Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1164
D.C. statehood approved by House as Senate fight looms
WASHINGTON — A decades-long movement to reshape the American political map took a further step Thursday as the House of Representatives approved a bill to make the nation’s capital the 51st state. Voting along party lines with minority Republicans in opposition, the House approved the bill 216-208. That’s likely the...
Former Avonmore secretary charged with stealing $54K from borough
An Avonmore woman is accused by police of stealing $54,000 from the borough’s general fund to pay personal bills when she worked as secretary for the municipality, according to Westmoreland County detectives. Rebecca E. Steele, 45, was arrested Thursday on felony charges of theft, receiving stolen property and tampering with...
Man acquitted in Wilkinsburg mass shooting gets 8 years for gun charge
The man acquitted by a jury in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting that killed six adults and an unborn child will serve eight years in federal prison on an unrelated charge of possessing a stolen gun. Cheron Shelton, 34, agreed to the sentence — which includes three years of supervised...
Pittsburgh, U.S. Steel commit to become carbon neutral by 2050
Pittsburgh’s leaders and its largest steel company are committing to become carbon neutral by 2050. Mayor Bill Peduto used Earth Day, marked Thursday, to issue an executive order that commits the city to 12 initiatives designed to achieve the goal of eliminating carbon dioxide emissions. The order came the day...
Covid case numbers continue to decline in Pennsylvania
For the fourth straight day, Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 case report reduces the seven-day case average — something that hasn’t happened since early March. It’s a hopeful sign, considering that from March 9, when the most recent covid-case surge began, through April 18, the state managed to lower its seven-day case...
Michael Keaton partners with Pittsburgh-area developer to locate new plant in region
As Michael Keaton prepares to reprise his role as Batman in an upcoming movie, the Pittsburgh-area native also is a partner in a business venture that could create more than 300 jobs in the region. Keaton, a Robinson native, is partnering with Emsworth developer Craig Rippole and Nexii Building Solutions,...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 547,000, another pandemic low
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications declined 39,000 from a...
TV Talk: Western Pa. ‘Worst Cooks’ contestant returns for all-star editionVideo
If you’re invited to be on an all-star edition of Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America” (9 p.m. Sunday), does that make you among the best of the worst or the worst of the worst? “Definitely the worst of the worst,” says “Worst Cooks” contestant Sadie Manda, a Canonsburg native...
Vandergrift’s AJ’s Restaurant and Lounge on the market
A Vandergrift eatery in a historic building is on the market. AJ’s Restaurant and Lounge at 123 Washington Ave. is listed for $495,900 with Berkshire Hathaway. The asking price includes a Pennsylvania state liquor license. Proprietors Andrew and JoAnn Batiz, both 66, made the decision to buy a restaurant on...
Earth Day ’21: environmental issues past and present still present challenges
Fifty-one years after the founding of Earth Day, with the first on April 22, 1970, the manmade pollution and resulting problems created by global warming and climate change remain the biggest threat to the planet, environmental scientists say. “Certainly, the biggest concern is climate change, because it has so many...
Burrell teachers get 5-year contract with annual raises of nearly 3%
Burrell School Board on Tuesday ratified a five-year contract with the district’s teachers union, the Burrell Education Association, agreeing to an average annual wage increase of almost 3%. Burrell teachers earn an average of $72,635, according to the state Department of Education. The collective bargaining agreement covers 136 employees and...
Pittsburgh police: Man in serious but stable condition after Spring Hill shooting
A man is in serious but stable condition after police say he was shot in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood Wednesday evening. Pittsburgh police responded to a Shotspotter alert and a 911 call for shots fired in the 2100 block of Rhine Street around 8:15 p.m., according to Pittsburgh Public Safety...
Pittsburgh man may leave Hawaii before manslaughter trial
HONOLULU — A Pittsburgh man charged with manslaughter in the death of a friend he was vacationing with in Hawaii will be allowed to return to the U.S. mainland before his trial, a judge ruled Wednesday. Benjamin Fleming, released on $250,000 bond, must return to the Big Island for hearings...
Ohio police kill Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, who attacked 2 with knifeVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Body camera footage from other officers released Wednesday in the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, a Black teenager who charged at two people with a knife, showed a chaotic scene that happened within minutes of the verdict in George Floyd’s killing and ignited outrage by many...
Fayette County man gets 3 years in prison for dealing heroin via ‘Hustlas Don’t Sleep’ drug ring
A Fayette County man will spend three years behind bars for dealing heroin and fentanyl in Western Pennsylvania for more than two years, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Andrew Welty, 29, of Everson was sentenced based on drug convictions from two separate cases covering illegal drug sales that happened between September...
10 months after Amish woman Linda Stoltzfoos disappeared, human remains found in rural Lancaster County
Investigators searching rural Lancaster County have found human remains in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, authorities announced Wednesday. Stoltzfoos was reported missing on June 21, 2020, and 34-year-old Justo Smoker was charged with her kidnapping and death last year. The Lancaster District Attorney’s Office said...
3 brothers plead guilty to botched gun shop burglaries in Bethel Park, Moon Township
Three brothers in their early 20s pleaded guilty to plotting to commit an offense against the United States for their roles in a night of back-to-back botched attempts to steal firearms from gun shops in Pittsburgh’s southern suburbs. The sibling defendants — Jerwahn Atkins, 24; Jerquay Atkins, 23; and Jamir...
State greenlights $48 million in transportation infrastructure projects
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority on Wednesday approved more than $48 million for 116 new multi-modal transportation infrastructure projects in 45 counties, including a dozen in Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. The authority approved two Alle-Kiski Valley projects, including a $200,000 Rankin Street revitalization project in Arnold and $375,000 for...
Covid vaccine supply overtakes demand in Allegheny CountyVideo
Vaccine supply now outnumbers demand in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday At a news conference, Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald again encouraged county residents to make a vaccine appointment or walk in for a dose at a county clinic. All Pennsylvania residents 16 and older...
Pittsburgh Mercy to offer free covid vaccines Saturday at South Side clinic
Pittsburgh Mercy just received enough vaccine supply to offer free doses to several hundred people this weekend at its clinic on Pittsburgh’s South Side, officials announced Wednesday. Appointments can be made via Pittsburgh Mercy’s website, and no insurance is required. Vaccine doses will be distributed between 9 a.m. and 2...
‘I’m not going to let this guy die’: Pittsburgh cops on foot patrol save unresponsive man
Pittsburgh Police Zone 3 Officer Aundre Wright wasn’t supposed to be walking the beat in Homewood on Tuesday. He and three other officers weren’t supposed to be headed the direction they were going. But he was and they were. Because of that, a man who might otherwise have died is...
Pittsburgh awaiting federal guidance on stimulus cash
There are many questions, but few definitive answers about exactly how much federal stimulus money the city of Pittsburgh will receive and how it can be spent. City council members Wednesday asked council Budget Director Bill Urbanic and Kevin Pawlos, director of the city’s Office of Management and Budget, a...
Chief: No allegations of improper behavior in Pine-Richland football probe reported to police
Despite a long-standing practice of conferring with police when allegations are made about improper behavior by students, none of the incidents that led to last week’s firing of championship-winning Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz were reported to authorities, according to the chief of the Northern Regional Police Department. Pine-Richland school...
TV Talk: ‘A League of Their Own’ series will film in Pittsburgh
A streaming series based on the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own,” about the first female professional baseball league, will film in Western Pennsylvania. Stars attached to the series include Abbi Jacobson (“Broad City”), D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”) and Chante Adams (“Bad Hair”). Pittsburgh Film Office director Dawn...
South Fayette Capitol riot suspect has covid, hearing delayed
A status conference for a South Fayette man charged in the Capitol riot case was postponed Wednesday after he recently tested positive for covid-19. Jorden Mink, 27, is charged with 10 counts, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder and committing an act of physical...
