Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1029
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Dec. 17-19
‘Does Someone Need a Hug?’ “Elf the Musical” comes to the stage of the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, courtesy of Actors and Artists of Fayette County. A Sunday matinee is sold out. Based on the 2003 movie starring...
Developer reaches deal to buy property for proposed $475M Pittsburgh riverfront project
A Washington County-based developer is moving ahead with plans for a proposed $475 million project that would bring a massive Ferris wheel, splash park, marina, ice skating rink and housing to Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood. The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved selling a 5.5-acre property to Millcraft Investments for...
U.S. regulators lift in-person restrictions on abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently loosened a key restriction on abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that the medication be picked up in person. Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through...
Kennywood investing in new look for 125th birthday
The planning has begun. Kennywood is preparing for a really, really big party. The West Mifflin amusement park turns 125 years old on Dec. 18, 2023. And it wants to look its best. Like most celebrations, in order to be ready for the soiree, the park will need time to...
CDC panel recommends Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over J&J shotVideo
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health advisers recommended Thursday. The strange clotting problem has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations — while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t...
Police: Monroeville man was nearly 4 times the legal limit at time of fatal August crash
Police said a Monroeville man had a blood-alcohol level of nearly four times the legal limit when he struck and killed another man along a Monroeville road in August, according to charges filed this week. Cody Riggins, 27, is charged with drunken driving, involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle in...
Panel gives state House, Senate district maps preliminary OK
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted Thursday in favor of new preliminary district maps over sharp objections from the House’s Republican leader, as a large increase in the state’s minority population helped shape big changes. The maps also reflect general population changes over the past decade, which have...
Approved rate hikes for Duquesne Light, Columbia Gas lower than initially sought
Duquesne Light Co. and Columbia Gas Co. of Pennsylvania customers in the region will pay more for electricity and natural gas next year, but less than the utilities wanted under a settlement approved by state regulators Thursday. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission unanimously approved a settlement with Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Light...
Proposal to stop Pittsburgh police from making minor traffic stops moves forward
Pittsburgh City Council advanced a proposal to stop city police from pulling over motorists for secondary traffic violations, despite concerns that it could make roads less safe and prevent police from uncovering more serious crimes during minor traffic stops. Proponents said the measure would address a disproportionate number of traffic...
Young Americans motivated to make change: AP-NORC, MTV poll
WASHINGTON — There are plenty of reasons for Sebastian Garcia to feel downbeat about the future. After his family immigrated from Mexico, he was raised on a farm in northwest Texas, where he says there aren’t many racial slurs he hasn’t heard. When the now-24-year-old graduated from college, he decided...
British surge seen as warning on omicron but responses vary
LONDON — Spiraling infections in Britain driven in part by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus sent shockwaves Thursday into the rest of Europe, fueling a familiar dread that tighter restrictions will scuttle holiday plans again this year. Much remains unknown about omicron, but increasingly officials are warning that...
No injuries reported after SWAT responds to domestic dispute in Pittsburgh’s Perry South
Pittsburgh’s SWAT team responded to a domestic dispute in the city’s Perry South neighborhood early Thursday, officials said. Officials responded to the 2600 block of Norwood Avenue where shots were fired around 5 a.m., said Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Cruz said first responders met a man outside the...
Police: Suspect ID’d after his Social Security card found in confiscated bag of drugs
Allegheny Township police say they were able to identify a suspect who gave them a fake name when they found a satchel of drugs on him with his Social Security card inside the bag. Antwuan Duane Berry, 25, of Broadway Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood was charged with felony flight...
From Hollywood to home, Allegheny Township chaps maker roped an interesting life
At 94, Tom Phillips’ hands have served him well. The Leechburg native and Allegheny Township resident wakes up early each day and gets to work making custom leather chaps. He’s been at it for 60 years. “It’s my hobby,” he said. “I start at 6 o’clock in the morning and...
3 convicted of scheme to smuggle drugs into federal prisons
Three Pittsburgh-area residents were convicted Wednesday by a federal jury on drug distribution and money-laundering charges in connection with a drug ring operating within the federal prison system, according to U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung. Noah Landfried, 37, of Moon Township; Michel Cercone, 48, of Sewickley; and Anthony Smith, 30, of...
Investigations into homeless man’s death after being tased by Pittsburgh police nears completion
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday night that any potential disciplinary action against city police officers involved in the arrest of a homeless man who died after being tased will be handed out before he leaves office in three weeks. A police spokeswoman confirmed that an internal investigation into the...
Pennsylvania asks FEMA for help with covid surge
Pennsylvania asked the federal government on Wednesday to send health care workers to hospitals and nursing homes that are increasingly under stress from persistent staffing shortages and the latest covid-19 surge. The Wolf administration requested Federal Emergency Management Agency “strike teams” for hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and ambulance companies in...
Where did the lanternflies go? Pa. public reports down 50% in 2021
The last of the lanternflies in Pennsylvania disappeared with the onset of frost a month ago. It was another summer and fall where residents across eastern and central parts of the Commonwealth and several adjacent states saw them flying outside entrances or maybe into their plate or drink if they...
UPMC Altoona nurses gather in Pittsburgh, call on health care system to address ‘staffing crisis’
Nurses from UPMC Altoona gathered in front of UPMC headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower on Wednesday, demanding the health care giant invest more resources into retaining nurses and staving off a staffing shortage they said is jeopardizing patient care. The nurses, represented by the Service Employees International Union...
Allegheny County judge grants name changes sought by 2 transgender women with prior felonies
An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday said that a Pennsylvania law barring people with felony convictions from legally changing their names is unconstitutional. Judge Christine Ward then granted name change petitions to two transgender women with prior felony convictions. Chauntey Mo’Nique Porter and Priscylla Renee Von Noaker testified...
Westmoreland Co. lawmaker offers to help with vaccine exemptions as covid-19 infections surge
A state lawmaker is offering “vaccination exemption assistance,” while local health officials plead with residents to mask up and get vaccinated and Excela Health struggles to deal with covid-19 infections that have pushed its three Westmoreland County hospitals beyond capacity. State Rep. Leslie Rossi, R-Unity, said she offered help to...
FBI suspects more victims in Penn Hills man’s alleged ‘sextortion’ scheme
Federal authorities said Wednesday they believe there are more victims of a Penn Hills man accused last month of extorting minors into providing explicit photos and videos. Kaung Myat Kyaw, 22, was arrested in November and charged federally with enticing a minor to provide sexually explicit content. He was ordered...
Arbitrator judge reinstates former Wilkinsburg police officer to Penn Hills
An arbitrator judge has reinstated former Wilkinsburg police officer Robert Gowans to the Penn Hills Police Department. Penn Hills manager Scott Andrejchak said Gowans was reinstated Nov. 24. The officer’s first day on the job was Dec. 13. Andrejchak declined to comment further. Penn Hills Police Department hired Gowans in...
Go ‘Acereros?’ NFL awards Mexico to Steelers as an ‘international home marketing area’
The Pittsburgh Steelers long have been one of the most popular teams in Mexico. Now, the NFL has made it official that the Steelers’ turf, in part, extends south of the border. Mexico was designated as an “International Home Marketing Area” of the Steelers for a five-year term beginning in...
Lawsuit: Accused killer’s parents, counselor covered up evidence in Fox Chapel shooting death
The mother of a man who was shot and killed in Fox Chapel two years ago is suing the alleged killer’s parents and their marriage counselor, accusing the three of covering up evidence of the crime. T. Lee Rouse believes that if Adam Rosenberg’s parents would have been forthright when...
