http://www.post-gazette.com/ All News en-us Copyright 2012, post-gazette.com. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:39:36 -0500 15 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212152-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The board of Pittsburgh Public Schools has approved a two-year contract for up to $2.8 million a year for an alternative education program at Clayton Academy on the North Side. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:51:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212151-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml An old, heavy TV fell on a 4-year-old girl while she was playing with her siblings in a Northview Heights home Wednesday night, leaving the girl in critical condition. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212098-176-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml With Rick Santorum as the campaign's newest lightning rod, the Republican presidential candidates traded sharp criticisms Wednesday night on earmarks, bailouts and the government's role in health care and contraception. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212150-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Drivers should expect delays on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge in the Bluff today while crews work to repair a water main leak, the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority said. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212145-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A homeless man faces arson charges after police said he became angry with the woman who asked him to leave her Hill District apartment Tuesday night, flicked open a lighter and set a mattress and some clothing on fire. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:45:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212143-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two Pittsburgh firefighters suffered minor injuries battling a blaze in Elliott early Wednesday. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212144-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Beechview contractor was sentenced to three to six years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to scamming seven homeowners. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212140-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml A former Lower Valley Ambulance Service paramedic sued that Cheswick-based nonprofit organization Wednesday, saying he was terminated after he complained about a supervisor's swearing. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:43:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212142-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml A man who steered $165,815 from IKEA's coffers into his own account was sentenced Wednesday to a year in a halfway house, and ordered to pay back the money from future earnings. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212141-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml A McKeesport man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years and 10 months in prison for his role in a Mon Valley-based cocaine distribution ring. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212139-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pennsylvania Turnpike has delayed plans to replace six bridges in Indiana Township, Harmar and Hampton to make way for a widening project on the turnpike main line. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212137-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Lawrence County Jail inmate who sued after a corrections officer videotaped him and posted the clip on YouTube saw his case dismissed Tuesday when a judge found that he had no privacy rights. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212135-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh police were searching Wednesday night for a man who walked into a Fidelity Bank in Shadyside, said he had a bomb and demanded money, authorities said. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212134-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh police responding to a call for shots fired in Lincoln-Lemington early Wednesday found a dead teenager slumped in a car. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:37:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212132-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Allegheny County district attorney's office asked McKeesport police Wednesday to withdraw citations filed against the woman whose infant son died last week after he was bitten by her dog. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212130-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml All Allegheny County reassessment-related information can be accessed via a new page on the county's website that was unveiled Wednesday. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212128-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Southbound Route 28 will be closed at the Millvale exit on Friday night, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:34:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212127-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Megabus.com is terminating its Pittsburgh service to and from Erie, Pa., Buffalo, N.Y., and Toronto, Ontario, after March 13. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212129-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Reconstruction of sanitary sewers will cause alternating one-way traffic at times on Route 50 in Bridgeville starting today, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212126-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml EG Systems of Marysville, Ohio, owner of Scotts Lawn Service in Monroeville has agreed to pay a $160,000 penalty to settle charges stemming from the intentional discharge of up to 1,000 gallons of wastewater containing high levels of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer into a tributary of Thompson Run in June 2010. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212125-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nearly 1,000 Pittsburghers will go nowhere fast Saturday for a good cause. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212148-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml State police in Greensburg were searching Wednesday for a middle school teacher reported missing earlier this week. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212034-63-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When the Pirates signed catcher Rod Barajas in the offseason, the organization's pitchers did some research. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212045-455-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Ask 73-year-old Leo Parisi if he thinks older drivers pose a safety threat to themselves and others, and he'll give you a straight answer: "Yeah, I do ... to a degree." Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:13:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212066-454-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Cutting more state funding from Pennsylvania's largest universities is forcing them to essentially become private institutions, said University of Pittsburgh's chancellor as he and other top administrators called on lawmakers to again restore their millions in subsidies. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:13:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212088-147-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Steelers and Rivers Casino have agreed to underwrite free rides to and from the new Allegheny station on the Port Authority's Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211865-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Police news from the West suburban area: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212015-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml ABOARD AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 9454 -- Eric Mueller's vacation started when his plane filled with smoke. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212030-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml Over the course of an hourlong argument Wednesday, the Supreme Court seemed gradually to accept that it might be able to uphold a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about military honors, notwithstanding the First Amendment's free speech guarantees. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212033-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml In a sudden change of position for a conservative governor viewed as having political ambitions on the national stage, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell reversed his position Wednesday on a bill requiring women to have a vaginal ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212048-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml Millions of people have endured a colonoscopy, believing that the dreaded exam may help keep them from dying of colon cancer. For the first time, a major study offers clear evidence that it does. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212049-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml A previously rejected weight loss pill won an overwhelming endorsement from public health advisers Wednesday, raising hopes that the Vivus Inc. drug could become the first new anti-obesity medication to reach the U.S. market in more than a decade. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212062-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml Some music fans understandably regard the guitars owned and played by George Harrison, in his Beatles career and as a solo artist, as sacred relics that may still contain fragments of their former master's spirit. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212078-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml Marie Colvin recognized the significant story unfolding in the rebellious Syrian city of Homs. The problem was how to get at it. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212079-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Israeli Supreme Court has invalidated a law that exempted from military service ultra-Orthodox Jews engaged in religious studies, adding a new urgency to the government's negotiations with religious parties over a more equitable distribution of the burdens of citizenship. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211839-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Maybe what the Central Catholic players need is to get into some shoving matches with one another. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211841-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Regular-season success is nothing new to the Hempfield Area boys basketball team. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211844-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Stay the course. Central Catholic came into this season with a senior-heavy, talented veteran roster. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211845-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml While growing up, swimming was a fun hobby for Ashley Vojtek. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211848-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Although Mt. Lebanon's 45-42 loss to Seneca Valley Saturday was certainly an upset on paper, Blue Devils coach Joe David said he wasn't Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211851-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Give the Monessen High School girls basketball team an "A" in geometry -- the Greyhounds figured out how to solve a triangle. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211852-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml The things Kyle Miller can do on the ice, the way he skates so effortlessly and swiftly, his shot so potent and accurate ... Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211860-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml After waiting nearly 84 years, Raymond DiCaprio finally can celebrate the 21st anniversary of his birth date Wednesday. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211871-46.stm?cmpid=news.xml Del's Bar & Ristorante DelPizzo has been a fixture on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield for more than a half-century. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211879-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml For most Pittsburghers, some things are as sure as the sun rising each morning. You root for the Steelers. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211882-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Of all the teams Molly Rottman has coached, she likes this year's North Catholic girls basketball squad because it has looked Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211889-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Caitlin Bungo admits the list of colleges was a bit strange. It included Villanova, Bucknell, Richmond and Miami of Ohio. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211890-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nick Yaroszewski made quite an impression in his freshman season with the Hampton High School varsity wrestling team. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211891-325.stm?cmpid=news.xml Whatever happened to Baby June? Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211892-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml 'J. EDGAR' three stars "J. Edgar" covers the nearly half-century that J. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211897-60.stm?cmpid=news.xml 1. 265 features were eligible for the 2011 Academy Awards. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211898-60.stm?cmpid=news.xml It's all over but the barking by Uggie the dog. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211902-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Records are rated on a scale of one (awful) to four (classic) stars: ROCK Sleigh Bells 'Reign of Terror' (Mom + Pop) It was a bit Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211903-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Samite Mulondo, known simply as Samite (pronounced sah-mee-tay), is a mesmerizing singer-songwriter from Uganda who performs on a Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211904-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Metal meltdown Saturday is shaping up as a hot metal day in the old Steel City. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211905-46.stm?cmpid=news.xml Food News Stagioni, a seasonally inspired Italian restaurant previously located in Bloomfield, has moved to 2104 E. Carson St. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211906-440.stm?cmpid=news.xml In an effort to avoid ever doing any actual work, Munch regularly wanders the second floor here at 34 Boulevard of the Allies -- slogan: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211912-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml F or the most part, the WPIAL does a fine job with its annual basketball tournament, but no organization is perfect and just about every Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211930-325.stm?cmpid=news.xml ALL WEEKEND 'Elephant Man' live Set in Victorian England, "The Elephant Man" tells the true story of John Merrick, treated first as a Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212002-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml Judicial vacancies permeate court after court across the nation. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212003-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml Mitt Romney's enduring problem is that we don't know what lies beneath the eager-to-please demeanor that leads him to emit impenetrable lines like the one this weekend about loving Michigan because its "trees are the right height." Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212004-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml Neither Romney nor Santorum looks like a winner in November Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212010-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Question: How many people does it take to fill the 156 beds of the soon-to-open, state-of-the-art UPMC East hospital? Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212013-110.stm?cmpid=news.xml In James O'Toole's Feb. 21 report "Santorum Continues Attacking Environmental Policies," he quotes Rick Santorum as saying that global warming is a result of "phony studies" and "phony theology" that puts the Earth before human beings. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212014-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Also in today's headlines: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212016-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Computer professionals are known for working long hours for large salaries and for the glory that comes with a product making it to the mainstream. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212017-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Like many of its peers in the gas drilling industry, Range Resources plans to focus this year on drilling in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio's shale that house lucrative natural gas liquids and oil reserves, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company announced Wednesday. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212022-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml Retired Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bernard J. McGowan was born and raised in McKeesport, working his way through college and law school in the mill. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212023-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml Barney Rosset, the maverick publisher who chafed at puritanism and whose relentless challenges of obscenity laws helped overthrow the final vestiges of literary censorship in the United States, died Tuesday at a hospital in New York City. He was 89. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212025-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Inc. has 1 Infinite Loop; Genentech Inc. has 1 DNA Way. But Facebook Inc. now lays claim to Silicon Valley's premier vanity address: 1 Hacker Way. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212027-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- A small Bible that once belonged to Nat Turner, the leader of an 1831 slave insurrection in Virginia, will be there. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212032-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml Acting on complaints about high overdraft fees on checking accounts, the new consumer bureau launched a broad inquiry into bank practices and is seeking public input on a special disclosure box about the fees on monthly statements. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212035-150.stm?cmpid=news.xml The approaching baseball season is either year seven or year nine of what baseball loves to call its post-steroids era. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212041-233.stm?cmpid=news.xml New Pitt football coach Paul Chryst has two openings on his coaching staff due to recent defections. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212051-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pennsylvania Superior Court Wednesday rejected an appeal by three newspapers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to open to the public the hearing for a juvenile accused of killing his father's pregnant fiancee in Lawrence County in 2009. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212059-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in the second day of anti-American protests in Afghanistan after U.S. personnel burned Qurans and other Islamic material at Bagram air base, officials said. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212067-449.stm?cmpid=news.xml Swiftly and convincingly, No. 20 Notre Dame pulled away with the kind of resolve that has characterized the Irish's transformation Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212068-449.stm?cmpid=news.xml Earl Pettis hit one big shot after another until his last one. Ramone Moore scored five of his 18 points in overtime to help No. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212070-135.stm?cmpid=news.xml Blame it on a rough night of shooting by Duquesne. Blame it on superior rebounding by Dayton and those quick second-chance points. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212074-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml The list of guys in the NHL who were born in Brunei and own a degree from Harvard is pretty short. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212075-169.stm?cmpid=news.xml One of the keys to Robert Morris' current five-game winning streak has undoubtedly been the improved play of the Colonials' big men. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212077-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml A commuter train slammed into a retaining barrier in a central Buenos Aires train station during peak rush hour Wednesday morning, killing at least 49 people and injuring 675, federal police officials said. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212083-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Rick Nash wears the "C" on his jersey as captain of Columbus. These days, the letter stands more for, coveted. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212084-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml Syrian forces continued Wednesday to bombard the city of Homs, as international outrage at the growing death toll increased pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's government ahead of a meeting of world leaders Friday to discuss the crisis. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212085-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Pakistani government official says 17 health workers have been fired for allegedly participating in a CIA scheme to confirm the presence of Osama bin Laden in a northwestern town. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212089-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A nominee to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Wednesday said she'd be open to the possibility of privatizing the agency, Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212090-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml Top state lawmakers were aiming to vote on new district maps Wednesday, but announced that they're at the drawing board. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212091-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Heinz Endowments is putting $1 million to increase equity, reduce the racial achievement gap and help provide a smooth transition. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211840-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml As far as Gateway coach Mitch Adams is concerned, the Gators "earned" their No. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211843-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml As a freshman starter three years ago, Hempfield Area's Taylor Lubinsky saw firsthand how close her team was to winning a playoff game Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211846-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Take a quick look at the place-winner list from last year's WPIAL Class AAA Tournament and it's easy to see which of the four sections Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211847-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml For the Keystone Oaks boys basketball team, the 2011-12 season was a special one and has to be considered as being one of the most Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211849-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml A little more than 24 hours after his team's opening-round playoff win, Peters Township coach Gary Goga tried his best not to reflect Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211853-449.stm?cmpid=news.xml Watching a basketball game from the bench is not a situation, Madison Cable is particularly used to. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211854-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Emil Deliere hasn't seen it in 17 years of coaching, and wonders if it's ever happened before in WPIAL history. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211864-151.stm?cmpid=news.xml Like many of us here in the Jobless Recovery, I spend a fair amount of time trying to bone up on ways to keep my job, make more money at Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211866-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Baldwin Borough -- Irish harpist Trish NicGabhain will perform traditional and contemporary Irish and folk music at a free concert. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211868-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gov. Corbett's proposed education budget doesn't include the drastic cuts that last year's plan produced, but it's still not good news for districts, according to school officials. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211872-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml What's your magic number? Seven? Eleven? Your bank PIN? My go-to number in the kitchen is 450. As in 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211874-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml VANCOUVER, British Columbia In a laboratory in the Netherlands, stem cells from cows are being grown into what researcher Mark J. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211875-51.stm?cmpid=news.xml Fitting the definition of a self-made man, Ronald Davenport rose from humble beginnings to achieve prominence in education, business Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211876-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml Astronomers were surprised recently when Comet Lovejoy survived a plunge through the sun's atmosphere to within 75,000 miles of its Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211886-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Vincentian Academy boys basketball coach George Yokitis has been around long enough that he has heard all the clichés, used all Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211888-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Some people quit smoking. Others vow to eat better. The Hampton boys basketball team? Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211895-67.stm?cmpid=news.xml Parents, plug your ears: Fred Figglehorn is back and he's got a weekly TV series, "Fred: The Show" (8 p.m. Friday, Nickelodeon). Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211899-242.stm?cmpid=news.xml Verde Mexican Kitchen and Cantina opened in Garfield in mid-November. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211900-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Sometimes bands that tour together will get to know each other's material, to the extent where maybe if the drummer from one band Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211907-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Beaver High School boys basketball team didn't play at Beaver Falls this season, but Bobcats coach Andy Podbielski knows the Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211909-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml On average the past few years, Fort Cherry High School's enrollment has featured less than 50 girls per graduating class. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211910-139.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nate Guenin's prodigious hockey talents have taken him plenty of places in the course of his life. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211911-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml On a hockey team that has a roster heavy in numbers of juniors and sophomores, Quaker Valley is thriving in no small part due to its Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1211929-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Bill Sacco has not exactly been gloating over his team's success this season. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212008-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Americans are being told that the rising price of gasoline is either inevitable or, say the Republicans, a result of President Barack Obama's mismanagement of America's energy resources, particularly his refusal to just "drill, baby, drill." Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212009-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Swiss Space Center's announcement that it is developing a "janitorial satellite" to clean up some of the debris in lower Earth orbit is good news. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212021-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml In modern-day arcades, pinball machines are widely considered four-legged, glass-topped dinosaurs. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212024-456.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tumblekins toys, women's bikes, ATVs, teapots, ottoman beds Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212031-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml The former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia has been charged by federal officials with conspiracy in covering up mine safety violations for two years leading up the April 2010 explosion in which 29 miners perished. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212036-63.stm?cmpid=news.xml The pitcher Roberto Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, said he hopes to obtain a judicial pardon and return to the Indians. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212037-132.stm?cmpid=news.xml Dale Earnhardt Jr. left Daytona frustrated and furious in July. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212038-136.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tiger Woods had to play a left-handed shot out of the desert. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212039-66.stm?cmpid=news.xml Prosecutors in DeKalb County, Ga., dropped drunken driving charges against Steelers receiver Hines Ward Wednesday. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212040-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Blackhawk freshman Chassidy Omogrosso followed up a great regular season with an even better performance in her first playoff game. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212042-144.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Virginia moved a step closer to completing its football staff by hiring former Pitt defensive coordinator Keith Patterson. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212044-155.stm?cmpid=news.xml You can learn a lot about a person by pouring a drink. You can learn even more by poring over what they drink. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212046-294.stm?cmpid=news.xml My sister was on her way to work on Feb. 13 when she was in a serious car accident in Penn Hills. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212064-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml President Barack Obama and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney offered competing proposals Wednesday for how the government should tax citizens and companies, previewing the great ideological clash over taxes likely to be at the forefront of the election campaign. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212072-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml The WPIAL decided to take no action against Brentwood High School or its boys basketball team on allegations of racial taunting. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212082-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek each had three points Wednesday as the Ottawa Senators raced to a 5-2 victory against the slumping Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212087-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml The former owner of a Mercer County bowling alley has pleaded no contest to five counts of corruption of minors. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212092-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nine-year-old Tyriq Davis was in his room sleeping when he heard his parents arguing early in the morning on Sept. 8, 2010. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212096-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml For the second consecutive season, Butler slipped into the WPIAL playoffs with a .500 record in section play. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212097-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml This Sto-Rox vs. Aliquippa game brought out NFL players Darrelle Revis and Jonathan Baldwin. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212102-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml Hewlett-Packard reported Wednesday that net income fell sharply and warned of continued weakness, but its new chief executive expressed confidence in her ability to turn the company around. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212103-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- It wasn't so long ago that legions of people began walking the streets, talking to themselves. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212104-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml After its failed merger with AT&T, T-Mobile USA is urging the federal government to block Verizon Wireless's planned purchase of wireless spectrum from cable companies. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212105-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml Dr. Eric Topol is only half joking when he says the smartphone is the future of medicine -- because most of his patients already seem "surgically connected" to one. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212106-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml Not long ago, a ring tone was the only thing that people bothered to buy for their phone, and some users spent big money on their collections of jangly alerts. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212107-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml It was the two-headed baby trout that got everyone's attention. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212108-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml Men, or at least male biologists, have long been alarmed that their tiny Y chromosome, once the same size as its buxom partner, the X, will continue to wither away until it simply vanishes. The male sex would then become extinct, they fear, leaving women to invent some virgin-birth method of reproduction and propagate a sexless species. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212109-30.stm?cmpid=news.xml THE advantages of moving into a new building are many. But so are the potential pitfalls. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212110-30.stm?cmpid=news.xml SARDIS, ALA. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212111-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml IF there is any doubt that we're living in the age of the individual, a look at the housing data confirms it. For millenniums, people have huddled together, in caves, in mud huts, in split-levels and Cape Cods. But these days, 1 in every 4 American households is occupied by someone living alone; in Manhattan, mythic land of the singleton, the number is nearly 1 in 2. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212112-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARBORSIDE, Me. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212113-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml ANDA ANDREI has spent lots of time thinking about night stands, out of necessity. Since 1984, she has worked with the hotelier Ian Schrager, designing guest rooms that are stylish and restful. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212114-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml If you're the sort who falls into an escapist dream at the sight of an Airstream trailer, you may want to stop and see the company's latest, the Sterling Concept Trailer, being shown in Palm Springs, Calif., this weekend as part of Modernism Week. Designed by Christopher C. Deam, a San Francisco architect who has been helping Airstream with its interior design for 13 years, it is still a prototype that may or may not be put into production. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212115-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml MESA, Ariz. -- Mitt Romney challenged Rick Santorum's credentials as a fiscal conservative in a fiercely combative debate on Wednesday, trying to redefine Mr. Santorum as part of the problem in Washington and regain his footing in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212116-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml CHICAGO -- Despite an income tax increase in Illinois last year, Gov. Pat Quinn delivered more grim news about the state's fiscal crisis on Wednesday, calling in an annual budget address for spending cuts that include the closing of state prisons and social service offices. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212117-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court issued three decisions on Wednesday, including one ruling that a woman whose gun was seized based on what she said was an unconstitutional search warrant could not sue the police officers who obtained the warrant. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212118-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml DENVER -- The idea of a fabric-draped Arkansas River in southern Colorado, anticipated by many as art and dreaded by others as environmental degradation, has been postponed. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212119-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml TABDA, Somalia -- On Thursday, foreign policy heavyweights will gather in London and spend about six hours trying to solve a problem that has bedeviled this forlorn country for more than 20 years: establishing a functional government. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212120-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml CAIRO -- During a terrifying two minutes on Wednesday morning, 11 rockets slammed into a single apartment building in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, the city in Syria that has been besieged by government forces for 19 days. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12054/1212121-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml Correction Appended Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1212026-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Four men who are accused of manipulating homeless people in order to steal from companies' checking accounts may be the tip of the iceberg. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:14:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1212001-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A man walked into a Fidelity Bank in Shadyside this afternoon, said he had a bomb and demanded money, authorities said. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:50:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211800-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A homeless man faces arson charges after police said he became angry with the woman who asked him to leave her Hill District apartment Tuesday night, flicked open a lighter and set a mattress and some clothing on fire. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1212007-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Drivers should expect delays on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge in the Bluff while crews work to repair a water main leak Thursday, the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority head said today. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211862-66.stm?cmpid=news.xml Prosecutors in DeKalb County, Ga., dropped drunken-driving charges against Steelers receiver Hines Ward today after he pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:54:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211990-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A missing 13-year-old girl from Pittsburgh was found in Jeannette today. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211880-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Former Pitt defensive coordinator and interim coach Keith Patterson was hired to join the defensive staff at West Virginia today. His specific role on the staff was not yet disclosed. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211972-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Allegheny County district attorney's office asked McKeesport police today to withdraw citations filed against a woman whose son died last week after he was bitten by her dog. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211685-44-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml At Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland last month, author Isabel Wilkerson recounted, with evangelistic fervor, how the great migration of African-Americans from the South to the North changed the nation. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211915-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Steelers and Rivers Casino have agreed to underwrite free rides to and from the new Allegheny station on the Port Authority's Light Rail Transit system. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211856-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected today an appeal by three newspapers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to open to the public the hearing for a juvenile accused of killing his father's pregnant fiancee in Lawrence County in 2009. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211857-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- Decrying the governor's proposed 30 percent cut to several of the state's largest universities as moving them toward becoming private colleges, administrators called on lawmakers this morning to again restore funding. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211741-63.stm?cmpid=news.xml Erik Bedard had only spent a day and a half in Florida, but he heard some familiar conversation in the Pirates spring training clubhouse. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211835-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia filed federal conspiracy charges against the superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine, saying he impeded federal inspections leading up to the April 2010 explosion there that killed 29 miners. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:56:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211870-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- New state legislative maps, which were planned for a vote today, are still being negotiated, according to top lawmakers who held a brief meeting this afternoon. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211837-327-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml You know spring is almost here when it's time to present the annual list of Western Pennsylvania high school musicals. If this list is missing performances, please send an e-mail to magazine@post-gazette.com and the production will be added online. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:14:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211869-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) has decided not to take any action against Brentwood High School or its boys basketball team for alleged racist remarks during a Feb. 3 game against Monessen. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:50:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211861-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Georgia man who joined a conspiracy to use homeless people to cash fake checks pleaded guilty today, and prosecutors described him as part of a nationwide conspiracy to use the down-and-out to defraud the companies. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211712-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Homeowners might want to think twice before bringing a dog into the house. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:37:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211867-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml EG Systems of Marysville, Ohio, owner of Scotts Lawn Service in Monroeville, has agreed to pay a $160,000 penalty to settle charges stemming from the intentional discharge of up to 1,000 gallons of wastewater into Thompson Run in June 2010. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:24:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211863-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A former Lower Valley Ambulance Service paramedic sued that Cheswick-based nonprofit organization today, saying he was terminated after he complained about a supervisor's swearing. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211690-374-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml I have found myself being drawn into caring whether the Republicans nominate Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate, as opposed to the other remaining candidates -- Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:57:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211858-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The former owner of a Mercer County bowling alley pleaded no contest Tuesday to five counts of corruption of minors in connection with accusations that he had sexual contact with teenage boys during sleepovers at his business. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211859-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A North Side man was sentenced today to 30 to 60 years in prison for killing his wife and stabbing her aunt at their home in 2010. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211674-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml This is one of a series presented by the National Aviary. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:46:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211832-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two firefighters were taken to the hospital this morning after battling a blaze in Elliott. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:45:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211775-147.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pennsylvania's transportation funding shortfall could put the brakes on development of roundabouts, which are growing in popularity across the nation as a way to make congested intersections safer and more efficient. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211718-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml China, Russia and Iran all made declarations of support for the Syrian government Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211834-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Pittsburgh police officer was hospitalized after a car accident this morning in Squirrel Hill. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:24:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211680-67.stm?cmpid=news.xml By turning the camera lens on his own struggles, John Kaplan created a beacon for others dealing with cancer. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:21:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211838-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A man who steered $165,815 from IKEA's coffers into his own account was sentenced today to a year in a halfway house, and ordered to pay back the money from future earnings. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211678-44.stm?cmpid=news.xml As a child, Lorena Amos embraced books. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:57:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211836-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Mall at Robinson is planning a house-cleaning now that the shopping center is 10 years old with some features to be updated and numerous stores to be renovated. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211689-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml Four things to watch for this week in the GOP race: 1. There's a debate tonight in Arizona. Rick Santorum's debate record is mixed. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211671-325.stm?cmpid=news.xml Artistic director Maria Caruso remembers when her company, Bodiography Contemporary Ballet, was just an idea. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211830-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Drivers 65 and older account for 8 percent of all miles driven but 17 percent of traffic fatalities came in crashes where at least one driver was 65 or older. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211730-115-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml PHILADELPHIA -- In 2006, when John Whyte first started studying the remarkable effect that the sleep medicine Ambien can have on people with severe brain damage, he hoped the drug might be a miracle treatment. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211738-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Geneva College, an evangelical school, has filed suit against the federal government. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211737-455-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When he lived in Colorado, Paul Crawford rarely saw others in public with an Ash Wednesday cross smeared on their foreheads. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211777-53-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh police Officer Adam Skweres, charged with offering women legal help in exchange for sexual favors, failed in his first attempt to join the force because a city psychologist deemed him unfit for police work, civil service commission records show. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:56:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211829-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Devonte Snowden was shot around 1 a.m. inside the vehicle that was stopped in the 7200 block of Somerset Street. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211713-294-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Every day is special, but Valentine's Day has always been extra special to my husband and me. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:07:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211828-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml While temperatures remain above freezing for most of the area, a few locations, especially valleys in the region, have seen below-freezing conditions. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211789-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Marc-Andre Fleury has had games like this before. Chances are good that he'll have quite a few more, too. It's just that no one, including Fleury, can predict when. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:19:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211827-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Solicitor Bonnie Brimmeier and Manager Wayne Jones said it was being offered as an early retirement incentive. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:09:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211826-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Mayor Kenneth LaSota told borough council last night that the final design for the Route 50 streetscape project has been completed. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211684-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has won a 2012 International Classical Music Award in the symphony category Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211703-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Also in today's headlines: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211704-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh-based Dollar Bank said Tuesday it will be the first bank in the region to install new interactive technology at its automated teller machines that will let customers see and speak with live tellers. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211714-154.stm?cmpid=news.xml Readers are politely advised that the following column is best read with a nice cup of tea and perhaps a buttered scone or crumpet. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211716-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml As tension grew in its nuclear dispute with the West, Iran was reported Tuesday to have struck an increasingly bellicose tone. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211720-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gus the groundhog, the furry fictional pitchman for the Pennsylvania lottery, is headed for the unemployment line. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211724-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml Testimony resumed on Tuesday in the trial of former Democratic state Rep. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211729-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Police took a man suspected of robbing a Blawnox bank into custody Tuesday afternoon, a county dispatch supervisor said. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211735-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml The eight children confined in a small, dark bedroom with a piece of plywood over the window included two 2-year-olds Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211768-365.stm?cmpid=news.xml Some of the most well-known names in the sports history of Western Pennsylvania are among the 10 newest members who will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Western Chapter. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211785-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, a president of Italy who held the post during the sweeping corruption scandal of the early 1990s that reshaped the country's post-war political landscape, died Jan. 29 in Rome. He was 93. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211673-60.stm?cmpid=news.xml What are ways that Pittsburgh or Pittsburghers have changed the world? Or what would you do to change the world? Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211675-51.stm?cmpid=news.xml It's a quintessential summer day, and Boston Commons is abuzz with activity. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211679-483.stm?cmpid=news.xml Today is the official start of Lent, so if you're Catholic, you're probably Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211681-44.stm?cmpid=news.xml Poet Tyehimba Jess will present a free reading and book signing at 8 p.m. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211682-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml At last, Madonna has re-discovered Pittsburgh on the map. The Material Girl will make her first appearance here in 27 years on Nov. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211683-44.stm?cmpid=news.xml Zach Smith loves his magazines. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211687-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml We're living in the middle of an amazing era of individualism. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211688-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml A stiff tariff would spur the economy and reduce the deficit Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211694-348.stm?cmpid=news.xml The 2009 Grammys marked the beginning of a domestic violence drama that revealed a darker side to Chris Brown's relationship at the time Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211696-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Just when the federal auto bailout is front and center in the Republican debate, a new report shows vehicles made by two American companies becoming more dependable. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211697-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml How far Pittsburgh has progressed is not revealed simply by old photographs and nostalgia-tinged memories. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211698-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml It is hard to see how it happened, but the United States has ended up with former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh here for medical treatment, and he's likely to stay. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211699-110.stm?cmpid=news.xml While everyone is aghast at the heartlessness of Gov. in cutting funds to all education (K-12 plus colleges and universities around the state), let's remember what the man promised in his election bid: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211701-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Aquion Energy expects to create more than 400 jobs within three years to fill the Carnegie Mellon spin-off's new Westmoreland County manufacturing space, the Lawrenceville-based battery technology firm announced Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211702-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml It's the repository for Bonnaroo Buzz, Chunky Monkey, and Chocolate Therapy. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211705-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Highmark officials said Tuesday they won't even discuss a one-year contract with UPMC that would provide in-network access to the new UPMC East hospital when it opens in July. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211715-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml U.S. officials sought to quell a widening furor over what they said was the accidental incineration of the Islamic holy book. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211717-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml The McKeesport woman whose infant son died after being bitten by her husky last week now faces summary offenses for violating dog laws, police said Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211722-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml Debate over Greece's rescue plan now shifts to the International Monetary Fund. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211723-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Police have charged a Highland Park man with a number of crimes after police said he fled a traffic stop Tuesday and then nearly struck a pair of officers who fired their guns in fear for their safety. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211725-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml The campaign of U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, claims almost 950 nominating signatures filed by U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, are faulty and his Democratic rival should be kept off the April 24 primary ballot. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211726-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County Council on Tuesday night confirmed county Executive Rich Fitzgerald's choice of Andrew F. Szefi to be the new county solicitor. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211727-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml The owner of a McKees Rocks animal control company charged with billing the state about $37,000 for euthanizing dogs that did not exist waived his preliminary hearing on Tuesday and will head to trial. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211728-59.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Westmoreland County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter for a crash that killed his best friend. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211731-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml Front-runners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum opened one of the most crucial periods in the Republican presidential campaign. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211732-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A North Side man was sentenced to seven years probation for causing a crash on the McKees Rocks bridge last year that killed a woman. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211733-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Food and Drug Administration has moved to increase the supplies of two needed cancer-treatment drugs. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211736-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml Justices announced that they would hear an appeal from a disappointed white student from Texas who seeks an end to "racial preferences." Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211739-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Ryan Safka, 21, was found guilty of all counts. He will be sentenced May 15. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211742-150.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nothing in the comprehensive hockey profile of the New York Rangers suggests that they are destined for anything short of a decorous spring, so anything the Penguins did to portray themselves as capable of matching Gotham's team stride for powerful stride was certainly worth the effort. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211743-63.stm?cmpid=news.xml The moment had finally arrived for a media horde gathered for days at the Surprise Recreation Campus, and it was over in less than a minute. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211745-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk is expected to miss two weeks after having arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove fragments from his right knee. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211746-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Jaromir Jagr scored at 4:16 of overtime to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-4 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211747-61.stm?cmpid=news.xml Social media kicked into high gear Feb. 3 when prospect Eric Tangradi was a late scratch for the Penguins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team. Was he traded? In fact, it was back spasms. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211752-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml An 85-year-old woman died when one car cut in front of another in a Fayette County intersection Tuesday night. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211753-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml An 85-year-old woman died when one car cut in front of another in a Fayette County intersection Tuesday evening. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211755-66.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Steelers have spent the past three years using their No. 1 draft choice to rebuild and strengthen their lines of scrimmage. Could this be No. 4? Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211756-66.stm?cmpid=news.xml While the Steelers made another bookkeeping move to dig out more room on their salary cap, they also made a statement -- offensive tackle Willie Colon is here to stay. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211757-175.stm?cmpid=news.xml Rodney McGruder scored 24 points and Kansas State upset No. 3 Missouri, 78-68, the Wildcats' second win this season against the Tigers. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211759-135.stm?cmpid=news.xml Duquesne delivered one of its best road performances of the season at Dayton earlier this month, shooting well, rebounding well and finding ways around the Flyers height advantage. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211762-132.stm?cmpid=news.xml If Michael Waltrip were to count up all the concussions he has sustained over a NASCAR career that stretches back nearly 30 years, he certainly would hit 10 -- and probably keep going. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211763-275.stm?cmpid=news.xml Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 10 assists, Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh each scored 20 points and the NBA-leading Miami Heat stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 120-108 win against the visiting Sacramento Kings Tuesday night. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211764-233.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pitt football coach Paul Chryst met with the media Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics ranging from coaching changes and recruiting to how he has settled into his first head-coaching job. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211765-175.stm?cmpid=news.xml There are plenty of statistical ways to show just how dominant the Connecticut women's basketball team has been over the past two decades, but one that really stands out is just how well it rebounds after a loss. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211766-136.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tiger Woods must be mellowing with age. When Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who faces Woods in the opening round today, said that his opponent is "beatable," Woods didn't seem the least bit bothered. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211771-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml On a day when the Food and Drug Administration boasted of its success at addressing drug shortages, a Pittsburgh-led group of patients filed a lawsuit accusing the agency of doing far too little. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211774-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal would eliminate the Public Employee Retirement Commission, the watchdog agency that last year allowed Pittsburgh to keep control of its pension fund. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211778-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed state budget would not save money for taxpayers but instead would shift more social-service costs to counties, policy analyst Sharon Ward cautioned Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211780-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Basketball Box Scores Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211783-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml Remembered by friends and family as a woman who "laughed and cried with reckless abandon," an adventurous traveler and a role model for women in higher education, Kate Brennan of Oakmont died on Thursday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211790-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County property owners challenging their new assessments now can ask to have their appeals heard at any of the Kane centers. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211791-58.stm?cmpid=news.xml Peters and its school district have settled a federal suit by a resident and former basketball coach who claimed her civil rights were violated when she was barred from her daughter's basketball practices and games. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211793-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Micah Mason helped Highlands pull off another stunner. Well, at least for a half. Highlands surprisingly led No. 1 seed New Castle at halftime, but the heavily-favored Red Hurricanes rebounded to defeat the Golden Rams, 74-58, Tuesday night in a WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game at North Allegheny. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211794-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml And now for something completely different in WPIAL basketball: Mars advances past the first round of the playoffs. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211795-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Losers of its final two regular-season games, Bethel Park got defensive in its playoff opener. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211796-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml The WPIAL Board of Control met Tuesday to discuss possible action on the allegations of racial slurs from Brentwood students and players in a boys basketball game Feb. 3 between Monessen and Brentwood. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211804-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml OTTAWA -- Research in Motion, the company that introduced wireless e-mail to the world, on Tuesday finally brought e-mail to its tablet computer, the BlackBerry PlayBook. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211805-96.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- Sgt. Brandon Davis vividly recalled the moment before he killed Eric Wayne Berry, but it was not the way it really happened. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211806-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Something resembling a "fog of war" prevailed at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's headquarters in the first hours and days after the Fukushima accident began last March, the N.R.C.'s chairman said Tuesday, as the agency released a cache of transcripts of internal conference calls beginning hours after the earthquake. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211807-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml SOWETO, South Africa -- Shortly after Michel Sidibé became executive director of the United Nations' AIDS prevention agency, a court in Senegal sentenced nine gay men, all AIDS educators, to eight years in prison for "unnatural acts." Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211808-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml Last June, Harold C. Simmons, a wealthy Texas businessman, sent a $100,000 check to Americans for Rick Perry, a "super PAC" preparing for Mr. Perry's entry into the presidential race. A few months later, he donated $1 million to a different pro-Perry group through his company. In December, as Mr. Perry's fortunes waned, Mr. Simmons wrote another check, this one for $500,000, to Winning Our Future, a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211809-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml In the brilliant sunshine of Arizona, Rick Santorum aggressively challenged Mitt Romney in a state where the Tea Party is strong and the politics of immigration are poised to take center stage at a debate on Wednesday night. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211810-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- In a busy day at the Supreme Court, the justices on Tuesday issued a decision limiting the circumstances in which prisoners must be told of their rights before they are questioned, added to what had already been a long schedule for arguments in the challenges to the 2010 health care law and made public an internal ethics resolution from 1991. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211811-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- As Newt Gingrich prepares for what may be the last debate of the primary season, much in need of another comeback, his campaign has a new saying born of frustration with two earlier lackluster debates: "Let Newt be Newt." Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211812-298.stm?cmpid=news.xml The news that the Supreme Court is revisiting the use of race as a factor in admissions decisions, just nine years after upholding it in a University of Michigan case, has admissions officials worried about maintaining diversity and confounded that the question is being reconsidered so soon. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211813-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said on Tuesday that doctors had found a new lesion that could indicate a return of his cancer, and that he would undergo an operation to have it removed. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211814-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The United States has now endured what by some measures is the longest period of war in its history, with more than 6,300 American troops killed and 46,000 wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ultimate costs estimated at $3 trillion. Both wars lasted far longer than predicted. The outcomes seem disappointing and uncertain. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211815-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml MEXICO CITY -- Just after 1 a.m., the guards opened the doors, and 30 men climbed up to guard tower No. 6 of the state prison outside the northern city of Monterrey. One by one, they slipped down ropes to waiting vehicles. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211816-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- Word that NATO personnel had burned an undisclosed number of Korans and were preparing to dispose of many more by incineration set off an angry protest here on Tuesday. NATO officials rushed to apologize publicly and profusely, trying to head off what they feared could be a nationwide outburst of violence as news of the burning was gradually broadcast across the country. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211817-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- An inflammatory call by an American congressman for the secession of Pakistan's largest province has sparked uproar in the country, injecting fresh complications into stalled efforts to restart diplomatic relations between Washington and Islamabad. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211818-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, who vaulted to fame after her scandalous marriage to a cement tycoon, then expanded his empire after his death and became a major art collector and philanthropist as well as the richest woman in Argentina, died on Saturday at her home in Buenos Aires. She was 90. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211819-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml BAGHDAD -- Moving to repair a long-fractured diplomatic relationship, Saudi Arabia has named its first ambassador to Iraq in more than two decades, Iraq's foreign minister announced Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211820-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml JERUSALEM -- As Israelis watch the bloody confrontation between the Syrian people and the government of President Bashar al-Assad, they are torn by two sentiments: The downfall of Mr. Assad would deal a major blow to Iran and so would be welcome. But without a central authority, Syria could descend into being a land of chaos and terrorist bases on Israel's northeast border. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211821-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian who fasted for 66 days to protest his detention without charge ended his hunger strike on Tuesday after the Israeli authorities agreed to release him in mid-April, if no major new evidence is brought against him. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211822-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml The mother of an American man sentenced to death in Iran for espionage visited her gaunt and frightened son on death row in a Tehran prison this month, as his lawyers in Iran began an appeal of his conviction, an American lawyer representing the family said on Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12053/1211823-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml PARIS -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the financial power broker whose political career was ruined last year after he was accused of attempted rape in New York, was held overnight on Tuesday for a second day of questioning by police officials in the northern French city of Lille in an investigation into a prostitution ring accused of operating in France and Belgium. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500