Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 843
Vandergrift mom credits youth football coach with saving her baby’s life
Whatever miracles a Kiski Valley youth football coach might perform in leading his team to victory this season will pale in comparison to the action he performed Monday afternoon just outside the Vandergrift field where his team was practicing. Quick action by Kristian Clayton, 45, of Vandergrift saved the life...
Authority mulls adding car charging stations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is considering an agreement with Rostraver-based startup company Kilocharge to add electric vehicle charging stations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Board members asked executive director Gabe Monzo to negotiate with the company after solicitor Daniel Hewitt detailed Kilocharge’s initial proposal. Hewitt said the company proposed...
Etna boy, 16, identified as Pittsburgh fatal shooting victim early Monday
An Etna teenager has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting early Monday morning in Pittsburgh. The victim, Alexander Kowalyk, 16, was shot around 2:40 a.m. Monday in Pittsburgh’s Uptown and Bluff neighborhood. He died Monday afternoon in a Pittsburgh hospital, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said....
Unity restaurant, storage facility join in efforts to help flooding victims
Local businesses have stepped forward to help victims of Friday’s flooding in Unity Township and surrounding areas, joining the efforts of organizations and individuals. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sharky’s Cafe and The Pier will welcome those who are recovering from the flash floods for a free buffet meal at the...
Pa. Rep. Scott Perry says FBI took his cellphone after Trump property search
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry said his cellphone was seized Tuesday morning by FBI agents carrying a search warrant. The circumstances surrounding the seizure were not immediately known. Perry, though, has been a figure in the congressional investigation into President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol...
What the FBI’s search of Trump’s home could mean for Pa. midterm elections
Pennsylvania Republican leaders on Tuesday expressed outrage over the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Florida home, and said they think the incident will boost GOP voter turnout in the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats downplayed the potential political fallout, arguing that Democratic voters became more highly motivated to head to...
Congress can get Trump tax records, federal appeals court rules
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court sided Tuesday with a House committee seeking access to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, rejecting Trump’s contention that Congress was overstepping. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with a lower court judge’s decision...
Highland Park pool closed for rest of summer
Pittsburgh officials announced Tuesday that the Highland Park Pool will remained closed for the rest of the summer because of damage caused by heavy rains and a mudslide. Storms last week caused mud to run into both the kiddie pool and the main pool. Officials said the repairs required to...
U.S. will stretch monkeypox vaccine supply with smaller doses
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Tuesday authorized a new monkeypox vaccination strategy designed to stretch limited supplies by allowing health professionals to vaccinate up to five people — instead of one — with each vial. The so-called dose-sparing approach uses just a fraction of the typical amount of the...
Mastriano cuts short interview with Jan. 6 panel
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, had a very brief visit Tuesday with the congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed that Mastriano spent fewer than 15 minutes speaking to the Jan. 6 committee...
FBI search at Trump Mar-a-Lago estate one of several probes
WASHINGTON — The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate marked a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of the law enforcement scrutiny of the former president, but the Florida operation is just one part of one investigation related to Trump and his time in office. The potential legal peril from multiple...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joining Doug Mastriano for Pittsburgh appearance
Sen. Doug Mastriano has booked a Republican A-lister to help boost his campaign for governor of Pennsylvania. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed, the Mastriano campaign announced Monday, to an Aug. 19 appearance with Mastriano in Pittsburgh. It’s part of a series of swing state rallies being organized ahead of...
Brighton Rehab, Mt. Lebanon Rehab officials accused of health care fraud in federal indictment
Federal and state law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced health care fraud charges against the owners and management staff at troubled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County and Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Both facilities, owned by Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC, have long been the target...
State police identify man who died in Route 51 car crash
State police have identified the man who died in a Tuesday morning car accident on Route 51 in North Union Township. Michael Rhodes, 25, of Connellsville died on the scene while driving a Saturn SUV. At around 5:50 a.m., Rhodes collided with an International Harvester box truck near the Jim...
Avonmore man accused of swinging a knife at neighbors, spitting on troopers
A neighbor was cut on her finger Sunday when state police said she disarmed an Avonmore man who was swinging a knife in the street, according to court papers. Richard W. O’Brien, 45, was being held without bail on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault and resisting arrest...
Police: Gateway band director furnished alcohol to high school girl
The Gateway High School band director is charged with furnishing liquor to minors, according to a criminal complaint. James Hoeltje, 37, is accused of giving vodka and whiskey to a high school girl on several occasions. The victim, who is now 18, also told Monroeville Police that Hoeltje would talk...
Coroner names man who died in Greensburg apartment building fire
Authorities have identified a man who died in a Greensburg apartment building fire Monday night. The Westmoreland County coroner’s office listed the victim as David M. Bramini, 40. A ruling on the cause and manner of death is pending results from an autopsy and from toxicology testing. Greensburg Fire Chief...
Doug Mastriano to appear for questioning by House Jan. 6 panelVideo
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano will dial-in Tuesday morning for a scheduled on-line deposition before the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. But he may not be staying on the line very long, his lawyer says. Attorney Timothy Parlatore says without...
Trump says FBI searched estate in major escalation of probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Monday, a move that represents a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the...
Cleanup continues after flash flooding in Unity’s village of Dorothy
Peggy Gross watched as an antique sewing machine that belonged to her great-grandmother was carried out of her flood-ravaged Unity home. “Oh, that breaks my heart. You have no idea how old that is,” she said while standing under the shade of a tree in the front yard. Bags of...
Former Fort Pitt Brewery in Jeannette among dozen of properties bought by land bank
Westmoreland County’s Land Bank purchased a dozen tax delinquent properties Monday, including a former brewery building in west Jeannette that officials long have described as blighted and targeted for removal. The county’s tax office sold 27 properties at Monday’s judicial sale and earned more than $199,600. Officials put 49 parcels...
Major test of first possible Lyme vaccine in 20 years beginsVideo
DUNCANSVILLE, Pa. — Researchers are seeking thousands of volunteers in the United States and Europe to test the first potential vaccine against Lyme disease in 20 years — in hopes of better fighting the tick-borne threat. Lyme is a growing problem, with cases rising and warming weather helping ticks expand...
Biden surveys flood damage in Kentucky, pledges more U.S. helpVideo
LOST CREEK, Ky. — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday witnessed the damage from deadly and devastating storms that have resulted in the worst flooding in Kentucky’s history, as they visited the state to meet with families and first responders. At least 37 people have died...
Olivia Newton-John, superstar singer and actress, dies at 73
NEW YORK — Olivia Newton-John, the Grammy-winning superstar who reigned on pop, country, adult contemporary and dance charts with such hits as “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want” and won countless hearts as everyone’s favorite Sandy in the blockbuster film version of “Grease,” has died. She was 73....
2 dead, 12 wounded in weekend violence across Allegheny County
A violent night in Pittsburgh capped off a weekend of carnage across Allegheny County that left 2 people dead and 12 injured between Friday night and early Monday. Stephone Drayton, 40, died around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, less than an hour after he and three others were shot on Pittsburgh’s North...
