Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1031
‘Everything is at stake’ as world gathers for climate talks
More than one world leader says humanity’s future, even survival, hangs in the balance when international officials meet in Scotland to try to accelerate efforts to curb climate change. Temperatures, tempers and hyperbole have all ratcheted up ahead of the United Nations summit. And the risk of failure looms large...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Oct. 29-31
It’s Halloween weekend in Pittsburgh. Here are some ways to spend it. Simone Biles Olympic gymnast Simone Biles will visit PPG Paints Arena, Uptown. Biles, who is the most decorated American gymnast in history, will headline the Gold Over America Tour when it stops in Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m. Friday....
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Oct. 29-31
Faux Fieris Hey, dudes with the spiky silver hair, goatee, mirror sunglasses and flame shirts — now is your chance to be named the local mayor of Flavortown. Guy’s Kitchen & Bar Westmoreland at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield is hosting a Guy Fieri look-alike contest from 9 a.m. to...
Despite transparency vows, much of Pa.’s redistricting still takes place behind closed doors
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — This year’s monumental redrawing of Pennsylvania’s political maps was preceded...
Man faces charges after shooting at vehicle in Sharpsburg
A man turned himself into police Thursday after Sharpsburg surveillance video showed him firing two gunshots along Main Street, one hitting a passing car. Justin Craig faces charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment stemming from the Oct. 17 incident, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Police said Craig left...
Crossing history: First covered bridge on a public walking trail in region built in Kiski Township
It looks like something out of a fairy tale: A new rustic covered bridge nestled in the woods of Kiski Township on a walking trail. It crosses the rollicking Roaring Run stream near its confluence with the Kiski River. It’s about 1.5 miles up the Roaring Run Trail from Canal...
Parents, health experts weigh pros, cons of giving children ages 5-11 covid-19 vaccine
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval for kid-size doses — just one-third of the amount given to teens and adults — of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for ages 5-11. As more detailed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will come Tuesday, some parents...
5 things to watch in Week 9: Winner-takes-all matchups in 2 WPIAL conferences
Serra Catholic hasn’t celebrated a conference title since 2007, and the 14 seasons since included some lean years for the Eagles. The team went winless in 2012 and endured one-win seasons in 2013 and ’14. Yet, with the program turned around in coach Jose Regus’ fifth season, Serra Catholic is...
Homer City man arrested for possession of suspected opioids, crystal meth
A Homer City man is charged with drug- and gun-related violations after he was found in possession of suspected opioids and methamphetamine Tuesday in Indiana County. State police at the Indiana County station charged Brian Scott Davenport, 31, with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and...
Westmoreland commissioners told to ‘do the right thing’ with covid relief money
Westmoreland County residents have a big shopping list for federal coronavirus relief funds but one unified message: “Do the right thing.” That was the common refrain from the dozens who testified Thursday during two public hearings held at Westmoreland County Community College about how county leaders should spend $105 million...
Pittsburgh police’s graffiti squad seeks suspect in Bloomfield, East End vandalism
An Upper Saint Clair man wanted on a felony criminal mischief charge is accused of vandalizing Pittsburgh sites with graffiti. Pittsburgh police graffiti squad detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating Michael Coliane, 23, for whom a warrant has been issued. Coliane is accused of vandalizing Bloomfield’s Exercise...
U.S. cites ‘crisis’ as road deaths rise 18% in first-half 2021
DETROIT — The number of U.S. traffic deaths in the first six months of 2021 hit 20,160, the highest first-half total since 2006, the government reported Thursday, a sign of growing reckless driving during the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated number was 18.4% higher than the first half of last year,...
Officials identify truck driver killed in crash with train in Jefferson Hills
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man killed in a Jefferson Hills truck-train crash Monday as a West Virginia resident. Michael Peters, 64, of Rock Cave, was dead at the scene along Route 51, after his dump truck collided with a Wheeling and Lake Erie train. The...
McKeesport man who kept ‘ghost guns’ inside tattoo parlor gets 2-plus years behind bars
A McKeesport man has been sentenced to 2½ years behind bars for storing so-called “ghost guns” and other illegal firearms inside his tattoo shop, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Richard Watson, 33, was caught with several unregistered weapons, including silencers and home-milled, AR-style pistols, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R....
Pittsburgh police: Human remains found in woods near Crawford-Roberts neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating human remains discovered Thursday afternoon near the city’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood. Officers responded at about 2 p.m. to the 1900 block of Colwell Street and were directed by a work crew to the remains in wooded area. Detectives with the Mobile Crime Unit processed the scene. Additional...
Andrew Cuomo accused of forcible touching in criminal complaint
ALBANY, N.Y. — A criminal complaint filed by a police investigator with a court in Albany has accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of committing a misdemeanor sex crime, though there were reports Thursday that the document might have been submitted in error. The brief complaint, filed by an...
New Kensington boy, 16, remembered as ‘sweetest, kindest soul’
Isaiah Parks was too good of a person to go unnoticed. “He was honestly the sweetest, kindest soul ever,” said Jenelle Cole, a life skills teacher at Valley High School in New Kensington, who had been Isaiah’s teacher for four years. “He could be grumpy, but he just always made...
Carrick shop owner pleads to 105 animal cruelty charges for selling baby turtles out of store
The owner of a clothing shop in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood has pleaded guilty to 105 counts of animal cruelty for illegally selling turtle hatchlings that were being raised in poor conditions. A plea agreement accepted by Allegheny County Judge Kelly Bigley on Thursday forbids store owner Edward Muhammed Christian, 44,...
Police investigate swastika taped inside Mt. Lebanon classroom
A handmade swastika found inside a classroom at Mt. Lebanon School District’s Jefferson Middle School on the third anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting has prompted Mt. Lebanon police to investigate. An unknown vandal or vandals made a swastika out of masking tape and affixed it to a...
Long-awaited Pa. Turnpike interchange in Penn Township set to become a reality
Penn Township will be getting a Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange as the commission overseeing the highway has been relieved of a multimillion-dollar annual obligation to PennDOT, officials announced Thursday. It remains unclear when work on the $30 million connection at Route 130 might start, but it won’t be completed sooner than...
In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself MetaVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “...
Biden announces ‘historic’ deal — but still must win votes
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he and Democrats in Congress have reached a “historic” framework for his sweeping domestic policy package. But he still needs to lock down votes from key colleagues for what’s now a dramatically scaled-back bill. Eager to have a deal in hand before...
13th man charged in drug ring linked to ATF officer being shot
Federal prosecutors announced new charges this week and named a 13th defendant linked to a far-reaching narcotics investigation into a Hill District-based street gang linked to the shooting of a federal agent last year. Jeremiah Irving, 32, of New Castle is the latest suspect indicted on charges of participating in...
Pittsburgh poised to turn Hays Woods into newest city park
Pittsburgh is poised to take ownership of Hays Woods and turn it into the city’s newest public park. City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation that would allow the city to buy the land from the Urban Redevelopment Authority for $1 plus costs. “This is going to be a really unique...
Threats at 2 Westmoreland schools investigated; 1 connected to Florida incident
Social media threats in two area school districts were investigated this week and Greater Latrobe authorities connected a threat there to an arrest in Florida. Jeannette students switched to virtual learning Thursday out of “extreme caution,” Superintendent Matt Jones said in a letter sent to parents Wednesday. In it, he...
