Top Stories category, Page 875
Police seek ID of Swissvale sex assault suspect
Allegheny County and Swissvale police are seeking assistance with identifying on man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman on a Swissvale sidewalk in broad daylight, county police said. The suspect is accused of assaulting the woman at about 6:10 p.m. Aug. 4, near the intersection of Monongahela and Duquesne avenues,...
Allegheny County election officials debate future of ballot drop boxes, satellite voting centers
Allegheny County took several steps to address high voter turnout anticipated in the 2020 election, launching mail-in ballot information campaigns, satellite voting offices and ballot drop boxes, but those methods haven’t been brought back. At Wednesday’s Allegheny County Election Board meeting in Downtown Pittsburgh, Department of Administrative Services Director Jessica...
Delivery of 7 remaining Fern Hollow Bridge beams begins Thursday
Delivery of the last of the beams needed to rebuild the Fern Hollow Bridge will begin Thursday, shutting down a Parkway East ramp and several Regent Square side streets during delivery times. Fourteen beams have already been delivered to the Squirrel Hill side of the bridge. The bridge, part of...
Western Pa. animal shelters take in beagles rescued from Virginia mass-breeding facilityVideo
More than two dozen beagles removed from a Virginia breeding facility last month will wait for their forever homes at six Western Pennsylvania rescue facilities, according to the rescue groups. Twenty-one of the dogs were brought to the area through a joint effort involving Pittsburgh’s Humane Animal Rescue, Animal Friends,...
Man who paralyzed Latrobe woman in Parkway East crash sentenced to 2 to 4 years
A Wilkinsburg man who was in the throes of mental illness last year when he went on a 75-minute crime spree, including stealing two cars, striking pedestrians and causing a crash that led to a Latrobe woman’s paralysis, will serve two to four years’ incarceration. Derek Deleon Brown, 30, pleaded...
Sex abuse case against retired priest dropped by Allegheny County DA’s office
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday withdrew charges against a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 2001. The paperwork dismissing the case against the Rev. Hugh Lang, 92, said it was being done in the best interest of the alleged victim. Lang was a...
Frazer man charged with sexual assault of young girl
Allegheny County Police detectives arrested a Frazer man after, they said, a pre-teen girl told investigators he forced her to have sexual contact with him. Zachary Chicko, 37, of New Orchard Road was charged with felony counts of corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor along with...
New Penn Brewery owner will keep the classic brews, expand the small batches
Ownership of Penn Brewery has changed hands, but the new owner vows to continue its tradition of producing classic lagers and German beer styles in the 16th-century Bavarian tradition, along with experimental, small-batch brews. A Monday post on the brewery’s Facebook page said, “Penn Brewery’s owners — Sandy Cindrich, Corey...
Frazer police accuse woman of using nursing home’s credit card for $42K spending spree
Frazer police arrested a woman they say confessed to using a company credit card to steal more than $42,400 from the nursing home where she worked because, she said, they reneged on a promise to pay her bonuses for recruiting new employees. Jennifer L. Ward, 48, of the 900 block...
New Whole Foods opens in East Liberty, old store closes
Whole Foods Market replaced its grocery store in Pittsburgh’s East End with a new, larger space in East Liberty. The new grocery store opened Wednesday morning at the Liberty East development at 5700 Penn Ave. The new location will add more than 20,000 square feet of floor space compared to...
Sewickley piercing shop owner accused of offering teen girl money for sex
Editor’s note: Watson was acquitted of all charges following a jury trial in October before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer. The charges have since been expunged from Watson’s record. The owner of a Sewickley piercing shop faces charges after police say he offered a 17-year-old girl money to...
Donald Trump ‘took the Fifth.’ What does it actually mean?
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump showed up Wednesday for questioning under oath in New York’s civil investigation into his business practices. But he quickly made clear he wouldn’t be answering. The ex-president issued a statement saying he had done nothing wrong but was invoking the Fifth Amendment’s protection...
Trump says he took the 5th Amendment in New York investigationVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings, the former president said in a statement. About an hour after arriving at Attorney General Letitia James’ Manhattan offices, Trump...
Vandergrift mom credits youth football coach with saving her baby’s life
Whatever miracles a Kiski Valley youth football coach might perform in leading his team to victory this season will pale in comparison to the action he performed Monday afternoon just outside the Vandergrift field where his team was practicing. Quick action by Kristian Clayton, 45, of Vandergrift saved the life...
Authority mulls adding car charging stations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is considering an agreement with Rostraver-based startup company Kilocharge to add electric vehicle charging stations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Board members asked executive director Gabe Monzo to negotiate with the company after solicitor Daniel Hewitt detailed Kilocharge’s initial proposal. Hewitt said the company proposed...
Etna boy, 16, identified as Pittsburgh fatal shooting victim early Monday
An Etna teenager has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting early Monday morning in Pittsburgh. The victim, Alexander Kowalyk, 16, was shot around 2:40 a.m. Monday in Pittsburgh’s Uptown and Bluff neighborhood. He died Monday afternoon in a Pittsburgh hospital, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said....
Unity restaurant, storage facility join in efforts to help flooding victims
Local businesses have stepped forward to help victims of Friday’s flooding in Unity Township and surrounding areas, joining the efforts of organizations and individuals. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sharky’s Cafe and The Pier will welcome those who are recovering from the flash floods for a free buffet meal at the...
Pa. Rep. Scott Perry says FBI took his cellphone after Trump property search
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry said his cellphone was seized Tuesday morning by FBI agents carrying a search warrant. The circumstances surrounding the seizure were not immediately known. Perry, though, has been a figure in the congressional investigation into President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol...
What the FBI’s search of Trump’s home could mean for Pa. midterm elections
Pennsylvania Republican leaders on Tuesday expressed outrage over the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Florida home, and said they think the incident will boost GOP voter turnout in the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats downplayed the potential political fallout, arguing that Democratic voters became more highly motivated to head to...
Congress can get Trump tax records, federal appeals court rules
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court sided Tuesday with a House committee seeking access to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, rejecting Trump’s contention that Congress was overstepping. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with a lower court judge’s decision...
Highland Park pool closed for rest of summer
Pittsburgh officials announced Tuesday that the Highland Park Pool will remained closed for the rest of the summer because of damage caused by heavy rains and a mudslide. Storms last week caused mud to run into both the kiddie pool and the main pool. Officials said the repairs required to...
U.S. will stretch monkeypox vaccine supply with smaller doses
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Tuesday authorized a new monkeypox vaccination strategy designed to stretch limited supplies by allowing health professionals to vaccinate up to five people — instead of one — with each vial. The so-called dose-sparing approach uses just a fraction of the typical amount of the...
Mastriano cuts short interview with Jan. 6 panel
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, had a very brief visit Tuesday with the congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed that Mastriano spent fewer than 15 minutes speaking to the Jan. 6 committee...
FBI search at Trump Mar-a-Lago estate one of several probes
WASHINGTON — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate marked a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of the law enforcement scrutiny of the former president, but the Florida operation is just one part of one investigation related to Trump and his time in office. The potential legal peril from multiple...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joining Doug Mastriano for Pittsburgh appearance
Sen. Doug Mastriano has booked a Republican A-lister to help boost his campaign for governor of Pennsylvania. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed, the Mastriano campaign announced Monday, to an Aug. 19 appearance with Mastriano in Pittsburgh. It’s part of a series of swing state rallies being organized ahead of...
