Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 411
Greensburg Salem preliminary budget contains nearly $2.4M shortfall
Greensburg Salem School District is facing a nearly $2.4 million shortfall in its preliminary budget for next school year. The school board has until the end of June to pass a balanced budget for 2024-2025. That can be achieved by cutting expenses, increasing revenue through a tax hike or other...
Find out which Pittsburgh radio stars are behind the new Yinzer Dogs food truck
An idea in the making since the Original Hot Dog Shop closed in Oakland in April 2020, the Yinzer Dogs food truck is up and rolling. It’s easily spotted by the bright yellow bridge design with an image of a hot dog tucked inside a bun with squiggly lines of...
Former WPXI reporter Dee Thompson dies at 84
Retired WPXI reporter DeHaven “Dee” Thompson died May 9 at age 84. Thompson worked at Channel 11 from 1974 until his retirement in 2009. WPXI meteorologist Scott Harbaugh posted a tribute on Facebook, writing, “ ‘Dee’ was one of the kindest people you would ever want to meet. … Always...
First Call: All-Steelers schedule edition: Thoughts, concerns on odd quirks, choppy flow, brutal 2nd half
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule is hard, odd, scattered, heavy on primetime games, and light on AFC North contests until almost Thanksgiving. So we’re dedicating all of Thursday’s “First Call” to a full breakdown of the quirks, trends, hot spots and pitfalls that the Steelers could face in 2024. Vengeance is...
Morning Roundup: $3M lottery ticket sold in Pittsburgh
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 16: $3 million lottery ticket sold in Pittsburgh A winning Mega Million lottery ticket worth $3 million was sold in Pittsburgh. Kuhn’s Market along Banksville Road will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, Pennsylvania...
Greensburg to outfit its police with body cameras
Greensburg council this week approved buying body cameras for its police force. It also will be developing a policy for how they will be used. When the city receives the cameras, the police department will work with Motorola to install them and expand the computer server that holds police vehicle...
Pittsburgh man arrested in connection with Hill District homicide
Pittsburgh police have made an arrest in connection with a homicide early this month in the city’s Hill District. Anthony Young, 35, of Pittsburgh was killed May 3. Young was shot in the head in the 2500 block of Bedford Avenue, near the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Watt Lane....
Hempfield Area School Board approves district’s next superintendent
Incoming Hempfield Area School District Superintendent Mark Holtzman is keenly aware of the stalled high school renovation project. “The large construction project that’s been kind of looming over the last couple of years really needs to take shape,” he said. “I think kind of orchestrating and getting those things tied...
Lower Burrell man charged in connection with church disruptions, threatening to exorcise priests
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is applauding the capture of a Lower Burrell man accused of disrupting church services across the region, including at churches in New Kensington and Freeport. Wendell Hissrich, the diocese’s director of safety and security and former Pittsburgh public safety director, said that, given the climate...
Delmont-area McDonald’s sued over sex claims involving manager taking advantage of teen employee
A lawsuit filed this week alleges the owners of the Delmont-area McDonald’s failed to adequately investigate the criminal background of a manager who was charged by police with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old employee. According to a two-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County Court, the fast-food restaurant owners are accused of...
Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. The order allows the use of a map that has majority Black populations...
‘Get things done right’: Top Biden aide vows to fix scars of urban renewal in Pittsburgh
More than one Pittsburgh neighborhood bears the scars of urban renewal gone wrong. The predominantly Black communities of the Hill District and Manchester are just two examples. Now, the administration of President Joe Biden wants to fix the federal government’s mistakes. Tom Perez, a senior advisor to Biden and labor...
Steelers’ schedule includes back-to-back road games to open season, Christmas game with Chiefs
For the first time in 25 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers are scheduled to open the season with back-to-back road games. They will close it with consecutive home games for the first time in almost a decade. They won’t face a divisional foe until Week 11 and then will play six...
Final culprit in Oakmont girl’s abuse, death pleads guilty to homicide
Her sister and brother-in-law are already serving decades in prison for abusing and killing his 3-year-old daughter. Now, it’s just a matter of time before Alexis Herrera joins them. On Wednesday, Herrera, 24, of Oakmont pleaded guilty to a general count of criminal homicide for the June 9, 2020, death...
Social media reacts to upcoming Biden-Trump presidential debate
It’s official — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to take the debate stage together, and their first matchup is coming soon. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the two presidential candidates agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September, and the first will...
‘Force of nature’ Patty Ameno dies at 72
The Kiski Valley is missing one of its most dogged, outspoken voices. Longtime environmental activist and Kiski Valley resident Patty Ameno has died. Ameno, 72, of Hyde Park died Friday, according to friends, who are flooding social media sites with expressions of grief and condolences. Ameno was known by friends,...
Canadian wildfires pose threat of smoke to Western Pa. once again
Pennsylvania skies could be clouded by wildfire smoke again this summer, according to meteorologists. Canada’s wildfire season has begun, and air quality alerts have spread across the United States. Air quality alerts are in effect across northern Iowa, and as the smoke spread southward and eastward Monday, parts of Minnesota...
Pittsburgh council refuses to OK controversial $1,200 payment to ex-city worker
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday refused to authorize a controversial $1,200 payment to a former city employee for his work as a contractor amid widening concerns over the use of city credit cards. Council voted unanimously to not approve the payment to Mario Ashkar following warnings by Controller Rachael Heisler...
Squirrel Hill deli hit with consumer alert after rodent droppings, mice found
The Bagel Factory, a deli in Squirrel Hill, was hit with a consumer alert following an inspection by the Allegheny County Health Department. The report identified several high-risk violations, including the presence of rodent droppings on food contact surfaces within storage and hallway areas, marking a repeat offense. Additionally, inspectors...
Deadly overdoses fell in the U.S. for the 1st time in 5 years, new estimates show
Deaths from drug overdoses fell last year in the United States as fewer people lost their lives to fentanyl and other opioids, marking the first time the death toll had dropped in five years, according to newly released estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials said...
United Methodists scrap their anti-gay bans. A woman who defied them seeks reinstatement as pastor
Twenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked from her beloved job as a United Methodist pastor in Philadelphia. In a church trial, she was found guilty of violating “Christian teaching” because she had acknowledged living in a committed relationship with another woman. Earlier this month, delegates at a United Methodist...
Retail sales were unchanged in April from March as inflation and interest rates curb spending
NEW YORK — Retail sales in April were unchanged from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. The number following a revised 0.6% pace in March, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. It rose 0.9% in February. That comes after...
Biden and Trump agree on presidential debates on June 27 and in September
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN — setting the stage for the first presidential face-off in just weeks. The quick agreement on the timetable to...
CNX plans $1.5B hydrogen fuels plant at Pittsburgh airport, but wants federal tax credit to build it
HARRISBURG — Natural gas producer CNX Resources said it plans to build a $1.5 billion facility at Pittsburgh’s airport to make hydrogen-based fuels, but only if President Joe Biden’s administration allows coal mine methane to qualify for tax credits that are central to the Democrat’s plan to fight climate change....
New Castle police chief says noise complaint may have led to fatal shooting
A deadly shooting Tuesday afternoon in New Castle may have been spurred by a noise complaint, according to New Castle Police. Officials said officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired along East Washington Street at 4:17 p.m. Officers found an adult man, who has not yet been identified,...
