Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 821
Hempfield man stopped at Delmont Dairy Queen with guns told police he was ‘fighting the shadow fake presidency’
A 2021 involuntary mental health commitment prohibited a Hempfield man from possessing a firearm, but Delmont police said they confiscated three loaded handguns from him after an incident at a Dairy Queen on Saturday, according to court papers released Wednesday. The man claimed to be an undercover state trooper who...
Former NFL player attacked North Versailles woman in front of her 11-year-old son, police say
A former NFL player is accused of breaking into a North Versailles home and beating a woman in front of her 11-year-old son earlier this week. Rontez Miles, 33, of Forest Hills, is charged with burglary, aggravated assault, simple assault and criminal mischief in connection with the alleged attack. A...
Man who stabbed cousin to death gets reduction in sentence
An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday reduced the sentence for a man convicted of stabbing his cousin to death. Emmanual Jones, who was originally ordered to serve 8 1/2 to 17 years in prison will now serve seven to 14 years. Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski handed down the...
1 rail union rejects deal, 2 accept ahead of strike deadline
OMAHA, Neb. — Members of one union rejected a tentative deal with the largest U.S. freight railroads Wednesday, while two ratified agreements and three others remained at the bargaining table just days ahead of a strike deadline, threatening to intensify snarls in the nation’s supply chain that have contributed to...
Thieves target cars at Westmoreland County parks
Westmoreland County Park Police are investigating a rash of thefts from cars at county parks, including one apparently linked to a fraudulent transaction at a Hempfield financial institution. Daylight thefts have occurred throughout the county park system, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers, and have included purses and other items stolen...
Hempfield school officials, police investigating after bus picks up person who claimed to be a student
The Hempfield Area School District is investigating after a person claiming to be a student was picked up by a school bus Wednesday morning and dropped off at the high school. According to information sent to parents, the driver of bus 65 received permission from the bus garage to pick...
U.S. Senate candidates Fetterman, Oz to debate in late October
After repeated calls from his challenger for multiple debates in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election, Democratic candidate and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has agreed to participate in one debate in late October. Fetterman’s campaign said Wednesday that the Democratic nominee has committed to an Oct. 25 debate hosted by Nexstar, a...
Pittsburgh secures funding to boost DUI enforcement, which is about half what it was 5 years ago
Pittsburgh police are making about half the DUI arrests they did just five years ago, but a state grant could help the bureau ramp up enforcement, officials said Wednesday. A $174,000 grant from PennDOT’s Highway Safety Division will help pay for overtime for officers to work DUI checkpoints and patrols,...
Harrison, ATI and Western PA Conservancy partner to ‘put trees to bed for winter’
Harrison resident Sharon Ellis spent much of Tuesday morning weeding and mulching around the trees that dot the grass outside the Highlands High School football stadium along California Avenue. “Trees are good for the health of the community and it’s important that you take care of them properly,” Ellis said,...
Pa. law protects workers who are approved for medical marijuana — but once they use it, it’s a different story
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. Vague legal safeguards for medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania are forcing patients to choose between their job and a drug they...
Local kids get free bikes from Kiski Township police
Kiski Township police bestowed a rainbow selection of bikes for kids living in the Pine Valley Estates along Sugar Hollow Road. Small Huffy bikes with silver streamers on the handlebars, along with red and green boys’ bikes, and pink models emblazoned with butterflies with white wheels for girls, arrived Tuesday...
Queen Elizabeth II lies in state after solemn procession
LONDON — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace for the last time Wednesday, borne on a horse-drawn carriage and saluted by cannons and the tolling of Big Ben, in a solemn procession through the flag-draped, crowd-lined streets of London to Westminster Hall. There, Britain’s longest-serving monarch will...
Devastated Ukrainian village emerges from Russian occupation
HRAKOVE, Ukraine — There’s not much left of Hrakove. Its houses and shops lie in ruins, its school is a bombed-out hull. The church is scarred by rockets and shells, but the golden dome above its blasted belfry still gleams in the fading autumn light. Only about 30 people remain,...
Man critically injured in Turtle Creek shooting
A man was critically injured in a shooting late Tuesday in Turtle Creek, according to Allegheny County Police. First responders found the man when they were dispatched to a shooting reported shortly before 11:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of Airbrake Avenue. The victim, who suffered a gunshot wound to...
Gun found at Pittsburgh International checkpoint; no charges expected
Allegheny County Police said they do not expect to file charges against a 30-year-old Armstrong County man whose handgun was found in a duffel bag Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. Police said Transportation Security Administration officers spotted the gun at the main security checkpoint at 3:30 a.m. Police determined that...
Former McKeesport teacher faces new sex charges as 8th child comes forward
A former McKeesport Area middle school teacher accused of sexually assaulting several children faces additional charges as an eighth alleged victim has come forward, police said. Allegheny County police on Tuesday charged Eric Vincent Fairman, 26, of Pleasant Hills, with corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor under the...
MyPillow executive Mike Lindell says FBI agents seized his cellphone
WASHINGTON — MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell said Tuesday that federal agents seized his cellphone and questioned him about a Colorado clerk who has been charged in what prosecutors say was a “deceptive scheme” to breach voting system technology used across the country. Lindell was approached in the drive-thru of...
Former Fort Pitt Brewery in Jeannette recommended for demolition
The former Fort Pitt Brewery in Jeannette and seven other structures in the city were deemed public nuisances Tuesday and recommended for demolition. It was a formality for the crumbling multibuilding brewery complex in West Jeannette that has been acquired by the Westmoreland County Land Bank in preparation for redevelopment....
Mutt Strut: Pittsburgh event benefits group that provides service dogs to veterans
After a two-year hiatus, Pittsburgh’s Community Mutt Strut returned for an in-person day of fun for four-legged friends and their people pals, all for a good cause. The event, held virtually during the covid-19 pandemic, benefits Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Inc., a Florida-based nonprofit that rescues, raises and trains...
Oz backs U.S. Senate bill to protect same-sex marriage rights
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has joined more than 400 Republican leaders who are calling on the Senate to pass legislation to protect marriage rights for same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, but Justice Clarence Thomas hinted this...
Spirit cuts Fort Myers flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity
Spirit Airlines has eliminated its seasonal flights to Fort Myers, Fla., from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, on Tuesday confirmed the Unity airport’s lone commercial carrier has slashed the route that over the past half-decade carried passengers on three flights a...
Hempfield woman told police she was going to sell 40 bricks of heroin to raise cash for son’s attorney
A Hempfield woman told police she bought 40 bricks of heroin to earn money and was going to sell the drugs to pay for her son’s defense attorney, according to court papers. Misty D. Giron, 46, was arrested last week on drug charges. She is accused of talking with her...
Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies
WASHINGTON — Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, has died at age 76, his family said Tuesday. Starr died at a hospital Tuesday of complications from surgery, according to his former colleague, attorney Mark...
GOP’s Lindsey Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeksVideo
WASHINGTON — Upending the political debate, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban Tuesday, sending shockwaves through both parties and igniting fresh debate on a fraught issue weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Graham’s own Republican party leaders did not immediately embrace his...
Baldwin parents plead guilty to 3rd-degree murder in infant son’s drug death
Despite the tragic circumstances of his young life, Tommy Snelsire was always smiling, his grandfather said. He spent his first days at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh after being born addicted to heroin and fentanyl. Doctors treated him with methadone. While Tommy’s extended family was at the facility constantly, prosecutors...
