Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1140
Feds seize 2 shipments of fake covid vaccination cards in Pittsburgh
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized two shipments of fake covid-19 vaccination cards in Pittsburgh. Officers intercepted the first parcel of 20 fake vaccine cards on Aug. 24 after determining the cards “presented a low-quality appearance and that they were being important by a consignee who is not...
Pa. Senate GOP moves to collect private voter information in controversial review of 2020 election
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 — The state Senate committee undertaking a controversial review of last year’s presidential election results on Wednesday authorized subpoenas for...
Popeyes restaurant proposed for New Kensington’s Giant Eagle plaza
A restaurant that caused a nationwide sensation with its chicken sandwich could be coming to New Kensington soon. A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant would be built in front of the Giant Eagle store along Tarentum Bridge Road, according to documents submitted to the city. The restaurant would be located between...
Fans barred from Penn Hills-Woodland Hills football game after hayride shooting
Fans won’t be allowed and security will be increased at the Woodland Hills-Penn Hills high school football game Friday amid concerns about “unresolved feelings and emotions” after one 15-year-old was killed and another was critically wounded at a North Versailles haunted hayride on Saturday. “We believe restricting those allowed onsite...
Greensburg Art Center show, activities honor member lost to covid-19
The Greensburg Art Center lost a piece of its heart and soul with the death in November of longtime member Cathy Rosensteel. The Greensburg artist is being remembered this week with a retrospective exhibition and activities at the center, 230 Todd School Road, Hempfield. “We miss her as a person,...
Pittsburgh schools superintendent Hamlet’s resignation is official with $400K payout
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on Tuesday formally accepted Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s resignation, effective Oct. 1. The board approved measures to accept the resignation and Hamlet’s severance package of nearly $400,000 which includes one year’s salary plus the value of his benefits. Hamlet tendered his resignation Sept. 8 after the...
Proposed chicken ordinance moving forward in Vandergrift
Vandergrift officials are moving forward with plans to adopt an ordinance regulating the ownership of backyard chickens. A three-person committee established last month to work out details of a proposed ordinance offered some of its recommendations at a council meeting last week. While council members had discussed the possibility of...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom beats back GOP-led recall
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday emphatically defeated a recall aimed at kicking him out of office early, a contest the Democrat framed as part of a national battle for his party’s values in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and continued threats from “Trumpism.” Newsom bolted...
24th floor fire spurs evacuation of Downtown Pittsburgh hotel; no one injuredVideo
A fire broke out Tuesday night on the 24th floor of a Downtown Pittsburgh hotel, spurring a temporary evacuation of guests while firefighters knocked down the blaze. No one was injured, though multiple floors of the Westin Convention Center were exposed to possible smoke damage, public safety officials said. The...
Allegheny County nixes proposed mask-wearing mandate to thwart spread of covid
An Allegheny County proposal to mandate mask-wearing at large outdoor events and most indoor gatherings failed to advance Tuesday night. The bill was pitched as an effort to thwart the ongoing spread of covid-19 while local cases and hospitalizations are on the rise and vaccination rates remain below targets. County...
Arnold Palmer airport offers PreCheck appointments, saw fewer passengers in August
Passengers who want to sign up for the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck program can make an appointment to enroll through Friday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. Those enrolled in the program can bypass some of the time-consuming steps at...
Pittsburgh police, FBI investigate threats to city churches
Pittsburgh police and the FBI have launched a joint investigation to determine if there are any links between two threats to city churches last Sunday. St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church in Greenfield was evacuated after a man called 911 and threatened to harm himself and others at the church,...
Peduto proposes changes to parking rules for restaurants
Fewer people in Pittsburgh are driving their cars to restaurants, with more preferring to walk or bike instead. With that in mind, Mayor Bill Peduto is proposing sweeping changes to zoning laws requiring minimum parking and other stipulations for restaurant owners. They include requiring any individual or company proposing a...
Gov. Wolf’s coronavirus business waiver program was flawed, secretive, Pa. auditor says
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 — The Wolf administration’s controversial waiver program allowing businesses to remain open during the early months of the pandemic was...
Pa. officials: 94% of covid cases were in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people
The “vast majority” of covid-19 related cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Pennsylvania since January have been among unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals, according to Department of Health data released Tuesday So-called “breakthrough” covid-19 infections — those that occur 14 days after an individual has received either two doses of...
‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian Norm Macdonald dead at 61 after battle with cancer
Norm Macdonald, a “Saturday Night Live” cast member best known as the host of Weekend Update, died Tuesday. He was 61. Macdonald succumbed to a nine-year cancer battle that he kept private, his management team told Deadline. “He was most proud of his comedy,” producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra told...
Covid-19 cases in U.S. climbing, wiping out months of progress
Covid-19 deaths and cases in the U.S. have climbed back to where they were over the winter, wiping out months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s argument for sweeping new vaccination requirements. The cases — driven by the delta variant combined with resistance among some Americans to getting...
Free rides take $104M toll on Pennsylvania Turnpike finances
CARLISLE — More than $104 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went uncollected last year as the agency fully converted to all-electronic tolling, with the millions of motorists who don’t use E-ZPass having a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. An...
Fatal shooting victim in McKeesport was daughter of former Penn State football star
A woman shot and killed in McKeesport has been identified as the daughter of a former Penn State University and NFL linebacker. Police found Karli Short, 26, dead with a gunshot wound to her head in McKeesport Monday morning. Short’s father, Brandon Short, played football at McKeesport Area High School...
Nicholas makes landfall in Texas as hurricane; dumps rain along Gulf Coast
HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Nicholas hit the Texas coast early Tuesday as a hurricane and dumped more than a foot of rain along the the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, drenching storm-battered Louisiana and bringing the potential for life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South. Nicholas made...
Va. couple wanted for questioning in disappearance of 3-year-old girl arrested in South Greensburg
A couple wanted by Virginia authorities for questioning in connection with the disappearance of a 3-year-old girl was arrested in a South Greensburg motel Sunday for having “two large rocks of methamphetamine” and multiple checks investigators say were stolen in Virginia, according to court documents. However, when state troopers and...
Public’s help sought in finding Ligonier burglars
Ligonier Valley police are asking the public’s help after a pair of businesses along Route 30 in Ligonier were burglarized early Saturday. Chief John E. Berger said officers responding to an alarm at Rick’s Tobacco Outlet at 2:28 a.m. found the drive-thru window had been forced open and broken. Once...
ShotSpotter alert lead Pittsburgh police to shooting in Homewood
A man was seriously injured late Monday after being shot in his lower back in Homewood, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers from the city’s Zone 5 station found the victim after responding to a ShotSpotter gunfire alert for the 7100 block of Frankstown Avenue around 10:55 p.m. The man who...
Volunteers needed as Garbage Olympics returns to Pittsburgh
It’s an Olympic year in more ways than one. The City of Pittsburgh is holding its annual Garbage Olympics on Saturday, a citywide cleanup event the Department of Public Works bills as a “competitive litter pick-up event.” More than 40 Pittsburgh neighborhood teams are being pitted against one another to...
Police: Man in critical condition after being shot in Mt. Washington Monday evening
A man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood Monday night. Public Safety spokesperson Maurice Matthews said officers responded to a 911 call for the shooting around 8:30 p.m. along the 200 block of Jasper Street. Police encountered a 20-year-old man suffering from a...
