Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 715
Merged Excela, Butler health system is struggling financially, CEO says
Economic storm clouds are on the horizon for the newly combined Excela and Butler health systems, and a “significant expense reduction plan” is in the near future, according to an internal letter signed by President and CEO Ken DeFurio. In the letter — sent to employees and medical staff at...
Experts in lawsuit say mental health care at Allegheny County Jail is ‘grossly inadequate’
Experts retained as part of a federal lawsuit over the treatment of mentally ill people being held at Allegheny County Jail said the facility’s mental health care is “shockingly substandard.” The expert reports filed this month in federal court blamed the problems on issues including:A shortage in medical staffing.A lack...
Gas prices resume fall on worrisome inflation figures, analyst says
Pennsylvania is among a majority of states that saw gas prices decline over the past week, an industry analyst said. “The national average has resumed its decline after a pause last week as oil and wholesale gasoline prices fell on worrisome inflation figures showing the Fed likely to ramp up...
UPMC, head of cardiothoracic surgery will pay $8.5M to feds to settle lawsuit
UPMC, a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon there and a physicians group will pay the federal government $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly placing patients at risk. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed...
Ritual House opens in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Union Trust Building
Rituals mark special moments in life that are worth celebrating — a birthday or anniversary dinner, retirement, a new baby, a business deal. Being able to gather for such happy times for a drink or meal in a place that feels like home is the inspiration behind the name of...
Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explainedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to...
Pa. DEP to spend week testing water samples collected within mile of train derailment
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said Saturday that it has collected drinking water samples from 13 of the 16 known residential wells within a mile of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The DEP announced last week that it would begin systematic collection and testing of water samples in...
Millions who rely on Medicaid may be booted from program
WASHINGTON — If you get health care coverage through Medicaid, you might be at risk of losing that coverage over the next year. Roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the covid-19 pandemic hit. But...
GOP leaders, stung by losses, plan to wade into Senate races
WASHINGTON — A football legend who held a gun to his ex-wife’s head. Rivals who nearly brawled during a televised debate. A venture capitalist who voiced sympathy for the Unabomber. And that’s just to name a few. Republican Senate primaries in several pivotal states last year exuded a carnival-like aura,...
Morning Roundup: Funeral service set for Belle Vernon Area student
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023: Funeral set at Belle Vernon Area High School A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Belle Vernon Area High School in Rostraver for the 6-year-old girl killed Friday morning when hit...
Last-minute problem halts NASA mission with North Allegheny grad
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Last-minute technical trouble has forced SpaceX to call off Monday’s attempt to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission was to be piloted by Dr. Warren “Woody” Hoburg, a 2004 North Allegheny graduate. Hoburg’s role was to be responsible...
Magnitude 5.6 quake hits Turkey; more buildings collapse
ANKARA, Turkey — A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday — three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region — causing some already damaged buildings to collapse, an official said. A father and daughter were reported trapped beneath the rubble of one building. Monday’s earthquake was centered...
Pittsburgh region’s mild winter mitigates some of the misery of ‘pothole season’
Earlier this month, Debbie Bey was looking for someone — anyone — willing to fix a large pothole just off William Penn Highway in Monroeville at the entrance leading to Gabe’s, Sam’s Club and other stores. “I called around to Monroeville, to PennDOT, everywhere, and no one wanted to take...
Surveillance video solves case of missing Gilpin signs
The mystery surrounding missing signs in Gilpin has been solved. This month, Gilpin officials and the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department reported multiple business signs missing from properties throughout the township. Supervisor Charles Stull took to social media Feb. 17, posting about what he described as a “strange” crime on...
Report: Energy Department believes lab leak was most likely the source of covidVideo
A laboratory leak was the most likely origin of the covid-19 virus, according to findings by the U.S. Energy Department, The Wall Street Journal reported. A classified intelligence report provided to the White House and key members of Congress said the virus likely spread because of a mishap at a...
Building the Valley: Springdale restaurant owner aims to put an end to ‘food desert’
Springdale is a food desert no longer. At least that’s the goal for Jamar Sheffey, owner of Tastefully Blessed Kitchen & Smokehouse. With Springdale residents typically being left with nothing but chain restaurants, Sheffey expanded his catering company and opened a brick-and-mortar location in late November to combat the issue....
‘Powder keg’ for 9/11: 1993 trade center bombing remembered
NEW YORK — Lolita Jackson was at her 72nd-floor desk in the World Trade Center, feeling like she worked at the top of the world. Then came the boom, and smoke started curling in from an elevator shaft. Unsure what was happening, she joined thousands of other office workers on...
Contaminated waste shipments from Ohio derailment to resume
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line will resume Monday to two approved sites in Ohio, according to federal environmental authorities. The announcement came a day after the Environmental Protection...
So thrifty: Buying, selling secondhand is affordable, sustainable and fun
Browsing through Goodwill in Cheswick, Brooke Holler was sizing up a wooden easel she was hoping would make a nice stand for a sign at her wedding in September. Holler isn’t just an avid thrifter — she turned her passion into a business. She runs Busy Bee’s on the secondhand...
Consol Energy planning to build pipeline through Plum to carry mine water to Allegheny River
Consol Energy is preparing to build a nearly 4-mile pipeline to carry treated water from the former Renton Mine through Plum to the Allegheny River. According to Consol, the Renton Mine water treatment facility on Old Mine Road has been in operation for more than 30 years. It prevents an...
Westmoreland at 250: Celebrations marking county’s milestone anniversary planned throughout year
Westmoreland County’s origins date to 21⁄2 centuries ago when local pioneering settlers wanted their own courthouse instead of having to trek to Bedford to settle legal disputes. Sunday marks the 250th anniversary — or semiquincentennial — of when the county officially was formed from a portion of Bedford County. It...
Westmoreland at 250: Unity farm owners keeping history alive
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series marking the 250th anniversary of Westmoreland County’s founding. Workers have been busy repairing the roofs on several of the 17 outbuildings that fan out from the historic Sewickley Manor farmstead. Calvin Pollins Jr. is the seventh generation of his family to...
Burning bush, privet species added to Pennsylvania’s noxious weeds list
Burning bush shrubs may appear pretty in the fall, when their leaves turn a blazing bright red. But they also are pretty invasive, and this year they earned a spot on Pennsylvania’s list of noxious weeds. For the past few years, the list has seen the addition of several plants...
Experts: Senate job not to blame for Fetterman health concerns
The eyes of the country were watching Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman as the former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor took office in January, just months after his recovery from a life-threatening stroke. Just weeks into the job, Fetterman checked himself into the hospital in early February for tests...
Salutes, not sobs: Concert honoring Brackenridge Chief McIntire benefits several Alle-Kiski Valley departments
Loni Hutchens choked up remembering how her knees buckled when she heard that Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was gunned down. Kim and Dale Davis explained that whenever an officer is shot, they agonize over whether it’s in Pittsburgh, where their son patrols on the midnight shift. And Lisa Ingle...
