Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 854
McKeesport men charged in robbery, assault of 90-year-old Elizabeth Township woman
Two McKeesport men are accused of robbing a 90-year-old woman in a home invasion early Thursday in Elizabeth Township, and one of the suspects is charged with assaulting her. The woman told township police she was sitting in her living room watching television when her cable service went out and...
Judge rules intent to harm supports murder count in Derry Township homicide
Westmoreland County prosecutors will be allowed to seek a first-degree murder conviction against a Unity man who, police say, shot into a Derry Township home and killed a woman as she slept. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger, in a 20-page opinion issued Friday, rejected a defense request that claimed there...
‘That was my last day,’ Quecreek miner says of rescue date after 30-year career
Ron Hileman’s last day underground as a coal miner was July 28, 2002. Being trapped 240 feet below the surface in Quecreek Mine for 77 hours with eight other miners was enough to make him retire. “That was my last day,” he said. Hileman, 69, of Gray, had spent almost...
Penn State increases tuition costs for some, not all, students
Penn State University’s board of trustees approved a tuition increase of 5% for in-state University Park undergraduates and 2% for their commonwealth campus counterparts. That’s the university’s largest tuition hike in 12 years, but it comes with a caveat: In-state and out-of-state students who have a household income of $75,000...
Steve Bannon convicted of contempt charges in Jan. 6 case
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was convicted on Friday of contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Bannon, 68, was convicted after a four-day trial in federal court on two...
Pennsylvania-owned universities hope to increase financial aid, graduation rates
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is starting the final stage of its plan to rethink how it manages state-owned schools. PASSHE’s board of governors approved the third phase during a meeting this week. Among numerous goals, it aims to increase financial aid and graduation rates for students at...
Pittsburgh Bus Rapid Transit project costs grow, undergoing scope revisions
Pittsburgh’s Bus Rapid Transit project is still set to upgrade stations and boost reliability of buses between the city’s two largest business districts - Downtown and Oakland - but officials now say the project is going to cost more than initially estimated, and some of its scope is shrinking. On...
More charged after 911 operator accused of not sending help for Greene County woman
WAYNESBURG — Authorities have filed charges against three more people in the case of a Pennsylvania 911 operator accused of failing to send an ambulance to the rural home of a woman who died of internal bleeding about a day later. According to a criminal complaint, the three men were...
Judge won’t move Capitol riot trials for ex-Shaler teacher, others
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday denied a motion to change venue for the former Shaler substitute teacher charged in the Jan. 6 riot, saying that he believed it was possible to select a fair jury in the nation’s capitol. Defense attorneys for Robert Morss and several of...
Jan. 6 probes: What’s next for Congress, criminal cases
WASHINGTON — This isn’t the end of the Capitol riot story. The House committee investigating the deadly events of a fateful, chilly January day — now a year and a half in the past — has wrapped up its hot summer series of televised hearings, each featuring revelatory details about...
John Fetterman inches back onto campaign trail in Philly with 1st fund-raiser appearances since stroke
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, largely absent from the campaign trail for two months, is slowly resuming his campaign following a stroke that nearly killed him. Fetterman, who suffered the stroke four days before the primary election, has mostly remained out of public view but traveled to the Philadelphia area...
Gainey looks to increase diversity in Pittsburgh boards, commissions
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday announced an effort to increase diversity on the city’s boards and commissions. As part of the initiative, the city launched an application available to all city residents who want to apply for a spot volunteering on a city board or commission. “City government must...
Mission accomplished: How rescuers saved the trapped Quecreek miners
Brad Hillegass had operated a crane plenty of times but never with the lives of nine men in the balance. That changed July 24, 2002, when nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County and his job was to safely lift them to freedom...
‘A complete miracle’: 20th anniversary of the Quecreek Mine rescueVideo
John Unger promised his wife that if something bad ever happened on his job in the coal mine, he’d find a way to survive. For 29 years, he kept that promise, always returning to the rural, century-old Somerset County home where they raised a family and tended to their cattle....
‘A sticky weekend’: Temps in the upper 80s, 90s expected in Pittsburgh region
It’s going to get hot in the Pittsburgh region this weekend. As a heat wave sweeps across the nation, the area will see temperatures upward of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures are expected in the upper 80s on Friday and Saturday and low-to-mid 90s on Sunday, according to Lee Hendricks, meteorologist...
Lee Zeldin, GOP nominee for NY governor, assaulted at rally
NEW YORK — U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, was assaulted by a man who apparently tried to stab him at an upstate event Thursday but the congressman escaped serious injury. “I’m OK,” Zeldin said in a statement. “Fortunately, I was able to grab his...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 22-24
It’s the weekend and it’s going to be a hot one with temperatures near or in the 90s. Here are some ways to spend it. Deutschtown Music Festival Three days of music at 40 venues on the North Side — including near PNC Park — begins Friday and goes through...
Pa.’s unemployment trust fund is broke. The Wolf admin says a long-term fix will save taxpayers millions
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. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have failed to adopt a policy change that supporters say would bolster the state’s pandemic-battered unemployment program...
Minor injury reported when car collides with bear in Loyalhanna Township
A driver escaped with minor injuries when his car collided with a bear Thursday evening on Route 981 in Loyalhanna Township, according to first responders. The crash was reported shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Route 981, between Pump Station Road and Mulberry Drive. “It’s a rather rural area,” said Bill...
Dog missing from Trafford family found dead in Braddock
One day after an Armstrong County woman was charged with theft after police say she failed to return a dog she was pet sitting for a Trafford family, the animal was found dead near railroad tracks in Braddock. Eva Hodgdon, owner of the 1-year-old German shepherd named Nani Nyx, said...
Jan. 6: Trump spurned aides’ pleas to call off Capitol mobVideo
WASHINGTON — Despite desperate pleas from aides, allies, Republican congressional leaders and even his family, Donald Trump refused to call off the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, instead “pouring gasoline on the fire” by aggressively tweeting his false claims of a stolen election and telling the crowd of...
West Deer woman accused of beating, sexually assaulting 7-year-old girl faces multiple felony charges
A West Deer woman faces multiple felony charges after a girl told authorities she was beaten and sexually assaulted by the woman multiple times. Kerren Amanda Morra, 28, of Hampshire Lane was charged with two counts of aggravated indecent assault and counts of unlawful contact with a minor and endangering...
Mt. Washington man convicted of killing witness against him gets life plus 80 years in prison
A Mt. Washington man convicted of killing a woman when he learned she was going to cooperate with federal investigators was sentenced Thursday to serve the rest of his life plus 80 years in prison. Price Montgomery, 42, proclaimed his innocence throughout the three-hour hearing before U.S. District Judge Mark...
Georgia man accused of taking $30K from women in expert witness scam targeting doctors, nurses
A Georgia man is accused of taking more than $30,000 from two women in a scam targeting doctors and nurses in the Pittsburgh area. Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus on Thursday announced the apprehension of Richard Wayne Long, 48, of Ellenwood, Ga. According to a criminal complaint, detectives found Long...
100-ton beams for Fern Hollow Bridge replacement to begin 124-mile journey
Beams that will ultimately support the rebuilt Fern Hollow Bridge will begin their 124-mile journey Monday from Central Pennsylvania to Frick Park, according to PennDOT officials. The beams were produced in Roaring Spring in Blair County and will travel through Cambria and Armstrong counties before ending up on the South...
