Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1565
Police: Two girls accused of breaking into cars after escape from Derry Twp. group home
Two teenage girls who escaped from a group home in Derry Township last week are being held in Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center after their arrests for allegedly breaking into multiple cars in an apartment complex, state police reported. The girls, ages 14- and 16-years-old, escaped late Monday from Adelphoi...
No give: Trump’s impeachment defense, prosecutors dig in
WASHINGTON — Advocates for and against President Donald Trump gave no ground Sunday on his Senate impeachment trial, digging in on whether a crime is required for his conviction and removal and whether witnesses will be called. But even as Trump’s defense team and the House prosecutor s pressed their...
Gun industry gathers amid slumping sales, rising tensions
LAS VEGAS — Gun companies are gathering for their annual conference and trade show this week in Las Vegas at a pivotal moment for the industry amid slumping sales, a public increasingly agitating for restrictions on access to firearms and escalating tensions over gun control efforts. The event, held by...
Excela Latrobe introduces improved surgical robotVideo
Students from Greater Latrobe and Ligonier Valley school districts joined other local residents Friday in trying out the controls of an improved surgical robot introduced during an open house at Excela Latrobe Hospital. Seventeen Excela surgeons use the robot and one like it at Excela Westmoreland Hospital to perform precision...
Couple together for nearly 65 years die on the same day
ARNOLD, Mo. — A couple who had been together for nearly 65 years have died on the same day at a St. Louis-area nursing home. Jack and Harriet Morrison’s beds were placed next to each other in their final hours, allowing them to hold hands, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported....
No escape: Senators to be quiet, unplugged for Trump trial
WASHINGTON — No cellphones. No talking. No escape. That’s the reality during the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, which will begin each day with a proclamation: “All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment.” After that, 100 senators will sit at their desks for hours...
National Archives ‘wrong’ to blur images of anti-Trump signs
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The National Archives said Saturday it made a mistake when it blurred images of anti-Trump signs used in an exhibit on women’s suffrage. The independent agency is charged with preserving government and historical records and said it has always been committed to preserving its holdings...
State Rep. Adam Ravenstahl challenged by progressive attorney Emily Kinkead
Pittsburgh attorney Emily Kinkead will join a wave of progressive Democrats who in recent years have challenged establishment incumbents in Allegheny County’s Democratic Party. Kinkead will take on sitting state Rep. Adam Ravenstahl for the District 20 seat in the April 28 Democratic primary. Ravenstahl, the brother of former Pittsburgh...
Prohibition thinned ranks of Western Pa. distilleries, breweries — but some survivedVideo
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s whiskey industry overflowed with more than 100 distilleries making rye whiskey between the 1880s and early 1900s, but they went dry when Prohibition took effect a century ago. “The distilleries had to close and most did not reopen” when Prohibition was lifted in 1933, said Samuel Komlenic, a...
War on alcohol: An experiment that was a ‘catastrophic failure’
The United States was a battleground before World War I — with armies of people opposed to liquor and saloons lobbying politicians and marching on Washington, D.C., in their mission to outlaw what they considered a scourge on nation’s morality — alcohol. “Prohibition had been a long time in coming,...
One woman’s marathon journey to a perfect fit in the classroomVideo
Vicky Krug was determined to become a teacher. Her resolve only grew during nearly two decades she spent as a social worker, substance abuse therapist, substitute teacher and tutor earning multiple degrees and certifications along the way. A brain injury she suffered when her car and a truck collided on...
Scouts — both boys and girls — clash at Pinewood Derby in IrwinVideo
Cub Scout Pack 293 leader Daryl Muzy admits technology has improved significantly in the 50-year history of the North Huntingdon-area Cub Scout pack’s annual pinewood derby race. Instead of eyeballing the finish line, as was once done by the scoutmasters, the speedy wooden cars now cross a laser beam that...
Westmoreland bus authority pays $12,500 in overtime in 1st week of running service
Westmoreland Transit Authority paid out about $12,500 in overtime wages for the first week in January after it assumed control over bus and paratransit services from a private contractor. Officials said scheduling procedures that had been in place for years as well as a driver shortage required the agency to...
Women’s March rallies for 4th year in Downtown Pittsburgh, with anti-war, anti-Trump focus
Flanked by a giant inflatable chicken with orange-gold hair, Tracy Baton urged hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Market Square to sustain momentum for the national Women’s March movement — an effort she says aims to confront the challenges that hit families closest to home. The director of...
New Kensington, Arnold police continue to follow leads in killings
Authorities say they continue to follow leads in the cases of two killings within about 24 hours of each other in New Kensington and Arnold. New Kensington police are still searching for whoever fatally shot Anthone Williams, 31, of Arnold early Wednesday evening in a vacant part of the city’s...
Cheswick couple grateful for support after house fire
A Cheswick couple is expressing their gratitude for an outpouring of support after a Friday morning house fire destroyed almost everything they owned and killed their two dogs. Kayla Fischerkeller and Ryan Brittingham, who are engaged to be married this spring, were at work when the fire engulfed their single-story...
HOV lanes remain closed because of snow, rainstorms Saturday
The High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes that run along I-279 remained closed to traffic Saturday afternoon for snow removal on the mainline, PennDOT said. The HOV lanes have been closed since about 4 a.m. Twelve hours later, they remained closed, PennDOT said. Normally, the HOV lanes are open to all...
Federal authorities join East Huntingdon gas tanker explosion probeVideo
Federal investigators have joined the probe of a fuel tanker explosion Friday that leveled an East Huntingdon tanker truck garage and sent three workers to a Pittsburgh hospital, including one with critical burns. Officials from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Department of Transportation gathered Saturday...
Pitt student struck, killed by Port Authority bus in Oakland
A University of Pittsburgh student was struck and killed by a Port Authority bus Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section, authorities said. The dead woman was identified as Barbara Como of Chester Springs, Chester County. Como was a senior anthropology student and research assistant with the Learning Research and Development Center...
PennDOT lifts speed restrictions on I-79, I-80
PennDOT has lifted the speed limit restrictions it had imposed on Interstate 79 and Interstate 80 due to snow and rain that hit the region Saturday morning. A 45-mph speed limit had been is in place on I-79 from the Butler and Allegheny County exit (Exit 78) to Erie, which...
Boy arrested after shooting that killed 4 in small Utah town
A boy armed with a gun killed three children and a woman inside a Utah home, then accompanied a fifth victim to a hospital, where he was arrested, police said Saturday. Police were still trying to piece together who’s who and what happened leading up to Friday night’s shooting in...
Guest wins nearly $5.5 million on Las Vegas slot machine
Someone playing slot machines in Las Vegas hit the jackpot earlier this week to the tune of nearly $5.5 million. According to Excalibur Las Vegas, a hotel/casino on The Strip, the lucky guest won while playing a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. “Congrats to a lucky slot player, who won...
Cops: Missing Ruffsdale girl, 13, found safe
A 13-year-old Ruffsdale girl who went missing this week was found safe late Friday, state police said. Troopers issued an alert early Friday saying Lainey Ucman had not been seen since 9 p.m. Thursday in the area of Story Frye Road in South Huntingdon. Late Friday, state police in Belle...
Gun-rights activists gear up for show of force in Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. — Police are scouring the internet for clues about plans for mayhem, workers are putting up chain link holding pens around Virginia’s picturesque Capitol Square, and one lawmaker even plans to hide in a safe house in advance of what’s expected to be an unprecedented show of force...
Piano bar opens at the Waterfront in HomesteadVideo
A new brand of piano music has come to the Waterfront Shopping Center in Homestead. The shopping and dining destination has added the national dueling piano chain, The Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar. It opened Friday. A crowd gathered for opening night offering song requests from country to pop. Guests...
