Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1766
Cops: Somerset County meth lab discovered after explosion
An explosion which sent a suspected drug manufacturer to the hospital, brought investigators to his meth lab in Somerset County, according to state police. Zachary Maust, 33, of Berlin Township, allegedly was in his father’s garage in Brothersvalley Township on May 18, making meth using the “one-pot method,” which involves...
Trump wishes ‘happy Memorial Day’ to U.S., Japanese troops
ABOARD THE USS WASP — President Donald Trump on Tuesday wished “Happy Memorial Day” to U.S. service members aboard an American assault ship docked in Japan. They shouted “U.S.A. U.S.A.” Trump called them a “tough bunch of people” and dubbed them “daring and mighty warriors in the Pacific.” The president...
Overnight Ohio tornadoes leave trail of destruction
BROOKVILLE, Ohio — A rapid-fire line of apparent tornadoes tore across Indiana and Ohio overnight, packed so closely together that one crossed the path carved by another. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries in the twisters, among 52 tornadoes that may have touched down Monday...
Man dead, teen injured in Pittsburgh Hill District shooting
One man is dead and a 15-year-old girl is injured after a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, according to the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. Police were called to the Bedford Dwellings apartment complex on Chauncey Drive just before 11 p.m. Monday for a report of shots fired. They found...
Benefit headliner Sheila E. says Pittsburghers are ‘so cordial’
When drummer Sheila E. was 15 years old, her father’s band needed a percussionist. One of the members was ill and not able to perform at the show in San Francisco, Calif. Sheila E. told her dad she could step in. “He wasn’t for that, but when my mom told...
Artist has left her mark all over Pittsburgh for decades
The Sarris Candies store in Canonsburg is artist Maria DeSimone Prascak’s Sistine Chapel. Over the years, she’s transformed the shop and adjoining ice cream parlor into a colorful candyland using paint, clay, papier-mache and crystal embellishments. Prascak’s brush has touched 450 feet of murals, two columns, three ceiling domes, five...
Cora Lee Cupcakes welcomes customers with desserts everyone can enjoyVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com Not all sweets are, well, sweet. Some can be...
Knife-wielding man attacks schoolgirls in Japan, killing 2
KAWASAKI, Japan — A man carrying a knife in each hand and screaming “I will kill you!” attacked a group of schoolgirls and adults as he walked toward a school bus parked at a bus stop just outside Tokyo on Tuesday, killing two and injuring 16 before killing himself, officials...
Frazer police: 1,029 THC cartridges worth nearly $61K in West Deer man’s car
A West Deer man faces drug charges after Frazer police said they found more than 1,000 highly potent THC cartridges with an estimated street value of nearly $62,000 in the back seat of his car during a traffic stop Monday afternoon. Police stopped a car driven by Adam Stephen Viale,...
WW II veteran, 101, throws Memorial Day party in Lower Burrell
Bill Tingle’s ears perked as his daughter called out, “Dad, look, there’s a kid waving to you.” “Thanks for your service!” shouted a young boy with a toothy grin from the backseat of a car driving by along Leechburg Road, minutes after the city’s annual Memorial Day parade came to...
Unity Army veteran: Talking helps war trauma survivorsVideo
Thomas Abraham knows intimately about the psychological costs of war. As a young man, the Unity veteran led even younger men, many still in their teens, while serving as a captain in the Army’s 173rd Airborne Battalion in Vietnam. After the West Point graduate was transferred within the battalion, “most...
New research shows Pittsburgh to be birthplace of pro hockey
A historical marker on Pittsburgh’s North Side denotes the spot of the first professional football game played, coming in 1892. If Perrysville native John Schalcosky has his way, a similar marker soon will be erected in Oakland, noting the city as the birthplace of professional hockey, as well. Schalcosky is...
Bill Buckner, forever known for error in 1986 World Series, dies at 69Video
BOSTON — Bill Buckner, a star hitter who became known for making one of the most infamous plays in major league history, died Monday. He was 69. He died after a long battle with Lewy body dementia, Buckner’s family said in a statement. The disease causes Alzheimer’s-like symptoms along with...
Officials: 2 tornadoes hit Saturday in Indiana County
Two tornadoes touched down in Indiana County over the weekend, damaging a home and uprooting trees, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday. Meteorologists said a tornado with a wind speed of up to 90 mph touched down just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday along High Rise Drive in Burrell Township. It...
Pa. lawmakers report $83K in travel on annual ethics disclosures
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers’ newly filed ethics forms show they accepted more than $83,000 in free trips last year and collected a variety of gifts, booze and free meals. That’s just the value that lawmakers reported, and they are not required to disclose everything they accept in a state...
Trump in Japan: Pomp and tense circumstance
TOKYO — All the pomp and pageantry in the world couldn’t paper over the tensions between President Donald Trump and Japan’s Shinzo Abe on two of their most pressing issues: North Korea and trade. The president and prime minister tried mightily to minimize their differences during Trump’s four-day state visit...
South Hills Memorial Day parade features firefighters, marching bands and veteransVideo
The South Hills Memorial Day parade featured two fire departments, local police, high school bands and veterans. The parade began on Brookline Boulevard Monday morning at 10 a.m. and wove through Brookline, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon. It ended at the Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. The Mt. Lebanon police guard led the...
Editorial: Does Pittsburgh view have too many signs?
Pittsburgh has always been a city pulled in opposite directions. It’s built around the natural wonder of two rivers coming together to birth a new waterway, but it was built by vital industries that obscured the sky and belched pollution for decades. It’s the home of ground-breaking, enviable medical treatment...
New auto giant? Fiat Chrysler wants to merge with Renault
PARIS — Fiat Chrysler proposed on Monday to merge with France’s Renault to create the world’s third-biggest automaker, worth $40 billion, and combine forces in the race to make electric and autonomous vehicles. The merged company would reshape the global industry: it would produce some 8.7 million vehicles a year,...
Preparing to sue, ex-Boy Scouts recall abuse by unit leaders
NEW YORK — Sharing their stories doesn’t come easily for these middle-aged men. At times, their eyes well up or their voices crack as they describe being sexually abused in the Boy Scouts and suffering from emotional damage long afterward. Looking back, they all remember vividly how excited they were...
Democratic-led states divided over approach on abortion
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A bill seeking to preserve abortion protections in state law fails to pass a key committee. Lawmakers cite God, church and faith in proclaiming their opposition to it. Abortion-rights groups protest outside a gathering of lawmakers. What sounds like a legislative fight in a state controlled by...
Sit. Study. Fetch a bachelor’s degree in dog training.
COBLESKILL, N.Y. — Luna the springer spaniel is learning to sniff out a troublesome golf course fungus in return for a tennis ball while helping her handler fetch a new breed of bachelor’s degree. The four-year program in “canine training and management” officially launches this fall at the State University...
Man escapes Tarentum house fire from 2nd-floor window; 2 pet cats dieVideo
A Tarentum man who escaped flames ripping through his two-story home early Monday with help from police and a neighbor’s ladder was treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. At least two pet cats died in the fire at the duplex on Conroy Way, officials and neighbors said. The sound of...
WDVE revives the Memorial Day 500 music countdown
Are you counting down the tunes with WDVE this holiday weekend? The radio station resurrected the beloved Memorial Day 500, a countdown of the top 500 rock tunes of all time. It’s been more than two decades since WDVE-FM 102.5 hosted the music bonanza. Middle age yinzers no doubt remember...
Gus Frerotte huddles up with former AOL Sports executive Jimmy Lynn
Former Ford City High School standout and NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte sits down with Jimmy Lynn, a former AOL vice president who oversaw AOL Sports’ strategic partnerships, in the latest edition of the podcast “Huddle Up with Gus.” In each episode, Frerotte discusses with guests how sports has shaped their...
