Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1085
Woman in critical condition following Manchester shooting
A woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being shot Tuesday evening in the city’s Manchester neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers from Zone 1 responded to a report of shots fired along Bidwell Street near Pennsylvania Avenue around 6:15 p.m., and arrived to find a woman...
Man charged in arson damage to D’s Six Pax & Dogz in Swissvale
Wheeling Police arrested a Pittsburgh man on Wednesday wanted on charges he started a fire that damaged a Swissvale bar over the weekend, according to police and West Virginia news reports. Joseph Pepp, 28, is charged with three counts of aggravated arson. Pepp is accused of setting fire to a...
Latrobe wrestling coach on trial, accused of failing to stop and report alleged hazing incidents
Ritual hazing among members of the Greater Latrobe Area Junior High School wrestling team was ongoing as the boys’ coach stood feet away, a district administrator told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday. That testimony came during the first day in the nonjury trial of former wrestling head coach Cary...
Pa. is trying county fairs, text messages and door-knocking to raise the vaccination rate. Success is slow coming.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. Nicole Diehl attended the Wayne County Fair in northeastern Pennsylvania last weekend, not for the livestock exhibitions, carnival games, demolition derbies,...
Unvaccinated students will have to pay $750 at West Virginia Wesleyan
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — West Virginia Wesleyan College says it will charge a $750 fee to students who aren’t vaccinated for covid-19 for the fall semester. The school in Buckhannon also said in its campus arrival guidance for the upcoming semester that students who come down with the virus and can’t...
Video of South Side fight sparks investigation of Pittsburgh police officers
An incident involving several Pittsburgh Police officers on the city’s South Side is under investigation, according to a public safety spokesperson. A video circulating on Facebook appears to show a fight Aug. 8 outside of the Cambod-Ican Kitchen at the corner of East Carson and South 17th streets. The footage...
Highmark, AHN step up covid vaccination requirements for employees
Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network officials said Tuesday they are taking strict measures to ensure their more than 43,000 employees get vaccinated against covid-19. The health systems said they expect to reach a 100% vaccination rate for all eligible employees by the end of September unless they have a...
Arnold Palmer airport director optimistic after Spirit flights remain cancel-free so far this week
After a week of mostly canceled and delayed flights, Spirit Airlines’ service improved dramatically this week at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Spirit, the sole commercial carrier at the Unity airport, “had definite issues,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. But he expressed confidence at the...
Gov. Wolf mandates vaccination for new hires at state-run health care facilities, prisons
Pennsylvania will mandate covid-19 vaccination for all new hires at state-run health care and congregate care settings, and current employees at those facilities must either get vaccinated or test weekly for the virus, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday. The mandate will affect around 25,000 employees at state hospitals, state homes...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns over sexual harassment
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations Tuesday in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during the darkest days of covid-19. The three-term governor’s decision was announced as momentum built...
Big win for $1T infrastructure bill: Democrats, GOP come together
WASHINGTON — With a robust vote after weeks of fits and starts, the Senate approved a $1 trillion infrastructure plan for states coast to coast on Tuesday, as a rare coalition of Democrats and Republicans came together to overcome skeptics and deliver a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda. “Today,...
Perseid meteor shower is peaking; here are 5 things to know
The famous astronomer, astrophysicist and author Carl Sagan once said, “The sky calls to us.” He could very easily have been referring to the annual Perseid meteor shower. Each year from about late July to late August, a celestial laser light show graces the night sky in the form of...
Pittsburgh Public Schools pushes back start of school
Students of Pittsburgh Public Schools won’t return to class until Sept. 8 to give the district more time to iron out transportation issues, administrators said Tuesday. “We are also listening to the concerns raised by our staff related to the impact traditionally high temperatures in August have on our facilities,...
Pittsburgh Restaurant Week returns with dining safety in mind
The next two weeks are an opportunity to dine out and support struggling food establishments returning to business amid the pandemic. The semiannual Pittsburgh Restaurant Week kicked off Monday and runs through Aug. 22. It also is held in January. Nearly 40 restaurants will participate. They are offering new menu...
Man hit, killed by train on South Side
A man was killed Tuesday after being hit by a train on the South Side, according to Pittsburgh police. Emergency responders were called by a CSX conductor to an area near Muriel Street just before 2:30 a.m. The conductor reported that a person spotted on the tracks was hit by...
Fox Chapel Area school board approves universal masking
An angry, boisterous crowd marched out of the Fox Chapel Area School Board meeting after members voted to require masks at all grade levels when school returns this month. More than a dozen people booed the board’s decision, decrying universal masking and saying their liberties are being violated. The board...
Police: Man treated for medical issue shoots at first responders, flees
A Clairton man is awaiting arraignment after police said he shot at them following treatment for a medical issue by paramedics. Michael S. Spence, 28, is facing numerous charges in two cases, including aggravated assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment. Police and paramedics responded to Spence’s home on Wylie Avenue...
Citizens Bank set to close Ligonier, New Kensington, Ross branches
Citizens Bank is set to close branches in Ligonier Borough, Ross Township and New Kensington by early December. Bennett Griesmer, spokesman for Citizens Financial Group, confirmed the New Kensington branch, at 901 Fifth Ave., is slated to close Nov. 17, while additional closures are set for Dec. 7, at the...
Canada reopens its border for vaccinated U.S. visitorsVideo
DERBY LINE, Vt. — Canada lifted its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit on Monday while the United States is maintaining similar restrictions for Canadians, part of a bumpy return to normalcy from covid-19 travel bans. U.S. citizens and legal residents must be both fully...
Jury seated in trial of Allegheny Township man charged in 6 sex assault cases
A Westmoreland County jury was seated Monday to hear evidence in six cases against an Allegheny Township man charged with sexual assaults against two young children, a teenager and two adults. Prosecutors contend Eric Alan Wright, 50, raped two children — including one accuser who told police the sexual assaults...
Sewickley Academy issues letter to parents addressing reasons for changes, including ‘toxic culture’
The Interim Head of School at Sewickley Academy, Ashley Birtwell, sent out a letter Aug. 4 to parents addressing the recent turmoil of events that have occurred at Sewickley Academy over the past six weeks. The letter, which the school also sent to the Sewickley Herald, comes after Academy representatives...
Former state prison in Hempfield scheduled for sheriff’s sale
A former state prison in Hempfield is scheduled to be sold at a Westmoreland County Sheriff’s sale on Sept. 7 as part of a mortgage foreclosure seeking payment of $5.6 million. The sheriff’s sale notice is the most recent chapter in the ongoing saga of the former prison located on...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to leaving explosives outside PNC Plaza
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to leaving a backpack full of combustibles near PNC Plaza in Downtown Pittsburgh last year. Matthew Michanowicz, 53, pleaded guilty to one charge of violating federal firearms laws. Michanowicz, of the city’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood, was arrested by Pittsburgh police in...
5 things to know about lambda and other covid variants
The delta variant of covid-19 is the main focus of health officials right now because it accounts for most new cases across the country, but experts also have an eye on the lambda variant that already swept through South America. The lambda variant was discovered in Peru in December ,...
#PHiLLTERspace looks to save Penn Hills Cinemas by transforming it into a live entertainment hub
A local talent and Penn Hills resident hopes to save and transform the space at Penn Hills Cinemas into a live entertainment hub. The project dubbed “#PHiLLTERspace” will use the theater as a community live arts experience center while it is not showing movies by combining grassroots and independent live...
