Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1578
Pa. Farm Show draws farmers, families and the public for competition, education
For the Davis family, the holidays are not just Christmas and New Year’s. The annual Pennsylvania Farm Show also makes the list. The Fayette County family has been going to the Farm Show since 2005. Their youngest child, Maddox, now 12, is showing a dairy goat and cow at this...
Fire destroys couple’s Allegheny Township home, kills family dogVideo
Fire tore through a newlywed couple’s Allegheny Township home Friday morning, destroying all of their wedding gifts and other belongings and killing their beloved 1-year-old dog. “All of our wedding presents, everything, was inside the house,” Jason Femc, 38, said as he stood outside the South Glosser Hill Road home...
Pittsburgh musicians spread wings, find renewed verve
Robin Meloy Goldsby While attending Chatham College (now Chatham University), Robin Meloy Goldsby lived in Chatham Village and played the piano at Chatham Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. By the time she was 21, Goldsby longed to escape to a city where, presumably, there were fewer Chathams. “I had already been...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 3-5
Welcome in the first weekend for 2020. Here are a few ideas for Pittsburgh outings. Illumination This is the last weekend to run through sparkling icicles, take a seat in an illuminated horse’s carriage or walk under a tunnel of lights. Lumaze Pittsburgh closes on Saturday. The indoor holiday festival...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Jan. 3-5Video
Happy new year. The champagne corks have been popped, the party hats worn, the horns blown, the countdown over. Done hibernating? The big holiday parties may be over, but the good times are still rolling in Westmoreland County. Run off the calories, the cold No doubt those cookies, that eggnog...
Iran vows ‘harsh’ response to U.S. killing of top generalVideo
BAGHDAD — Iran vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed a top Iranian general who had been the architect of its interventions across the Middle East, and the United States announced Friday it was sending more troops to the region as tensions soared in the...
3 new Allegheny County Council members sworn in, new president selectedVideo
Applause erupted in the Gold Room of the Allegheny County Courthouse as Bethany Hallam, a newly elected at-large representative on Allegheny Council, gaveled in the legislative body’s first session of the year Thursday. The moment was nearly a year in the making: Hallam, a Democrat from Ross, upset Democratic party...
Pentagon: U.S. airstrike killed powerful Iranian generalVideo
BAGHDAD — The United States killed Iran’s top general and the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early on Friday, an attack that threatens to dramatically ratchet up tensions in the region. The targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the...
Rich Fitzgerald highlights goals for his final term as Allegheny County executiveVideo
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald was sworn in Thursday for his third and final term in office. He highlighted the region’s economic growth over the past 20 years and promised to continue improving the county’s transportation, educational opportunities and criminal justice system during his final term in office. His goals...
Fearing climate change and worse air, Allegheny County to propose new pollution regulations
A temperature inversion that trapped pollutants close to the ground late last month was only the fourth such weather phenomenon in more than a decade. But after air quality in the Mon Valley exceeded federal standards for particulate matter for six consecutive days last week because of the inversion, heavy...
Jeannette hikes property taxes by almost 6%
Jeannette property taxes are increasing by almost 6% this year. After approving a $5.5 million preliminary budget in late November that carried no property tax increase, council approved a final 2020 spending plan this week that raises the tax rate by 2 mills, an increase of 5.9%. City officials expect...
62nd Street Bridge reopened after overturned tractor trailer caused closure
All lanes of Route 8 were reopened on the 62nd Street Bridge hours after tractor trailer crash partially closed them Thursday afternoon, according to PennDOT. The crash was reported about 2:33 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 supervisor said. PennDOT officials announced all lanes were reopened shortly after 6 p.m. Pittsburgh...
Steelers’ mascot Steely McBeam recreated in butter at Pa. Farm ShowVideo
HARRISBURG — The butter sculpture for this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show was unveiled Thursday, featuring three of the state’s professional sports team mascots. This year’s sculpture, crafted from about 1,000 pounds of donated butter, shows Steely McBeam, Gritty and Swoop — mascots for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Flyers and...
Pa. Farm Show opens Saturday with some new food offerings
Food is one of the biggest draws to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and this year is no exception. The Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, famous for its milkshakes, is introducing a new sandwich — Grilled Cheese Stix. The offering features mozzarella cheese sandwiched between Martin’s potato bread, served with a side of...
Mt. Pleasant Township woman jailed after New Year’s Day standoff with troopers
A Mt. Pleasant Township woman faces multiple charges stemming from a domestic altercation early New Year’s Day that resulted in a short standoff with state troopers. Kelly J. Wigginton, 35, was arraigned Thursday on charges of resisting arrest, simple assault, theft and illegal possession of a firearm as a result...
Reminder: Pennsylvania’s ‘Do Not Call’ list is now permanent
Perhaps you were too busy holiday-ing to notice, but as of Dec. 3, your protection from phone spammers got a lot stronger. As of that date, Pennsylvania’s “Do Not Call” list dropped the requirement that customers re-register their number every five years. That means once you are on, you are...
Klavon’s selling ice cream for pennies to celebrate return to ’20s
Remember that diet resolution you swear to uphold in 2020? Press pause for a day or two. Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, at 2801 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, is offering to help you spend a little less money on a tempting calorie splurge Jan. 2-3. For two days only, the 1920’s-era ice...
Julián Castro drops out of 2020 presidential raceVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Obama housing secretary Julián Castro on Thursday ended his run for president that pushed the 2020 field on immigration and swung hard at rivals on the debate stage but never found a foothold to climb from the back of the pack. “I’m so proud of the...
Police: Suspect claimed to be Westmoreland sheriff’s deputy in $7K scam
A man claiming to be a Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputy scammed a New Alexandria woman out of $7,000, according to state police. The suspect told the woman in November that she could get out of a warrant for her arrest if she bought Reloadit prepaid cards. The man falsely represented...
Woman dies weeks after being shot in Penn Hills
A woman shot Dec. 17 in Penn Hills has died, authorities said. Ladea Terrell, 33, died Wednesday, weeks after being wounded multiple times, according to an Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office report. The incident occurred about 9:15 p.m. along Eastgate Drive, police said. Police said a man drove himself to...
Route 51 in Moon closed by landslide will remained blocked through Monday
A section of Route 51 in Moon Township will remain closed at least until Monday because a landslide early Thursday dumped tons of debris onto the busy road and knocked down utility lines, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported. PennDOT spokeswoman Yasmeen Manyisha said engineers would monitor the slide area...
Police seek help locating Hazelwood woman
Pittsburgh police are seeking help to locate a Hazelwood woman missing since Dec. 30, 2019. Tonee Turner, 22, may have been in the Homestead area when someone last had contact with her at about 6 p.m., police said. She is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall and 130 pounds....
Port Authority buses use lasers to track bus crowding, shares data with riders
Port Authority of Allegheny County just made it easier for riders to know exactly how packed a bus is at any given minute, day or night — and it’s using invisible sensors to do so. The real-time bus crowding data is accessible through Port Authority’s TrueTime data service available online...
Militiamen withdraw from U.S. Embassy but Iraq tensions linger
BAGHDAD — Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence. The withdrawal followed calls from the government and senior militia leaders. It ended a two-day...
Western Pa. schools raising catfish in 1st-of-its-kind classroom programVideo
Trout were rarely on the menu when Eric Davis grew up fishing in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Greene County. It’s not that he didn’t like the fish. But they were scarce. There’s just not a lot of the cold-water habitat they need in the rolling coal-country hills bordering the West Virginia panhandle....
