Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1776
Election guide: Here’s what you need to know for the primary
Primary Election Day is Tuesday. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Some of the notable races include Allegheny County district attorney, Allegheny County council, Pittsburgh city council, Westmoreland County sheriff and Westmoreland County commissioner. To get more information on polling places, go to the official election pages...
Garth Brooks lights it up in record-breaking Pittsburgh show
A Pirates jersey-clad Garth Brooks performed for a record-breaking audience Saturday night at Heinz Field on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The concert was delayed slightly because of weather concerns, but the crowd — expected to top 75,000 for a Heinz Field record — was allowed to resume entering the stadium shortly...
Coal still fuels economic fire in Pennsylvania, industry study reports
Don’t rule the coal industry out as an economic force in Pennsylvania just yet. A new study — conducted by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and commissioned by the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance — found that coal mining accounts for nearly $7 billion in economic activity in the state, including...
Watch Heinz Field crowd sing Garth Brooks’ ‘Friends in Low Places’
Everyone knew this was coming, but it doesn’t make the moment any less special. Fans attending the Garth Brooks show Saturday night at Heinz Field took over when Brooks played fan-favorite “Friends in Low Places.” At his preshow news conference Friday, Brooks cracked that he hasn’t actually sung “Friends in...
Schools turn to apps, other tech to guard against shootings
LOS ANGELES — Schools trying to protect kids from mass shootings are turning to gunshot detection systems, cellphone apps and artificial intelligence — a high-tech approach designed to reduce the number of victims. Technology that speeds up law enforcement’s response and quickly alerts teachers and students to danger is a...
Alligator on the South Side, goat on Baum Blvd.: busy day for animal control
A family fishing along the banks of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon encountered something else: an alligator. The family spotted the alligator sunning itself on a riverside trail around 1:15 p.m., according to Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri. The gator, about 3 feet long and weighing...
Pittsburgh Diocese announces mergers, shrines established, priest assignments
Five parish mergers were announced Saturday by Pittsburgh Diocese Bishop David Zubik. He also said five Downtown Pittsburgh church buildings will be classified as shrines. Zubik said the five parish mergers are a result of the ongoing On Mission for The Church Alive! initiative. The bishop made the announcements in...
Former Disney employee accused of stealing parks’ costumes
ORLANDO, Fla. — A former Walt Disney World employee with backstage access stole about $14,000 worth of costumes and items from the Magic Kingdom and Epcot theme parks, authorities said Friday. Patrick Allen Spikes, 24, faces burglary, grand theft, and trafficking in stolen property charges, news outlets reported. The Orange...
2 DAs obtain injunction against municipal authority, warn of pollution to Mon River
Two county district attorneys are intervening in a dispute between a local municipal authority and a Rostraver landfill over concerns fracking waste is polluting the Monongahela River. On Saturday, Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone and Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower announced they had obtained a temporary injunction against...
Garth Brooks fans swarm North Shore prior to Heinz Field concertVideo
The temperature on the North Shore was 84 degrees and rising at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, less than an hour before the gates at Heinz Field were set to open for the Garth Brooks concert. People sought shade and were filling the grassy spaces near trees outside the stadium. Others were...
Friends, family of Cassandra Gross gather in remembrance of beloved missing woman
Melissa Moore became fast friends with Cassandra Gross in 1993. Their relationship progressed from working together in a mailroom to meeting up outside of work. Moore would, at first, introduce Gross to others as her coworker, until one day when Moore used the word friend, instead. “We moved from coworkers...
Ray Charley finishes cross-country ride, dips bike in Atlantic Ocean
Ray Charley has finished his cross-country bicycle ride for veterans. The 68-year-old owner of the Shop ’n Save stores in Greensburg and Murrysville posted to Facebook at about noon Saturday that he had completed his 3,058-mile benefit ride across the southern United States on behalf of Feherty’s Troops First Foundation....
Heinz Mayochup has an unfortunate translation in Cree
The Kraft Heinz company must have been selling a decent amount of their mayonnaise-ketchup mashup in the United States so they expanded sales into Canada. What could go wrong? Mayochup tastes exactly the same on both sides of the border but Canada’s Cree speakers think the condiment sounds a little...
Hempfield church .5K fundraiser aims for ‘all gain, no pain’Video
No training? No problem. The Greensburg Alliance Church in Hempfield held a race Saturday that was a twist on the traditional 5K — a .5K that required not even the equivalent of two laps around a regulation track. The theme of the day was “All Gain and No Pain.” “It’s...
Norwin grads killed in 9/11 attacks remembered with a plaqueVideo
Two Norwin High School graduates who were among the first victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, were remembered Saturday in a memorial ceremony at the Norwin High School Veterans Memorial. A plaque with the names of Brian Dale, class of 1976, and David Kovalcin,...
U.S. warns airliners flying in Persian Gulf amid Iran tensions; ExxonMobil begins evacuations
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. diplomats warned Saturday that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being “misidentified” amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underlined the risks the current tensions...
Peters Township School District investigating racist post on board member’s Facebook
McMURRAY — Peters Township School District says it’s investigating a racist Facebook post that appeared to have been published on a school board member’s personal page. Screenshots have been circulating of the since-removed post which looked like it was been made by Peters Township School Board member William Merrell. Merrell...
‘Hoss’ the Ohio hair ball is 125 pounds and counting
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio — What’s 4 feet tall, 125 pounds and is covered in hair? No, it’s not Cousin Itt of the Addams Family. It’s Hoss, the giant ball of human hair. Hoss, named after Dan Blocker’s character from “Bonanza,” is an oblong shape and is, well, hairy. Hundreds of people...
Low voter turnout expected in Tuesday’s primary despite key local races
Between 75% and 80% of the region’s registered voters aren’t expected to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary, according to elections officials. The primary features county, municipal and school board races for Republican and Democratic party nominations to run in November’s general election. Local taxes are traditionally one of the...
Garth Brooks Heinz Field concert to bring in millions to Pittsburgh economy
Garth Brooks is bringing more than just his legendary sound to Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Hotels, bars, restaurants, merchants and laborers will hear the ring of cash registers all weekend. “We had a special meeting about this concert,” said Bob Page, director of sales and marketing for the Omni William...
Car with 4 occupants goes into creek in Plum
Four people were injured when a car went into a creek in Plum Borough Friday night. A Plum police spokesman said the occupants were “injured but stable.” The accident was reported near the intersection of Kerr Road and Dinwiddie Drive at 7:07 p.m., an Allegheny County Department of Public Safety...
AG: Pimp, prostitute got 14-year-old girl involved in prostitution, drugs
A Pittsburgh woman and a Turtle Creek man are accused of getting a 14-year-old girl involved with prostitution, including encounters in the Alle-Kiski Valley, and giving her drugs and alcohol. A criminal complaint filed by the state Attorney General’s Office identified Davon Allen Fuqua, 32, as a pimp and Shannon...
Garth Brooks never tires of old hits because fans do all the work
Garth Brooks never tires of performing old hits like “Friends in Low Places,” because he lets the fans do all the work. Brooks, who will play Heinz Field Saturday night, said he’s often asked if there is a song he wished he never had to sing again. “What they don’t...
Rep. Frankel, Pittsburgh Jewish lawmaker, outraged with pro-life group using Holocaust images
An anti-abortion group went too far this week when it sent state Rep. Dan Frankel said an email loaded with black and white photos of Holocaust death camp victims to protest his vote on an abortion bill, the Squirrel Hill lawmaker said. Frankel, who is Jewish, represents the district that...
Greensburg boys get surprise reunion with Air National Guard father
It was all tears and shock when brothers Liam and Connor Gallagher turned around Friday at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg and saw their father. Patrick Gallagher, a master sergeant in the Air National Guard, walked out of the school kitchen. Gallagher had been deployed for six of the last nine...
