Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1864
As UPMC and Highmark split, patients agonize over having to switch doctors
A New Kensington man may have to say goodbye to his neurologist at an upcoming appointment after being under his care for roughly 25 years. Jack Swanger, 65, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991 at age 37 when he experienced double vision while on the job as a heavy-machine...
No injuries in North Huntingdon house fire
No one was hurt in a house fire on Wilshire Drive in North Huntingdon on Saturday night, but the homeowner said the damage is extensive, WPXI reports. Dispatchers told WPXI that the fire started around 8:15 p.m. The homeowner, Carol Petrosky, said that she had noticed that the wood burner...
Pennsylvania to figure high in Vatican abuse summit this week
Fallout from last summer’s Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse is settling 4,500 miles away. When Catholic leaders gather in Rome this week for an international summit on sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the church, there will be a distinctive Pennsylvania presence — both among the assembled...
Popular Pittsburgh auto show showcases models through Monday
Thousands descended upon the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Saturday for the Pittsburgh International Auto Show. The annual event runs through Monday in Downtown Pittsburgh. Participating this year are 40 manufacturer exhibits, from Acura to Volvo, and dozens of vendors from AAA East Central to WVU Eco Car. Hours...
Man surrenders to Pittsburgh SWAT in Mount Washington house
A man allegedly took a vehicle without permission in the Mount Washington section of Pittsburgh at about 12:50 p.m. Saturday then jumped out and ran into a house and refused to come out, a police spokeswoman said. Officers surrounded the house along the 100 block of Secane Avenue. The man,...
Women’s club: Westmoreland County Prison has become home to more female inmates
Editor’s note: Renatta Signorini participated as a 2018 jails and justice reporting fellow through a program by the John Jay Center on Media, Crime and Justice in New York City. The fellowship program supported journalists in examining issues related to jails in small towns and rural communities. Signorini’s work will...
Westmoreland ax throwers sharpen skill for national tourney
Paul Wedge has been practicing morning, afternoon and evening for the national ax-throwing championships. The Westmoreland City man remembers how tough the competition was last year when he first qualified through Valhalla Indoor Axe Throwing in Hempfield. “This year, I’m a lot more mentally prepared and I know what to...
Antonio Brown tweets that Ben Roethlisberger has ‘owner mentality’
He. Just. Won’t. Quit. Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown won’t stop using social media as a means to stir conflict. Brown on Saturday morning replied to a Twitter user, presumably a fan who used the “AskAB” hashtag, who asked him about the origins of the rift between Brown and quarterback...
Man told IRS he made $18,497 and requested a million dollar refund. They gave it to him.
Filing your taxes involves the honor system. You fill in all your data and sign your name promising that everything is true. If you asked for one, the government then sends you a refund. Eventually things get reviewed, verified and, supposedly, settled up. A Tampa man put the system to...
Climate change means more floods, great and localized
COLUMBIA, S.C. — When he took the job 15 years ago, Horry County Emergency Manager Randy Webster figured his biggest disasters would be wind and surge rolling over his county’s beaches, South Carolina’s top tourist destination. Instead, his worries have shifted inland, where rivers overflowing their banks have caused two...
Penn State’s THON poised to raise millions to fight childhood cancerVideo
Penn State University students are pulling in funds from communities throughout the state and the world while it hosts THON, a 46-hour dance marathon. The student-run philanthropy is “committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer,” according to its website. “Our mission is to provide...
Inbound Liberty Tunnel lanes reopened at 4 p.m. today
Both inbound Liberty Tunnel lanes reopened at about 4 p.m. Saturday after crews spent hours removing debris on McArdle Roadway, according to PennDOT. This was about an hour earlier than predicted by PennDOT. The road had been closed between the Liberty Bridge and Grandview Avenue, and traffic was reduced to...
Student newspaper column about ‘white boys’ makes waves at Pennsylvania college
Leda Fisher wanted to start a conversation. The Dickinson College senior, however, didn’t anticipate that would involve professors including it in lectures in class or that it would go viral online, with national organizations posting it to their websites. “I certainly did not expect my article to go viral,” Fisher...
Latrobe-area hotel to become a Hampton Inn in April
A plan to appeal more strongly to business travelers has prompted a renovation and re-branding effort by a Unity hotel. The former Wingate by Wyndham hotel, on Route 30 just east of Route 981, is slated to debut as a Hampton Inn in April. While an interior makeover continues, about...
Amateur radio society recruiting members young or old
Amateur radio operators relay radio messages during natural and man-made disasters and fun events like Pittsburgh’s Great Race. And they don’t get a dime. They can’t, according to Federal Communications Commission regulations. Instead, their noncommercial messages relay information — often when cellphone towers are damaged and unavailable, such as in...
WPXI parent company Cox Media Group is being sold
An international company has reached a deal to purchase the majority interest of Cox Media Group, impacting 14 television stations, including Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV. According to a release on Cox Enterprise’s website, Apollo Global Management, LLC, an alternative investment manager, will soon manage the stations along with Cox’s radio, newspaper and...
Hays bald eagles lay 2nd egg in Pittsburgh nest
The bald eagles in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood laid their second egg of the season at their nest Friday. The Hays eagles, in their seventh season, generally lay two to three eggs in their nest overlooking the Monongahela River and the Pittsburgh skyline. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, which operates...
4 sent to hospital after 5-vehicle wreck on McKees Rocks Bridge
Four people were sent to the hospital after a five-vehicle crash on the McKees Rocks Bridge on Friday night. Allegheny County officials say nine people were involved in the crash, which occurred just before 9 p.m. Friday. The bridge was shut down and reopened about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Two people...
Kittanning police searching for missing woman, 27
Kittanning Borough police are getting tips about the whereabouts of a missing 27-year-old woman, but she was still missing as of 3 p.m. Saturday. Katie L. Stoner, 27, has been missing since 6:30 p.m. Thursday. “We’ve had some tips and we want others to call,” Officer Ken Bussard said. Police...
Body found in Bellevue, foul play not suspected ‘at this time’
Allegheny County and Bellevue police are looking for an identity and circumstances for a body found in a wooded area late Friday afternoon. The body was found near railroad property near Ohio River Boulevard and Bellevue Station. At about 5:40 p.m., Allegheny County 9-1-1 received a call from two juveniles...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ season full of crazy sidebars
The Penguins’ power play is one for its last 21 and has surrendered two short-handed goals in that time. It’s not often a power play is minus-1 over a 10-game span. But the Penguins’ penalty kill has scored nine short-handed goals since Dec. 14, an incredible number. The answer seems...
Picklesburgh needs your vote to be picked Best Specialty Food Festival
This is a really, really big dill. Picklesburgh has been nominated by USA Today as one of the best specialty food festivals in the country. The festival has been held on the Roberto Clemente Bridge. This free festival celebrates all things pickled, has attracted national attention that has included the...
Stained glass windows stolen from historic Braddock church
Police are investigating the theft of more than a dozen stained-glass window panes from a 126-year-old church in Braddock. A passerby noticed the theft Thursday morning at the former First United Presbyterian Church on Parker Avenue, according to a spokesman for the Mon-Valley Initiative. The church, built in 1893, shut...
Raccoon in Green Tree is 3rd animal to test positive for rabies in Allegheny County in 2019
The Allegheny County Health Department confirmed Friday that a raccoon brought to one of its facilities earlier this week tested positive for rabies. The raccoon is the third animal this year to test positive for rabies. The raccoon was discovered near the 1500 block of Glencoe Avenue in Green Tree....
Police: Worker failed to deposit $10,000 from Donegal McDonald’s
State police on Friday arrested a Cambria County woman on accusations she took $10,844 from a Westmoreland County McDonald’s restaurant where she worked, according to court papers. Cheryl Anne Dahmen, 33, is charged with two counts of theft. Troopers said the Donegal Township restaurant owner reported Jan. 24 that three...
