Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 877
Bikers host memorial ‘Ride in Peace’ for slain Penn Township coupleVideo
Liz Amend hoped her brother Jacob Erdeljac and his girlfriend Mara Casale smiled down on the motorcyclists who gathered in Hempfield Saturday for a memorial ride in honor of the couple who were killed in Penn Township last year. “Jake was an avid Harley rider. He met Mara, and she...
Bitcoin drops below $20,000 as crypto selloff quickens
LONDON — The price of bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Saturday for the first time since late 2020, in a fresh sign that the selloff in cryptocurrencies is deepening. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the psychologically important threshold, dropping by as much as 9% to less than $19,000...
More people choosing mass transit as gas prices remain high
More people are turning to public transit as gasoline costs settle in the $5 per gallon range across the region. Westmoreland County Transit Authority has experienced a 30% increase in bus ridership since gas prices started climbing, said Ashley Cooper-Brounce, the authority’s deputy director. “We just recently looked at the...
Police: Sexual assault occurred before double shooting in Mount Oliver
A 22-year-old man is facing several charges after police say he sexually assaulted a woman in a Mount Oliver park early Saturday morning, leading to both people being shot. Maurice Ruffin is charged with rape, sexual assault, unlawful restraint, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property and simple assault in connection with...
Police: Man killed in Northview Heights shooting
One person is dead after an overnight shooting in Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights neighborhood, officials said. Pittsburgh police responded to reports of a man with gunshot wounds in the 320 block of Penfort Street shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday. There, they found the man with a gunshot wound to the head,...
Father figures: These coaches teach more than skills; they serve as role models for their players
Fathering comes in all forms. For many dads, it means getting involved with their children’s sports activities. But for fathers who go even further and become coaches, they are impacting more than their children’s lives. They are serving as father figures, as role models, for groups of kids. Meet local...
Western Pa. counties, municipalities to see bump in money from fees on natural gas production
Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, along with municipalities in the counties, will receive about $3.1 million from impact fees the state collected last year on Marcellus Shale gas well production, a considerable increase over the year before, according to data released Friday. Allegheny County and its municipalities will receive nearly $1.9...
Fern Hollow Bridge inspection troubling but did not suggest imminent danger, experts say
Three months before Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed 100 feet into a ravine below, inspectors again rated the span structurally deficient. Following a routine inspection in late September, a report submitted to the city and PennDOT gave the bridge an overall rating of 4 on a 9-point scale, said Penn...
Westmoreland health care providers, employees combat staffing shortages from pandemic
The local health care industry had its challenges before a pandemic swept around the world two years ago. As summer 2022 approaches, human resources directors and department managers are finding it even more difficult to find the people who can provide basic services. It’s especially tough for small facilities such...
New Alexandria man sentenced to 5 years on child porn charges
A New Alexandria man found with 8,000 images and videos of child pornography was sentenced to five years in federal prison and 10 years of probation for distributing the sexually explicit material, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh said Friday. Senior U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti sentenced Matthew T....
Watergate 50th meets Jan. 6. Common thread: Thirst for power
WASHINGTON — The wreckage of Watergate and Jan. 6 are a half-century apart yet rooted in the same ancient thirst for power at any cost. Two presidents, wily and profane, tried an end run around democracy. Mysteries from both affairs endure as the House inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021,...
Police: Man kills neighbor, then himself in Kennedy Township
Allegheny County Police said a man shot and killed his neighbor in Kennedy Township on Friday afternoon before killing himself. Officers were notified of a shooting on Jane Street around 2:45 p.m., police said. Responding officers said they found a 78-year-old man later identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s...
HazMat Safety Train gives Western Pa. first responders training on dealing with dangerous derailments
The first emergency responders arriving on the scene where 17 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Harmar in late May had only their training to rely on when making split-second decisions amid the chaos. Nine of the cars, including tankers, landed in Guys Run, a tributary feeding...
Fayette County man killed by police on West Virginia interstate
WESTON, W.Va. — A gunman who was fatally shot by police on an interstate highway in northern West Virginia after he wounded a sheriff’s deputy has been identified as a Pennsylvania man, state police said. Matthew Brevosky, 38, of Grindstone, Fayette County, was killed by law enforcement Thursday on Interstate...
Canceled flights rise across U.S. as summer travel heats up
U.S. airlines canceled high numbers of flights for a second straight day on Friday as they tried to recover from storms while accommodating growing crowds of summer vacationers. By early afternoon in the eastern U.S., airlines has scrubbed more than 1,100 flights after canceling more than 1,700 on Thursday, according...
Man pleads guilty to shooting ATF agent in Pittsburgh
A man who shot a federal agent as investigators arrived at his Uptown home to arrest him on drug charges pleaded guilty Friday. Dion Williams, 46, pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal agent with a dangerous weapon, as well as to trafficking cocaine. He will be sentenced by U.S. District...
3 charged as 61 animals removed from Monessen home
Sixty-one animals were removed from a Monessen home earlier this month that city police and rescuers said was in deplorable condition. Three people were charged with animal cruelty and related offenses Wednesday while rescue groups work to rehabilitate the dogs, birds, chickens, cats, kittens and a rabbit. All of the...
Vice President Kamala Harris visits Pittsburgh, touts need for lead pipe removal
Vice President Kamala Harris, in a visit to Pittsburgh on Friday, discussed the administration’s efforts at the federal level to replace lead pipes — an issue familiar to many Pittsburgh residents. Harris, alongside EPA administrator Michael Regan and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, spoke at the Community Empowerment...
North Hills School District holding town hall to discuss Indian mascot future
Like other school districts that have used an Indian as their mascot, North Hills School District will host a town hall for residents to voice their thoughts regarding a possible change to its mascot. It will be held at the North Hills High School auditorium at 6 p.m. June 22....
Harmar bald eagles unflappable as 2 take their first flights
The Harmar bald eagles, now in their ninth year of breeding on the same hillside above Route 28, raised a family of two eaglets that took to the skies this week. “The first flight of one of the juveniles on Wednesday was smooth but when it came to land, she...
Police: Woman picked up on warrants charged with felony for handing crack pipe over to deputy
A woman wanted on warrants issued in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties was arrested when New Kensington police spotted her inside a McDonald’s restaurant. Police also charged her with felony possession of contraband after they said she handed a crack pipe over to a deputy sheriff who came to transport her...
FDA authorizes 1st covid shots for infants, preschoolers
U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the first covid-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s action follows its advisory panel’s unanimous recommendation for the shots from Moderna and Pfizer. That means U.S. kids under 5 — roughly 18...
U.K. government orders Julian Assange’s extradition to U.S.; appeal planned
LONDON — The British government on Friday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges, a milestone — but not the end — of a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents. WikiLeaks said it would challenge...
Juneteenth in Western Pennsylvania has long roots, history
As the region celebrates Juneteenth, education about the holiday and its importance has been at the forefront of many festivals and events. The new federal holiday, celebrated annually on June 19, recognizes the day in 1865 that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and spread the news that the Civil...
Mastriano proposal would allow school employees to be armed; Pa. teachers union pushes back
A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to allow K-12 school employees to carry firearms in classrooms in an effort to prevent mass shootings like the one in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers. The proposal by Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, would let employees with a concealed carry permit...
