Top Stories category, Page 64
Former UPMC Children’s Hospital doctor sentenced on child porn charges
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s former chief radiologist was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison on child pornography charges. Ashok Panigrahy, 54, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty in March to charges of transporting and attempted transportation of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of material depicting...
Crash closes Route 28 North between Millvale, Etna
Route 28 coming out of Pittsburgh is jammed because of a crash. The crash happened around 4 p.m., closing the northbound lanes between the Millvale and Etna interchanges, a PennDOT spokesman said. The crash was cleared and the road began reopening around 4:40 p.m., but traffic remained congested from the...
Anthony D’Imperio, former owner of D’Imperio’s Restaurant in Wilkins, dies
The owner of popular Monroeville-area eatery D’Imperio’s who was known as much for his hospitable nature as his restaurant was for its authentic Italian food has died. Restaurant owner, Vietnam veteran and first-generation Italian immigrant Anthony “Tony” D’Imperio died on Sept. 6 at age 81. No cause of death was...
Man on trial for killing his mom in Homestead acts as own lawyer
The accused stood nervously in front of an Allegheny County jury and pledged to prove he didn’t kill his mother and her friend in Homestead last year. Defendant John Malcolm Smith V, 26, of McKeesport was acting as his own lawyer Tuesday, the start of his double homicide trial. He’s...
Man pleads guilty to wrong-way DUI crash on Parkway East that killed 2
A man whose blood-alcohol level was more than triple the legal limit when he drove the wrong way on the Parkway East earlier this year and killed two women will spend up to six years in state prison. Pedro Olan Morales, 57, of Charlotte, N.C., pleaded guilty on Tuesday to...
Killer says he extinguished ‘light so bright’ in Blawnox love triangle murder
Last year, after Sean Black pointed a gun at his ex-girlfriend’s face, her grandmother called him. He assured her he wouldn’t have shot Courtney Smith and said he would give the guns to his mother. He didn’t. Instead, a month later, Black took his guns and walked into the Blawnox...
Pa. Senate Republicans look to forgive interest on state loans to help counties, Head Starts
Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...
Pittsburgh bars landlords from discriminating based on homelessness
Pittsburgh landlords can no longer turn down potential tenants because they are or have been homeless. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that bars housing discrimination based on homelessness and a variety of other types of housing status, including lack of rental history and having previously lived in...
Trump announces Pfizer price cuts as White House presses drugmakers
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Pfizer will cut the price of all prescription drugs in the Medicaid program for low-income Americans and sell new prescription drugs at a “most favored nation” price in exchange for tariff relief. Trump also said he expects other drugmakers to follow suit....
Grocery wars heat up as Midwestern chain Meijer pushes into Western Pa.
Meijer, the Michigan-based grocery chain known for its sprawling supercenters, is coming to Western Pennsylvania. Fresh off its expansion in Northeast Ohio, Meijer is pushing across the state line and acquiring properties in Western Pennsylvania, spokeswoman Erin Cataldo confirmed Tuesday to TribLive. The stores do not have opening dates. “Our...
Hegseth slams ‘fat generals,’ says U.S. officers should resign if they don’t support his agendaVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed “fat generals” and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they do not support his agenda. Joining Hegseth was U.S. President Donald Trump, who...
Judge pauses Pittsburgh’s plans for bike lane on Strip District’s Penn Avenue
A judge on Monday pushed pause on Pittsburgh’s plans to eliminate a lane of traffic on a bustling stretch of Penn Avenue through the Strip District. Judge Alan Hertzberg granted an injunction for the Strip District Business Association, a group that sued the city earlier this month over the proposed...
Older, disabled Pennsylvanians bear brunt of home care staffing crisis
Lisa Sprague does what she can on her own, but nerve damage caused by multiple sclerosis means she needs help getting out of bed, bathing and completing other daily tasks. The state pays for 13 hours of care every day at her Harmar home, a bungalow retrofitted with a wheelchair...
Fayette County mom imprisoned in daughter’s starvation death walks free after evidence crumbles
A Fayette County woman who pleaded no contest to murdering her daughter and spent a decade in prison is now free after serious questions were raised about the prosecution’s key evidence. The Fayette County District Attorney’s Office last week withdrew a homicide charge against Andrea Dusha, who was accused of...
As Pa. budget impasse drags on, proposals aim to prevent future ones
The failure of Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass a budget for the fiscal year that began nearly three months ago is inspiring several pieces of legislation aimed at preventing such impasses in the future. In the House, a bill from state Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, would suspend paychecks for the governor,...
Westmoreland commissioners cancel public meetings amid state budget crisis
Because there’s no money to spend, Westmoreland County commissioners say, there is no need to conduct this week’s regularly scheduled public meetings at the courthouse. Commissioners canceled their agenda meeting set for Tuesday morning and Thursday’s public voting session in response to the ongoing state budget impasse that has halted...
Suspect in 2024 Stowe homicide taken into custody in Maryland
A Stowe homicide suspect on the run for nearly a year was taken into custody Monday in Maryland. Dacahary Sampson, 32, is charged with shooting and killing James Nelson Jr., 42, of McKees Rocks, the afternoon of Aug. 12, 2024, along the 400 block of Pleasant Ridge Road. The U.S....
Son charged with killing his father in East Pittsburgh turns himself in
A son charged with killing his father after an argument in East Pittsburgh earlier this month has turned himself in to police. Tayron Reid, 19, was taken into custody Monday, Allegheny County Police reported. He is charged with criminal homicide for the murder of 45-year-old Ta’Ron Reid, who was found...
Carbon monoxide, gas alarms triggered before fatal explosion at U.S. Steel Clairton facility, authorities say
Carbon monoxide and gas alarms were triggered leading up to a fatal explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works site Aug. 11, according to information released by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Preliminary investigations into the blast, released Monday by the CSB, indicate the explosion occurred...
After Comey indictment, Trump says other opponents are next
WASHINGTON – Politicians and legal experts are questioning whether former FBI Director James Comey would be convicted of charges of lying to Congress even as President Donald Trump said others who investigated him could also be indicted. Comey was indicted Sept. 25 for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing lawmakers,...
Tropical trouble: Offshore storms to churn up Atlantic coast this weekVideo
A pair of storms will keep things stirred up along the Atlantic Coast for much of the week. While a direct hit on the United States from either storm is not in the forecast, Bermuda may not be so lucky. Tropical Storm Imelda, forecast to become a hurricane on the...
Allegheny County steps in to maintain bus stops at Waterfront
Just days after announcing plans to close several Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus stops inside The Waterfront shopping mall in Homestead, county officials have reached a temporary agreement to keep the stops open. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said Monday that buses will continue to stop directly outside the Giant Eagle...
Fed-up Starbucks baristas stage ‘practice picket’ in Pittsburgh
Unionized Starbucks baristas say sudden store closures last weekend, including three in Pittsburgh, prove they need a contract with the coffeehouse chain. Lack of a contract leaves little legal recourse to hold the company accountable for closings and layoffs, said Cas Borowitz, a Workers United staff organizer and barista at...
Lawyer argues double jeopardy should bar murder retrial for Taco Bell manager in death of Harrison man
A former Taco Bell manager whose first-degree murder conviction of a worker at the restaurant was thrown out last month because of prosecutorial misconduct is arguing he cannot be retried based on the legal theory of double jeopardy. The attorney for Zairyre Simmons filed a motion Friday contending Pennsylvania’s constitution...
Man heads to trial on charge he gave beer to underage Pirates fan who fell at PNC Park
A man charged with buying beer at a Pirates game this year for his underage friend — who then fell more than 20 feet to the field below — waived his preliminary hearing on Monday. Ethan Kirkwood, 21, of Liberty will proceed to court on one of two counts of...
