Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1258
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, other Pa. House Republicans pledge to oppose Electoral College tally
In what is almost certain to be another doomed effort to disenfranchise the votes of millions of Pennsylvania residents, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is taking his unending challenge of the results of the presidential election to the halls of Congress. The Butler Republican, whose 16th Congressional District includes Erie, said...
Dick Thornburgh remembered by Western Pa. dignitaries for leadership, empathy, intellect
Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all state and American flags at public buildings statewide to fly at half-staff Thursday upon learning of the death of former U.S. Attorney General and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh. Wolf, a Democrat, described Thornburgh, a Republican, as “an unequaled public servant.” “He guided Pennsylvania through a...
Port Vue man charged in fatal North Braddock shooting
Police have arrested a Port Vue man in the fatal shooting of a North Braddock resident and are working to identify other people involved in the Nov. 7 incident. Allegheny County Police have charged Duwan Carey, 18, with criminal homicide, burglary and conspiracy. He was apprehended Thursday morning with the...
Dogs, cats greeted with fanfare for opening of new $1.8 million Animal Protectors shelter in New Kensington
Puppy dog tails wagged, cats meowed and the staff and volunteers of Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley rejoiced on Thursday afternoon for the opening of its new $1.8 million animal shelter along Church Street in New Kensington. The facility is the lower Alle-Kiski Valley’s first major, large-scale animal shelter. In...
Butler house fire claims 3-year-old boy, sends others to hospitals
A 3-year-old boy died Thursday in a house fire in Butler County, and three other family members were taken to area hospitals as a result of the blaze, authorities said. A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire that was reported just before noon at a...
Pittsburgh homicides tick upward after lowest level in 20 years
Homicides in Pittsburgh increased in 2020 a year after dropping to the lowest level in two decades, data from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office shows. Across the city, 51 people – nine women and 41 men – were killed by others over the course of the year. Four victims...
Dick Thornburgh, ex-Pa. governor and U.S. attorney general, diesVideo
Dick Thornburgh, who as Pennsylvania governor won plaudits for his cool handling of the 1979 Three Mile Island crisis and as U.S. attorney general restored credibility to a Justice Department hurt by the Iran-Contra scandal, has died. He was 88. Thornburgh died Thursday morning at a retirement community facility outside...
Penn Township man accused of assaulting teenager during food delivery
An 83-year-old Penn Township man was accused this week of sexually assaulting a teenage girl who made a food delivery to his home earlier this month. Clifford B. Wareham was charged Tuesday by township police with harassment and indecent assault in connection with the Dec. 21 incident that occurred at...
Friends, family hold out hope for answers in disappearance of Pittsburgh artist
A Pittsburgh artist has been missing for one year, and family and friends say they are still holding out hope for answers. Tonee Turner was last seen Dec. 30, 2019. On that day, she went to Dobra Tea on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill and later got on a bus...
Westmoreland County finishes year with 19,000 covid-19 cases, 423 deaths
Westmoreland County ended the year with a total of 19,333 coronavirus cases and 423 deaths since the first cases were reported in March. The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 263 additional coronavirus deaths and added 14 deaths to the year totals for the county. December saw 10,072 cases...
Pennsylvania records 640,000 covid-19 cases, nearly 16,000 deaths in 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 8,992 additional coronavirus cases and 306 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, closing the year with 640,325 cases and 15,978 deaths since the pandemic began here in March. December recorded the highest number of cases for the year: 278,861. November had 153,437 recorded...
Butter sculpture contest, ag tours among new virtual features of 2021 PA Farm ShowVideo
The state Department of Agriculture has a suggestion for using butter left over from holiday baking. Keystone State residents 5 or older are invited to enter “Butter Up!” — a new contest that is part of this year’s virtual Pennsylvania Farm Show, set for Jan. 9-16. Because of pandemic-related restrictions,...
Allegheny County ends year with over 53,000 covid-19 cases, 955 deaths
Allegheny County ended the year with a total of 53,809 coronavirus cases and 955 deaths. The county on Thursday reported 811 additional coronavirus cases and added 10 deaths to the total. The case numbers have been trending down this week after higher totals were reported in the beginning of the...
Pork, sauerkraut and other traditions to ring in a prosperous new year
After a tumultuous 2022, we could all use a little luck next year. Here are some traditions to ring in 2023: Eating pork and sauerkraut The New Year’s Day meal, popular in Western Pennsylvania, comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, who brought the Germanic tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut with...
Weather advisory issued as freezing rain expected on New Year’s Day
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Southwestern Pennsylvania on Friday morning, with freezing rain in the forecast. The advisory is in effect from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the region could receive .10 inches of freezing rain, coating roads and sidewalks, according to the weather...
TV Talk: ‘The Bachelor,’ filmed at Nemacolin, is among midseason broadcast showsVideo
Premieres of new, returning and delayed-by-the-pandemic series begin rolling out on broadcast networks next week, including the 25th edition of ABC’s “The Bachelor” (8 p.m. Jan. 4, WTAE-TV), filmed this fall under a covid-19 quarantine bubble at Nemacolin in Farmington, Fayette County. It’s the first time the show has starred...
Sports stories of the year: Steelers’ historic start; Pirates achieve infamy
Here we are, in the victory formation to end 2020, looking to run out the clock on a year you probably never want to see again. But before we get to 2021, here’s a look back at some of the top sports stories of the year. Steelers’ record start, sobering...
Here’s what else made news in 2020: Stories you might have forgottenVideo
Despite what you might remember, 2020 was not all about the coronavirus, presidential election and racial unrest. In Western Pennsylvania alone, we were struck by natural disaster and a disaster on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We looked on with envy as our neighbors in Harrison and Leechburg became millionaires and cheered...
Pregnant during the pandemic: How a Gilpin family copedVideo
Editor’s note: This is the final story in a series highlighting five people whose lives were reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. When Shera Rugh-Arner and her husband, Jason, found out she was pregnant, they were a bit concerned. The January news was exciting because they were welcoming a new child...
Sluggish vaccine campaign raises specter of U.S. dysfunctionVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials acknowledged that a covid-19 immunization campaign is crawling out of the starting gate, raising the prospect that the nation’s all-in bet on vaccines could be afflicted by the same dysfunction that hobbled other measures to contain the pandemic. Only about 2.7 million Americans had been...
Trump to return to White House early from Florida vacation
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida holiday vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday, one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain. The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Sen. Josh...
Nemacolin resort closes for holidays, plans to reopen next week when covid restrictions lift
If you’d hoped to usher out 2020 at the posh Nemacolin resort in Fayette County, you are out of luck. Nemacolin closed Dec. 22 in an effort to do its part to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The luxury retreat does not plan to reopen until Monday. The closure...
California has nation’s 2nd confirmed case of coronavirus variantVideo
California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the infection found in Southern California during an online conversation with...
Youngstown’s Tin Lizzy continues to defy covid orders as late bartender memorialized
For the second time this year, the Tin Lizzy Tap Room and Restaurant in Youngstown has run afoul of state officials for violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But despite the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture ordering the business to close this...
Allegheny County ‘getting faster’ at distributing covid-19 vaccines, health director says
Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen pledged that the region’s vaccine distribution is on track to ramp up as 2021 begins. “We’ve now got a rhythm and we’re getting faster,” Bogen said during a virtual news conference Wednesday afternoon. Bogen shrugged off criticism over the local pace of administering...
