Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1195
Pedestrian struck, killed in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man was killed Saturday night after he was struck by a car in Downtown Pittsburgh, according to police. The incident happened about 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Stanwix Street and Penn Avenue, said Pittsburgh police spokesman Chris Togneri. First responders arrived and found the man pinned under the...
Fight leads to stabbing outside Waterfront Giant Eagle
A jitney driver is accused of stabbing another man outside the Waterfront Giant Eagle, leaving the man with eight wounds, including one stab wound to his head, according to court documents. Homestead Police responded to the grocery store about 9:30 a.m. Friday for a report of a fight followed by...
‘Mank,’ ‘Nomadland,’ ‘Chicago 7’ lead Oscar nominationsVideo
NEW YORK — David Fincher’s “Mank” has led nominations to the 93rd Academy Awards with 10 nods, and for the first time, two women — Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell — were nominated for best director. Eight films were nominated for best picture. “Mank” was joined by Fennell’s “Promising Young...
Vatican excludes gay union blessing as God ‘can’t bless sin’
ROME — The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.” The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. The answer, contained...
During height of coronavirus pandemic, Pa. lawmakers still cashed in big on meals, lodging
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. HARRISBURG — Within weeks of the first coronavirus cases last spring, as large swaths of Pennsylvania’s economy shut down, the state...
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift make history at the GrammysVideo
The Grammys are drunk in love with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: the singers both made history at the 2021 show. Swift, 31, became first woman to win album of the year three times. “We just want to thank the fans,” said Swift, who won the top prize with “folklore.” Swift...
IRS online tool lets you track your stimulus money
Once again, the U.S. government is handing out money. And, once again, there’s a way to find out where your check is. A year ago, the IRS launched the online “Get My Payment” tool that let you check your payment status and confirm your payment type: direct deposit or check....
KDKA’s Mary Ours won’t be back on the air till the summer … here’s why
KDKA meteorologist Mary Ours will be off the air until the summer because she’s going on maternity leave. On Sunday morning, Ours announced on social media that she would be taking a break to give birth to a son. And she used the hashtag #38weekspregnant so it could be soon....
A first: Bald eagles nesting at U.S. Steel plant along Monongahela River in West Mifflin
A pair of bald eagles chose another unlikely urban spot to nest in the once highly industrialized Pittsburgh area — the U.S. Steel Irvin plant in West Mifflin along the Monongahela River, across from Glassport. There are no other known eagle nests in the state at a steel mill, making...
Pelosi pledges swift work on major infrastructure packageVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday pledged swift work by Congress on a job and infrastructure package that will be “fiscally sound,” but said she isn’t sure whether the next major item on President Joe Biden’s agenda will attract Republican backing. Fresh off a major legislative victory on...
Winter storm closes roads in Wyoming, Colorado, NebraskaVideo
A powerful late winter snowstorm intensified over the central Rocky Mountains on Sunday with heavy snow and wind leading to airport and road closures, power outages and avalanche warnings in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. The National Weather Service in Wyoming called it a “historic and crippling” winter storm...
Average U.S. price of gas up 25 cents a gallon in past 3 weeks
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 25 cents a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.89. The average price in Pennsylvania rose to $3.03 per gallon on Sunday, according to price tracking service GasBuddy, with the Pittsburgh region averaging $3.06. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg...
Duquesne man, 21, dead in Saturday night shooting
Authorities are investigating the Saturday night shooting death of a Duquesne man. According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, Damont Adams, 21, of Duquesne was pronounced dead at about 7:47 p.m. Saturday of gunshot wounds in the 500 block of Ferndale Ave., Duquesne. Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating...
Authorities investigating fatal Big Beaver fire as a homicide
A man is dead after an early morning house fire in Big Beaver that authorities say is being investigated as a homicide. Beaver County Emergency Management Agency officials confirmed the coroner’s office was dispatched to the scene of the fire on the 1000 block of Shenango Road in Big Beaver...
Pittsburgh Parks & Rec reaches food distribution milestone during pandemic
Many organizations have had to reinvent themselves since the start of the pandemic one year ago and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation is no exception. While Citiparks recreation and senior centers have been closed to activities during the pandemic, many have been repurposed as safe sites...
As pandemic continues, GOP lawmakers prepare for retreat at pricey Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
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. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — When Republican lawmakers come together for their annual retreats this month and next...
Survivors struggle as scientists race to solve covid mystery
There was no reason to celebrate on Rachel Van Lear’s anniversary. The same day a global pandemic was declared, she developed symptoms of covid-19. A year later, she’s still waiting for them to disappear. And for experts to come up with some answers. The Texas woman is one of thousands...
Democrats bank on relief aid to win back wary working class
JEANNETTE — When Joe Biden visited this corner of southwestern Pennsylvania in the final weeks before the election, his goal wasn’t to win it so much as to show the area’s overwhelmingly white working-class electorate that his party was at least willing to try. “A lot of white, working-class Democrats...
North Country Brewing owner contends Pa. officials unfairly targeted restaurants during pandemicVideo
The owner of North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock believes he did everything right. When faced with the initial covid-19 shutdown orders implemented by the governor a year ago — the first of which, right before St. Patrick’s Day, cost him about $32,000 in wasted food — Robert McCafferty closed....
Colleges weigh a return to in-person commencement
One year after a global pandemic shuttered campuses across the country, colleges and universities in Western Pennsylvania are weighing the return of an annual rite of spring — commencement ceremonies. The University of Pittsburgh, the region’s largest school, has announced it will stagger smaller in-person ceremonies at its Oakland campus...
No matter how you slice it, today is Pi(e) DayVideo
To mathematicians, today is Pi Day — 3.14 is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle. Get it … March 14 … 3.14. But to bakers, it’s apple, cherry, cream or even a whiskey-infused Pie Day. “Every day is pie day here,” said...
‘Absolutely beautiful’: West Penn Hospital staff gave Harrison man 2nd goodbye with dying mother
It was time. The soulful tones of Diana Ross’ version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” playing from a nurse’s cellphone cut through the surreal moment. Motown music, her favorite, was the soundtrack to 74-year-old Josephine Ferguson’s final breaths, after covid-19 devastated her previously healthy body. Gregory Del Duca, her...
‘Reverberation of grief’: Covid losses take toll on Western Pennsylvania residents, communities
It has been nearly a year since the world of Ludmil Velev changed forever. For a few months in early 2020, his mother was visiting Pittsburgh from Bulgaria, thrilled to be with her granddaughter. “I’m happy I spent time with her,” said Velev, 44, of Greenfield. “She was extremely happy...
Shotgun blast through floor strikes teen in Swissvale, police say
A Swissvale teen suffered a gunshot wound Saturday after police said someone fired a shotgun in the apartment below during a domestic dispute. Allegheny County Police said they were notified of a domestic call on the 2300 block of Woodstock Ave. at approximately 4:30 p.m. A man inside a residence...
Fire destroys vacant house, damages nearby garage in Harrison, fire chief says
A fire was reported at a vacant house in Harrison on Saturday afternoon. Hilltop Hose Fire Company confirmed it responded to the blaze, as did volunteers from Citizens Hose. The fire was reported at 4 p.m. at 67 River Ave. in the Natrona neighborhood, according to an Allegheny County 911...
