Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 733
Highlands to implement new tools to combat student vaping
Highlands administrators will get an edge in their battle against the popular — but unhealthy and illegal — teen habit of vaping. Detectors will be installed in restrooms at the middle and high schools in the coming weeks to notify officials when students are puffing inside the stalls. “Vaping is...
Skull found on Pa. riverbank in 1986 ID’d as missing NJ man
MORRISVILLE, Pa. — Authorities say a skull found on banks of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania more than 3 1/2 decades ago has been identified as that of a man long believed slain in New Jersey along with his girlfriend, whose body had been found in the river on the...
Allegheny County child welfare algorithm faces Justice Department scrutiny
PITTSBURGH — The Justice Department has been scrutinizing a controversial artificial intelligence tool used by a Pittsburgh-area child protective services agency following concerns that it could result in discrimination against families with disabilities, The Associated Press has learned. The interest from federal civil rights attorneys comes after an AP investigation...
Morning Roundup: 1 killed, 1 injured in Beaver County crash
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023: 1 killed, 1 injured in Beaver County crash A teenager was killed and another injured in a crash in Beaver County early Tuesday, according to state police. Troopers said a 15-year-old passenger in a Hyundai...
Sticker shock: High heating bills from December have more seeking help
Henry and Holly Johnson of Greensburg did what they could during the cold days of December to keep their heating bill manageable, to a degree that others might not find comfortable. “We keep the (thermostat) temperature at 67 degrees,” Henry Johnson said. And if family and friends visiting over the...
Architecture of shuttered Westinghouse lab in Churchill to get closer look at webinar
An aerial view of the former George Westinghouse Research and Technology Park in Churchill reveals a nod to the company’s early ties to the railroad industry. The corporate campus was designed to look like a locomotive. But workers at the now-empty Churchill site, which opened on 150 acres in the...
McKeesport mayoral candidate pardoned for 1993 drug convictions faces new drug charges
A McKeesport mayoral hopeful who was previously pardoned for a 1993 drug conviction is now accused of being part of what the state Attorney General’s Office called a major drug ring in Allegheny County. Corry J. Sanders, 52, was one of seven men charged on Dec. 30 following an 11-month...
Report: 1 dead, 1 critically injured in Ellwood City shooting
A woman is dead and another person is in critical condition following a shooting late Monday afternoon in Ellwood City, city officials told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Ellwood City police are investigating the shooting, which took place shortly after 5:15 p.m. Monday along First Street, Mayor Anthony Court told WPXI....
Forecasters say snow to taper off — leaving cold, freezing rain behind
Snow was tapering off throughout the region Tuesday morning after rain turned into a mix of snow and icy glaze in some areas, leaving behind cold temperatures, according to National Weather Service meteorologists. “There’s a frontal boundary moving through with some warmer air aloft, and a colder surface temperature,” NWS...
Judge grants motion to separate sentencing phase in Tree of Life trial
The judge presiding over the Tree of Life mass shooting case ruled Monday that if Robert Bowers is found guilty, the sentencing portion of the case will be held in two separate phases. The decision by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville will require that victim impact testimony be received...
President Biden to end covid-19 emergencies on May 11
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing covid-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public...
Allegheny County seeks to clarify confusion over permanent mail-in ballot applications
Allegheny County election officials are reminding voters that mail-in ballots are not sent to their homes on a permanent basis, and voters must complete an application at least once a year if they want to vote by mail. This week, the county will be sending out 300,000 mailings to voters...
Pittsburgh to pay tribute to August Wilson during Black History Month
Pittsburgh officials said Monday that the city will celebrate Black History Month in February by paying tribute to August Wilson, an acclaimed playwright who was born in the city’s Hill District. The city’s Office of Special Events is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Library System, which has acquired Wilson’s...
Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run in Ross
Ross Police arrested a woman in connection with a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run that occurred Jan. 13 on Babcock Boulevard. Erin Lee Petroski, 39, of Ross, is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence (DUI), involuntary manslaughter, accidents involving death, DUI, driving at an unsafe speed, and careless...
Assault, harassment charges against former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno thrown out
A Pittsburgh judge on Monday threw out charges against a former city mayoral candidate who police accused of threatening a man with a shotgun. District Judge Mik Pappas dismissed a simple assault charge against Anthony “Tony” Moreno, 54, the Republican nominee for mayor in 2021, and a harassment charge was...
Pittsburgh creating new office to handle events from film productions to block parties
A newly created Pittsburgh government office will be responsible for managing events ranging from large-scale film productions to neighborhood block parties. The Office of Film and Event Management will operate within the city’s Department of Public Safety. The office will receive and vet applications for small- and large-scale events and...
Gas prices heading back toward $4 after 5 weeks of increases
The average price of gas in the U.S. has increased more than 10% in the past month and could reach $4 per gallon again, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average price of gasoline Monday was $3.51 per gallon, according to AAA. That’s 9 cents higher than last week,...
7th Memphis officer disciplined, EMTs fired in Tyre Nichols death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, officials said Monday, widening the circle of punishment for the shocking display of police brutality after video showed many more people failed to help him beyond...
Westmoreland Bar Association plans free clinic on child custody issues
A free clinic in Greensburg next month is aimed at helping with child custody legal issues and questions, which are among the top reasons people call the Westmoreland Bar Association, according to Executive Director Alahna O’Brien. Often, those callers can’t afford an attorney or a fee to get a consultation...
Car topples gas-station pump in East Pittsburgh
A car crashed into a gas station parking lot early Monday, toppling a gas-station pump. An 18-year-old woman was driving along Lincoln Highway in East Pittsburgh when, just before 2 a.m., she lost control of the car, spun counter-clockwise and struck a gas-station pump, knocking it over, state police said....
Lunch crowd slowly finding its way back to challenged Downtown restaurants
When Wiener World opened on Smithfield Street in Downtown Pittsburgh in 1965, the disc jockeys in KQV radio’s storefront studio a block away were only in their second year of playing Beatles records, Lyndon Johnson was president and the U.S. was still four years away from landing a man on...
Mon-Fayette Expressway’s next phase will help test innovative road concepts
Paul Metzler of Murrysville isn’t confident that truckers will voluntarily limit their use of “jake brakes” on the stretch of Route 22 situated down the hill from his home in Manordale Farms. “Between the ribbed concrete that the highway is made of and the increase in trucks that all use...
Death toll from Pakistan mosque suicide bombing rises to 74
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The death toll from previous day’s suicide bombing at a mosque in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday jumped to 74 after rescuers retrieved 15 more bodies from the rubble, police and rescue official said. Bilal Faizi, the chief rescue official, said they were still removing the rubble after...
Greensburg YMCA plans job expo to remedy staffing shortage, curtailed programs
The Greensburg YMCA is planning a Job Expo on Wednesday to help fill available openings ranging from child care teachers to lifeguards and custodians. CEO Suzanne Printz said the nonprofit organization is looking to hire about 50 people as it copes with staff shortages that have been a problem since...
Narcan training in West Deer aims to bolster awareness, knowledge of opioid overdoses
Esther Whittinger doesn’t know anyone who takes drugs. She doesn’t have any loved ones she thinks might overdose. But she still attended a free Narcan training clinic and took with her a few doses of the drug, which reduces the effects of opioid overdoses. “I’m just interested in the aspect...
