Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1369
Woman accused of stealing pickup truck, nearly colliding with state trooper on Route 30 in Hempfield
A woman on probation for illegally driving on to the airfield of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in 2018 was arrested again late Tuesday for driving the wrong way on Route 30 in Hempfield, narrowly missing a state trooper. Police say Dakota J. Jones, 26, of Greensburg, was arrested in a...
Fayette County priest charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old boy
A 65-year-old priest who worked in Fayette County is charged with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old altar boy in the early 2000s. Father Andrew M. Kawecki of Scottdale faces two counts of indecent assault and one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in connection with a series of incidents...
Unattended laundry spontaneously combusts in Etna laundromat fire
Unattended laundry started a dryer fire that firefighters quickly knocked down Wednesday afternoon at the Wash and Wear Laundromat at the corner of Dewey Street and Crescent Avenue in Etna. Firefighters were on their way to another scene when the dryer fire was called in by a patron of the...
Pitt bars 8 students from campus for violating covid-19 guidelines
University of Pittsburgh officials barred eight students on Wednesday for flouting the university’s rules and guidelines meant to mitigate the spread of covid-19 among students, a spokesperson for the school said. “We must do better,” Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner wrote in an email to students Wednesday afternoon. The eight...
Allegheny County officials consider easing coronavirus restrictions
Weeks after Allegheny County and then the state Department of Health re-implemented restrictions on bars, indoor dining and gatherings, county health officials on Wednesday said those efforts are working and there are signs the virus is relenting. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said she is...
Police suspect medical issue behind fatal Harmar crash at Route 28 exit
A medical condition is suspected in a crash that killed one man and seriously injured another in Harmar on Tuesday night, according to township police. Robert Burkardt, 68, of Penn Hills was the driver in the crash on Route 910 at the southbound Route 28 exit that was reported to...
Justice Department seeks data about covid-19 nursing home deaths from Pa., 3 other states
The Justice Department is seeking data about “orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents,” sending letters Wednesday to the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Officials say Wednesday that the Justice Department’s civil rights division is evaluating whether to...
Get aht, yinz! Rankings indicate Pittsburgh accent among ‘ugliest in all of America’
Don’t tell the locals in the crowd dahn Carson Street on a non-pandemic Saturday night, but the way Pittsburghers talk isn’t sexy. “The Western Pennsylvania English accent is often considered the ugliest in all of America, so Pittsburgh locals can feel lucky that they’ve escaped last place this time around,”...
Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers hatch new plan to undermine Wolf’s emergency powers
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Thwarted by court rulings and vetoes, Republicans in the legislature unhappy with Gov. Tom Wolf’s response to the...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed series ‘Manhunt: Deadly Games’ premiering on CBS
The series “Manhunt: Deadly Games,” which filmed in Pittsburgh from June to October 2019, will finally be available for local viewers to watch when it advances to its second window of distribution, premiering at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 on CBS’s KDKA-TV. “Manhunt: Deadly Games” was produced for Spectrum Originals, which...
All polling places to be open Election Day across Westmoreland County; crush of mail-in ballots expected
All 307 polling locations across Westmoreland County will be open for in-person voting in the November general election, county commissioners said. “We want to give people the option to use our new machines. They are still brand new, and we’re still paying for them,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes. Commissioners were...
Pittsburgh to cover the cost of infertility treatments for its employees
Next year, Pittsburgh will offer free fertility coverage to its employees, the city announced Wednesday. “City officials heard from employees that they would like the coverage,” said Tim McNulty, Mayor Bill Peduto’s spokesman. “The city is always seeking ways to support its workers, including watching best practices used by other...
In documentary, Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger reveals he had option to retire after injuryVideo
Ben Roethlisberger made the choice to have surgery over opting to retire in the wake of his injury early last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback revealed during the first part of a documentary released Wednesday. During a 15-minute professionally-produced video published to YouTube, Roethlisberger said in the wake of the...
Pennsylvania reports 501 new coronavirus cases, 19 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Wednesday reported 501 additional cases of coronavirus to bring the state’s total to 130,536. Of the total cases, 126,835 are confirmed and 3,701 are considered probable. There have been 1,457,642 negative tests, according to the Department of Health. The daily positivity rate is 3.86%. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram...
Allegheny County adds 14 additional coronavirus cases, eclipses 10,000 total
Allegheny County passed a pandemic milestone on Wednesday when 14 new coronavirus cases put the total number of cases at 10,004. The 14 new cases marked the lowest daily reported total since mid-June. Of the cases, 9,694 are confirmed and 310 are considered probable. There were 1,151 new test results...
1 injured in Rostraver methane pipe explosion
One person suffered minor injuries after a reported explosion in a methane pipe at a Rostraver landfill, according to Westmoreland County 911. The explosion at Westmoreland Waste Sanitary Landfill on Connor Lane was reported around 10 a.m. First responders reported the situation was under control and called off firefighters. The...
Living with Children: Where we all went wrong
My profession, psychology, began demonizing traditional childrearing in the late 1960s. I was in graduate school at the time and on fire for the promise that the proper use of psychological principles could perfect the raising of children and thereby usher in the social utopia we (young boomers whose heads...
Laura now forecast to be a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane
GALVESTON, Texas — Hurricane Laura rapidly gained strength Wednesday, raising fears that it could come ashore as a catastrophic Category 4 storm with an “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge that could sink entire communities in Texas and Louisiana. Authorities implored coastal residents to flee before it’s too late. Laura grew nearly...
17-year-old arrested in killing of 2 in Kenosha
KENOSHA, Wis. — A white, 17-year-old police admirer was arrested Wednesday in the killing of two people gunned down during a third night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was taken into custody in Illinois on suspicion...
Greensburg Diocese reveals ‘credible’ sex abuse claims against priest convicted of theft
A priest convicted of stealing money from a South Huntingdon church has been added to a list of suspected sex abusers, according to the Diocese of Greensburg. Bishop Edward C. Malesic on Wednesday issued an update on the diocese’s handling of sex abuse allegations as he prepares to depart for...
Retired Allegheny County, state judge praises Donald Trump in Tuesday’s RNC broadcast
Retired Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen of Hampton was among a half dozen “ordinary Americans” who offered testimonials to President Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s Republican National Convention. A portion of a video that featured conversations with Vice President Mike Pence included Allen. The segment also included testimonials from five...
Gisele Fetterman gets personal about her medical marijuana use
View Gisele Barreto Fetterman through the lens of social media, and one might assume she is among the world’s most upbeat people. But those close to the lieutenant governor’s wife know she’s waged a lifelong war against chronic pain, with medical marijuana being an effective form of treatment. She felt...
County police investigate Swissvale shooting
A man was taken to the hospital in stable condition after being shot in Swissvale, according to Allegheny County Police. Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 2200 block of South Braddock Avenue just before 11 p.m. Tuesday. Police said first responders found the man with a...
Takeaways from GOP convention: Promoting power, positivity
WASHINGTON — The second day of the Republican National Convention started with a decidedly different, more positive tone, with an emphasis on Americans who say have they benefited from President Donald Trump’s policies. Here are some takeaways from the second night. Leveraging the White House Three ruffles and flourishes. The...
Meet the man tasked with defending the Youghiogheny RiverVideo
For Eric Harder, protecting the Youghiogheny River means protecting his home. Harder developed his love for water at a community swimming pool while growing up in Kansas. The experience led him to become a rafting guide in his mid-20s. A self-described defining moment in life, Harder credits the experience for...
