Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1097
Man pleads guilty to throwing brick through Pittsburgh police car window during 2020 protests
A man charged for throwing a brick through a Pittsburgh police cruiser during protests last year pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court. George Allen, 32, of Pittsburgh, pleaded to one count of obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder. Allen was charged in July 2020, accused of throwing a hunk of...
Greensburg doctor pleads guilty to taking kickbacks over fentanyl spray
A Greensburg doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to taking kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to distribute controlled substances. Thomas Whitten, 71, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV on Dec. 7. According to prosecutors, Whitten received kickbacks from Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics from May...
Sewickley Academy experiences leadership changes, pressure from parent group to eliminate equity initiative
Sewickley Academy is experiencing additional leadership changes following the departure of its former head of school, Kolia O’Connor, on July 1. Interim Head of School Ashley Birtwell announced the departure of five administrators and a fifth-grade teacher July 21. The positions included Head of Lower School Ryan Baxter, Director of...
Man pleads guilty to Homewood double homicide, gets 15 to 30 years in prison
A man from Pittsburgh’s Homewood North section will serve 15 to 30 years in state prison for the shooting deaths of a couple during a fight over a custody dispute two years ago. Darryl Barnett, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and two firearms counts Thursday before...
Only 11% of emergency rent money distributed in Westmoreland County
About 11% of nearly $13 million in emergency rental and utility bill funds has been disbursed to Westmoreland County residents who experienced hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dan Carney, executive director of Union Mission of Latrobe, said about $1.5 million was directed to 270 applicants over the past three...
Death rates soar in Southeast Asia as virus wave spreads
Indonesia has converted nearly its entire oxygen production to medical use just to meet the demand from covid-19 patients struggling to breathe. Overflowing hospitals in Malaysia had to resort to treating patients on the floor. And in Myanmar’s largest city, graveyard workers have been laboring day and night to keep...
3 inmates charged with falsely accusing Westmoreland jail guard of threatening sex assault
Police said three men made false claims that a guard at the Westmoreland County Prison threatened to sexually assault one of them in March, according to court paperwork. Westmoreland County detectives this week charged Joshua James Robison, 25, of Irwin; Nicholas John Grindle, 34, of Jeannette; and Paul Andrew Pierce,...
5-year-old girl struck, killed in parking lot at McCandless housing complex
A 5-year-old girl was struck and killed by a vehicle in a parking lot in McCandless on July 21, according to authorities. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Loujain Olleak, 5, of Wexford. The girl was hit in a parking lot along Salisbury Court in McCandless, which...
Rural Pennsylvanians would get $500M broadband boost under Rep. Pam Snyder’s new bill
State Rep. Pam Snyder wants to ensure rural Pennsylvanians have access to high-speed internet — particularly since the covid-19 pandemic has made the persisting digital divide more apparent and problematic for those who don’t. The Greene County Democrat announced Wednesday she plans to introduce a bill to devote $500 million...
Unity latest community to weigh shared-road access for ATVs
Motorists in Unity might soon share the road with all-terrain vehicles, if township supervisors give their approval. Jim Yokopenic, who lives on Bruno Road, has asked the township to allow ATV use on his road and three others nearby, in the vicinity of the village of Marguerite — Pond, Coke...
25-year-old bicyclist killed in Murrysville crash
A 25-year-old bicyclist was killed and three companions from a church group in Ohio were injured Thursday after they were struck by a car along Route 22 in Murrysville, police said. The crash occurred about 4 a.m. along Route 22 eastbound, east of Harrison City Road, Chief Thomas P. Seefeld...
Pittsburgh police seek help finding boy, 12, who’s missing again
Police asked for the public’s help Wednesday to find a 12-year-old boy who has gone missing for the second time in two weeks. Kirill Matveev was last seen 2½ days ago — about noon on Monday in the city’s Arlington neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh police. Police seek the public's assistance...
Greensburg MB Bride’s ‘Hug-A-Hero’ event gives wedding gowns to those in the military
Jenn Mason often felt like a single parent and often feared for her husband Michael Mason’s life when he went overseas. “As a wife and mother with a military husband, there were tough and scary times,” said Jenn Mason, store manager at MB Bride & Special Occasion wedding boutique in...
Nursing homes would provide more direct care to residents under proposed Pa. rule
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. HARRISBURG — The Wolf administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited update to Pennsylvania’s decades-old nursing home regulations, acknowledging it must raise...
Opioid settlement could funnel $1 billion to Pennsylvania drug prevention, treatment
Pennsylvania could be in line to collect up to $1 billion in two massive multi-state lawsuit settlements with four companies that distributed and/or manufactured prescription opioids. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, one of the lead negotiators in the case, said the settlements call for three of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical...
Infrastructure bill fails first vote; Senate to try again
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans rejected an effort Wednesday to begin debate on the big infrastructure deal that a bipartisan group of senators brokered with President Joe Biden. But supporters in both parties remained hopeful of a better chance soon. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had scheduled the...
Warrant issued for Beaver County man accused of killing cousin, dumping body, fleeing to Mexico
A Beaver County man allegedly shot and killed his cousin, left him in the trunk of his own car at an abandoned gas station early Tuesday in Moon and then caught a flight to Mexico, according to the charges filed against him. Anoosh Almas, 25, is charged with homicide, abuse...
15-year-old boy charged as adult in fatal stabbing in Fayette County
A 15-year-old Fayette County boy is charged as an adult in connection with a fatal stabbing Monday in rural Springhill Township. Christopher S. Gaydos Jr. of Smithton was ordered held without bond after his arraignment Tuesday on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in Fayette County Tuesday....
Covid-19 cases in U.S. triple over 2 weeks amid misinformationVideo
MISSION, Kan. — Covid-19 cases tripled in the United States over two weeks amid an onslaught of vaccine misinformation that is straining hospitals, exhausting doctors and pushing clergy into the fray. “Our staff, they are frustrated,” said Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention at UF Health Jacksonville, a Florida hospital...
Pa. Republicans will reintroduce vetoed election bill now that Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s open to voter ID changes
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Republicans plan to reintroduce their election overhaul legislation — which Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed last month — now that Wolf has changed his public position to say he’s open to new voter ID requirements. Wolf had said that changes to the state’s voter ID rules were...
Police: Argument over pizza sparked weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side
An argument over pizza led to the weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left a man in critical condition, according to charges filed in the case. Rafik White, 22, is charged with attempted homicide in the shooting, which happened shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. Police said they responded to...
Store security tape, red paint lead troopers to charge woman in Salem hit-and-run
Surveillance tapes from a convenience store and red paint on a car grille helped state police identify a woman they say was involved in a hit-and-run accident last month, according to court documents. Tamara J. Stoken, 46, of Irwin, was charged this week with careless driving, fleeing the scene of...
Diocese of Greensburg to put $20M in pledged donations toward tuition assistanceVideo
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg said Wednesday that pledged donations totaling about $20 million will help it provide tuition assistance to students in diocesan schools over the next five years, and contractors are doing about $300,000 in capital improvements at no cost to the diocese. During an announcement at Mary...
Pennsylvania decertifies Fulton County’s voting system after ‘audit’
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top election official has decertified the voting machines of a small southern county that disclosed that it had agreed to requests by local Republican lawmakers and allowed a software firm to inspect the machines as part of an “audit” after the 2020 election. The action by Acting...
Pa. Supreme Court deals blow to outdated claims of child sexual abuse
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court on Wednesday dealt a blow to victims of child sexual abuse who had hoped to revive their otherwise outdated claims, throwing out a lawsuit by a woman whose lower court legal victory had given hope to similarly situated victims who sued in the wake of...
