Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 632
Morning roundup: Mars man jailed after allegedly soliciting sex from group posing as minors
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 7: Mars man accused of soliciting sex from minors A Mars man has been charged with trying to solicit sex from two decoys posing as teenage girls. Adams Township police charged Dale Wahl Pine, 61, with permitting...
Greensburg Community Development Corp. selects new executive director
A Greensburg resident is set to take the reins of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. as the nonprofit takes key steps in its efforts to revitalize the city. The organization’s board recently selected Alec Italiano as its new executive director. He will succeed John Stafford, 23, who is set to...
Cruiser crash sends Pittsburgh police officer to hospital
A Pittsburgh police officer was taken to a hospital after a city cruiser was involved in a crash Thursday evening in the East Allegheny neighborhood. A city Public Safety spokeswoman said the crash happened at about 7:30 p.m., at Madison and Spring Garden avenues, while the officer was responding to...
Government expert says synagogue shooter has personality disorder, not mental illness
A nationally renowned psychiatrist who has evaluated some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th and 21st centuries believes that the man who killed 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue does not have any diagnosable mental illness, including schizophrenia. What Robert Bowers does have, though, that expert said,...
Idlewild tightens summer hours: Park to close every Wednesday for the rest of the season
Idlewild and SoakZone in Ligonier Township will be closed on Wednesdays for the rest of the summer. The amusement park’s online calendar indicates closures every Wednesday through July and August. The park did not respond to requests for comment left Thursday afternoon. Kennywood Park in West Mifflin will be closed...
National Senior Games expected to bring 10K athletes, $30M in visitor spending to Pittsburgh
The National Senior Games getting underway Friday in and around Pittsburgh will showcase some of the top 50-and-older athletes while also pumping tens of millions of dollars into the region’s economy, officials say. The National Senior Games — hosted by SportsPittsburgh, a division of the tourism agency VisitPittsburgh — is...
Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease. The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia...
Study: Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small...
4-year-old shot in Rostraver, flown to Pittsburgh hospital
A 4-year-old boy was shot in the head Thursday in Rostraver and was flown to a hospital for treatment, according to officials. Westmoreland County detectives and township police were investigating Thursday afternoon at the scene along Gaudio Drive, which intersects with Route 201. The child was flown to UPMC Children’s...
Soapy suds fill Levin Furniture fountain in Monroeville
Levin Furniture & Mattress employees arrived at their Monroeville location Thursday morning to find a giant mountain of soap spilling out of the waterfall which adorns the front of their property on Route 22. “People sabotaged it overnight and threw four bottles of Dawn dish liquid into it,” said Levin...
Walnut Capital looks to expand Bakery Square, support affordable housing in Pittsburgh’s East End
Walnut Capital is looking to nearly double the size of its Bakery Square development in Pittsburgh’s East End. The Bakery Square office and commercial development opened in 2009, expanded to include housing and now sits on 20 acres in Larimer and Shadyside. Walnut Capital is looking to expand the specially...
Inflatable domed structure in Pittsburgh ‘Architects of Air: Daedalum’ is an immersive experience
Cavernous domes, enchanting tunnels and captivating pods are located inside the multipeaked structure that’s situated in The Backyard, the summer arts park at the corner of Eighth Street and Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. The exhibition is dubbed “Architects of Air: Daedalum.” The inflatable sculpture, known as a luminarium, was...
2 more lawsuits target Mammoth Park’s Giant Slide
Two more individuals are suing Westmoreland County, claiming they were injured while riding the rebuilt Giant Slide in Mt. Pleasant Township’s Mammoth Park. Danielle Hunter-Campbell of Mt. Pleasant Township claims she dislocated and fractured her left ankle on Feb. 9; and Christina Savisky of Youngwood says she fractured her right...
1 in 5 United Methodist congregations in U.S. have left denomination over LGBTQ conflicts
More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations — a fifth of the U.S. total — have now received permission to leave the denomination amid a schism over theology and the role of LGBTQ people in the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination. Those figures emerge following the close of regular meetings in June...
Pennsylvania House approves state budget after Gov. Shapiro backs off voucher plan
HARRISBURG — Late Wednesday night, the Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House approved a new state spending plan after a days-long stalemate in Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. The chamber approved the main bill in a $45 billion spending plan, 117-86, as the state government plowed through its fifth day without full spending authority....
Morning Roundup: Coroner identifies Coraopolis teen killed in Parkway West crash
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, July 6: Coraopolis teen killed in Parkway West crash The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the person killed in a two-car crash this week on the Parkway West. Santino Didomenico, 19, of Coraopolis, was pronounced dead...
‘You will have an ambulance’: Jeannette leaders scramble in wake of EMS closing
Members of Jeannette council likely will discuss during a work session Tuesday how to move forward after Jeannette EMS abruptly closed this week, leaving city officials scrambling to ensure residents have ambulance coverage. Councilwoman Robin Mozley, who is the service’s liaison with the city, said questions remain after what she...
Breaking bread: Brown Bear Bread Cafe in Mt. Oliver creates more than loaves of dough
Mt. Oliver has a neighborhood bakery again — and if Kate Clemons has her way, just maybe a greater sense of community because of it. Brown Bear Bread Cafe opened last month in spot that once housed the hyped Kevin Sousa restaurant Mount Oliver Bodega and most recently The Finer...
Kennywood to close every Tuesday through the rest of the season
Got a free Tuesday this summer? Kennywood will not be an option, beginning next Tuesday, July 11. According to the West Mifflin park’s website calendar, Kennywood will be closed every Tuesday for the remainder of the summer season. Park spokesperson Tasha Pokrzywa issued a statement about the change in hours...
Judge’s order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions
NEW ORLEANS — An order by a federal judge in Louisiana has ignited a high-stakes legal battle over how the government is allowed to interact with social media platforms, raising broad questions about whether — and how — officials can fight what they deem misinformation on health or other matters....
Pittsburgh officials advance plan to tear down poorly rated bridge despite lawsuit
Pittsburgh City Council advanced legislation Wednesday that, if adopted, would clear the way for the city to tear down a poorly rated bridge despite an ongoing lawsuit. The bridge crosses over Saw Mill Run Boulevard near Woodruff Street, linking the city’s Bon Air and Mt. Washington neighborhoods. The bridge is...
Judge fines Century III Mall owners more than $240K over conditions at West Mifflin site
A judge hit the owners of the shuttered Century III Mall with a hefty fine Wednesday in response to the dilapidated condition of West Mifflin’s once-mighty shopping center. During a brief hearing Wednesday, District Judge Richard D. Olasz Jr. fined Century III Mall Pa. LLC and Moonbeam Capital Investments just...
Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program in budget stalemate
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came as state government plowed through its fifth day without full...
Few fireworks-related injuries, arrests reported in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh first responders treated 33 people who suffered mostly minor injuries in the Downtown area during the city’s annual fireworks celebration in Point State Park. The majority of those treated suffered injuries when someone “reportedly set off firecrackers during the official display, causing groups of people to run from the...
Family remembers 1-year-old killed in North Versailles as ‘bright, bubbly’
Arionna Porter liked to sing the catchy children’s song “Baby Shark,” often swinging her arms to imitate a shark’s chomping jaw. The 1-year-old girl from North Versailles had a gap between her still-new front teeth, which made her frequent smiles just a little bit goofier. And she loved her little...
