Bridge’s weight limit increasedPITTSBURGH — PennDOT has raised the weight limit on Pittsburgh’s Liberty Bridge to 30 tons.The change comes Thursday, three days after the bridge was reopened with a 9-ton weight restriction following a Sept. 2 fire that closed the span for repairs.Workers have finished temporary repairs to realign the damaged lower cord. But crews will continue repairs on weekdays and weekends, including shot-downs if needed.The fire began on plastic pipes and a construction tarp as crews were cutting steel as part of an $80 million reconstruction project.The fire damaged a crucial support beam. Plans for permanent repairs are still being worked out.

Cop facing charges sued over arrestPITTSBURGH — A fired Pittsburgh police sergeant criminally charged with wrongly beating up a drunken high school football fan then trying to cover it up is now also being sued, along with the city.Attorneys for 20-year-old Gabriel Despres filed the federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday against 47-year-old Stephen Matakovich.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for false arrest, excessive force and malicious prosecution. But it also alleges the city knew of the sergeant’s propensity to use unnecessary force — and past efforts to cover it up — before Matakovich pushed and punched Despres at the November 2015 championship game at Heinz Field.Matakovich has said Despres appeared ready to attack, but surveillance video showed him with his hands at his sides and not acting aggressively as Matakovich claimed.The city didn’t immediately comment.

Springsteen signs student’s excusePHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia fifth-grader ditched school for the chance to meet rock legend Bruce Springsteen and “The Boss” gladly played along by signing the boy’s absence excuse note.A Philadelphia newspaper reports the Masterman School student attended a meet-and-greet with the New Jersey native on Thursday at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia with his dad.Springsteen was in town for a book signing promoting his new autobiography, “Born To Run.”Wanting to follow school procedure, the boy’s father brought along a pre-typed note that Springsteen signed to excuse his son’s absence.The school’s principal only received a photocopy of the note.

Audit: Agency paid benefits to deadHARRISBURG — An audit by the state’s fiscal watchdog has found Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services was paying public assistance benefits to the accounts of dead people, prompting policy changes at the agency.Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says his latest audit shows that from July 2013 to June 2014, DHS paid public assistance benefits to over 2,300 deceased holders of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards.The department changed its policy in August after receiving a draft of the audit. Caseworkers now take immediate action when notified of a death.DHS Secretary Ted Dallas says many findings noted in the audit were addressed well before the report was issued.Dallas also contends the amount of improper payments made is incorrect. The report says about $693,000 in erroneous payments were made; DHS says their records show the amount was about $330,000.

Man faces penalty for noisy roosterPITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh man has 30 days to figure out how to catch a noisy rooster or the city will penalize him.A Pittsburgh newspaper reports the rooster’s piercing calls have plagued residents for years and because it appears to live on Henry Gaston’s property, it has put him in violation of the city’s ban against roosters.But Gaston told a judge Wednesday he’s tried to catch the animal and has failed.The judge says he’d like the rooster caught and transferred to a farm.