Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 875
Final leg of PA Hero Walk supporting veterans to march through region
Area residents can show their support for local veterans by greeting or joining members of the PA Hero Walk as they complete the final leg of their 14th annual trek across the state this weekend. The half-dozen veterans accompanied by two drivers started their trip at 8 a.m. June 12...
Man stripped to underwear, socks after incident at Greensburg pharmacy, police say
A man is being held without bail in a crime spree Sunday that, police say, ended when he stripped to his underwear and socks and was arrested while pushing a shopping cart full of stolen goods on a main thoroughfare in Greensburg, according to court papers. Alex M. Kerestesy, 31,...
Tom Cruise’s success credited with bump in Westmoreland air show attendance
It isn’t exactly risky business to assume that actor Tom Cruise’s summer blockbuster sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” may have played a role in the wildly successful attendance figures reported for this year’s Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow. About 50,000 people attended the air show earlier this month, making it among...
Statewide Pa. police hiring database hindered by loopholes, lack of enforcement
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 — A Pennsylvania database of police personnel records lauded as a national model is riddled with loopholes that raise serious...
Burgettstown man pleads guilty to killing 3-year-old in Coraopolis
A Burgettstown man pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree murder for the beating death of a 3-year-old boy last year in Coraopolis. Aiden Lombardi died on Feb. 3, 2021, a day after police said he was beaten by Tyler Scott Mason. Mason, 27, will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas...
Pa. GOP lawmakers block assault-style gun ban for those under 21
HARRISBURG — State House Republicans blocked a proposal to prevent those ages 18 to 21 from possessing assault-style rifles on Tuesday by completely changing the bill into a constitutional amendment to allow anyone to carry concealed guns. It was the second week in a row that Republicans in the Judiciary...
Pa. House eyes expanding who can bring sexual misconduct complaints against lawmakers
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 House leaders are quietly negotiating a deal to close a loophole in the chamber’s rules that protects lawmakers...
Raises for West Penn, Allegheny General nurses could help retain workers, union says
Staffing shortages at Pittsburgh-area hospitals have been exacerbated by the pandemic, with many nurses fleeing the health care industry for good. Pennsylvania’s largest union for health care workers said an agreement reached last week with Allegheny Health Network will raise nurses’ wages in an attempt to combat staffing problems. SEIU...
Lower Burrell station to offer gas for $2.38 per gallon for 2 hours
If you’re lucky — and patient — you might be able to score some gasoline at almost half-price tomorrow in Lower Burrell. The BP gas station at Leechburg and Wildlife Lodge roads is partnering with a nonprofit to offer gasoline for $2.38 a gallon on Wednesday for about two hours...
Ligonier home tour gives look inside 5 eclectic area properties
When Carmen Quartararo decided to relocate from California to Western Pennsylvania in 2020, she ended up buying a house in Ligonier, sight unseen. “The house was built in the 1950s by a local family for their two spinster sisters,” Quartararo said. “They were seamstresses. They lived very modestly on the...
1/6 panel: Local ‘heroes’ rebuffed Trump, then faced threats
WASHINGTON — The House 1/6 committee heard chilling, tearful testimony Tuesday that Donald Trump’s relentless pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election provoked widespread threats to the “backbone of our democracy”— election workers and local officials who fended off the defeated president’s demands despite personal risks. The panel investigating the...
Greater demand, rise in maintenance costs drive Western Pennsylvania rent increases
Average rents in the Pittsburgh region have increased during the pandemic, and reports indicate certain areas are rising faster than others. A report from real estate research firm CoStar Group showed Pittsburgh-area rents increased about 6% from the start of 2020 to March 2022, which was slower than the 11.3%...
8 kids, 3 adults injured in wrong-way crash on Route 28 in Shaler
Eight children and three adults were taken to local hospitals following a crash Monday night on Route 28 in Shaler, emergency officials said. All of the injuries appeared to be minor, police said. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. near the Millvale exit of Route 28, according to Shaler police...
Greensburg firefighter’s burger tradition helps raise needed funds
Highland Avenue residents bringing their morning cup of coffee onto the porch Friday likely got a whiff of something besides Arabica beans. There was a smell of freshly cut onions in the air. By 7 a.m., members of Greensburg Fire Department Hose Company No. 8 were busy peeling and slicing...
Report: Police at Texas school had rifles earlier than known
UVALDE, Texas — Multiple police officers stood in a hallway at Robb Elementary School armed with rifles and at least one ballistic shield within 19 minutes of a gunman arriving at the campus, according to documents reviewed by the Austin American-Statesman, a devastating new revelation deepening questions about why police...
Nobel sold for Ukrainian kids shatters record at $103.5M
NEW YORK — The Nobel Peace Prize that Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov was auctioning off to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees sold Monday night for $103.5 million, shattering the old record for a Nobel. A spokesperson for Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale, could not confirm the identity of...
NASA fuels moon rocket for 1st time in countdown rehearsal
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA fueled its huge moon rocket for the first time Monday and went ahead with a critical countdown test despite a fuel line leak. This was NASA’s fourth crack at the all-important dress rehearsal, the last major milestone before the moon rocket’s long-awaited launch debut. The...
Facebook removes GOP Senate candidate’s ‘RINO hunting’ video
WASHINGTON — Facebook on Monday removed a campaign video by Republican Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens that shows him brandishing a shotgun and declaring that he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only. In the ad, Greitens, a former Missouri governor who resigned in disgrace in 2018, is flanked...
Code Orange air quality alert issued for Tuesday in Pittsburgh region
High air pollution could impact sensitive groups of people Tuesday in several counties across the region, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The department issued a Code Orange air quality alert for high levels of ozone. In addition to Allegheny and Westmoreland, impacted counties...
Fountain Street Overlook to open with a scenic view of Pittsburgh
To look at the new greenspace on the wooded slope between Fountain and Henderson Streets, directly behind Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side, one might find it difficult to imagine the working class neighborhood that once existed there. Houses owned by the mill and factory workers when Pittsburgh’s population...
Shots for tots: Covid vaccinations start for little kids
Little Fletcher Pack woke up Monday morning and asked: “Is today vaccine day?” For the 3-year-old from Lexington, South Carolina, the answer was yes. The nation’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers are finally getting their chance at covid-19 vaccination as the U.S. rolls out shots for tots this week. Shipments arrived...
Pa. House approves bill to decriminalize fentanyl test strips
HARRISBURG — Test strips to help drug users identify fentanyl and other potentially deadly chemicals would no longer be classified as illegal paraphernalia under a bill passed unanimously by the Pennsylvania House on Monday. The legislation to amend the state’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act can help reduct...
Unlikely duo: John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro aim for united front
HARRISBURG — One candidate is unabashedly blunt, willing to embrace progressive positions, doing little to build rapport with party leaders and dominating rooms with a 6-foot-8-inch frame. The other crafts a more moderate image, a deliberate public speaker who became a congressional aide out of college and has carefully cultivated...
Man serving life in Allegheny County Jail killing seeks federal relief, citing problems with appeals process
A man who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for first-degree murder — even after his co-defendant confessed to killing the victim on his own — is seeking relief in federal court. Shawn Burton, 55, argued in a petition filed Friday in the Western District of Pennsylvania that he...
Judge says Greensburg shooting suspects exceeded expectations after posting bond
In the five years since Daishawn Stikkel and Nathan Childs were released from Westmoreland County Prison, their lives have significantly changed. Both men were charged with attempted homicide in connection with a shooting in March 2016 in Greensburg and had been behind bars for about five months before they posted...
