food delivery driver Wednesday evening in the city’s Garfield neighborhood. Officers responded shortly after 6 p.m. to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 200 block of Fern Street. The driver told police two male suspects drove up as he...
New Kensington man convicted of first-degree murder in 2020 slaying of Brackenridge man
The sound of sniffling and crying filled the courtroom as jurors announced their verdict in the fatal shooting of Michael Coover Jr. The Westmoreland County jury found Mario Gatti of New Kensington guilty of criminal homicide charges following a five-hour deliberation Thursday. Judge Christopher Feliciani described the decision as “citizens...
Suspended Pitt basketball player accused of assaulting woman to stand trial on 2 counts
A highly touted Pitt basketball player will go to trial on two counts — strangulation and simple assault — after three other counts against him were thrown out. Dior Johnson, 18, of Oakland, appeared for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Mik Pappas on Thursday. He testified briefly to...
Westmoreland commissioners launch program to link students to local jobs
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved the creation of what they termed a “groundbreaking” program to invest in the future of local students. Commissioners allocated $949,000 toward a newly formed Westmoreland Workforce Development Plan that will be available at all 17 county school districts to promote occupational guidance and...
Jury: Kevin Spacey didn’t molest actor Anthony Rapp in 1986
NEW YORK — A jury sided with Kevin Spacey on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film star’s career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986. The verdict in the civil trial came...
Volunteer firefighter from Collier died in Parkway East crash
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday identified the man who died in a crash the day before on the Parkway East as 32-year-old Terry Tackett. Tackett, a volunteer firefighter who lived in Collier, was taken to UPMC Mercy in Uptown after the crash happened around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday...
2 school officers injured breaking up fight at Oliver Citywide Academy, police say
Two Pittsburgh Public School officers were injured after a fight broke out Thursday afternoon at Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy on the city’s North Side, officials said. The two officers’ injuries were “not too severe,” Pittsburgh Public School spokeswoman Ebony Pugh told the Tribune-Review. The two individuals planned to go to...
Dr. Oz made reputation as a surgeon, a fortune as a salesman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz rolled onstage inside of an inflatable orb, put on a hydrating face mask and proceeded to pitch a new line of skin care products to a convention of supplement distributors at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena in 2018. The crowd roared in applause. The celebrity...
Biden tours Fern Hollow Bridge work, touts infrastructure plans at Pittsburgh stop
President Joe Biden stopped in Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon to survey progress on the $25.3 million reconstruction of the Fern Hollow Bridge and tout his administration’s investments in infrastructure. The former Fern Hollow Bridge over Frick Park in the city’s East End collapsed on Jan. 28, injuring 10 people and...
2 residential developments proposed for Pittsburgh’s Strip District
Plans are in the works for two separate housing developments in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Developers on Tuesday presented their proposals to the city’s Planning Commission, which is expected to vote on the plans when they meet again in two weeks. The first proposal calls for a seven-story, 85-foot-tall apartment building...
Wrongful death lawsuit filed by family of man killed at Baldwin’s Loose Moose Saloon
The son of a man killed last year at Baldwin’s Loose Moose Saloon filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the bar and the man accused of killing him. Mark D. Thompson, 51, of South Park, died on July 22, 2021, four days after he was assaulted at the bar, police said....
Bus driver recruitment continues to challenge school district transportation contractors
Transportation company First Student is advertising school bus driver openings for several area districts the company serves, including Norwin, Jeannette City and Hempfield Area. But applicants have not been flocking to replenish the ranks at area school bus terminals. Driver shortages have been an issue for many districts in recent...
U.S. heating worries mount amid growing costs, uncertainty
JAY, Maine — Across the U.S., families are looking to the winter with dread as energy costs soar and fuel supplies tighten. The Department of Energy is projecting sharp price increases for home heating compared with last winter and some worry whether heating assistance programs will be able to make...
Truss quits, but UK’s political and economic turmoil persist
LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss quit Thursday after a tumultuous and historically brief term marred by economic policies that roiled financial markets and a rebellion in her political party that obliterated her authority. After just 45 days in office, Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be...
Biden to visit Pittsburgh to talk infrastructure funding
The campaign trail is bringing President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh on Thursday, part of his efforts to sway voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania ahead of the November midterm elections. The president plans to visit the Fern Hollow Bridge and discuss the importance of infrastructure funding, according to the...
Long-awaited Sobel’s Obscure Brewery opening in Jeannette
The anticipation has been building for the past three years as Sobel’s Obscure Brewery chipped away at transforming an old Jeannette department store into a taproom. It’s finally here — the Clay Avenue space is opening Friday. Jackie Sobel, who co-owns the craft brewery with her father, David Sobel, said...
Frazer files $2.8M lawsuit against Pittsburgh Mills property owners
Frazer supervisors are trying to recoup more than $2.8 million in delinquent special tax assessments from three companies in the Pittsburgh Mills complex. Earlier this month, the board authorized Solicitor Matt Marshall to file a “municipal claim-and-collection” lawsuit in Allegheny County Court against May Department Stores Co., the former parent...
Judge: Trump knew vote fraud claims in legal docs were falseVideo
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents challenging the results of the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew to be false, a federal judge said in a ruling Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter in an 18-page opinion ordered that four emails between Trump...
Penn State researchers engineer protein that could be used to develop 1-dose covid vaccine
Despite receiving one of the three covid-19 vaccines available in the U.S., many Americans continue to become infected with the virus. Penn State researchers hope recently engineered proteins could put an end to that cycle. The proteins, called immunogens, could protect people from new covid-19 variants — and other coronaviruses,...
New Kensington man claims self-defense for 2020 shooting in Arnold
A New Kensington man accused in the shooting death of a man inside an Arnold home more than two years ago told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday that he fired the fatal shots in self-defense. Mario Matthew Gatti, 33, was the lone defense witness to testify during his two-day trial....
