Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 939
Tarentum police charge man with using stolen credit card to buy $5K in motorcycle parts from 2 shops
Tarentum police charged a man with stealing about $5,200 worth of motorcycle parts from Gatto Cycle Shop using a stolen credit card. Parrish Savon Middlebrook, 28, of Halcomb Avenue, Clairton, was charged with felony counts of theft, theft by deception, access device fraud and identity theft along with driving with...
William Hurt, star of ‘Broadcast News,’ ‘Body Heat,’ dies
NEW YORK — William Hurt, whose laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of the 1980s foremost leading men in movies such as “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71. Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died...
3 new festivals approved for downtown Vandergrift
Vandergrift officials and the Vandergrift Business Association have partnered to bring three new community festivals to Grant Avenue. VBA is sponsoring a monthly vendor-focused event called Gathering on Grant, a Fourth of July festival and an Oktoberfest event this fall. Vandergrift Council members voted unanimously Monday to approve all three...
18th-century life displayed during Pennsylvania Charter Day at Bushy Run Battlefield
A British victory in the 1763 Battle of Bushy Run helped to prevent a takeover of Fort Pitt, the fortification that would grow into Pennsylvania’s major western city — Pittsburgh. Putting that historic event into context, the Bushy Run Battlefield site in Penn Township welcomed visitors Sunday to learn how...
Barack Obama tests positive for covid-19, says he’s ‘feeling fine’
Former President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, though he’s feeling relatively healthy and his wife, Michelle, tested negative. “I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise,” Obama said on Twitter. “Michelle and I are grateful to...
Acclaimed filmmaker Brent Renaud shot, killed in UkraineVideo
Brent Renaud, an acclaimed filmmaker who traveled to some of the darkest and most dangerous corners of the world for documentaries that transported audiences to little-known places of suffering, died Sunday after Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle in Ukraine. The 50-year-old Little Rock, Ark., native was gathering material...
ACMH nurses go on 5-day strikeVideo
Nurses at ACMH Hospital near Kittanning walked off the job Sunday after months of stalled negotiations over staffing and wage issues. More than 100 employees, community leaders and strike supporters began picketing at 7 a.m. Many held handmade signs asking for respect, better wages, safe staffing and nurse retention. Sign...
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate continues to drop
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point in January to 5.4 %, the lowest since March 2020, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. It’s the 21st consecutive month without an unemployment rate increase. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2.1 percentage points below...
In America, a few days in March 2020 echo 2 years later
The conversations went like this: It will be just a few days. It can be kept at bay. There will be some inconvenience, sure, but the world will merely be paused — just a short break, out of an abundance of caution, and certainly not any kind of major grinding...
10 hurt in 73-vehicle pileup; no life-threatening injuries
NEW CUMBERLAND — State police said 10 people were injured in a crash involving 73 vehicles on a central Pennsylvania highway during a late winter storm over the weekend, but no life-threatening injuries were reported. Trooper Megan Ammerman said the crash was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday on PA...
U.S., China officials to meet as tensions mount over RussiaVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States and China are sending top aides to Rome on Monday as tensions between the two countries mount over the Russia-Ukraine war and worries spread that the conflict will take even darker turns. In advance of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly...
Russian airstrike escalates offensive in western Ukraine
LVIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles pounded a military base in western Ukraine on Sunday, killing 35 people in an attack on a facility that served as a crucial hub for cooperation between Ukraine and the NATO countries supporting its defense. The barrage marked an escalation of Moscow’s offensive and moved...
Medical examiner identifies man found dead in McKees Rocks
Officials late Sunday identified a man found dead hours earlier in McKees Rocks. The medical examiner’s office identified the man as 22-year-old Anthony Lofton. Authorities learned through a 911 call at about 6:30 a.m. about a body discovered in the 300 block of Derby Alley. According to police, first responders...
Lower Burrell councilmen seek new uses for empty JCPenney store, a longtime eyesore
Two Lower Burrell councilmen are working to change the city’s symbol of lost retail luster — the empty JCPenney building fronted by pothole-riddled asphalt once lined with more than 300 parking spaces. Councilmen David Stoltz and Chris Fabry are trying to bring in a new buyer to Penney’s, as well...
Hempfield will no longer maintain, operate Swede Hill Park after county balks at handing over ownership
After a quarter-century run, Hempfield no longer will maintain and operate the 17-acre Swede Hill Park. Hempfield officials chose not to renew the township’s $1 annual lease after they could not persuade Westmoreland County to transfer ownership of the park at no charge, said George Reese, chairman of the township...
Local Provisions, a ‘chef-driven’ market and cafe, to open in Fox Chapel Plaza
A well-regarded Pittsburgh restaurateur is opening an artisan market and cafe in the Fox Chapel area. Brian Pekarcik, a chef best known for operating Spoon in East Liberty, and his wife, Jessica, are launching Local Provisions Market & Cafe in late summer. The 4,000-square-foot venue in Fox Chapel Plaza in...
Aspinwall to get custom florist Fox and the Fleur on Brilliant Avenue
A new artisan floral business is coming to Brilliant Avenue in Aspinwall, thanks to a Fox Chapel woman with a passion for artistic floral expression. Anne Dickson, 41, is the force behind Fox and the Fleur, a custom florist specializing in weddings, events and holiday decorating and more. Dickson secured...
Port Authority reacts to high number of call-offs
A significant number of Port Authority employees called off from work Saturday, in what Port Authority officials called an apparent protest of the authority’s vaccine mandate. Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph declined to give an exact number of how many employees didn’t show up for work Saturday, adding a number...
URA poised to launch pilot programs to encourage minority entrepreneurship, business expansion
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is poised to create two new social impact pilot programs aimed at encouraging minority entrepreneurship and business expansion. URA Ventures and the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Developer Equity Fund programs will provide risk capital to minority and women-owned businesses. The redevelopment authority is hoping to...
Coroner: East Huntingdon man using snow blower killed by passing pickup
A man operating a snow blower was struck and killed by a pickup Saturday morning, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. County Coroner Timothy Carson identified the victim as Brian P. Hyde, of East Huntingdon. Hyde, 49, was struck around 10 a.m. by a Dodge Ram pickup traveling at...
Cold and snow don’t dissuade hearty Pittsburghers from St. Patrick’s Day parade
Despite ominous snowfall predictions for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, thousands of green-clad revelers and participants still gathered Saturday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh for the two-hour event. The route started at the Greyhound bus station near Liberty Avenue, moved down Grant Street before turning onto Boulevard of the Allies...
Storm drops up to 9 inches of snow in Pittsburgh region, creates road hazards
A late winter storm that began Friday night dumped more than 9 inches of snow in parts of Allegheny County by early Saturday evening, while lesser amounts were recorded in Westmoreland County, according to the National Weather Service. One of the highest snow totals was reported in Moon Township, where...
Russia strikes near Ukraine’s capital; mosque reported hit
LVIV, Ukraine — Russian forces pounded the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday, shelling its downtown as residents hid in its iconic mosque and elsewhere to avoid the explosions. Fighting also raged in the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, as Russia kept up its bombardment of several resisting cities....
As ice festival business booms, Jeannette company looks to train carvers
The work is plentiful, but the laborers are few. With the proliferation of winter ice festivals across Pennsylvania and neighboring states, DiMartino Ice Co. in Jeannette is looking to train ice carvers to fill the demand. “We’re busy from December through February,” said owner Ernie DiMartino. “We’re somewhere every week,...
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh unveils fashion exhibit
Imagine a dress that senses when someone next to a person is not socially distanced. Technology designer Anouk Wipprecht created that and other state-of-the-art fashions. Her work is being displayed at the “How You Wear It” exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s Museum Lab on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The...
