Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1126
Fire truck, lava lamp, abandoned cars up for auction at Pittsburgh International Airport
Two years’ worth of items — including jewelry, electronics and a lava lamp — left behind at Pittsburgh International Airport will be up for sale later this month, as the annual auction returns in person after a year off. A fire truck, nine abandoned vehicles, runway brooms and plows and...
Ex-Facebook manager criticizes company, urges more oversightVideo
WASHINGTON — While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation. Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce...
Slippery Rock president will get tattoo if more students get covid vaccineVideo
William Behre, president of Slippery Rock University, is issuing a call to arms — at least for himself — to encourage more students to get the covid-19 vaccine. Behre vowed to receive a permanent Slippery Rock University-themed tattoo on his upper arm during an on-campus event if the student vaccination...
Chef Kevin Sousa set to open new restaurant in Mount Oliver
A black, nondescript storefront with a plain wooden door occupies an inconspicuous spot at 225 Brownsville Road in Mount Oliver’s business district. There is nothing to indicate what is behind the door other than something resembling a company logo. But once inside on a recent weekday morning, there was a...
$699.8M Powerball jackpot won, ticket sold in California
DES MOINES, Iowa — After 40 drawings without a big Powerball winner, a single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers and was the lucky winner of the nearly $700 million jackpot prize, officials said. The winning numbers drawn Monday night were 12, 22, 54, 66 and 69. The...
J&J seeks U.S. clearance for covid-19 vaccine booster doses
WASHINGTON — Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to allow extra shots of its covid-19 vaccine as the U.S. government moves toward expanding its booster campaign to millions more vaccinated Americans. J&J said it filed a request with the FDA to authorize boosters for people...
The Rolling Stones rock Pittsburgh with plenty of hits, energyVideo
The extension of the pandemic has kept several bands away from Pittsburgh this year. But it was going to take a lot more than the threat of covid-19 variants to prevent The Rolling Stones from coming to Pittsburgh, the latest stop on the group’s “No Filter Tour.” The show had...
Sole man: Greensburg shoemaker keeps clients well-heeled
Making people look good is Ron Mancuso’s business. The eighth-generation shoemaker and owner of Mancuso’s Shoe Repair & Dry Cleaning, at 102 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in Greensburg, will mark 45 years at his location in February. A jack of all trades when it comes to leather, suede and such, the...
Pittsburgh mayoral candidates Gainey, Moreno outline their visions for city’s future
Mayoral candidates clashed Monday night over their visions for Downtown Pittsburgh, whether Wilkinsburg should merge into the city and how to improve relationships between police and residents across all 90 of the city’s neighborhoods. With four weeks until election day, Democratic nominee Ed Gainey and Republican challenger Tony Moreno participated...
DEA agent, gunman killed in Amtrak train shooting in Arizona
A Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed Monday when a passenger, who also died, opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Ariz., authorities said. A second agent and a Tucson police officer were wounded. “It’s very horrific and...
Trial begins for man charged in fatal Club Erotica shooting in McKees Rocks
The prosecution told a jury Monday morning that Charles Becher had a duty to retreat from a fight outside Club Erotica in McKees Rocks in January. Instead, Becher introduced a weapon into the altercation that led to the death of two men. Therefore, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Kiray said, Becher...
Study with UPMC researchers, patients finds convalescent plasma ‘futile’ in treating most critically ill covid patients
Early in the covid-19 pandemic calls were put out for anyone who had survived the virus to donate plasma if they were able to do so, as so-called “survivor plasma” had been used successfully to treat other viruses. The National Institutes of Health halted its own convalescent plasma trials for...
Schools warn students: Don’t try TikTok challenge of hitting staff
Norwin School District and others around the region are warning students they could face criminal charges if they engage in the latest social media TikTok stunt of smacking a school staff member or teacher. School officials are asking parents to speak to their children to make them aware that such...
Pa. school pension fund leaders seek to gag board members over leaks to media
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 — Upset at leaks about a federal investigation of the PSERS pension fund, leaders of the beleaguered plan’s board have...
Irwin man ordered to jail without bail for false imprisonment, assaulting woman
An Irwin man slated for hearings this month on accusations that he was peeping into neighborhood windows is now jailed without bail for locking a woman overnight in a storage trailer and assaulting her, according to court documents. Borough police arrested Russell Jay Little, 47, after the woman appeared at...
Police: Woman dead in Sheraden shooting
Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning as a homicide, authorities said. Officers responded just after 3 a.m. to a call reporting gunshots near Glen Mawr Street in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood, police said. First responders found a woman dead from a gunshot wound. Authorities said police are...
Tarentum mail carrier achieves USPS elite ‘Million Miler’ status
Tarentum mail carrier Donna McCorkle quickly checked the pockets of a new jacket bestowed on her by Postmaster James Aiello after earning the USPS Million Miler Award. “Where’s the Asti Spumante?” joked McCorkle, a 30-year employee at the post office along Corbet Street. McCorkle, of Verona, joined the elite rank...
Woman sentenced in connection with 8 pounds of heroin found in turnpike drug bust
A Connecticut woman arrested in 2018 after police found 8 pounds of heroin hidden in a vehicle she was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike pleaded no contest Monday to a conspiracy charge. Any Crijleipy De Leon Jiminez, 30, was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in the Westmoreland County Prison....
Steller’s sea eagle Kody ‘content to be back’ at National Aviary after 9 days on the loose, officials sayVideo
National Aviary officials became emotional Monday as they detailed their exhaustive nine-day effort to recapture a large Steller’s sea eagle that escaped from the specialty bird zoo on Pittsburgh’s North Side last month. Kodiak, or Kody for short, took off through an opening in his outdoor enclosure on the morning...
Whistleblower: Facebook chose profit over public safety
NEW YORK — A data scientist who was revealed Sunday as the Facebook whistleblower says that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, the social media giant would choose its own interests. Frances Haugen was identified in a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday as...
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram suffer worldwide outage
The massive global outage that plunged Facebook, its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms and many people who rely heavily on these services — including Facebook’s own workforce — into chaos Monday is gradually dissipating. Facebook said late Monday that it’s been working to restore access to its services and is “happy...
Troopers say man assaulted paramedics, damaged ambulance at homeless shelter in Derry Township
A homeless man was jailed early Sunday after state police charged him with assaulting two Mutual Aid paramedics and damaging an ambulance that was dispatched to treat him at a Derry Township shelter. Michael J. Muchnock III, 38, who has lived in Hempfield, was arrested on multiple criminal charges, including...
Penn State professors will protest university’s covid policies in a unique way this week
More than 50 Penn State professors — mostly from University Park — will protest several university-related covid policies this week by holding a “Teach-Out(side),” where classes will be moved to the safer outdoors and away from their usual locations. The protest, organized by the faculty-based group Coalition for a Just...
Hempfield Area school officials opt not to join mask lawsuit by 6-3 vote
Hempfield Area School Board members voted Monday night against joining a lawsuit against a state-issued mask mandate by a 6-3 vote, with several saying they felt joining the suit would do little but cost the district money. “I think there are more important things to spend taxpayer dollars on than...
William Shatner will fly to space aboard Blue Origin rocketVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Captain Kirk is rocketing into space next week — boldly going where no other sci-fi stars have gone. Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Monday that “Star Trek” actor William Shatner will blast off Oct. 12 from West Texas. “Yes, it’s true; I’m going...
