Pittsburgh news

• Magician Hoping To Replicate Houdini’s Death-Defying Stunt Over Pittsburgh 100 Years Later

  19-09-2016 23:55
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Even though he died almost 90 years ago, Harry Houdini is still considered one of the greatest magicians of all time; and in just a few months, a magician from Pittsburgh will try to duplicate one of Houdini’s most famous stunts.Lee Terbosic is a full-time magician and part-time historian.
  “People still have the same fascination with, not only the routine, but with just where it came from — it being from Houdini,” says Terbosic.
  Houdini is known
  
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• SWAT Surrounds Home In Brookline

  19-09-2016 23:54
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A SWAT team is surrounding a home in Brookline.
  Reports of law enforcement swarming Chelton Avenue came in around 5 p.m.
  KDKA’s Ralph Iannotti says police are establishing a perimeter.BREAKING: Pittsburgh SWAT team called to Chelton Ave in Brookline; police establish perimeter. pic.twitter.com/NF5CFfPOJz
  — Ralph Iannotti (@IannottiRalph) September 19, 2016DEVELOPING: State Police helicopter now hovering over SWAT incident in 1000 block of Chelton Ave in Broo
  
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• Firefighters Escort Intoxicated Suspect Off Roof, Ending Standoff

  19-09-2016 23:54
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — On his own accord, 30 year old Shawn Redmond walked down a rescue ladder following a “rooftop standoff” that began after a third party complaint about a domestic incident.
  Redmond went straight to a waiting ambulance….then to UPMC Mercy Hospital, before being taken to jail.BREAKING: Pittsburgh SWAT team called to Chelton Ave in Brookline; police establish perimeter. pic.twitter.com/NF5CFfPOJz
  — Ralph Iannotti (@IannottiRalph) September 19, 2016
  
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• Police car involved in crash; multiple injuries reported

  19-09-2016 23:53
  
  Multiple people are reported injured in a crash along East Liberty Boulevard and Larimer Avenue, county 911 confirms.
  
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• Cafeteria Worker Resigns Over “Lunch Shaming” Policy

  19-09-2016 23:32
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A cafeteria employee says she has quit her job over something being called “lunch shaming,” where some students are being denied hot lunches over a new policy.
  Stacy Koltiska, a former employee at Canon McMillan School District, says the school is essentially shaming students in an effort to get parents to pay for overdrawn lunch accounts.
  She was so upset by the new policy, she quit just a few weeks into the new school year.
  Koltiska spent two years working
  
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• Liberty Bridge backups force downtown businesses to change plans

  19-09-2016 23:30
  
  Some downtown businesses are closing early and others are adjusting work schedules of employees.
  
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• Carlow book event will focus on discrimination of Muslims

  19-09-2016 23:17 via post-gazette.com
  In a campaign season fraught with anti-Muslim rhetoric, Carlow University will host author Moustafa Bayoumi, whose featured work relays stories of discrimination and social injustice.
  
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• Soldier Gets Life Term In Slaying Of Teen Girlfriend’s Mom

  19-09-2016 22:49
  
  ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) – A soldier convicted of killing the mother of his then-14-year-old girlfriend in Pennsylvania because the woman disapproved of their relationship was sentenced Monday to life in prison without possibility of parole.
  Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos told Caleb Barnes, 22, that he’ll be “locked in a cage for the rest of your natural life” as she imposed the mandatory life term and added 22 to 44 years on other counts.
  A jury convicted Barnes last mon
  
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• Ride On Red: New Law Allows Drivers To Go Through Broken Red Lights

  19-09-2016 22:38
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — How many times have you waited at a red light feeling helpless, unable to move because the light is malfunctioning? That’s all going to change because Governor Wolf and state legislators are giving drivers a break.
  A new Pennsylvania law now allow drivers to proceed through traffic signals with caution if that signal is not working properly.
  “Think it’s a good idea since the majority of people do that any way, going through a flashing red light,&r
  
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• School Locked Down After Threat Of Clowns Showing Up

  19-09-2016 22:16
  
  IRONDALE, Ala. (AP) – Another Alabama school was on lockdown after a social media post warned of clowns showing up to the campus.
  AL.com reports that Shades Valley High School in Irondale, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) east of Birmingham, was locked down Monday after a student alerted authorities to Facebook posts hinting that clowns might show up to the school.
  Irondale police Officer James Lewis, a school resource officer, says “there was no threat.”
  Lewis says authorities sp
  
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• Judge revokes bail for teen accused of shooting near Downtown T station

  19-09-2016 22:09 via post-gazette.com
  
  An Allegheny County judge today revoked the bail of an Allentown teen accused of shooting another near the Wood Street T station Tuesday afternoon.
  
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• Teen boy arrested in July 4th downtown shooting

  19-09-2016 21:50
  
  Pittsburgh police arrest a 16-year-old suspect on Monday and charge him with shooting four people during the downtown fireworks celebration on Independence Day.
  
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• PennDOT Marking National Child Passenger Safety Week

  19-09-2016 21:38
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — PennDOT is marking National Child Passenger Safety Week by urging parents to get their car seats checked.
  State law requires children under the age of 2 be secured in a rear-facing car seat.
  Children up to 4 must ride in a rear- or front-facing car seat, and kids 4-8 must ride in a booster seat.
  There will be car seat fitting events across our area throughout the week.
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  Magee-Womens H
  
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• Boy, 16, arrested in downtown July 4th shooting that wounded 4

  19-09-2016 21:31
  
  Police have identified a teenager as a suspect in the shootings of four people during Pittsburgh's holiday fireworks celebration.
  
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• Man pleads guilty to killing security guard in Homewood bar

  19-09-2016 21:30 via post-gazette.com
  
  A Lincoln-Lemington man pleaded guilty today to killing a security guard at a Homewood bar last year.
  
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• Several Schools Locked Down Due To Police Chase, Shots Fired

  19-09-2016 21:29
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Several Pittsburgh Public Schools were placed on lock down Monday afternoon after a crash on the North Shore and a police chase in the South Hills.
  Officials said a gray sedan with bullet holes in it smashed into a pole at Hemlock and Sandusky Streets on the North Shore around 1 p.m. No one was shot. Police believe at least one male suspect fled toward Fountain Street.
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  Another vehicl
  
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• Several Schools Locked Down Due To Police Chase, Crash

  19-09-2016 21:29
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Several Pittsburgh Public Schools were placed on lock down Monday afternoon after a crash on the North Shore and a police chase in the South Hills.
  According to our partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, officials said a car with bullet holes smashed into a pole at Hemlock and Sandusky Streets on the North Shore around 1 p.m. No one was shot.
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  Another vehicle with bullet holes 
  
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• Red light not turning? Now you can go through if it's malfunctioning

  19-09-2016 21:18
  
  State police warn drivers this isn't a "free-for-all," but a new law is in effect that allows you to go through a red light if it cycles through without turning green.
  
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• Mt. Lebanon moving forward with sharpshooting deer again

  19-09-2016 21:18 via post-gazette.com
  
  Commissioners in Mt. Lebanon gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for preparations for a second year of sharpshooting deer, although last season’s hunt did not prevent a dramatic increase of crashes between deer and vehicles.
  
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• Keidel: Bengals Can Learn From Steelers

  19-09-2016 21:07
  
  By Jason Keidel
  DeAngelo Williams, relatively new to the white-hot hatred, branded it best. The stalwart running back called any Bengals – Steelers contest a “double-chin-strap” game. The implication, of course, is that the bone-crunching hits require extra equipment to keep your helmet — or your head — intact.
  There are endless layers to this AFC North rivalry, and myriad subplots to yesterday’s game, won by the Steelers, 24-16. Both teams entered Heinz
  
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• FDA gives preliminary OK to drug aimed at Duchenne muscular dystrophy

  19-09-2016 21:07 via post-gazette.com
  
  WASHINGTON — Four muscle biopsies and 260 infusions ago, Billy Ellsworth seemed destined for a short life spent in wheelchairs and on ventilators.
  
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• Shooting, car crash reported near Allegheny General Hospital

  19-09-2016 21:04
  
  Gunshots are reported in the street outside the hospital on the North Side. Pittsburgh police chase a vehicle on Route 51 into the Carrick area.
  
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• Man gets 8 years for dealing heroin that killed

  19-09-2016 21:04
  
  The first of three Pennsylvania men accused of supplying fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in an overdose death is sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Pittsburgh.
  
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• Ohio Woman Gets 18 Years To Life In 5-Year-Old Son’s Fatal Beating

  19-09-2016 21:02
  
  HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) – A woman who pleaded guilty in the fatal beating of her 5-year-old son at an Ohio motel has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.
  A Butler County judge on Monday sentenced 26-year-old Theresa Hawkins-Stephens, who was one of three women charged after the April beating. She had pleaded guilty to charges of murder and child endangering. A message left for her attorney Monday wasn’t immediately returned.
  Alexander Stephens died from his injuries after police
  
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• Let’s Have Some Fun! Pittsburgh Ranks As One Of The “Most Fun Cities In America”

  19-09-2016 21:00
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Put on your party hats, Pittsburghers!
  A new poll ranks our city as one of the “most fun” in America.
  According to a WalletHub study, Pittsburgh is the 14th “Most Fun City in the United States.” The website compared the 150 largest cities using 51 criteria, like movie costs, dance clubs, festivals, restaurants, fitness centers and more.
  Pittsburgh ranks No. 1 under the Highest “Access to Bars” category.The Steel City also ranks high i
  
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• Pennsylvania Man Gets 8 Years For Dealing Heroin That Killed

  19-09-2016 20:56
  
  PITTSBURGH (AP) – The first of three Pennsylvania men accused of supplying fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in an overdose death will spend eight years in prison.
  Forty-year-old Brian Borruto, of Ebensburg, was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Pittsburgh.
  Borruto, 32-year-old Andre Higgs, of Pittsburgh, and 34-year-old Romar Watts, of Homestead, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the drug. But Higgs and Watts have acknowledged dealing larger amounts of the drug and ar
  
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• Sources: Owner of U.S. Steel Tower exploring possible sale

  19-09-2016 20:50 via post-gazette.com
  
  Downtown’s signature skyscraper — the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower — could be headed for the market.
  
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• For owners, Downtown properties are golden

  19-09-2016 20:50 via post-gazette.com
  
  For-sale signs are popping up on some of the most prominent office towers in or near the Golden Triangle.
  
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• Ex-Monroeville hospice COO gets prison in scheme that cost millions

  19-09-2016 20:50
  
  A woman who headed a suburban hospice is sentenced to federal prison time for using patients who weren't terminally ill to collect millions of dollars in false Medicare and Medicaid claims.
  
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• High school girl found dead after heavy gunfire on street

  19-09-2016 20:46
  
  Daija McCall is shot to death on Saturday afternoon while the 17-year-old Carrick High School student is walking on a street in her Homewood neighborhood.
  
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• Report: More Than 800 Immigrants Accidentally Granted Citizenship

  19-09-2016 20:39
  
  WASHINGTON (KDKA) — According to an internal Homeland Security audit released Monday, the U.S. government has mistakenly granted citizenship to at least 858 immigrants from countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud who had pending deportation orders.
  CBS News reports the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general found that the immigrants used different names or birth dates to apply for citizenship. Such discrepancies weren’t caught
  
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• Dunlap: Who Gets The Carries For The Steelers?

  19-09-2016 20:29
  
  The Steelers are headed headlong into one of those proverbial good problems to have in sports.
  It will, if everything works out at planned and (knock on every piece of wood you see) everyone stays healthy, happen in Week 4, a Sunday Night matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.So, who gets the carries?Yep, that’s the “problem” this franchise could be facing. It certainly is a wonderful problem to have.The Chiefs game on Oct. 2 will be the first game back for can’t-stay-out-o
  
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• Police chase prompts school lockdowns

  19-09-2016 20:25 via post-gazette.com
  Several Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings were placed on a brief lockdown this afternoon after a crash involving one vehicle on the North Shore and a police chase in the South Hills involving another.
  
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• Gunfire reported near AGH; car chased on Route 51

  19-09-2016 19:47
  
  Gunshots are reported in the street outside the hospital on the North Side. Pittsburgh police are chasing another car on Route 51.
  
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• Trombetta accountant delays federal plea in PA Cyber Charter case

  19-09-2016 19:39 via post-gazette.com
  
  The accountant for Nicholas Trombetta, the PA Cyber Charter School founder convicted last month of tax charges in connection with stealing $8 million from the school, was supposed to plead guilty this morning in the same case but asked for a delay.
  
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• Federal judge in Pittsburgh sentences drug dealer to prison for heroin addict's death

  19-09-2016 19:05 via post-gazette.com
  
  With his family sobbing in the gallery, Cambria County drug dealer Brian Borruto cried his way through a sentencing hearing today before a judge sent him to federal prison for eight years for the death of an addict found dead in a convenience store bathroom.
  
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• 2 in Troy Hill arrested after search reveals trove of heroin, cash, pistol

  19-09-2016 19:02 via post-gazette.com
  
  Pittsburgh police say concerned Troy Hill residents were the catalyst for an investigation that led to the arrests of two people on drug charges.
  
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• Vehicles Vandalized At Auto Repair Shop On North Side

  19-09-2016 18:56
  
  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police are looking for the vandals who damaged several cars on the North Side over the weekend.Rims and tires were stolen from a half dozen vehicles at Land Auto Repair on Flocker Street early Saturday morning.
  Other cars had broken windows.
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  Police are checking with neighbors to see if they saw anything suspicious.
  Stay with KDKA for a full report on this story.
  
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• Police investigating if mystery Norwalk heart belonged to PA woman

  19-09-2016 18:56
  
  Police are hoping to do DNA testing on the mystery heart found in a Ziploc bag in a Norwalk field in August. In late August, a North Central EMS crew idling at the Friendship Store on Milan Avenue came across the heart.
  
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• Neighborhood complaints lead to big drug bust: Over 17,000 bags of heroin found

  19-09-2016 18:45
  
  Heroin with a street value of $175,000 is seized after police serve a search warrant at a home in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill area.
  
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• Body found in Indiana County identified as Blairsville man

  19-09-2016 18:38 via post-gazette.com
  
  A body discovered Sunday in the parking lot of a former Sheetz in Burrell has been identified as Glenn Lee Rummel Jr., 36, of Blairsville, according to the Indiana County coroner’s office.
  
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• Mt. Lebanon Parents On Alert After Man Allegedly Attempts To Lure Girl

  19-09-2016 18:29
  
  MOUNT LEBANON (KDKA) — Parents are on high alert in Mount Lebanon after a man in an SUV approached a small child playing in her front yard over the weekend.
  The attempted luring happened in broad daylight around 1 p.m. Saturday on St. Clair Drive. Now, parents say they’re nervous.
  “This is not something that happens in this kind of neighborhood,” parent Ediri Montoya said.
  Authorities say a young girl was playing in her front yard when a white SUV pulled up in front of he
  
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• Hospice official gets 15 months

  19-09-2016 18:24 via post-gazette.com
  
  Mary Ann Stewart, who ripped off government insurance programs by sending patients to her Monroeville hospice who weren’t dying, will spend 15 months in federal prison, a judge ruled Monday.
  
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• Former hospice exec sent to federal prison for insurance fraud

  19-09-2016 18:24 via post-gazette.com
  
  Mary Ann Stewart, who ripped off government insurance programs by sending patients to her Monroeville hospice who weren't dying, will spend 15 months in federal prison, a judge ruled today.
  
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• Funnel clouds seen in Butler County, but no tornadoes confirmed

  19-09-2016 18:16
  
  There were several reports of funnel clouds when a strong storm hit Western Pennsylvania Saturday evening.
  
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• DeAngelo Williams Loves Nickelback, And Isn’t Afraid To Admit It

  19-09-2016 17:53
  
  Bryan Altman
  After the Steelers’ huge win over the division-rival Bengals on Sunday afternoon, reporters gathered around running back DeAngelo Williams’ locker to get the his opinion on the hard-fought victory.
  Instead, they got a nugget of information about Williams that he might have trouble living down.
  From USA Today:
  Fresh off a career-high 32 carries, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back launched into an impassioned explanation of why he’s not old. How the two-b
  
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• No tornadoes confirmed in Butler County

  19-09-2016 17:50
  
  There were several reports of funnel clouds when a strong storm hit Western Pennsylvania Saturday evening.
  
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• This Week In Golf: 5 Golfers Who Can Win The FedExCup

  19-09-2016 17:47
  
  By Sam McPherson
  After a year-long schedule of golf tournaments, only five PGA Tour professionals have a chance to win the 2015-2016 FedExCup this weekend at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. This quintet features four of the eight top-ranked players in the world, including both No. 1 Jason Day and No. 2 Dustin Johnson.
  No. 6 Adam Scott, No. 8 Patrick Reed and No. 16 Paul Casey join them in the pursuit of the big prize. Only 30 players will compete in the Tour Championship after three FedExCup
  
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• Pittsburgh-area gasoline prices stay flat with pipeline disruption

  19-09-2016 17:11 via post-gazette.com
  
  Average retail gasoline prices in the Pittsburgh region sit around $2.37 a gallon this morning, about even with one week ago, according to GasBuddy’s survey of more than 700 stations in southwestern Pennsylvania. 
  
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• Authorities: Man, 100 Pigs Killed In Pa. Tractor-Trailer Crash

  19-09-2016 16:52
  
  LOYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a double tractor-trailer crash in Pennsylvania killed a Maryland man and about 100 pigs.
  State police say the two tractor-trailers collided on state Route 850 Friday afternoon in Northeast Madison Township, about 30 miles west of Harrisburg.
  The coroner’s office has identified the man who died as 67-year-old George Elser, of Hancock, Maryland.
  PennLive.com reports that Perry County Coroner Michael Shalonis says the other tractor-trailer had been
  
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