Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 653
Rustic Ridge Mine opponents to petition DEP to reject mining permit
A Fayette County-based citizens group is planning to present a petition Monday to state officials asking that environmental regulators reject the request for a permit renewal at a Donegal Township mine. The proposal would extend the mine underneath the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Mountain Watershed Association in Champion plans to hold...
Pa. budget 2023: Your guide to what’s on the table, what comes next and how to follow along
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — June is budget negotiation month in Pennsylvania, when state lawmakers decide how to direct billions of tax dollars and...
Rockin’ Roosevelt fundraiser highlights ‘jewel of the community’ in Arnold
Back in the good, old days, Roosevelt Park in Arnold served as far more than a playground. There was roller skating. Dancing. Entertainment. The city would feature horror movies and the Three Stooges on outdoor screens. And in the winter, someone would open the fire hydrants and flood the concrete...
Unresponsive small plane over Washington causes military jet to scramble, later crashes in VirginiaVideo
WASHINGTON — A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation’s capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region. The Federal Aviation...
Missing man’s body recovered at Iowa apartment collapse site; 2 others still missingVideo
DAVENPORT, Iowa — The body of one of three men who had been missing after the partial collapse of an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, has been found, a city official confirmed Sunday. Branden Colvin Sr.’s body was recovered Saturday, city spokeswoman Sarah Ott said. Two other men — 51-year-old...
State police: Trooper shot, killed driver during illegal I-95 street racing gathering
PHILADELPHIA — A state trooper shot and killed a man whose vehicle struck two troopers as law enforcement tried to get control of an illegal early morning street racing gathering on a Philadelphia interstate, state police said Sunday. State police say troopers were called to I-95 in the Penn’s Landing...
Teen falls through roof of shuttered Century III Mall
A teenage boy was taken to an area hospital Friday night after falling through the roof of the shuttered Century III Mall in West Mifflin. The boy fell about 20 feet at the former Macy’s store, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. His condition was unknown. Skyview Volunteer Fire Company (West...
Motorcyclist killed in collision with tractor-trailer in Washington County
A Scenery Hill man was killed Saturday night when his motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer in Washington County. Joseph Smetanka Jr.. 60, was pronounced dead at the scene on Route 40 near 10 Anderson Drive in Amwell Township, according to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco. Warco said the crash happened...
Firefighters: Residents attack Unity house fire with water from outdoor hot tub
Damage was limited mostly to the outside of a home in the Glen-Aire neighborhood of Unity on Sunday morning as residents poured water on the flames while emergency crews were on their way, firefighters said. Dry Ridge Volunteer Fire Department was among the companies called about 3:30 a.m. to the...
Biden’s 2024 pitch highlights pragmatism over Trump’s pugilism
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden promised voters in 2020 that he knew how to get things done in Washington and could bring stability to the capital. It seemed like a message out of step with the more combative era brought on by Donald Trump. But Biden prevailed, by more than...
DeSantis hits Trump from the right while the ex-president looks ahead to the general election
NEW YORK — In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right. “This is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform...
Chuck Todd leaving NBC political panel show ‘Meet the Press’ and being replaced by Kristen Welker
NEW YORK — Chuck Todd said Sunday he’ll be leaving “Meet the Press” after a tumultuous near-decade of moderating the NBC political panel show, to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker. Todd, 51, told viewers that “I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them...
What led Capitol Police to stop a youth performance of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’
Video of a children’s choir singing the national anthem in the U.S. Capitol, only to be unceremoniously cut off by police, spread across social media on Friday. Capitol Police say singers from Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville, South Carolina, were stopped May 26 because of a miscommunication. Musical performances in...
Resident, pet escape safely from Lower Burrell house fire
A resident and her pet escaped safely when fire broke out at the rear of their home early Sunday in Lower Burrell, according to a fire official. Firefighters were dispatched about 12:30 a.m. after the fire started on the rear porch of a home in the 2600 block of Leechburg...
2 wounded in drive-by shooting in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood
Two people were injured in a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. The shooting victims, both male, were in stable condition, according to city police. One suffered a wound to the right hip and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, police said, while the other arrived...
Greensburg gets new tap room as craft beer making recovers from pandemic lows
Another craft brewer has opened a tap room in Greensburg, the fifth to be selling its own beer within a mile of the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Jeremy and Jennifer Shearer opened their Stone Bridge Brewing Co. tap room at 239 E. Pittsburgh St. this week, during a time when craft...
Amid dusty cleanup, Springdale residents remain unsettled in the wake of smokestack implosions
Susan Mangel didn’t mince words about the implosion Friday of the two towering and iconic smokestacks that have dominated Springdale’s skyline for decades. “It was a disaster,” declared the 22-year resident of Duquesne Court, heaving a sigh from her perch on a porch swing as she gently rocked Saturday in...
Retiring from retirement: Whether for financial reasons or boredom, a growing number of older adults are rejoining the workforce
Michael Trenga was retired two days before he jumped back into the workforce. The decision was financially motivated. “I retired on a Friday and went back to work on a Monday,” said Trenga, 71, of Leechburg. “Without my job, I would have to cut back on a lot — not...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial: Week 1 featured emotional testimony and chilling 911 recordings
The first week of the trial in the mass shooting at a Squirrel Hill synagogue included opening statements, testimony from 21 witnesses and very little cross- examination. They testified in the trial of Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, who is accused of committing the Oct. 27, 2018, mass shooting at...
Biden signs debt ceiling bill that pulls U.S. back from brink of unprecedented default
WASHINGTON — With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt. It was a decidedly low-key denouement to a monthslong drama that unnerved financial markets at home and abroad and caused...
Fire damages 4 buildings, displaces 2 residents in West Aliquippa
Officials are investigating an early Saturday fire that damaged four buildings and displaced two residents in West Aliquippa. Ten fire departments responded to the three-alarm fire reported at about 4 a.m. in a cluster of buildings between Erie and Main avenues, according to Dave Foringer, chief of the Aliquippa Fire...
Coroner IDs 2 men killed in head-on crash in Allegheny Township; second driver seriously injured
Two men riding in the same car died and the other driver was seriously injured in a head-on collision Saturday morning in Allegheny Township. The men who were killed were Alan Louis Karadeema, 41, of Vine Street in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood, and Stephen John Dasta, 53, of Taylor Avenue, New...
Photo gallery: ‘Taking a stand against gun violence’ effort brings rally to Pittsburgh
More than 100 people gathered Friday in Pittsburgh to kick off Wear Orange Weekend, a national gun violence awareness effort. The gathering began in Allegheny Commons Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side and concluded with a peace march. Rabbi Jonathan Perlman of New Light Congregation was among the featured speakers.Perlman was...
Seven Wonders has SummerSounds organizer wondering if it’s biggest crowd yetVideo
The music of Fleetwood Mac has something that can appeal to almost anyone. From strident rock anthems to poignant break-up songs, anyone who can appreciate a well-constructed tune can find something to like. That — plus a beautiful Friday evening in Greensburg — may help explain why the Fleetwood Mac...
Plea in catalytic converter thefts spotlights larger problem
While a New Florence man was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution this week for his role in a catalytic converter theft ring, a salesman at one of the dealerships targeted said there’s little more that could have been done to prevent the crime. William J. Glover III,...
