Top Stories category, Page 16
Vaccination rates in schools cause concern for parents, medical professionals
Lucas James relies on others to be vaccinated because, for now, he can’t be. A leukemia patient and stem cell transplant recipient, Lucas, 16, of Hempfield receives intravenous antibody treatments to help him rebuild his immune system. “(Doctors) said he may never be able to be vaccinated again if his...
Report: Congress orders probe of Hegseth boat order
WASHINGTON — Republican-led Senate and House committees say they will increase scrutiny of the Pentagon after a report said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of all crew members of a vessel suspected to be carrying drugs, The Washington Post reports. The Post reported earlier that Hegseth had given...
Firearm deer season opens in the state, hunters flock to new Indiana Township game lands
Planning, preparation and patience are keys to a successful hunt, according to outdoorsman Greg Luce. A little luck doesn’t hurt either, as Luce proved on Saturday. Hunting in the recently opened state game lands in Indiana Township, Luce found himself about 30 yards from a large doe, roughly 160 pounds....
No. 13 Miami beats Pitt handily in finale to spoil Panthers’ ACC title game hopes
The desired outcome of Pitt’s regular-season finale Saturday versus Miami would have seen the Panthers intently watching results around the ACC well into the evening. That’s because a win by Pitt against the 13th-ranked Hurricanes, coupled with a loss by either Virginia or SMU, constituted the Panthers’ route to the...
Westmoreland hunters find success in woods on opening day of rifle season
Just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Don Henry heard branches cracking near his hunting blinds in the woods near New Alexandria. Henry, 46, of Unity had spooked about a half-dozen doe. “I didn’t have long to shoot,” he said. But Henry managed to fell one of the largest of the group...
Elizabeth Twp. fire chief: ‘We need to know the hydrants are going to work.’ Firefighters battle house fire despite hydrant failure
Firefighters in Elizabeth Township say they spent more than four hours at the scene of a house fire in the township after a nearby hydrant experienced a “catastrophic failure.” Crews were dispatched to the fire at the 900 block of Dillon Road just before 4 p.m. Friday, according to a...
U.S. halts all asylum decisions after shooting of National Guard members
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has halted all asylum decisions and paused issuing visas for people traveling on Afghan passports days after a shooting near the White House that left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition. Investigators continued Saturday to seek a motive in the shooting,...
Snow, rain and cold in store for some Thanksgiving holiday travelers
A major snowstorm in the Midwest and Great Lakes is bringing winter to some Thanksgiving travelers with forecasters saying the northeast U.S. could get its own early winter storm next week. Winter storm warnings and advisories extended from Montana to Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned there could...
Shoppers spend billions on Black Friday to snag holiday deals, despite wider economic uncertainty
NEW YORK — Despite wider economic uncertainty hovering above this year’s holiday season, shoppers turned out in big numbers for Black Friday — spending billions of dollars both in stores and online. Adobe Analytics, which tracks e-commerce, said U.S. consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online Friday, marking a 9.1%...
Late night police chase and extended manhunt in New Kensington leads to arrest in woods
New Kensington police say a man led them on an extended chase Friday night in which he allegedly drove head-on at a city police car, ending with his arrest in a drain tunnel in a wooded section of the city. Leonard Hayden Jr., 25, of New Kensington is charged with...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Trading George Pickens was still the right move for Steelers
As the Pittsburgh Steelers stay embedded in the mushy middle with no escape in sight, the new blame-game sidebar is the trade of wideout George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for two draft picks this past offseason, that the Steelers shouldn’t have done it. Pickens is having a great year...
Why your electric bill is rising this winter and how to prepare
As residents in Western Pennsylvania finish hanging their holiday lights, electric companies warn that an estimated 1.3 million customers will be hit with higher bills and should prepare accordingly. This week, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission announced forthcoming adjustments to energy supply rates for all state-regulated electric utilities in December. Among...
Police continue to seek information in 2019 death of North Huntingdon chiropractor
Memories of David Bailey come up in conversations frequently. His family remembers how entertaining and generous the North Huntingdon chiropractor was and how others were drawn to him because of those qualities, his wife, Cheryl Bailey, said. “He was that person people wanted to be around,” she said. “There’s no...
Penn Hills High School student dies on Thanksgiving, district officials report
Penn Hills School District is mourning the loss of one of its high school students. Sophomore Victor Adeleke died on Thanksgiving, according to a post on the district’s official Facebook page. “Our entire school community is heartbroken by this tragic loss,” the Friday evening post read. “We extend our deepest...
Trump announces plan to terminate Biden’s autopen directives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is terminating every document former President Joe Biden signed with an autopen in his latest move to eradicate his predecessor’s legacy. In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump accused Biden of signing “approximately 92%” of documents through the use of an autopen. The...
Though not uncommon, hoarding ‘multiplies’ danger for fire crews
When New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba responded Wednesday to a house fire on Richdale Drive, he said, he’d never seen so much packed into a structure in his more than 40 years as a firefighter. “I’ve never seen anything like that — in that amount — before,” Saliba said....
Community, routine spur gym-goers to work out after the holiday
Judy Sproat of Buffalo Township is no stranger to working hard during the holiday season. “I worked as a nurse all my life. I always worked holidays and the day after,” she said. “I don’t take a day off.” Sproat, 75, brought the post-holiday habit into her retirement as she...
After 2-year vacancy, Rustic Ridge lot could see new home built next year
Builders may soon build a new home on one of the plots left vacant for two years after a 2023 Rustic Ridge house explosion in Plum that left six people dead. The land formerly occupied by the home at 143 Rustic Ridge Drive, which was leveled after sustaining enormous damage...
Pittsburgh Mills shoppers take comfort after initial road paving projects
Taylor Harris, 29, was pleasantly surprised when she arrived at the Walmart at the Pittsburgh Mills shopping complex Friday morning. “I think not ripping the bottom of my car out makes it easier to spend money,” Harris said. The New Kensington woman took an Uber to the store out of...
Unseasonably cold weather to persist in Southwestern Pa.
Get cozy, because frigid temperatures are here to stay in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The National Weather Service expects the cold weather that rolled into the region Wednesday to bring weeks of highs mostly hovering in the 30s. Friday’s forecasted high is 35 degrees. Sunday could offer a short respite, with temperatures...
Suspect in shooting of National Guard members facing 1st-degree murder charge
WASHINGTON — The charges against the man who authorities say shot two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were hospitalized in...
Allegheny County rules infant’s death by drugs a homicide
Police are investigating how a toxic mix of antidepressants and a pill used to treat high blood pressure killed a nine-month-old infant this spring, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday. Lena Bedri died early on April 27 at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh due to the combination of...
Mall traffic sees boost as shoppers turn out for traditional Black Friday
NEW YORK — Black Friday bargains no longer tempt people to leave Thanksgiving tables for midnight mall runs. Brawls in store aisles over toys and TVs with limited-time discounts are spectacles of holidays past. Online shopping and retailers launching discounts weeks before the turkey feast subdued that kind of fervor....
Trump vows to ‘permanently pause’ migration from poor nations in anti-immigrant social media screed
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations in a blistering late-night, anti-immigrant screed posted to social media. The extended rant came in the wake of the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington,...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh Police investigate East Liberty shooting; icy roads lead to multiple car accidents Thanksgiving night
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Nov. 28: Police investigate East Liberty shooting Pittsburgh Police are investigating an early-morning shooting that took place in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. Around 1 a.m., police, fire and EMS units reported to the 400 block of Omega...
