Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1120
Pennsylvania Western University name adopted for merged state campuses
The great wait is over for stakeholders at California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. Officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education made it official Thursday: the merged university that will include the three campuses will be known as Pennsylvania Western University, or PennWest for short, beginning July 2022. As...
Couple that died in West Mifflin house fire identified
An elderly West Mifflin couple who died in a fire early Thursday has been identified. The victims are Carl and Victoria Bajus, both 78, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Fire tore through their West Mifflin home forcing fire crews to retreat for their own safety as the...
Man dies at shooting scene in Penn Hills
A man was found shot to death in Penn Hills Wednesday night, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 200 block of Columbia Avenue around 10:45 p.m. The victim was identified as Lamarr Keith Thorne II, 32, of Homewood by...
Analysis: Ahead of holidays, Biden tries to untangle supply chain messVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden wants to save Christmas — but he may not be able to. He announced Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles would operate around the clock to alleviate a logistical bottleneck that has left dozens of container ships idling off the California coast and Americans...
Allegheny County scraps remote drop boxes for mail-in voters; Councilwoman pushes to bring them back
Voters still are encouraged to cast ballots by mail in the upcoming election, but there won’t be drop boxes available in satellite locations across Allegheny County like there were during last year’s presidential race. And Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says he has no plans to bring the remote boxes...
Norwin superintendent reaches out to parents following Confederate clothing incident
Norwin’s top administrator reached out to parents in the school district via email Wednesday, days after two students wore racially insensitive clothing to class. “These images are offensive to many within the Norwin community,” Superintendent Jeff Taylor wrote in the emailed statement. “This situation … (is a) learning opportunity to...
9 people homeless after fire erupts at home in Hempfield
A house fire in Hempfield on Wednesday evening displaced nine people, according to township fire Chief Tony Kovacic. In all, five adults and four children were impacted by the fire reported on the 400 block of Newport Drive around 6 p.m. Officials said the fire that began in the kitchen....
Covid vaccinations on the rise in Allegheny County, statewide
First-dose covid vaccinations in Allegheny County rose for the 18th straight day on Wednesday, data show, and officials said the county has surpassed the 800,000 mark for residents with at least once dose. At the same time, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that 70% of Pennsylvanians ages 18 and older are...
Covid death of veteran Jeannette EMS paramedic declared to be in ‘line of duty’
First responders said longtime Jeannette EMS paramedic William J. “Bill” Sekora was the answer man — the person first responder veterans and newcomers alike usually went to with their questions. “And almost always, Bill did have the answer,” said Randy Highlands, operations director of Jeannette EMS. “He’s definitely going to...
Westmoreland County approves drop boxes for mail-in ballots
A drop box for mail-in ballots will be available at the Westmoreland County Courthouse starting Oct. 18 and at five regional locations during the two weekends before the Nov. 2 general election. Westmoreland elections officials said more than 19,000 ballots were mailed to voters on Wednesday, according to election bureau...
Assailant with bow and arrows kills 5 people in Norway
KONGSBERG, Norway — A Danish man suspected of a bow-and-arrow attack in a small Norwegian town that killed five people is a Muslim convert who was previously flagged as having been radicalized, police said Thursday. Norway’s national security agency said the suspect’s actions “currently appear to be an act of...
Vaccine mix-and-match approach bolsters antibodies, study finds
Mixing covid-19 vaccines produces as much or more antibodies as using the same shot as a booster, according to preliminary results of a widely awaited U.S. government-sponsored trial. The trial is the first major U.S. study to compare the effects of using different vaccines as boosters from the initial shot...
2nd day of suppression hearing in Tree of Life synagogue attack focuses on suspect’s medical treatment
As soon as the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill was placed in an ambulance the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, a Pittsburgh homicide detective said he read the suspect his Miranda rights. Immediately, the detective testified Wednesday, Robert Bowers...
Tarentum couple says ‘I do’ at UPMC St. Margaret so hospitalized mom can attend
Tarentum residents Chaz and Amanda Wilburn were married earlier this month in the chapel at UPMC St. Margaret, in a ceremony they called a dream that arose from a nightmare. Chaz Wilburn spent 38 days in the hospital this summer with congestive heart failure. While he was recovering, his mom,...
Troopers seeking details on meth dump site found in Indiana County
State police in Indiana are seeking information on a methamphetamine dump site found by a man picking up trash in a wooded area in Buffington Township in the southern portion of the county. Troopers said the dump site was reported along Dilltown Heights Road about 9 a.m. Oct. 6 after...
Attorney General Josh Shapiro launches bid for Pa. governor
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro officially launched his bid for governor on Wednesday — mostly a formality after months of speculation that he’d seek the state’s highest office. Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, kicked off his campaign by releasing a two-minute video Wednesday morning that included endorsements from Pittsburgh...
Social Security checks getting big boost as inflation rises
WASHINGTON — Millions of retirees on Social Security will get a 5.9% boost in benefits for 2022. The biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years follows a burst in inflation as the economy struggles to shake off the drag of the coronavirus pandemic. The COLA, as it’s commonly called, amounts to...
Survey: Half of firms in Pittsburgh region don’t require covid vaccines; some using incentives
As the debate rages nationally over whether employers should require covid-19 vaccines for workers, a recent survey of businesses in Southwestern Pennsylvania found that close to half of all firms have decided not to mandate the shot to protect against the coronavirus. On the other hand, less than 30% of...
Employers see workers returning to labor force, but still face challenges finding themVideo
Whether more people started seeking jobs when extra federal unemployment benefits ended Sept. 4, or they exhausted their state jobless benefits or they feel safer getting back to work because more people are getting the covid vaccine, staffing agencies and employers in the region say they are seeing more people...
TV Q&A: Which Pittsburgh TV newscasters have worked for 3 stations?
Q: Now that Susan Koeppen anchors WPXI-TV’s 4 p.m. broadcast, it completes her local news station hat trick (working for all three local news broadcasts.) Wondering if there are others, but the only other person I came up with is Alby Oxenreiter, who did stints on WTAE-TV and WPGH-TV before...
Eastbound Pa. Turnpike reopens in Beaver County after truck crash, fire
The eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the New Castle and Cranberry interchanges were closed for several hours overnight Tuesday after a tractor-trailer crashed and caught fire. State police said the crash happened at mile marker 13.2, on the bridge over the Beaver River, in Big Beaver Borough shortly...
Harrison woman accused of setting dumpster fires in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police accused a Harrison woman of setting dumpsters on fire in Uptown and knocking over construction cones and signs in the South Side on Monday. Jennifer Robare, 30, faces a felony count of arson and misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and giving false identification to law enforcement in connection...
Victim flown to hospital from South Huntingdon crash
One person was airlifted by medical helicopter after a crash involving a bicycle Tuesday night in South Huntingdon. Emergency responders were called shortly after 10:30 p.m. to the intersection of Mount Pleasant Road and Greensburg Pike just outside West Newton for a report of a crash involving a vehicle and...
Allegheny County chief pitches 2022 budget with no tax hikes, more money for parks, jail, IT
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is proposing a 2022 budget that would pump more money into parks, roads, technology and public health without raising any taxes on property owners. Fitzgerald, who pitched his budget in-person during Tuesday evening’s County Council meeting, touted his plan as another “responsible budget” that will...
1 dead following head-on crash on Greensburg Road in Plum
A New Kensington man died in a crash on Greensburg Road in Plum Tuesday, according to Allegheny County police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office identified the deceased man as Enzo Grosse, 21, of New Kensington. Police said they were notified around 7:45 p.m. of the crash in the 1600...
