Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1110
Richard Branson plans 1st space trip days before Jeff Bezos blasts off
Richard Branson plans to fly to space on July 11, days before a similar journey by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The shares of Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. surged. The VSS Unity spacecraft will also carry three Virgin Galactic employees and two pilots from the launch site in New Mexico,...
Pandemic ‘hangover’ could lead to shortage of backyard fireworks
Business was booming for the consumer fireworks industry ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, but a shortage of product could be looming. Impacts from the covid-19 pandemic are causing consumer fireworks companies across the country to receive about 70% of the inventory they ordered, according to Bruce Zoldan, CEO...
Time to celebrate: Western Pa. fireworks companies welcome back July 4th shows, revenueVideo
Professional firework displays once again will light up the sky this Fourth of July holiday as a number of communities and attractions resume shows that were largely canceled last year because of the covid-19 pandemic. The shift toward normalcy is welcomed by pyrotechnic companies across the region, which are gearing...
West Point fire company in Hempfield placed on probation
The West Point Volunteer Fire Company in Hempfield was put on probation this week, a decision township leaders attributed to the resignation or transfer of three members, including the chief. Township supervisors Monday unanimously voted to place the company on probation, giving them 30 days to submit a corrective plan...
Mysterious bird illness prompts Game Commission, Audubon to recommend taking down bird feeders
A mysterious illness causing bird deaths has prompted the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the local Audubon Society to ask the public to take down their bird feeders. “Out of an abundance of caution and in agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, we advise people to remove their bird feeders (including...
Publishers Clearing House issues warning about scammers after Shaler man wins $1 million prize
Dreamers beware. That’s the message from a national sweepstakes company that awarded a $1 million prize to a Shaler man this week. The warning comes from Publishers Clearing House officials in response to a letter forwarded to the company by the Tribune-Review on behalf of a California man who thought...
Quaker Valley student, service dog become beloved duo in school districtVideo
Seeing a brown, curly-haired poodle donning a black cap and gown with gold cords at a high school’s graduation would look out of the ordinary, but in Quaker Valley School District it was a familiar sight. The 10-year-old poodle named Copper had a reason to celebrate as he was the...
U.S. hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
KABUL, Afghanistan — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security...
TV Talk: Unity girl sings on ‘America’s Got Talent’
Before she’s on “America’s Got Talent” next week, 9-year-old opera singer Victory Brinker of Unity used to play “AGT” with her 10 siblings as parents Christine and Eric took on the roles of the show’s judges. “All of my brothers and sisters would do acts, and sometimes I would pretend...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 2-5
It’s the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Here are some ideas of how to spend it in Pittsburgh. Downtown Pittsburgh Pittsburgh’s Independence Day celebration returns this year. The traditional gathering at Point State Park will include patriotic music and food vendors from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the fireworks...
Career and technical schools cope with pandemic, share optimism about future
When the covid-19 pandemic extended into the 2020-21 school year, districts had to find a way to safely accommodate students and still deliver quality education. For career and technical education (CTE) schools, that challenge was multiplied, but as individual schools rose to meet it, they took away plenty of positives...
Pa. mayors petition congressional delegation for $500 million investment in parks
More than a dozen Pennsylvania mayors, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, this week petitioned Congress to invest $500 million in parks nationwide to address equity in urban communities. The mayors joined the effort with The Trust for Public Land, which has been leading a coalition of over 300 nonprofits, community...
2 Pittsburgh firefighters join search teams at Surfside collapse; North Side nonprofit starts fund for victims
Two Pittsburgh fire officials traveled to Surfside, Fla. on Thursday to join hundreds of first responders in the search for possible survivors of the 12-story building collapse that has killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing. A captain and a lieutenant of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire have...
Monroeville police warn of phone scam involving officer impersonator
Monroeville police want to warn the public about a phone scam involving someone impersonating an officer in order to obtain money. Police Chief Doug Cole said a woman told police June 30 that someone had called her claiming to be from the department and that a family member was in...
1 flown by helicopter following Lower Burrell motorcycle crash
A motorcyclist was airlifted by medical helicopter Thursday night after crashing into a tree along Route 780 in Lower Burrell, according to emergency officials. Emergency crews responded to the 2600 block of Seventh Street Road shortly after 10 p.m.. One patient was flown from the scene, according to a Westmoreland...
Riverview School Board passes 2021-22 budget, no tax hike or program cuts
Riverview students will not have to miss out on opportunities, and Verona and Oakmont property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as part the school district’s $24.2 million budget for 2021-22. The board unanimously approved next school year’s spending plan in June. It maintains the...
Boy Scouts of America reaches pivotal agreement with victims
DOVER, Del. — The Boy Scouts of America have reached an agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the organization’s bankruptcy case. Attorneys for the BSA filed court papers late Thursday outlining a restructuring support agreement,...
Attorney General Merrick Garland halts federal executions, orders review of protocols
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is halting federal executions after a historic use of capital punishment by the Trump administration, which carried out 13 executions in six months. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement Thursday night, saying he was imposing a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department...
Wildfire consumes small British Columbia town that hit 121 degreesVideo
LILLOOET, British Columbia — A wildfire that forced people to flee a small town in British Columbia that had set record high temperatures for Canada on three consecutive days burned out of control Thursday as relatives desperately sought information on evacuees. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton had to abandon...
Some Wilkinsburg residents campaign for Pittsburgh merger, borough leaders opposed
Should Wilkinsburg become Pittsburgh’s 91st neighborhood? A majority of Wilkinsburg’s elected officials say “no.” “A merger would destroy Wilkinsburg,” said Denise Edwards, president pro-tem of borough council. “As an elected official how can you possibly destroy your own community. It doesn’t make sense.” “Because of the negative impact on our...
Western Pa. advocacy groups move to support sexual violence survivors after Cosby decision
Advocacy groups pushed forward Thursday, working to provide support and comfort to sexual violence survivors hurt and retraumatized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction. “Today and yesterday, we’ve certainly seen an increase in our help line calls,” said Lisa Perry, executive director of...
Food passion fuels Milwaukee teen’s restaurant review success, leads to Primanti Bros. visit
“Holy cow!” exclaimed Dominic Dean, his eyes wide as saucers, as he stared in awe and excitement at the towering sandwich placed in front of him. The 16-year-old Milwaukee native is an up-and-coming food critic with a special twist — a focus on positivity and kindness. Dominic, who is on...
Woman accused of crashing on closed Tarentum Bridge charged with drunken driving, causing $200K damage
A Lower Burrell woman who police say drove past blinking signs onto the closed Tarentum Bridge, plowed into construction equipment, limped from the scene to a nearby gas station before police arrived and then fled an emergency room has been charged with driving under the influence. Allison Plusquellic, 39, also...
Westmoreland elections director fired days before her ouster was made public
Westmoreland County’s former election bureau director was out of a job a week before her bosses officially signed off on her removal, according to a document obtained by the Tribune-Review. JoAnn Sebastiani was fired as elections bureau director effective June 19, according to an “action form” created by the county’s...
Trump Organization, CFO Allen Weisselberg indicted on tax fraud charges
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump himself was not charged,...
