Pittsburgh news

• Detectives rely on cell phone records, missing texts in Penn Hills homicide arrest

  07-06-2019 23:43
  
  Antonio Vecchiola was charged Thursday with killing his estranged wife, Jessica Vecchiola, in 2017.
  
  Read more

• Greensburg Woman Allegedly Stole Money In Online Firearm Sales Scam

  07-06-2019 23:36
  GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Greensburg Police charged 60-year-old Indira Smiljanic with felony conspiracy and other counts for her alleged role in a scheme to rip off unsuspecting victims looking to buy guns online.According to court records, the Greensburg woman posted multiple guns on the online firearms site “Armslist.com” which is essentially a Craigslist for guns. Investigators say Smiljanic along with 24-year-old Jennifer Bittner posted items for sale, but when customers sent in
  
  Read more

• FDA Finds Asbestos In More Cosmetics From Claire’s Stores, Beauty Plus Global

  07-06-2019 22:50
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA/CBS News) — The FDA is warning consumers against using two more cosmetics that it found contained asbestos.
  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found asbestos in more cosmetics sold by Claire’s Stores and Beauty Plus Global, with the agency warning consumers to steer clear of the products.Read more from CBS News here.Both companies last week voluntarily recalled products that tested positive for the known carcinogen during the agency’s ongoing testing of
  
  Read more

• Man Sentenced To 15-30 Years For Overdose Death Of Washington County Woman

  07-06-2019 22:49
  WASHINGTON (KDKA) — Michael Martin, a 36-year-old from Philadelphia, has been sentenced to 15-30 years in prison following an overdose death of a Washington County woman.On December 6, 2016, Stacey Lynn Greenawalt had collapsed and died in the bathroom of her father’s home and investigators determined her death was due to an overdose of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. Police on the scene found stamp bags with a green dollar sign on them.
  The investigation led to a home on Martindale R
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Rare condor chick hatches at National Aviary

  07-06-2019 22:48
  
  Hatching of Andean condor — the first at the National Aviary since 2007 — is intended to help the species to survive.
  
  Read more

• Lt. Governor John Fetterman Opens Pool At Official Residence To Public

  07-06-2019 21:54
  FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. (AP/KDKA) – Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor is opening the pool in the official residence he doesn’t use to children who typically wouldn’t have access to one.
  Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced Friday the new access to the pool at the State House. He said his family will never live in the lieutenant governor’s mansion and he thinks he can find a better use for the swimming pool.“If my children are welcome to swim in the p
  
  Read more

• Fetterman Opens Pennsylvania Lt. Governor’s Pool To Public

  07-06-2019 21:54
  FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor is opening the pool in the official residence he doesn’t use to children who typically wouldn’t have access to one.
  Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced Friday the new access to the pool at the State House.
  The residence is on National Guard property, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Harrisburg.
  Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, will run a program to teach water safety and coordinate wider use of
  
  Read more

• New Chick Welcomed By Andean Condors At National Aviary

  07-06-2019 21:42
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Lianni and Lurch, two Andean Condors at the National Aviary, welcomed a new baby today.
  (Photo Courtesy: National Aviary)
  The rare chick hatched Friday morning, according to a spokesperson for the National Aviary. Currently the size of a grapefruit, the baby is being taken care of by its parents in the nesting cave at the aviary’s Condor Court habitat.Click here to watch the Aviary’s Condor nest camThe aviary says the greyish white chick will stay with them
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ohio Man Detained At Pittsburgh International Airport After TSA Agents Find Loaded Gun

  07-06-2019 21:11
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A loaded handgun was seized from an Ohio man at Pittsburgh International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said.
  Investigators say TSA officers stopped the Columbiana County man at a security checkpoint on Thursday after spotting the man with the .38-caliber handgun in his carry-on bag.
  (Source: Transportation Security Administration)
  The gun was loaded with two bullets.
  The TSA says it is the 14th gun stopped at the Pittsburgh International Airport se
  
  Read more

• Dreamed Of Going To Space? NASA Opening International Space Station To Private Missions

  07-06-2019 20:48
  By Katia Hetter, CNN Business
  (CNN) — For grownups who dreamed as kids of becoming astronauts — but who didn’t quite make it past space camp — you may have another chance.
  NASA is proposing launching private astronaut missions at the International Space Station as early as 2020, the agency announced Friday.
  As part of its directive to open the station for commercial use, the US space agency will support up to two private astronaut missions to the space station each year.
  
  Read more

• Families Can Celebrate Mr. Rogers In His Original Neighborhood This Weekend

  07-06-2019 20:41
  LATROBE, Pa. (KDKA) — The original “neighborhood” of Mister Rogers is hosting a free event to celebrate the beloved children’s television personality.
  Fred Rogers was born in Latrobe, so folks of all ages are invited to join their neighbors at Mr. Rogers Family Day 2019in the city’s downtown this Saturday.According to the Latrobe Art Center, the free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 816 Ligonier Street.
  There will be activities, food and music that ar
  
  Read more

• City Council To Consider New Agreement With Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority

  07-06-2019 20:34
  PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA)- The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will remain publicly-owned under a proposal being taken up by City Council next week.
  The current cooperation agreement between the City and PWSA ends July 5, 2019.  The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which assumed oversight of the PWSA last year, asked for much of the language in the new agreement, such as requirements that the city make payments for PWSA water and sewer services, and that PWSA make payments for city
  
  Read more

• Newest alligator abandoned in city seems in foul mood over it

  07-06-2019 20:18
  
  Officials suspect gator may have been let loose in Beechview once it became too large to be managed easily.
  
  Read more

• Wahlburgers Officially Coming To Mall At Robinson, Paul Wahlberg Hosts Food Truck Pop-Up

  07-06-2019 20:08
  ROBINSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — The Wahlbergs are finally making it official.
  Chef Paul Wahlberg is in town today to officially announce Wahlburger’s newest Pittsburgh-area location.
  Mark and Donnie’s brother hosted a Wahlburger’s Food Truck Pop-Up event Friday afternoon at The Mall at Robinson.
  All the proceeds from the event will benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
  Wahlberg was joined by Pittsburgh’s Wahlburgers culinary team. Fans dropped by to put in their or
  
  Read more

• Three Rivers Arts Festival And PrideFest Kick Off Downtown

  07-06-2019 19:47
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — This morning, artists could be seen finishing up last minute details for this year’s Three Rivers Arts Festival.
  “Bring art out of the museums to the people,” said Sarah Aziz with the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
  Before the 10-day event even begins, some art was already on display for visitors, including a new, colorful family of giraffe sculptures.
  “Our 4-meter giraffe is in Gateway and he’s so cool. We’re really excited about him,&rd
  
  Read more

• Tech Center: All About 5G

  07-06-2019 17:44
  KDKA's Mikey Hood explains what 5G is all about.
  
  Read more

• Father’s Day Excerpt: ‘Things My Son Needs to Know About the World’

  07-06-2019 17:32
  Photo Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
  Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. His books are published in more than forty countries. H
  
  Read more

• ScareHouse Moving, To Re-Open In 2020

  07-06-2019 17:29
  ETNA, Pa. (KDKA) — The ScareHouse won’t be around to creep people out this Halloween.The haunted house has been in Etna for 12 years. But in a Facebook post Thursday, the owner announced the Halloween attraction will be moving to a new location.The new ScareHouse won’t be ready until next year, but the owner promised “that it will be worth the wait.”Where exactly will visitors go to have their nightmares come to life in 2020? The new location has yet to be revealed.
  
  Read more

• Walmart Picks Pittsburgh For In-Home Grocery Delivery Service Pilot Program

  07-06-2019 17:25
  NEW YORK (AP) — The online delivery wars are heating up inside shoppers’ homes.
  Walmart is now offering to have one of its employees deliver fresh groceries and put them in your refrigerator when you’re not home.
  The nation’s largest grocer said Friday that it will be offering the service this fall for more than one million customers in three cities: Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Missouri, and Vero Beach, Florida. Later this year, the service, called InHome Delivery, will also
  
  Read more

• PWSA to stay public under proposed, open-ended pact

  07-06-2019 17:08
  
  The agreement between the city and its water utility would also aim to create a businesslike relationship between the two.
  
  Read more

• Board Recommends Suspension Of Sandusky Prosecutor’s License

  07-06-2019 17:06
  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s highest court will decide whether to a follow the recommendation of a lawyer ethics board and suspend the law license of a prosecutor over the investigation into Penn State administrators’ handling of complaints about Jerry Sandusky.
  The Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Board this week recommended Frank Fina lose his license for a year a day.
  The opinion says Fina’s actions undermined public trust and he hasn’t shown remorse.
  
  Read more

• April The Giraffe Heading Into Retirement, Going On Birth Control

  07-06-2019 17:01
  By Madeline Holcombe, CNN
  (CNN) — Five children are enough for internet celebrity April the giraffe, and the 17-year-old is ready to go on birth control.
  Well, that’s what her caretakers say.
  Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, posted a video on Facebook Thursday announcing that one of their most popular animals will be retiring from the propagation program.
  “It is a great celebration of her because she has certainly done her purpose, and that is to produce some be
  
  Read more

• Brentwood residents file suit over funeral home construction project

  07-06-2019 16:57
  
  Residents say an expanded parking lot at Slater Funeral Home has caused excessive storm water runoff.
  
  Read more

• Glassport man who shot two pit bulls, killing one, gets probation

  07-06-2019 16:47
  
  Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman also ordered $2,000 in restitution from Quincy Cowans and barred him from owning animals for 10 years.
  
  Read more

• Man Accused Of Shooting His Dogs In Dump Pleads Guilty

  07-06-2019 16:40
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Glassport man accused of shooting both his dogs in a dump, killing one and maiming the other, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to probation.
  Quincy Cowans, 28, entered a guilty plea in court on Thursday.
  He is charged with shooting his dogs at the Glassport Dump last December. One was found dead, buried under cinderblocks.
  “The story that I got was that the dogs had been fighting, so he took the dogs and said that he would take care of it,” Animal C
  
  Read more

• Democratic Party Adds To Calls For State Lawmaker To Resign

  07-06-2019 16:29
  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Leaders of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party are now adding to calls for a Democratic state senator from Montgomery County to resign.
  Friday’s statement by Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills and Vice Chairman Sharif Street comes a day after the Senate’s top Democrat said a lawyer’s inquiry into complaints about Sen. Daylin Leach found a “lengthy pattern of troubling behavior.”
  Some claims involve behavior that Senate Mino
  
  Read more

• Pittsburgh Weather: Weekend Starts Off Dry, Then Turn Rainy Heading Into Next Week

  07-06-2019 16:13
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Another dry day is on tap as the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and Pride Fest kick off in downtown Pittsburgh.
  Thursday was dry from sunrise to sunset, and Saturday is expected to be the same. Rain chances will move back in later in the weekend.
  (Photo Credit: KDKA)
  Yesterday’s high hit 78 degrees and we should be close to there today.
  Technically, the air-mass in place today is slightly cooler than yesterday’s, but cloud cover will not be as thick
  
  Read more

• Pope Francis Makes Change To The Lord’s Prayer

  07-06-2019 15:59
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA)-Pope Francis is making a change to the Lord’s Prayer.
  Instead of saying “lead us not into temptation,” the Pope is changing the wording to “do not let us fall into temptation.”  He says the original wording makes it sound like God is leading Catholics to sin, but he says the devil is to blame.
  The UCatholic reports that more than 1 billion Catholics will have to adjust to some new wording in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.&nbs
  
  Read more

• Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickups Due To Air Bags That May Not Work

  07-06-2019 15:44
  DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 343,000 Ram pickup trucks worldwide because the air bags may not inflate in a crash.
  The recall covers the Ram 1500 mainly from the 2019 model year, although the company has a small number of 2020 models.
  Fiat Chrysler says a software error can inadvertently disable the air bags and a device that tightens seat belts before a crash. FCA doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries and says the problem is rare.
  Nearly one-third of the 2019 U.
  
  Read more

• Officer Investigating Dog’s Brutal Killing Suspended, Chief Takes Over Probe

  07-06-2019 15:28
  WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — There are new developments today in the investigation into the killing of a family dog.
  A Fayette County family wants answers after someone allegedly killed their 3-year-old German Shepherd, Otto, earlier this year.
  (Image Provided)
  Detectives tell KDKA that someone killed the dog with a shotgun.Investigators uncovered “blood splatter” on a neighbor’s property, according to police.KDKA News just learned that the Washington Township police offi
  
  Read more

• PTL Links: June 7, 2019

  07-06-2019 15:06
  Visit the links below for more on today’s guests & topics:Seven Springs Mountain Resort
  Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
  
  Read more

• National Doughnut Day: Where To Find The Best Deals

  07-06-2019 14:17
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – This one of the sweetest holidays of the year!National Doughnut Day is this Friday, June 7, and local bakeries in the Pittsburgh area are serving up some fresh deals and giveaways to help you celebrate!Bethel Bakery is offering a free, glazed doughnut for every customer! But why only make it one day? Three lucky winners will win free donuts for a year through the bakery’s Instagram contest!Duck Donuts will be celebrating National Donut Day with a Sweet Summer Beac
  
  Read more

• Porch restoration puts a smile back on this Craftsman's face

  07-06-2019 14:00
  
  The restoration of a front porch made Ed and Suzanne Flynn and architect Fred Fargotstein runners-up in the Renovation Inspiration Contest.
  
  Read more

• Pet events: Try yoga by the lake with goats

  07-06-2019 14:00
  
  The goats of NamastHay are going to a lakefront cafe in Mercer County, and Animal Friends is promising blowout deals at a Pawp Up Yard Sale
  
  Read more

• Crash Involving Motorcycle Causing Significant Delays On Parkway West

  07-06-2019 13:58
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A crash involving a motorcycle on the Parkway West is causing significant traffic delays for the morning rush hour.
  KDKA’s Meghan Schiller reports the crash involved a motorcyclist and state police are now investigating.#BREAKING: I just confirmed this Parkway West OB crash involves a person on a motorcycle. I'm told state police is now handling the investigation. This is a picture from the top of Greentree hill. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/tMjAC3JDSb
  — MEGHAN SCH
  
  Read more

• Methodists try to put focus on common goals at regional conference

  07-06-2019 13:00
  
  Attendees sought to navigate tensions over bans on LGBT people even as they sought to reverse declining membership.
  
  Read more

• Pittsburgh Police, Animal Control Corral Wayward, Angry Gator In Beechview

  07-06-2019 05:07
  BEECHVIEW (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police and animal control officers were called in to Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood late Thursday night for subdue an alligator on the loose.
  The gator appeared to been five-feet long.Officials say someone walking their dog in the neighborhood first spotted it Rutherford and Sebring Avenues around 10 p.m.
  Police and animal control officers cornered it against the side of a garage and used a pole and duct tape to keep its mouth shut.Photo Credit: KDK
  
  Read more

• Alligator Found In Beechview Neighborhood

  07-06-2019 05:07
  BEECHVIEW (KDKA) — An alligator was found tonight in Beechview after someone walking their dog spotted it near Rutherford and Sebring Avenues around 10:00 p.m.
  It appeared to be about five feet long.Police and animal control officers cornered it against the side of a garage and used a pole and duct tape to keep its mouth shut.Police say this could’ve potentially been a dangerous situation.“It’s dark out, you can’t see what’s in the bushes right next to you if
  
  Read more

• USDA Recalls Nearly 650 Pounds Of Table 87 Frozen Pizza Products

  07-06-2019 02:50
  WASHINGTON (KDKA) — Table 87 Frozen LLC is recalling approximately 649 pounds of a frozen pizza product containing pork that was produced without federal inspection.The product, “Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza, Home of the Coal Oven Slice Proscuitto” with UPC code 804879558286, was produced between April 1, 2019, and June 4, 2019
  The item was shipped to retail and wholesale locations nationwide and was also sold through online retailers.The product has an establishment number of 5119
  
  Read more

• City’s New Signs Meant To Inspire Kindness, But Some Social Media Users Are Being Unkind

  07-06-2019 02:47
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A new sign downtown says “No Hate Anytime,” but some social media users are hating on it, wondering how much it cost.About 25 of these new signs put up across downtown last month are meant to inspire kindness and discourage hate.But after the city’s announcement, some people on social media weren’t feeling the love.One Twitter user wrote, “That’s great. How about contracts for Pittsburgh Fire Fighters?”(Credit: KDKA/Twitter)
  Ano
  
  Read more

• ‘My Daughter Is More Than Just A Victim’: Police Make Arrest In Connection With Mysterious 2017 Homicide

  07-06-2019 02:12
  PENN HILLS (KDKA) — The family of a young Penn Hills mother has been desperately seeking justice for her after she was found dead in 2017.
  Now, more than two years later, there is an arrest in connection with the death of Jessica Vecchiola.
  RELATED STORIES:
  Crime Stoppers: Family Seeks Answers After Woman’s Mysterious, Unexpected Death
  Family Desperately Seeking Answers In Woman’s Mysterious Death
  Her estranged husband, Antonio Vecchiola, has been arrested in connection with he
  
  Read more

• ‘My Daughter Is More Than Just A Victim’ County Police Make Arrest In Connection To Mysterious 2017 Homicide

  07-06-2019 02:12
  PENN HILLS (KDKA) — The family of a young Penn Hills mother found dead two years ago has been desperately seeking justice for her after she was found with a snapped neck in 2017.
  Now more than two years after her death there is an arrest in connection with the death of Jessica Vecchiola.
  RELATED STORIES:
  Crime Stoppers: Family Seeks Answers After Woman’s Mysterious, Unexpected Death
  Family Desperately Seeking Answers In Woman’s Mysterious Death
  The estranged husband of Vecchiol
  
  Read more

• County Police Arrest Man In Connection To 2017 Murder

  07-06-2019 02:12
  PENN HILLS (KDKA) — Allegheny County Police homicide detectives have arrested 34-year-old Antonio Vecchiola in Monroeville for allegedly killing his estranged wife, Jessica Vecchiola in 2017.
  On February 6, 2017, Penn Hills Police responded to a home on Loretta Drive, the home of Jessica Vecchiola, after her mother discovered her unresponsive.RELATED STORIES:
  Crime Stoppers: Family Seeks Answers After Woman’s Mysterious, Unexpected Death
  Family Desperately Seeking Answers In Woman&rs
  
  Read more

• Monessen Couple’s Romantic Evening Goes Up In Flames

  07-06-2019 01:53
  MONESSEN (KDKA) — An apartment fire had Monessen Police officer Chris Grey rushing into a Donner Street Building.“I notified 9-1-1, updated the fire department, went to the apartment, got the occupants out of the residence and started an evacuation of the apartment building,” Officer Grey said.The occupants of apartment 11 included a woman and a badly burnt man.
  “She was very distraught, worked up and scared,” Grey said. “He had severe burns from his belly to
  
  Read more

• Why is it raining so much in the Pittsburgh region? Experts weigh in

  07-06-2019 01:47
  
  Who can we blame for the record rainfall before the Three Rivers Arts Festival has opened? El Nino and climate change, for starters. 
  
  Read more

• ‘Living Months Every Day’: McKees Rocks Man Recalls Time In Normandy During D-Day 75

  07-06-2019 01:45
  McKEES ROCKS, Pa. (KDKA) — At 95 years old, Wilbert Cusano of McKees Rocks recalls with great clarity his landing in Normandy on Omaha Beach 75 years ago.
  “In combat, I was 20 years old and living months every day,” Cusano told KDKA political editor Jon Delano.
  He recalls fighting his way into Nazi-occupied Europe. Back then, Sgt. Cusano led a squad of would-be engineers clearing mines and building bridges so that American soldiers could advance against the enemy.
  But Cusano wa
  
  Read more

• Gov. Tom Wolf Visits Greensburg As Part Of His Restore Pennsylvania Initiative

  07-06-2019 01:41
  GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Governor Tom Wolf is touring parts of the state and his administration is trying to figure out ways to tackle blight in our communities and Thursday he made a stop in Greensburg.For Governor Wolf and his Restore Pennsylvania Initiative, when it comes to bringing back blighted business districts statewide, X literally marks the spot.“It’s really hard to attract private sector development, this is a discouragement, it says OK, we don’t really want you,&r
  
  Read more

• ‘Think About Rerouting’: With Two Festivals This Weekend, Traffic Will Be Impacted

  07-06-2019 01:07
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — There is no question this is going to be a massive weekend in Pittsburgh.We Are One Pittsburgh Pride 2019 is expected to bring more than 150,000 people into town and the Three Rivers Arts Festival will draw another 220-to-225,000. So getting around will require some advance planning — beginning with Friday morning’s rush hour.
  While roads around Gateway Center will be restricted or closed overnight by the rush hour tomorrow morning, only Commonwealth Place w
  
  Read more

• ‘Think About Rerouting’: With 2 Festivals This Weekend, Traffic Will Be Impacted

  07-06-2019 01:07
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — There is no question this is going to be a massive weekend in Pittsburgh.We Are One Pittsburgh Pride 2019 is expected to bring more than 150,000 people into town and the Three Rivers Arts Festival will draw another 220-to-225,000. So getting around will require some advance planning — beginning with Friday morning’s rush hour.
  KDKA’s Rachele Mongiovi Reports:
   
  While roads around Gateway Center will be restricted or closed overnight by the rush ho
  
  Read more

• ‘To This Day, He’s Unflappable’ Local WWII Veteran Attends D-Day Ceremony In Normandy

  07-06-2019 00:57
  SEWICKLEY (KDKA) — Seventy-five years ago, Warren Goss of Sewickley was a 19-year old with the 531st Engineers assaulting Utah Beach at Normandy.
  When the door of his Higgins boat opened, the fight for survival began.
  “When it went down, a couple guys in the front didn’t make it,” recalled Goss in an interview with KDKA’s Ross Guidotti a few years ago.
  “So I went out the side.”
  “That saved his life,” his wife Mary told KDKA’s Jon Delano
  
  Read more

Follow @PittsburghNews_ on Twitter!