Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 456
Crescent house explosion marks 3rd in Western Pa. since summer
The fatal house explosion in Crescent on Tuesday morning marks the third in Western Pennsylvania since August. Emergency crews responded to the scene just before 9 a.m. at the 1400 block of Riverview Road,. The Crescent explosion is exactly seven months after the Aug. 12 house explosion in Plum’s Rustic...
‘Complete devastation.’ Crescent fire chief confirms 2 dead in house explosion
Two people were killed Tuesday morning in a house explosion in Crescent, authorities said. The fatalities were confirmed by Crescent Fire Chief Andrew Tomer. He did not identify the adult victims but said one was a man and the other a woman. He added that authorities had been in contact...
Congressional hearing on Biden classified documents probe turns into proxy campaign battle
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers turned a Tuesday hearing on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents into a proxy battle between the Democratic president and Republican front-runner Donald Trump, as a newly released transcript of Biden’s testimony last fall showed that he repeatedly insisted he never meant to retain classified information...
Police: Dispute between brothers led to fatal shooting at Jefferson County Walmart; 1 in custody
State police are investigating a shooting that left one person dead at a Walmart in Jefferson County. The shooting happened at a store in Young Township, according to a press release issued by police shortly after noon on Monday. Police said a dispute between two brothers led to a physical...
Water use restrictions lifted as Beaver Run Reservoir levels return to normal
About 56,000 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers are free to use water as they choose as levels at the Beaver Run Reservoir have bounced back. The authority on Tuesday ended its voluntary conservation order, days after the state lifted its drought watch for the county. The reservoir stood at...
Greensburg could demolish shuttered parking garage near Westmoreland Hospital this summer
The shuttered J. Edward Hutchinson Parking Garage in Greensburg could be demolished and replaced with a new parking lot by the end of the summer, if the state approves the city’s request to repurpose funding. Greensburg City Council approved an agreement Monday with Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital to repurpose...
Morning Roundup: 2 injured in Brookline crash; $890K lottery ticket sold in Irwin
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, March 12: 2 injured in crash in Brookline Two men were injured and transported to the hospital early Monday after the vehicle they were riding in crashed into a building in Pittsburgh. The crash happened at about 12:30...
‘I’m excited’: Donnie Iris ready to hit the stage a year after cancer diagnosisVideo
It’s been more than a year since Donnie Iris last got to play a concert, but he isn’t nervous. Not after the year he’s had. “No, I’m excited,” Iris said in a phone call last week. “I’m excited more than anything.” Iris, who just turned 81 on Feb. 28, finally...
License plate readers becoming more common, helpful to police
Springdale is set to be the latest community to use license plate readers at its intersections. The borough’s police department adopted the Automated National Noninvasive Insurance Enforcement (ANNIE) program, Chief Derek Dayoub said. Dayoub said ANNIE is a community policing and problem-solving program for police departments to address a nationwide...
Daylight saving time got you feeling beat? You’re not alone
Are you feeling extra exhausted after the weekend? A likely explanation could be your body’s response to the daylight saving time switch, according to Dr. Brian Lamb, internal medicine physician at Allegheny Health Network. From Saturday night into Sunday morning, an hour of sleep was lost — to offset the...
Repairs to fire truck could cost Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department $60,000
Repairs to one of the five vehicles at Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department will wipe out the department’s budget for repairs this year, its chief says. Fixing the 25-year-old Freightliner could also eat up most, if not all, of what’s left of the $35,000 the borough budgeted for repairs for...
Rep. Frankel seeks details about imminent closure of UPMC Montefiore dental center
A UPMC decision to close its Montefiore dental center has state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, worried about how many patients will be displaced and the potential impact on their care. Frankel sought an explanation for the closure in a letter sent Friday to UPMC, a copy of which was...
Tenants face deadline to move as Latrobe condemns bug-infested apartment building
In two weeks, Vanessa Jordan is supposed to be moved out of the Latrobe apartment she’s called home for the past 11 years. A few dozen of her closest neighbors are in the same situation because the city condemned the six-story apartment building they share at 333 Main St. “I...
White Oak woman dies after crash on East Carson Street
A woman was killed Monday afternoon in a multi-vehicle crash that also seriously injured a second woman in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats. Mary Alice Bendick, 60, of White Oak was pronounced dead at about 3:30 p.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The crash happened at about 1...
Election testing underway in Westmoreland County
More than 19,000 ballots are being cast and counted this week in Westmoreland County. The date of Pennsylvania’s primary election hasn’t been moved up. The unofficial test ballots are being cast and counted to ensure the accuracy of the county’s voting machines in advance of the April 23 primary. “At...
Florida teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender ID under ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill settlement
ORLANDO — Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it’s not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged a state law which critics dubbed “Don’t Say...
Former Manor cop facing criminal charges was fired last month, borough mayor confirms
A former Manor police officer whose preliminary hearing on burglary and other charges was postponed Monday was fired last month in light of his criminal case and other alleged infractions, according to the Westmoreland County borough’s mayor. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, Westmoreland County, was terminated at Manor’s...
Police charge Richland driver, 18, in fatal McCandless crash that killed 2 teens
Six teens piled into an SUV after a late-night hike in North Park, driver Aiden Saber behind the wheel of his mom’s Land Rover. It was late December, and they all had been drinking beer, police said. Saber pulled out of the park and “punched” the gas, according to a...
Russell Wilson to Steelers: What they’re saying in Denver
The Russell Wilson era in Pittsburgh is officially expected to begin this week with an anticipated signing between the quarterback and the Steelers. Wilson has indicated that he plans to sign with the Steelers once the NFL calendar year begins on Wednesday. But what about the city he left behind?...
House Republicans move ahead with TikTok vote even as Trump voices opposition to possible ban
NEW YORK — House Republicans are moving ahead with a bill that would require Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States even as former President Donald Trump is voicing opposition to the effort. House leadership has scheduled a vote on the measure for...
Councilman Wilson pitches latest idea to fill Pittsburgh’s Downtown buildings
Pittsburgh leaders are eyeing a new proposal to jump-start development Downtown by cutting property taxes, marking the latest effort to address the city’s gloomy fiscal outlook. The measure would offer a 10-year real estate tax break for developers who transform empty office space into housing or put them to other...
Guard punched inmate in Allegheny County Jail cell, police say
An Allegheny County Jail guard has lost his job and been charged after he punched an inmate multiple times, authorities said. Robert Veith, 49, of Plum, was conducting window cell checks Jan. 3 when the incident occurred, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said Monday. Surveillance video showed Veith talking...
Russell Wilson by the numbers – a look at new Steelers QB
A numerical-based sampling looking at the career of Russell Wilson, the quarterback who has agreed to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers: 9 Number of seasons (all among his first 10 in the NFL) that Wilson has been named to the Pro Bowl 1 Times Wilson was named to an AP...
Morning Roundup: Unity crash sends motorist to Pittsburgh hospital
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, March 11: Unity crash sends motorist to Pittsburgh hospital One motorist was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment Sunday after a car he was riding in crashed in Unity. Pennsylvania State Police said Jack Susick, 20, of...
Vietnam War veteran informs today’s generation of long ago war
Vietnam War veteran Monty R. Murty of Ligonier Township remembers how in late January 1968 he was assisting South Vietnamese soldiers in decorating a Vietnamese village to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Plans for the revelry that were part of the ongoing U.S. efforts to win the “hearts and minds”...
