According to emergency officials, flames broke out in the 400-block of London Avenue and fully engulfed the home.

No injuries have been reported.

So far, there is no word on what sparked the fire.

Stay with KDKA for the latest details.

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The blaze started around 5 a.m. at the building on Holmes and Wallace Streets.

Crews were able to bring the fire under control before 7 a.m.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Also, there’s no word yet on the cause of the fire.

Stay with KDKA for the latest details.

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• Neubauer’s Flowers
• Rock For The Heart
• Warmathon | Dollar Energy Fund
• Wendell August Forge
• Pittsburgh Public Theater’s “As You Like It”
• “Billy Elliot” at the Benedum Center
• Pittsburgh Playhouse “Mid-Strut”
• City Theatre “Through The Night”

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Pirates have contacted New York regarding Burnett and a possible move could happen, given the Yankees have been trying to move Burnett for a while and spring training is fast approaching.

The Yankees want to clear salary room to sign so they can re-sign both free agent infielder Eric Chavez and a left-handed designated hitter. Burnett is owed $33 million in the final two years of his contract.

The Pirates want another starting pitcher and missed out on signing Edwin Jackson, who signed with the Washington Nationals. Burnett presents another opportunity, and Pittsburgh is not a team on his no-waive list.

If the price is right, a deal could potentially be made.

–

Chris Gates | Bucs Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com

Both are veterans and played limited roles for the Steelers in 2011.

McFadden started the year as the Steelers’ No. 2 cornerback but lost his job to nagging injuries that plagued him for nearly the entire season. William Gay took over the No. 2 role.

McFadden is a seven-year NFL veteran, drafted by the Steelers in 2005.

Battle played mostly on special teams for the Steelers.

Other roster moves:

• The Steelers also released tight end Miguel Chavis and linebacker Erik Clanton. Both were signed to futures contracts.
• Pittsburgh signed cornerback Myron Rolle, wide receiver Juamorris Stewart and linebacker Brandon Hicks.

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Percy and Connie Emert of Jersey Shore trapped the squirrel and took photographs.

Connie Emert says she saw it first and her husband didn’t initially believe her. She says people suspect it’s been dyed, but she has no idea why it’s purple.

Henry Kacprzyk, curator at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, says he’s seen albino and black squirrels but never a purple one.

He says some animals can take on the color of the food they eat, such as flamingos which are pink because of their diet of shrimp. However, in this case, he believes the squirrel must have gotten in contact with some sort of dye.

In 2008, The Telegraph newspaper reported on a purple squirrel near a school in the United Kingdom. People theorized that squirrel got into printer cartridges.

The Pennsylvania squirrel has a Facebook page, where someone from Minnesota posted a photograph of a purple squirrel she says she found in her yard.

An Accuweather.com meteorologist questioned whether the Pennsylvania squirrel may have gotten into a port-a-potty.

Someone else jokingly posted on Accuweather.com that the squirrel must have robbed a bank and the dye pack exploded.

The Emerts released the squirrel back into the wild on Tuesday.

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Jacobson injured his knee in Week 3 at Iowa. He was a valuable piece to the Panthers offensive line, capable of playing multiple positions.

He’ll return next season and provide new head coach Paul Chryst with much needed experience up front for an offensive line that lacks quality depth.

Jacobson missed his freshman year to a knee injury as well. He was a starter in 2010 and 2011 before getting hurt.

–

Chris Gates | Area 4-1-Zoo Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com

Originally, Big East commissioner John Marinatto held strong in demanding that WVU remain in the Big East for the conference’s 27-month withdrawal period. The latest news says money will wipe away that road block.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports a settlement of approximately $11 million will free the Mountaineers from the Big East. CBSSports.com says that number is closer to $20 million.

Either way, it appears a settlement will be reached.

If a deal is struck and West Virginia is able to leave for the Big 12, it will open the door for Pitt and Syracuse to potentially flee for the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier than expected.

A hearing is scheduled for today regarding West Virginia and a settlement with the Big East, and a final answer could be reached.

Ten such fires have plagued the city since early October.

“We’ve been asking neighbors and people in the community to be vigilant as far as looking around, suspicious people around some, if they have an abandoned structure near their home, if they see something uneasing them to call 9-1-1,” Carter said.

Jeannette resident Robin Mozley said she’s still a bit anxious about the arsons. She said one night while walking her dog near her home, she could smell smoke and she lives adjacent to some vacant property.

The owner of Mimi’s Kitchen, a restaurant in downtown Jeannette, says many of her local customers have expressed concern about the arsons.

“People are talking about it and they’re just concerned about it happening to a house where people are in it and someone getting hurt,” Marti Scalzitti, who has owned the eatery for the past five years, told KDKA TV.

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The Panthers (15-10, 4-8 Big East) failed to register a single point in the game’s opening 5:30 and ended up shooting just 34.6 percent from the field. The Bulls, on the other hand, couldn’t miss, netting over 60 percent of their shots in the win.

South Florida guard Hugh Robertson went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and totaled 18 points to lead all scorers. Anthony Collins added 11 points and Augustus Gilchrist tallied 10 as other USF players in double-figures.

Pitt guard Tray Woodall scored 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting as the only Panther in double-figures. Forwards Talib Zanna and Nasir Robinson scored eight points each and Lamar Patterson added seven.

Senior guard Ashton Gibbs scored just four points on 2-of-9 shooting in 33 minutes of play.

USF struggled early, allowing the Panthers to hang around in the first half. However, after Pitt tied the game at 14 with 8:48 left before halftime, the Bulls slowly inched ahead to take a 27-23 halftime lead.

That Pitt deficit grew to 10 points, 41-31, in the opening five minutes of the second half. The Panthers couldn’t regroup and make a significant run to cut into the South Florida lead, which grew to as many as 14 points.

The loss snaps Pitt’s four-game conference winning streak and makes a bid for the NCAA Tournament even harder to reach with just six games left in the regular season.

Pitt returns to action at noon Sunday at Seton Hall.

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Police say 26-year-old Jeffrey Maloy was covered in blood when he ran to his neighbor’s house moments after he stabbed 36-year-old Melissa Bowers to death.

At about 4 a.m., Jeffrey Maloy knocked on his neighbor’s door with unthinkable news. The neighbor does not want to be identified.

“Neighbor comes over, tells me that he killed his girlfriend,” he said. “He asked me what he should do. I said, ‘You do the right thing, you know. You go to authorities, you know. You don’t run from this. … You do the right thing, turn yourself in.’”

He says Maloy wanted to talk to his father. The neighbor made the phone call and Maloy’s father soon arrived.

“Talked to his son and he said, you know, ‘Obviously, you got to go to authorities and surrender,’” the neighbor said.

When police went inside the apartment on Railroad Avenue, they found Bowers, a mother of two, dead.

Maloy was immediately taken into custody.

Police say Maloy and Bowers had been dating on and off and there had been problems between the couple. The neighbor said things appeared to be getting better.

“I seen her the day before, you know, and seemed like they were working it out, I guess, you know, I guess they weren’t working it out too good.”

Police were at the home much of the day, combing for clues in the case. Meantime, the neighbor who comforted and counseled Maloy is left with a haunting memory of what happened.

“I’ll always in my mind know that something bad happened across the street from me here,” he said.

Maloy will face homicide charges. Sources tell KDKA-TV Bowers’ two children were not home at the time of her murder.

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Man In Custody After Fatal Stabbing In Carnegie

“If half of what he’s accused of is true, it’s just not the Jimmy Scuffle that we knew,” said Braddock Mayor John Fetterman.

Scuffle already stands accused of a string of thefts that came to end last summer. After he was questioned in connection with a burglary at a Westmoreland County campground, police arrested Scuffle accusing him of giving his ex-girlfriend an envelope of confiscated crack cocaine to buy her silence.

And now Scuffle faces a whole new round of charges, including giving that same girlfriend a shotgun he had confiscated so she could sell it on the street.

He’s also accused of stealing money and credit cards off people he had arrested, then using those credit cards for his own use.

Investigators were shocked and amazed after executing a search warrant at Scuffle’s house in Plum.

According to charges filed Wednesday, investigators recovered $40,000 worth of stolen bunker gear from volunteer fire departments and missing medical equipment from local paramedic companies — organizations he had worked for and with for years.

The accusations confound people like Art Tragesser, Scuffle’s former football coach at Penn Trafford High School, who only remembers the linebacker, student and volunteer firefighter who aspired only to become a professional firefighter or police officer.

“You think he has a good future in front of him, you know, he has a good direction,” he said.

But after building a great reputation in Braddock, Scuffle was hurt in the line of duty and returned in 2009 after two years on worker’s comp.

Sources say he had begun dating that girlfriend, who had a series of arrests, and may have started down the same path. Others say he was frustrated with his Braddock police officer salary of just over $10 an hour.

Regardless of the reasons, Fetterman can’t reconcile the criminal activity with the crime fighter he knew.

“It’s just really shocking and sad because Jimmy was a good guy and he was a good police officer. He’s just someone who may have lost his way.”

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Braddock Detective Arrested On Burglary, Drug Charges
Braddock Detective Held For Trial

Two basketball players from Monessen say what they saw and heard last Friday at Brentwood High School is something they’ve seen many times before.

“Cotton pickers – something we got last year also,” Chavis Rawlins said. “Then they had monkey posters and stuff.”

“It made me angry, but I just don’t understand racism nowadays because from what I learned in school, it’s from the past,” Justice Rawlins, also a Monessen basketball player, said.

Many attending the game say not only were racial slurs thrown around, two students were dressed in a banana costume.

“They just ran around – and they ran right past us and said, ‘Hey monkeys!’” Justice Rawlins said.

Monessen’s basketball team went to the state finals last year. Their coach, Joe Salvino, said their maturity allowed them to finish the game.

“I think they handled it excellently, I mean, because it could have gotten nasty, but we held our composure and did what we had to do,” Salvino said.

Monessen School District Supt. Linda Marcolini says the school is contacting the NAACP and filing a complaint with the WPIAL.

“We just want a public apology,” she said.

Marcolini said she spoke to the superintendent in Brentwood because she wanted to meet with him, but according to her, he says as far as he’s concerned, the matter has been taken care of.

Brentwood’s superintendent said three students have already been punished, and he’s reviewing video from the game to determine who else should be disciplined.

The school released a statement regarding the issue Wednesday afternoon:

There was an incident at the boys’ basketball game Friday, February 3 at Brentwood High School between Brentwood and Monessen High School, where it has been alleged that a number of troubling comments or actions took place directed against Monessen players and fans.

District officials and security were present at the basketball game. These officials did not hear any racist or similarly derogatory remarks make towards Monessen players or their fans. As important, no such comments were reported to District officials or security during the game; otherwise District officials would have taken swift, corrective action.

After the game, the District conducted an investigation and spoke to a number of District students and staff who attended the game. Nothing has been revealed to indicate racist comments were made.

It seems students dressing in costume for athletic events is not uncommon in high schools and colleges. Two students did dress in banana costumes for the Monessen game. The District understands that these students have dressed like this for past athletic contests without incident. When these students at Friday’s game, though, ran past the section where Monessen fans were seated, causing agitation and disruption, District officials immediately ejected the students from the game.

District officials have reviewed game tapes and have seen no other activity that confirms the allegations made. The District is continuing to investigate the matter to determine if any objectionable conduct took place. The District is also reviewing procedures regarding student and fan conduct at games. Brentwood Borough School District, its Directors, Administrators, and Students regret what took place at the game and the District will maintain action to ensure that any similar behavior does not occur again.

Stay With KDKA.com For More Details

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Richard McGee, the man who drove an SUV into the revolving door at PNC Firstside Center on Tuesday, will likely not face charges.

McGee, 67, of the North Side, will face traffic citations. At this point, it appears he had some sort of medical condition.

“From what we understand, he came to the intersection,” Pittsburgh Police Lt. Kevin Kraus said. “He began into a coughing fit and lost control of the vehicle, accelerated up the steps of the bank and ultimately crashed through the front door of the building.”

Police say McGee took his girlfriend’s car from Parkway Center in Green Tree. He did have a key; however, the girlfriend didn’t know he took the car.

“She reported the car stolen,” Kraus continued. “He had a key to the vehicle. He had access to a key. He went up to her workplace and unwitting to her, he got into her car, drove the car with the intent of having the car back before she got off work.”

Police say because McGee did have a key to the car, he will not be charged with theft. Police plan to cite McGee with numerous traffic violations, but nothing serious.

“There are absolutely no ties, no relation, no association whatsoever to Occupy Pittsburgh … and we have no evidence that this is in any way a terrorist event,” Kraus said.

The bomb squad was called to the scene Tuesday to inspect the inside of the vehicle, but nothing explosive was found.

Streets were closed around the area as a result of the investigation.

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For more information go to http://www.infinitiusa.com/qx/

Vinnie Richichi has been driving vehicles of all kinds and covering the automotive scene for over 20 years. His Drivetime-radio vehicle reviews have aired on radio stations across the US as well as his website www.drivetime-radio.com. You can hear Vinnie weekdays on The Vinnie and Cook Show on Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan.

It’s a theft that has many people asking why, and the answer to that question is that the snakes are worth some money. But they are also a valuable learning tool to the students.

Joshua Acebo attends the Karat School in Greensburg where students thrive on hands on learning.

In the science learning lab, students learn responsibility by caring for parakeets, rabbits and numerous reptiles.

But one of the tanks is empty after a break-in Sunday morning.

“The door was filed open and the lock or the door handle was jimmied so it was hanging down there,” said Susan McDonald, of the Karat School. “And they had just obviously filed it down to get in.”

Two pythons, one named Shadow, who is about three-feet long, and the other named Deuce, who is about a foot, were taken.

“When I found out they were gone I was just hurt,” said Jacob McHenry, a student at the school. “I was thinking to myself, ‘what kind of person would do this?”

Police say the person who did this appears to have known what they were after.

“It seems, in the preliminary here, that’s what they went for, nothing else was disturbed,” said Capt. George Seranko, of Greensburg Police. “They went in, took the snakes; they actually went into another cupboard and got a box to put the snakes in and leave with the snakes.”

But the snake tank won’t be empty for long. A man from Pittsburgh heard what happened and is planning to donate a four-foot python named Brutus sometime next week.

“It makes me happy because now we get to put another python in that tank,” said McHenry.

The pythons have a value of about $400, and that will go up if the pythons continue to grow.

Anyone with information on the case is being asked to contact the Greensburg Police Department.

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The seven puppies were clinging to each other, trying to keep warm in the cold, February air while their mother nervously pranced nearby.

Workers from Hempfield Township just happened to be driving by the old Sony plant in Youngwood when they saw something moving on the side of the road.

Upon closer look, they spotted the dog and her puppies abandoned and lying on a pile of straw.

“It’s horrible because I know our shelter would never turn away a litter of puppies,” said Janet Dillon, a Humane Society police officer. “It’s ridiculous.”

No one knows who left them there, but the workers weren’t going to allow the furry family to be abandoned again.

It was nothing but wagging tails when the Humane Society of Westmoreland County showed up.

“For them to even notice; they just saw some movement and they pulled in which is fantastic,” said Dillon. “With this snow coming down, I don’t know that they’d have made it their eyes aren’t even open.”

The township workers didn’t want to talk on camera, but their compassion speaks louder than words. One of them plans to adopt a puppy when it’s finally time.

“We told him give us six weeks until the puppies are old enough, and then maybe he’ll have a new puppy,” Dillon said.

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So, before you plunk down $200, $300 or even $500, you may want to consider buying your next pair of eyeglasses online.

You can get some great bargains, but are they a good deal?

To find out, KDKA-TV Consumer Editor Susan Koeppen found two women who wear glasses and sent them on a simple mission – buy some glasses online and tell us what you think.

Jennifer Paty and Sally Nava never got into wearing contact lenses; so for them, it’s eyeglasses all day every day.

Susan Koeppen: “When it comes to buying glasses, is it a big process?”

Jennifer Paty: “It’s a big, big process. It’s hard to find the right pair.”

Paty and Nava both say they spend a lot of money on their glasses, about $200 a pair. And with Americans plopping down more than $15 billion on glasses each year, it’s clear, saving money is enticing.

Paty and Nava looked at several sites that sell glasses online, places like GlassesUSA, Warby Parker and EyeBuyDirect.

Paty settled on bifocals from a website called 39DollarGlasses.com. When all was said and done, the total price was $89.

Sally went for glasses on a site called Zennioptical. Her total came to $12.95.

After the glasses arrived, KDKA had them tested by Dr. Mark Clement, an optometrist at Gateway Eye Associates.

Dr. Clement: “First thing we want to do is make sure they are the right prescription.”

Paty and Nava also gave them a test run.

The good news for Nava, her glasses were the correct prescription. However, it was a different story for Paty who spent $89 on a pair of bifocals. Her glasses didn’t match her prescription.

“We would have sent these back,” said Dr. Clement.

During a recent study by the American Optometric Association, more than 150 pairs of online eyeglasses were tested and 45 percent of them had inaccurate prescriptions.

Nava is happy to keep her pair, but if she orders online again. She will have a doctor check them out.

“Since I have three kids who wear glasses, I can save a lot of money,” she said. “I’ll definitely take all the glasses in to have them checked.”

KDKA contacted the company where Paty purchased her glasses.

They said all glasses are checked for accuracy by a technician before they are sent out, and they do offer a 100 percent worry-free guarantee.

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Gov. Corbett told Larry Richert and John Shumway on the KDKA Morning News on NewsRadio 1020 KDKA that the cut to Pitt sounds dramatic until you put it in perspective.

“When you look at it from dollar contributions from the state, it’s significant moneys, but when you look at it from their operating budget, for Pitt it’s 2.1 percent of their operating budget,” said Gov. Corbett. “And we don’t have the money we have to pare back.”

In response through a statement, Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said the governor’s math is deceptive because he’s including $800 million that the university receives in research and grant money.

Nordenberg points out that money, “can only be spent on the projects for which they were awarded and are not a source of revenue that can be used for more general purposes or to reduce tuition levels.”

As for the “workable solution” to the transit crisis the governor mentioned on Tuesday, today he told KDKA: “We’re not going to go into those right now; we have to sit down and see if there is the will within the legislature to do something with this this year.”

While the will of the legislature is measured, the clock is ticking towards the Port Authority cutting almost half of its routes this fall. Gov. Corbett says it’s an election year and it’s hard to get the legislature to tackle tough issues.

John Shumway: “Well, can you tell the person that is looking at their bus being canceled in September that that is not going to happen?”

Gov. Corbett: “No, I can’t tell them that. I can’t lie to anyone like that. I don’t know that right now.”

Click the link below to listen to the full interview:

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Gov. Tom Corbett Defends His Budget (2/8/12)
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They ended their contracts with CB Bryant McFadden and WR Arnez Battle. TE Miguel Chavis and LB Erik Clanton were waived.

The team added CB Myron Rolle who was released from the Tennessee Titans’ squad at the end of training camp in 2011.

They also signed WR Juamorris Stewart and LB Brandon Hicks.

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They discussed the rises in costs for a college education and how it effects students.

Dr. Waldner tells Mike Pintek that it is not always the poor who will have issues affording school but the middle class working family.

You can hear the interview here now.

You can listen to Mike Pintek weekdays Noon to 3pm.

California’s ban on Gay marriage has been ruled unconstitutional and Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson believes the ruling is correct.

Johnson says, “Gun rights and gay rights are constitutionally protected.”

You can hear the whole interview here now!

Also you can listen to Mike Pintek weekdays Noon to 3pm.

Ken tells us what he makes of Edwin Jackson spurning the Pirates for a shorter deal with the Nationals, dives into what Pittsburgh has done so far this offseason, and tells us what Andrew McCutchen’s long-term options may be. Ken tells us that the Marlins, Angels, and Nationals have all improved more than anyone else…and he questions some of the big dollar deals that were handed out to Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

According to a statement from the Penguins, forwards Jason Williams and Colin McDonald have been sent back down to the team’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

In eight games with the Penguins this season, Williams has recorded one goal and one assist. McDonald has not found the score sheet in five games.

Jordan Staal, Sidney Crosby and Simon Despres have been progressing in their recoveries from varying injuries.

Earlier this week, head coach Dan Bylsma said that Staal and Despres were about five to 10 days away from returning.

Both are dealing with knee injuries and returned to practice this week.

Staal suffered his injury in a collision with former Penguins Mike Rupp in a game against the New York Rangers on Jan. 6.