Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1162
Elon Musk, Starlink look to stars to fill internet broadband gaps, including across Western Pa.Video
Dictated by the peaks and dips of Western Pennsylvania’s rolling landscape, internet service is often spotty — even nonexistent — for thousands of people based on topography and a lack of infrastructure for high-speed internet services. But an ambitious project by billionaire Elon Musk promises lofty goals for those struggling...
Alle-Kiski Valley communities see populations fluctuate, according to census
The Alle-Kiski Valley’s population has declined since the 2010 census, but four of its communities are growing, according to census estimates. The Valley’s 42 municipalities had a combined population of 190,950 in 2019, down about 3% from the 2010 census, the numbers show. Bucking that trend were Oakmont, which saw...
Democrat Troy Carter wins New Orleans-based House seat
BATON ROUGE, La. — Democrat Troy Carter won Saturday’s special election for Louisiana’s vacant U.S. House seat, defeating his state Senate colleague and ending an acrimonious, intraparty clash. Carter easily defeated Karen Carter Peterson in the race for Louisiana’s only Democrat-held seat in Congress, handing a victory to the more...
North Huntingdon, Latrobe police expecting body cameras
With the increase in controversial and sometimes deadly encounters between law enforcement and citizens across the country, more local police departments in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are looking to outfit officers with body cameras — but they are scrambling to pay for them. “There’s no question that law enforcement needs...
Braddock Council candidate, 2 other Allegheny County men arrested in Altoona on heroin trafficking charges
Three Allegheny County men — including a candidate for Braddock Council — were arrested in an alleged drug-trafficking operation in Blair County, according to Altoona police. Raemon Prunty, 21, is listed as running for a council seat in Braddock in the municipal elections in May, according Allegheny County election information....
Study: Fungal disease killing over 90% of 3 bat species in Pa., elsewhere
Southwestern Pennsylvania bats were part of a new large national study that flagged a die-off nationally of more than 90% of certain bats in less than 10 years. The bats in question are the northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bats. Researchers also found declines in Indiana bat and big...
Wildlife webcam viewership more than doubles; 2 screech owls nuzzle and more surprises
Two screech owls in Murrysville were caught on video nuzzling or rather grooming each other, a clutch of bluebird eggs have hatched and tired migrating birds are stopping at a drip bird bath in Key Largo, Fla. All are sights anyone can access in seconds and on demand. Apparently more...
Your guide to Pa.’s 2021 primary ballot questions
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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. All Pennsylvania voters — yes, that includes independents and minor-party members — will be asked to consider four ballot questions on...
Mt. Pleasant walking route proposed under state health program, would be 1st in Westmoreland
The YMCA of Laurel Highlands is joining a state effort to get residents outside and walking on a regular basis. Located in East Huntingdon, the Y is planning to establish a designated walking route in adjacent Mt. Pleasant Borough as part of the state’s WalkWorks program. It would be the...
Greensburg church, others partner to fight vaccine hesitancyVideo
Bishop Carl Jones of Greater Parkview Church in Greensburg admits having many reservations earlier this year about the covid-19 vaccine, but that initial skepticism has turned to advocacy over the past few months. Jones, pastor since 2003 of the nondenominational, multicultural church with many Black congregants, teamed with two other...
Pennsylvania sees new trend in covid hospitalizations: 3 days of decline
To start the month, the state had increases in covid hospitalizations in 13 of the first 14 days of April. But a trend in the last few days shows numbers going the other way, with hospitalizations in Pennsylvania dropping by about 6% since Wednesday. Pennsylvania The state had 2,656 covid-19...
1 killed, 2 injured in Strip District collision
A 48-year-old woman was killed and two men were injured in a Strip District crash on Saturday. Police said Pamela McAllister of Pittsburgh died in the crash occurred on Liberty Avenue at 16th Street just before 8:15 a.m., police said. According to police, a sport utility vehicle on Liberty Avenue...
Police: Man dies after being shot outside bar in Hill District
A 51-year-old man was fatally shot Friday night outside a bar in the Hill District. Pittsburgh police and medics responded to 911 calls about a shooting and a ShotSpotter alert for a single shot fired in the 2100 block of Wylie Avenue around 10:40 p.m., police reported. Officers located an...
Westmoreland courthouse to host vaccine clinic on Tuesday
The Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg will host a covid-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesday. County officials announced that county employees, their families and the general public are eligible to participate in the clinic, which will be conducted in the commissioners’ public meeting room off the main lobby of the courthouse....
Local health systems look to CDC guidance on resuming J&J covid vaccinations
U.S. health advisers on Friday urged resuming covid-19 vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot, saying its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clots — in line with Europe’s rollout. Federal health officials uncovered 15 vaccine recipients who developed a highly unusual kind of blood clot, out of nearly...
Biden spokeswoman: Pandemic ‘exposed what a problem we have on our hands’ in U.S. nursing homes
The pandemic shined a spotlight on problems that plagued low-performing nursing homes scattered across Western Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation long before covid-19 struck the United States, White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged Friday. As vaccinations ramp up and covid-19 hospitalizations go down, the Biden administration intends...
Summit shows Biden’s big vision on fighting climate change
WASHINGTON — What did the world learn at Joe Biden’s global summit about his vision of the battle to save the world’s climate? For two days, Biden and his team of climate experts pressed his case that tackling global warming not only can avert an existential threat, but also benefit...
Penn Hills community grieving loss of high school student, counseling available
The Penn Hills School District community is grieving the loss of a high school student. Jason Lott Jr., 17, died in his home on April 18, a little more than two weeks after the birth of his daughter, Amora Rose Lott. “It’s horrible,” his mother, Gina Bigenho, said Friday. “I...
U.S. lifts pause, allowing J&J covid-19 vaccinations to resume
U.S. health officials lifted an 11-day pause on covid-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot on Friday, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clot. The government uncovered 15 vaccine recipients who developed a highly unusual kind of blood clot, out of nearly 8...
Former Delta Foundation president gets probation for impersonating an officer, forgeryVideo
The former head of a now-defunct LGBTQ advocacy organization will serve two years probation and 300 hours of community service for impersonating a first responder and forging official documents. Gary Van Horn, 41, appeared before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski Friday on charges of forgery, tampering with...
Map shows where to get a covid vaccine in Allegheny County
Allegheny County has created a public map of active covid-19 vaccination locations. The Vaccine Provider map is available online at the county’s Covid Vaccine Information page. Users can access it directly at alleghenycounty.us/vaccinemap. “We are trying to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to...
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to introduce city-level hate crime legislation
Legislation that Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will introduce next week seeks to create local-level hate crime laws that will expand upon state law, which does not consider sexual orientation, gender identity or disability protected classes. “What we’re doing is taking a stand against hate in our city,” said Dan Gilman,...
TV Talk: Natrona Heights woman appears on ‘Let’s Make a Deal’
Sharon Cushey of Natrona Heights appeared on the April 23 edition of CBS’s “Let’s Make a Deal,” winning $800 and a designer purse valued at $1,700, but it was an eight-month journey from when she applied. During the pandemic, “Let’s Make a Deal” has welcomed a mix of an in-studio...
‘My dad would just be ecstatic’: Bruno Sammartino Park dedicated in RossVideo
A Ross Township park was renamed Friday to honor a local legend. Formerly known as Sangree Park, the park now bears the name of Bruno Sammartino, a famed wrestler and the longest reigning champion in World Wrestling Entertainment history. The WWE Hall of Famer was a resident of Ross for...
U.S. Steel will not drill gas wells at Edgar Thomson Plant
An agreement between U.S. Steel Corp. and New Mexico-based Merrion Oil & Gas to drill Marcellus Shale gas wells near U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works was terminated Friday. “U.S. Steel has decided to exit a lease agreement that would have allowed a natural gas well on the property of our...
