Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1176
Hawaii vacation of 3 friends from Carnegie Mellon ended in death
HONOLULU — A Hawaii vacation for three tourists from the East Coast turned deadly once one of them became “psychotically” drunk, his friend testified Wednesday. Alexander Germany-Wald of Montclair, N.J., testified at a preliminary hearing for his college buddy, Benjamin Fleming of Pittsburgh, who is charged with murder in the...
Linton Middle School in Penn Hills to be used as a covid vaccine clinic for certain seniors
A covid vaccine clinic for certain older people will take place at Linton Middle School in Penn Hills later this month. The clinic is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 at 250 Aster St. Participants must be at least 50 years old, a registered client of...
Biden making new moves on guns, including naming ATF boss
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment.” “The idea that we have so many people dying every...
Police: 2 boys shot in Jeannette, taken to hospital
Two boys were sent to a hospital after being shot Wednesday evening in Jeannette. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said the incident took place shortly before 6 p.m. along the 100 block of Locust Street. Jeannette Police Chief Shannon Binda said one of the boys was shot in the hand...
Tarentum police arrest man after responding to shots fired call
A Tarentum man who is not legally allowed to possess a gun was arrested early Wednesday after police said he fired shots in the air. Tarentum police charged Thomas William Curt Mueller, 38, with two felony firearms charges and lesser charges. In a criminal complaint against Mueller, borough police said...
Indiana County man, 76, dies after suffering burns in a house fire
A 76-year-old Indiana County man who suffered serious burns in an April 4 residential fire died two days later, according to officials. Michael Recek of Green Township died from extensive burns and inhalation injuries, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death on April 6 at West Penn...
Pittsburgh police probe afternoon shooting in Allentown
Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting in the city’s Allentown neighborhood that sent one person to the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Officers responded at about 12:40 p.m. to a Shotspotter alert in the 800 block of East Worthington Avenue. They learned that a male who had been shot fled to a...
Allegheny County is in the ‘fourth wave’ of covid cases, officials sayVideo
Allegheny County is “well into our fourth wave of cases here,” Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, said Wednesday. Daily covid-19 case counts have set records for 2021 in the past several days, she said, with 418 new cases reported Wednesday. The test positivity rate is also nearly 9%, and hospitalizations...
Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system disclosed Tuesday that it is dealing with a federal investigation, although officials atop the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System have yet to publicly disclose the nature or scope of the inquiry. In addition, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is on the...
Trump favorite Sean Parnell is ‘99% sure’ he’s running for U.S. Senate
PHILADELPHIA — Sean Parnell, a decorated combat veteran and favorite of former President Donald Trump, is all but certain to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to a Republican official who spoke with Parnell this week. “He said he was 99% sure this is what he was going to...
Wolf in McKeesport: Every resident wanting vaccine should receive dose by May
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said he believes every Pennsylvanian who wants to receive the covid-19 vaccine will be able to get at least one dose by the middle of May. “We’re figuring that sometime toward the second week in May we should reach the point where we have reached...
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable. The president turned fiery in an afternoon speech, saying that the United States is failing to build, invest and...
AHN, UPMC to vaccinate 25,000 people at drive-thru clinics
About 25,000 people will receive a covid-19 vaccine at multiple drive-thru clinics throughout Western Pennsylvania in the coming week. Allegheny Health Network and UPMC, the region’s two largest health systems, announced partnerships Wednesday with the Allegheny County Health Department to provide Johnson & Johnson shots to the public. AHN and...
Pittsburgh church founder sentenced for labor trafficking, fraud charges
A Pittsburgh woman who founded her own church, recruited and abused women in it, then perpetrated a years-long fraud operating a fake travel agency will spend 12 years in prison. Tracie Dickey, also known as Tracie Williams, 57, was sentenced on Monday on wire fraud and labor trafficking charges in...
2 Jeannette neighbors charged with neglect of animals
Two Jeannette neighbors were charged Tuesday with neglect of animals after five pit bulls were found without water last year and infected with parasites, according to court papers. Investigators said the animals belonged to Dale A. Shaw, 65, and Elaine Decker, no age available, was their caretaker. Both live on...
CDC says British covid variant is now the most common strain in U.S.
WASHINGTON — A variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain is now the most common strain circulating in the United States. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, says the strain, formally known as B.1.1.7, is “now the most common lineage circulating in...
Westmoreland County surpasses 30,000 covid cases
Westmoreland County became the 12th county in Pennsylvania to pass 30,000 coronavirus cases. The 119 additional cases — 37 confirmed and 82 probable — reported Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health put Westmoreland County’s total at 30,005. Westmoreland reached 20,000 cases on Jan. 4; 10,000 cases on Dec. 3;...
Black bear spotted in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington, Overbrook neighborhoodsVideo
A black bear was spotted several times early Wednesday in Pittsburgh, authorities said. Officers in Zone 3, which covers a swath of Pittsburgh’s southern neighborhoods, responded to several sightings of a bear early Wednesday morning, said spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Cruz said officers spotted a bear on Groveland Street in Overbrook...
North Shore businesses thrilled to welcome fans back for Pirates home opener
The first Pirates home game usually brings a sense of excitement and renewal for players and fans. But not many are more excited about fans being allowed back into PNC Park than Kyle Martin, a server at the North Shore Tavern on Federal Street across from the ballpark. Restaurants and...
Giant Slide at Mammoth Park set to reopen
The new Giant Slide at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township is expected to reopen in late spring. The complex featuring two 100-foot slides was shut down a month after it was unveiled last July when reports of injured children and adults surfaced. Westmoreland County officials said is targeted to...
Police search for suspect in Hempfield shooting of 17-year-old boy
A 17-year-old boy was injured in a shooting at Hempfield Heights Apartment Complex Tuesday during a drug deal and state police are looking for the suspect, according to court papers. An arrest warrant has been issued for Darnell Albert Dennison, 19, of Hempfield. He is charged with aggravated assault, unlawful...
Officials: Covid surge at Pitt ‘endangering our campus and surrounding communities’
The University of Pittsburgh is “sounding the alarm” and adjusting its testing strategy amid a surge in covid-19 cases. The university reported 48 new infections on the Pittsburgh campus Tuesday, including 46 students and two employees. Twenty-eight of the student cases were recorded Friday alone — the highest single-day case...
Man found shot to death in backyard of home in Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting overnight in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. Officers from the Zone 2 station in the North Side responded to a 911 call for an unresponsive man in the 2800 block of McDowell Street at about 12:30 a.m., according to a city public safety spokeswoman....
Cassandra Gross case: Mother laments unsolved homicide of missing daughter
Prosecutors plan a full review of the homicide case as a third year passes without an arrest in the disappearance of Cassandra Gross. District Attorney John Peck said the original prosecutor involved with the case has left his office, and Peck plans to examine the evidence state police have gathered...
Police: Man shot in shin in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood, residence hit, too
A man was hospitalized after being shot in the shin Tuesday in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood, police said. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said police responded to a ShotSpotter alert and 911 calls for shots fired around 7:15 p.m. along the 1900 block of Manhattan Street. Officers located the victim along...
