Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 829
Electrical fire damages Vandergrift family’s home
A Vandergrift family of six is out of their home after it was damaged by fire Thursday. The fire at 429 Walnut St., a two-story house at the corner of Walnut and Irving streets, was reported about 4:30 p.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. Firefighters from several volunteer companies...
Ginni Thomas emails urged lawmakers to overturn Biden’s win in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — The wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas contacted at least two Wisconsin state lawmakers, including the chair of the Senate elections committee, urging them to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in the tightly contested state, emails obtained Thursday by The Associated Press show....
Fans celebrate long-waited return of Backyard Brawl
Pitt and West Virginia fans waited over a decade for the return of the Backyard Brawl, and they weren’t going to wait another minute longer to start partying in the Acrisure Stadium parking lots. There was a line of traffic to get into the stadium parking lots well before they...
Ex-NYPD officer Thomas Webster gets 10 years in prison for Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON — A retired New York Police Department officer was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for attacking the U.S. Capitol and using a metal flagpole to assault one of the police officers trying to hold off a mob of Donald Trump supporters. Thomas Webster’s prison sentence is...
Defense in Tree of Life case wants to know jurors’ religious affiliation
Attorneys for the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill nearly four years ago want permission to ask potential jurors about their religious affiliation. In a motion filed this week in federal court, attorneys for Robert Bowers asked that either they or...
2 flown by medical helicopter after multi-vehicle crash in Fayette County
Two people were flown by medical helicopter for treatment at a trauma center as a result of a crash Thursday afternoon in Fayette County. The wreck involving four vehicles was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Route 51, near Quaker Church Road in Perryopolis, according to a Fayette County 911...
McKeesport man accused of shaking infant son, causing severe injuries
A McKeesport man who police said was exasperated with his crying infant son and frustrated that he had to look after him is accused of shaking the infant so hard that his brain bled. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday said Michael Barber, 29, gave witnesses and police several different explanations...
Swindell Bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side to reopen to traffic
Pittsburgh officials announced that Swindell Bridge in Pittsburgh’s North Side was reopening to all traffic Thursday. The bridge was closed on July 1 because of debris falling from the underside of the span. The bridge connects Northview Heights with Perry South over Interstate 279. Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure...
Civil trial seeking $5M to start in case of West Mifflin football player concussed during practice
Shane Skillpa said he was 16 when he suffered a concussion during a summer football practice at West Mifflin High School in 2009. Although he “saw stars” and was dazed and confused, Skillpa claims his coaches had him return to practice. Skillpa said he began exhibiting common concussion symptoms days...
Truck driver averts serious injury after colliding with freight train in Brackenridge
The driver of a box truck escaped serious injury when the vehicle collided with a freight train while making a turn to cross railroad tracks in Brackenridge. The crash was reported at 12:05 p.m. involving a northbound Norfolk Southern train and a vehicle from YRC Freight, which has a depot...
Man gets federal prison for detonating IED in Lawrenceville
A man accused of throwing an improvised explosive device onto a Lawrenceville street last year did not set out to hurt anyone, his attorney said, but was most likely carrying out a “drug-fueled, ill-conceived prank.” Charles Baker, 35, of Lawrenceville, pleaded guilty Thursday to three federal counts, including possession of...
U.S. advisers endorse updated covid shots for fall boosters
U.S. health advisers on Thursday endorsed new covid-19 boosters that target today’s most common omicron strains, saying if enough people roll up their sleeves, the updated shots could blunt a winter surge. The tweaked shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna promise Americans a chance at their most up-to-date protection...
Twitter readies edit feature for premium users
Permanently misspelled tweets might soon be a thing of the past. Twitter said Thursday it will roll out an editing feature to subscribers of its premium Twitter Blue service later this month. In an update on its plans to introduce an edit button, the social media company said it has...
Decline in gas prices continuing into Labor Day weekend, price tracking service says
Going into the Labor Day weekend, which many mark as the traditional end of summer, gasoline prices are expected to be the lowest since March 3 and 20% less than July 4, price tracking service GasBuddy said. According to GasBuddy, prices this holiday weekend will continue to fall slightly from...
Police academy classes could help address Pittsburgh police staffing concerns
After some Pittsburgh City Council members raised concerns Wednesday about the dwindling number of officers in the city’s police bureau, Mayor Ed Gainey announced two new police academy classes are planned. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police now has 852 officers, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. She said the...
Gov. Wolf starts process to pardon lower-level pot convictions
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvanians with minor, nonviolent marijuana criminal convictions could be pardoned beginning Thursday in a period until the end of the month under a joint effort from Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. The so-called “one-time, large-scale pardon effort” will allow anyone who has been convicted of...
Biden at Independence Hall: Trump, allies threaten democracy
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden warned Thursday night that “equality and democracy are under assault” in the U.S. as he sounded an alarm about his predecessor, Donald Trump, and “MAGA Republican” adherents, labeling them an extremist threat to the nation and its future. Aiming to reframe the November elections as...
Trump documents: No immediate ruling on outside legal expertVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge heard arguments Thursday on whether to appoint an outside legal expert to review government records seized by the FBI last month in a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. There was no immediate ruling, but the judge had indicated last...
Former McKeesport middle school teacher facing charges of sexually assaulting children
A Pleasant Hills man with ties to at least three Allegheny County school districts is accused of sexually assaulting at least four boys over the past three years, and police said they are investigating “many other potential incidents.” Eric Vincent Fairman, 26, taught middle school math in McKeesport Area School...
Mosaics unveiled at Natrona trail, complete connection to community park
Eighty-six-year-old Helen Strzesieski grew up on Chestnut Street in Natrona, one block from what is now the community park. She was among those who gathered Wednesday for the reveal of a 13-set mosaic panel installed along the Harrison neighborhood’s newest asset, a 100-foot concrete trail that connects to the Allegheny...
Norwin school director sues ex-board president, claims he posted inappropriate photos of her on Facebook
A Norwin School Board member is suing a former school board president, claiming he used an alias on social media to post “decades-old” pictures of her “in a state of partial undress” in her home. School board member Shawna Ilagan of North Huntingdon alleges in the three-count lawsuit that Brian...
Greensburg barber opts for retirement after more than 60 years in business
Ed DiOrio knows the long and the short of hair, and a related fact that’s kept him in business for more than 60 years: “Hair grows back.” At 85, the Greensburg man is retiring Thursday from his trade as a barber, along with the barber chair that has followed him...
Trump legal team says storage of government documents is no ‘cause for alarm’
WASHINGTON — The storage of sensitive government documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida “should have never been cause for alarm,” his lawyers argued in a court filing Wednesday. “The purported justification for the initiation of this criminal probe was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained...
Sarah Palin loses Alaska House special election to Mary Peltola
JUNEAU, Alaska — Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat on Wednesday, besting a field that included Republican Sarah Palin, who was seeking a political comeback in the state where she was once governor. Peltola, who is Yup’ik and turned 49 on Wednesday, will...
Pittsburgh police: Teen shot multiple times in Carrick
A 16-year-old boy was shot multiple times Wednesday evening in a home across the street from Carrick High School, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers found the boy suffering from several gunshot wounds in the arm and groin area at around 7 p.m. EMS transported him to a hospital in stable...
