Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1653
U.S. jobless rate falls to 50-year low of 3.5%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell in September to a new five-decade low of 3.5%, while employers added a modest 136,000 jobs. The Labor Department says that despite the ultra-low unemployment rate, which was down from 3.7% in August, average hourly wages slipped by a penny. Hourly pay rose...
National Taco Day kicks off the weekend with a little spice
Never mind Taco Tuesday. Friday is National Taco Day, and lovers of the cheesy, the saucy, the crunchy are on the hunt for delicious deals. According to nationaltacoday.com, the word “taco” is the Mexican equivalent of the English “sandwich.” A corn or wheat tortilla is filled with a spicy protein,...
Officials: No one injured in Hempfield fireVideo
Nobody was injured in a Hempfield house fire early Friday morning. The fire was reported after 6 a.m. along Everglade Road, south of Route 30, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. A huge plume of smoke rose from the two-story structure as firefighters battled flames that kept rekindling throughout the...
5 Pittsburgh chicken sandwiches you must try
We get it. You can’t get your hands on the Popeye’s chicken sandwich and you’re a tad unnerved. Your belly needs a chicken sandwich, come hell or high water. We have you covered. Believe us, plenty of other Pittsburgh places serve up succulent options when it comes to chicken sandwiches....
Nonprofit aims to restore Allegheny County’s tree canopyVideo
If it seems you can see more of the sky in Allegheny County these days, you’re right. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Allegheny County lost 10,000 acres of tree canopy between 2010 and 2015, according to a survey released last year by Tree Pittsburgh, a nonprofit group aiming...
Coroner called to scene of shooting in West DerryVideo
Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth Bacha confirmed his office was called to the scene of a shooting Thursday night in the West Derry section of Derry Township. A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said state police were called to an incident on West Fourth Avenue (Route 217) just before 8 p.m. Additional...
Westmoreland woman’s suit links Juul use to seizures
A Westmoreland County woman is suing the makers of Juul electronic cigarettes, claiming she suffered two seizures and impairment after using the device earlier this year. The complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, states that Kimberly Mays, a mother of two, suffered “catastrophic personal injuries” and is...
Penguins change their goal song … and fans are not amusedVideo
Change is sometimes difficult, and for some Pittsburgh Penguins fans, it’s inadmissible. Case in point: the goal song. Once Evgeni Malkin scored in the second period in the season opener against the Buffalo Sabres, Penguins nation was expecting to hear “Party Hard” by Andrew W.K. You know: But when Evgeni...
5 things to watch in Week 6 of the high school football season
Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak likes this week’s matchup but not necessarily the timing. The Jaguars take a break from their Big Eight schedule to visit undefeated Central Valley, the second-ranked team in WPIAL Class 3A. With the playoffs fast approaching, how should a team tackle a tough nonconference matchup...
Not just Ukraine, Trump now calls for China to investigate BidensVideo
WASHINGTON — Ensnared in an impeachment inquiry over his once-secret appeal for Ukraine to investigate an American political rival, President Trump openly underscored that request Thursday and flung it wider, urging global rival China to probe Democrat Joe Biden and his son. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said Americans...
Mars man accused of having handgun at Pittsburgh airport
A Butler County man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at the Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint Wednesday with a loaded 9 mm handgun, officials said. The TSA said it was the 29th gun found at the Pittsburgh airport checkpoint this year. Last year 34 guns were found. Allegheny...
Route 51 reopens after tractor trailer cargo spill
A portion of Route 51 in the South Hills that was closed Thursday evening due a cargo spill from a tractor trailer has reopened. Allegheny County dispatchers said the vehicle carrying sheets of steel at Saw Mill Run Boulevard and Wabash Street lost some of its cargo shortly after 5...
Zambelli Fireworks CEO resigns
The president and CEO of Zambelli Fireworks, Tom Bametzrieder, has resigned, according to a statement from the company. “We thank him for his service and wish him luck in his future endeavors,” Ed Meyer, a managing partner at Zambelli, said in a statement. The company did not provide further details...
Pittsburgh police officer in legal limbo over medical marijuana use
A Pittsburgh police officer is in a legal Catch-22 over medical marijuana. Mayor Bill Peduto confirmed on Thursday that the city placed the officer, whom officials have declined to name, on paid administrative leave six to eight months ago after he tested positive for marijuana. The officer had a state-issued...
Daily Download: Top Pittsburgh news for Oct. 3, 2019Video
Welcome to the TribLIVE Daily Download. Each day, TribLIVE reporters and editors will break down the biggest news of the day, with video highlights of the people and places making headlines. Today, assistant digital content leader Matt Rosenberg discusses the continuing case of the parents who took their baby from...
Grandparents hope to take custody of West Mifflin baby found in TennesseeVideo
The paternal grandparents of the 8-week-old boy from West Mifflin who was found Tuesday in Tennessee after a five-day search said Thursday their son and his wife didn’t know they were wanted on criminal charges for abusing their baby. “They thought they were in their rights as parents to get...
Prosthetic hand in works for graduated Thomas Jefferson softball player
Haleigh Karcher was three days away from graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School when she was swinging across Peters Creek on a rope. The standout high school softball catcher’s hand got caught on the rope, severing three and half fingers on her glove hand. Karcher, 18, was to play softball...
Brackenridge native Chris Conroy has part in Fox’s ‘Almost Family’Video
Did you spot a familiar face in last night’s the premiere of “Almost Family” on Fox? That was Brackenridge native Chris Conroy playing the part of Sam. Here is the network’s back story for the show: “Only child Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow, the “Pitch Perfect” franchise, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) finds her...
Climate activists fail: ‘Fake blood hose’ backfires spectacularlyVideo
It was going to be pretty dramatic: Fake blood covering a British government building. The climate activists — called Extinction Rebellion — were ready atop a fire truck, armed with a large fire hose that was hooked up to hundreds of gallons of fake blood. Their mission was to coat...
Twin births in U.S. now going down, at lowest level in decade
Fewer U.S. families are seeing double, according to a government report that finds a drop in new twins. Twin births steadily increased for more than three decades, driven largely by older white moms undergoing fertility treatments. But the rate of twin births apparently peaked in 2014 and has fallen 4%...
Tatted up: ‘Fashion of Flesh’ runway show held in PittsburghVideo
Hip at the Flashlight Factory on Pittsburgh’s North Side was full of color. More than 150 people attended “The Fashion of Flesh” fashion show at the venue on West North Avenue. The first-ever runway event Wednesday evening, part of Pittsburgh Fashion Week, showcased local tattoo art on models. The show...
Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese adds former news anchor Jennifer Antkowiak to staff
Former KDKA news anchor Jennifer Antkowiak will be the new face of community relations for the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese as it works to move forward from last year’s scathing grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse. Bishop David Zubik announced Thursday that Antkowiak has been hired to fill the newly...
Hempfield’s Terry Ranieri to be honored at Heinz Field before Steelers game
Hempfield’s beloved Terry Ranieri is getting a posthumous honor this weekend at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Ranieri, who died Aug. 22, will be recognized Sunday during Steelers pregame festivities that will feature his favorite musicians — the Hempfield Area marching band. “I think it’s really nice that the Steelers did...
15-year-old girl foster girl missing from Lower Burrell found
A teenager who was reported missing from Lower Burrell since Tuesday night has been found, according to police. Joslyn Rankin, 15, was found around 1 p.m. Thursday at a friend’s residence in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, Lower Burrell Detective Brandon Nedley said. Nedley said Rankin’s friend called Allegheny County Children, Youth...
22 hurt in parachute training at Mississippi military base
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — At least 22 soldiers have been injured as hundreds parachuted onto a Mississippi military base during a night training exercise. U.S. Army spokesman John Pennell told WDAM-TV that the paratroopers were among 650 soldiers jumping from C-130 planes Wednesday night. Some were blown off course from their...
