Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1855
Stocks inch up on conflicting U.S. economic data, Fed remarks
U.S. stock indexes edged higher in afternoon trading Tuesday as investors weighed conflicting reports on how the U.S. economy is doing and remarks by the head of the Federal Reserve. Gains in technology and communications companies helped lift the market after a mid-afternoon slide, outweighing losses in health care and...
Pittsburgh ordinance would expand protection for pregnancy discrimination
Pittsburgh would expand existing protections against pregnancy discrimination to include women and their partners before and during pregnancy and after childbirth under legislation introduced Tuesday by City Council. Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, who introduced the bill, said Pittsburgh would become one of the first cities nationwide to offer protections for partners...
Ham products recalled for possible plastic contamination
You might want to check that ham in your refrigerator because it could be contaminated with plastic. Sahlen Packing Company, based in Buffalo, is recalling approximately 13,224 pounds of ready-to-eat deli ham products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and...
United Auto Workers sues GM to stop 3 plant closings, including Lordstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The United Auto Workers has sued General Motors in federal court to stop the closing of plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland, claiming the company is forbidden from idling plants under its current contract. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Youngstown, Ohio. The plants at which the...
Fiat Chrysler to add 6,500 jobs in Detroit area with $4.5B investment
DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday announced a $4.5 billion investment plan it said would increase its workforce in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs by about 6,500 jobs to build all-new or next-generation SUVs. Under the plan, the company said it would reopen a shuttered engine plant in the city...
Herminie man accused by troopers of injuring infant girl
A 20-year-old Herminie man was arraigned Tuesday on multiple criminal charges for allegedly assaulting an 8-month-old girl he was babysitting last November. Shane M. Morrison was arraigned before Hempfield District Judge Mark Mansour on charges of aggravated assault on a child less than 13 years old, simple assault and reckless...
$500K winning Cash 5 ticket sold in Ambridge
Someone who stopped at a Beaver County convenience store and bought a lottery ticket is $500,000 richer. A winning Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket was sold at the Circle K on Duss Avenue in Ambridge. The ticket matched the all five winning numbers that were drawn on Friday — 02-33-37-41-43...
Kingfly Spirits, a distillery in the Strip District, takes flightVideo
Pittsburgh’s newest craft distillery pays homage to the monarch butterfly in the form of a signature logo. “The monarch butterfly is the paramount perfect image of transformation,” said Kingfly co-owner Blake Ragghianti. “And what we are doing here is about transformation on every level from the spirits we make to...
Mother and daughter charged in ‘atrocious’ killing of five family membersVideo
MORRISVILLE — No one answered when a social worker knocked on the door. Not Shana Decree or her three children. Not her sister or her three children. All was quiet inside unit S-7 at Robert Morris Apartments — because most of the people who lived there were dead. It’s not...
Allegheny River Boulevard reopens after crash
Allegheny River Boulevard reopened to traffic around 8 a.m. Tuesday following a crash that caused it to be closed in both directions between Nadine Road and Washington Boulevard, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher confirmed Tuesday morning. The single-vehicle crash was reported around 5:30 a.m. A utility pole and wires were...
Driver in South Side crash told police he didn’t know how he got there
A man who allegedly drove into a South Side Slopes house told police he’d snorted Xanax prior to the crash, and he wasn’t sure where he was or how he got there, according to charges filed against him. The crash happened about 12:45 a.m. when Douglas Dietz, 32, of Baldwin...
Thousands remain without power in wake of high winds
Power outages caused by Sunday’s high winds continued into Tuesday. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light was reporting just under 11,000 customers without electricity. West Penn Power was reporting a little more than 9,800 customers affected in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Duquesne Light was reporting the...
Fetterman: Pennsylvanians mixed on legalizing recreational potVideo
Pennsylvanians have differing opinions on legalizing recreational marijuana, but Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said Monday he’s heard no opposition to the state legalizing medical marijuana. “I have gone down to many different counties and have had hundreds of conversations with Pennsylvanians all across this great commonwealth, and I have not...
5 things to know about this year’s flu season
As influenza season trudges on, public health officials report fewer cases than last year’s severe and deadly season. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released recently shows a more effective vaccine compared with the previous two seasons and called this season a low-severity year so far for influenza...
Sled tracks lead Erie police to burglary suspect
Erie police said sled tracks left in the snow led officers to items stolen in a burglary at a westside residence on Monday morning. Matthew S. McClure, 28, was arraigned late Monday night on charges including burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property in the burglary at a residence...
Mario Lemieux Foundation social media drive fills wish lists for hospitalized kids
These wishes came true quickly. The Mario Lemieux Foundation’s Make Room For Kids campaign posted a list of items needed for sick children. The tweet went out on Feb. 21. The list was filled within two days. “It is unbelievable,” said Nancy Angus, executive director of the Mario Lemieux Foundation....
Indiana inmate hanged himself, coroner says
An inmate died Sunday after hanging himself at the Indiana County Jail, officials said Monday. Robert Taylor, 31, of Black Lick Township was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy hospital at 7:50 p.m. Sunday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Taylor was taken to the hospital after he was found...
100 mph winds in Sierra, snow from Oregon to Montana
RENO, Nev. — A fierce winter storm packing winds in excess of 100 mph and predicted to bring as much as 8 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada barreled into the West on Monday, toppling trucks and trees, triggering power outages and closing roads and schools from Oregon to...
$10M worth of cocaine seized, 2 arrested in Philly to Pittsburgh drug ring bust
Police say they found about $10 million worth of cocaine hidden in vehicles driven by a pair of Philadelphia men traveling in North Braddock on Monday. Jermaine Clark and Terry Suggs Jr., both of Philadelphia, were arrested on drug and conspiracy charges in connection to an investigation into a major...
SEC wants Tesla CEO Elon Musk held in contempt for tweeting
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweeting habits have triggered another legal challenge from stock market regulators worried about him using his Twitter account to mislead investors. The latest dust-up emerged late Monday when the Securities and Exchange Commission asked a federal court in New York to hold Musk...
Man, 58, shot dead through his home’s door in Rankin
A man died Monday night after getting shot through his home’s front door in Rankin, police said. Shortly before 7 p.m., police and paramedics responded to a residence in the 300 block of Fifth Avenue after receiving a report that a man had been shot there, Allegheny County Police Inspector...
Mark Madden: Penguins GM Jim Rutherford’s deadline deals unlikely to matter much
Every time the NHL trade deadline comes around, Penguins fans want the team to trade for Ron Francis again. Like in 1991. That’s speaking metaphorically. But local hockey nostalgia holds that a blockbuster trade is a harbinger for winning a Stanley Cup, especially since it happened again the next year,...
Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic charged with child sex abuse, convicted in Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia — The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy’s credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ top...
Wind storm a ‘hectic’ boon to tree removal servicesVideo
It was a literal logjam Monday, especially for those in the business of cleaning up downed trees. “I’ve probably given 17, 18 bids already today,” said Kevin Kasavage of CLC Tree Service in Lower Burrell. “I’ve had people call me from Murrysville, Bellevue.” “This is the most my phone’s rang,”...
United Methodist Church on edge of breakup over LGBT stand
ST. LOUIS — The United Methodist Church teetered on the brink of breakup Monday after more than half the delegates at an international conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy. Their favored plan, if formally approved, could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave...
