Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1066
Teachers rely on Flight 93 Memorial, personal experiences to teach about 9/11
For those who were alive on Sept. 11, 2001, the memories are often vivid. Many remember where they were when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Most remember watching the news, learning of the attacks as they happened. But today’s students weren’t alive to witness the events as...
Health director: Children 12 and under made up 12% of Allegheny County’s covid cases last month
Covid-19 cases among children too young to be vaccinated continued to rise last month in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday. Doctors have long feared a rise in pediatric covid cases in conjunction with the start of school. That prompted the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American...
Police planning to reinstall Capitol fence ahead of rallyVideo
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement concerned by the prospect for violence at a rally in the nation’s capital next week are planning to reinstall protective fencing that surrounded the U.S. Capitol for months after the Jan. 6 insurrection there, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Though no specific measures...
Beaver County man pleads to misdemeanor count in Capitol riot case
A Beaver County man charged with participating in the Capitol riot in January pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single misdemeanor. Russell James Peterson, of Rochester, will be sentenced Dec. 1 by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The...
Greensburg YMCA sued over attorney’s death in sauna
The family of a Greensburg attorney who died last year after remaining overnight in the sauna of the Greensburg YMCA is suing the organization and its former executive director, claiming negligence. The two-count wrongful death lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County Court by Colleen Robinson and her four sons claims her...
Highmark grows insurance rolls by 355K with newly inked acquisition of Gateway Health
Pennsylvania regulators have approved Highmark Health’s deal to become the sole owner of Gateway Health, instantly expanding Highmark’s insurance rolls by more than 350,000 members. “This acquisition will help us further our mission and better serve current and future Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania,” Deborah Rice-Johnson, president of Highmark...
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet resigns
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet is resigning, effective Oct. 1, district officials said Wednesday. The move comes after the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission found Hamlet violated the state’s Ethics Act with regard to travel expenses, accepting cash for speeches and failing to make required disclosures of financial interests between 2016...
TV Talk: WPXI ends its annual holiday parade tradition
WPXI-TV announced it will no longer stage and broadcast its annual holiday parade in Downtown Pittsburgh, a 40-year tradition. A post to the WPXI Holiday Parade Facebook page says while the station was proud to broadcast the seasonal special, “At this time we cannot continue to produce and broadcast the...
UPMC study: Monoclonal antibody treatment reduces covid-19 hospitalization, death
Real-time studies involving UPMC’s covid-19 patients have shown that monoclonal antibody treatments “significantly decrease” hospitalization and death, researchers said Wednesday. Experts said they are studying whether such treatments are effective against more contagious variants, like the fast-spreading delta variant. The study results were published in medRxiv, a preprint journal for...
Franklin Regional parents protest mask mandateVideo
A group of about 45 parents protested the state’s mask mandate outside Franklin Regional high and middle schools Wednesday morning. Many said they were looking to regain control of the decision from state officials, who announced last week that all schools and daycare centers must require masks for everyone while...
Dying brother-in-law donates kidney to former Lower Burrell Mayor Rich Callender
Ken Hulst wanted to give one of his kidneys to his brother-in-law, former Lower Burrell Mayor Rich Callender, who needed a kidney for long-term survival. Hulst, a former Lower Burrell resident, died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — ALS — on Aug. 28. Within 24 hours, Callender received one...
In New York after Ida, Biden calls climate ‘everybody’s crisis’Video
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden declared climate change has become “everybody’s crisis” on Tuesday as he toured neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, warning it’s time for America to get serious about the “code red” danger or face ever worse loss of life and property. Biden spoke...
Body found in Allegheny River in Plum ID’d as Washington Township man
The man who was pulled from the Allegheny River in Plum on Sept. 1 has been identified. Shawn Ferraccio, 46, of Washington Township, was found dead in the river shortly before 10:30 a.m. along the 100 block of Coxcomb Hill Road. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Ferraccio on Tuesday....
Armyworms wreak havoc on lawns, crops in ‘unprecedented’ outbreak
Ben McGraw, an associate professor of turfgrass science at Pennsylvania State University, surveyed dead turf on a Pennsylvania golf course Friday. The turf recently had been attacked by fall armyworms. The moth larvae, which are known for destroying grass, turf and an array of crops, have been wreaking havoc during...
Seven Springs Mountain Resort hopes to hire 1,000 for upcoming ski season
Seven Springs Mountain Resort’s goal of hiring 1,000 employees for the upcoming ski season at its three resorts in Western Pennsylvania will kick off this week with its “Walk-In Wednesday” event. The resort, headquartered at Seven Springs in Champion, Somerset County, is seeking seasonal, part-time and full-time help for Seven...
Teen rescued from beneath pipe in Murrysville
A teenager was rescued Monday night in Murrysville after being trapped for 90 minutes underneath a 3,500-pound pipe, according to emergency responders. The 16-year-old, who was not identified, was taken to a local trauma center after being freed, according to Murrysville Medic One, which assisted in the rescue. The first...
Covid-19 boosters are coming but who will get them and when?
Covid-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out. The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. 20, contingent...
Man stopped with loaded gun in carry-on at Pittsburgh International Airport
A man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers early Tuesday when they saw a loaded gun in his carry-on bag at Pittsburgh International Airport, authorities said. Officers observed a loaded 9mm handgun while the man was going through the main security checkpoint just before 6:40 a.m. Allegheny County Police...
Dick’s Sporting Goods opens new store to promote, protect outdoors
Dick’s Sporting Goods will officially open its first Public Lands store in Cranberry Township on Sept. 24. According to Dick’s, Public Lands, “will focus on helping more people get outside to explore and protect America’s public lands.” “Did you know that nearly one-third of America is public land? We’re launching...
The Westmoreland’s chief curator Barbara Jones plans retirement after 26 years
Following a tenure of more than 26 years, Barbara L. Jones will retire April 1, 2022, from her position as chief curator for The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. The museum will commemorate her retirement and her body of work with special public programming for the spring of...
Students, parents protest state school mask mandateVideo
Students at several area school districts walked out of classes Tuesday in protest of the state’s mask mandate. In the Derry Area School District, students reported for school, then left the high school, carrying signs voicing their displeasure at being forced to wear masks. Police and school officials moved the...
Munhall man killed in ATV crash
A 22-year-old man was killed in an ATV crash Sunday in South Park, according to authorities. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Officer said Kyle Stramaski of Munhall was pronounced dead just before 6 p.m. The crash happened in the 4000 block of Piney Fork Road. Further information was not immediately...
Highlands Middle School to move to remote learning this week because of covid
Highlands Middle School students will be learning remotely for at least Tuesday through Friday because of a “high number of covid cases,” according to correspondence from the school district to middle school families. “During this time, our buildings and grounds staff will be cleaning classrooms, sanitizing and preparing to welcome...
Stepping up: 9/11 served as a call to military service for many Western Pennsylvania residentsVideo
When terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, shockwaves rippled through the nation and changed the course of history. For those who watched the World Trade Center towers fall 20 years ago and took it as a call to serve in the armed forces, it changed the course...
Actor Michael K. Williams, Omar on ‘The Wire,’ dead at 54Video
NEW YORK — Actor Michael K. Williams, who as the rogue robber of drug dealers Omar Little on “The Wire” created one of the most popular characters in television in recent decades, died Monday. Williams was found dead Monday afternoon by family members in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment, New York...
