Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1176
Infrastructure bill fails first vote; Senate to try again
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans rejected an effort Wednesday to begin debate on the big infrastructure deal that a bipartisan group of senators brokered with President Joe Biden. But supporters in both parties remained hopeful of a better chance soon. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had scheduled the...
Warrant issued for Beaver County man accused of killing cousin, dumping body, fleeing to Mexico
A Beaver County man allegedly shot and killed his cousin, left him in the trunk of his own car at an abandoned gas station early Tuesday in Moon and then caught a flight to Mexico, according to the charges filed against him. Anoosh Almas, 25, is charged with homicide, abuse...
15-year-old boy charged as adult in fatal stabbing in Fayette County
A 15-year-old Fayette County boy is charged as an adult in connection with a fatal stabbing Monday in rural Springhill Township. Christopher S. Gaydos Jr. of Smithton was ordered held without bond after his arraignment Tuesday on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in Fayette County Tuesday....
Covid-19 cases in U.S. triple over 2 weeks amid misinformationVideo
MISSION, Kan. — Covid-19 cases tripled in the United States over two weeks amid an onslaught of vaccine misinformation that is straining hospitals, exhausting doctors and pushing clergy into the fray. “Our staff, they are frustrated,” said Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention at UF Health Jacksonville, a Florida hospital...
Pa. Republicans will reintroduce vetoed election bill now that Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s open to voter ID changes
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Republicans plan to reintroduce their election overhaul legislation — which Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed last month — now that Wolf has changed his public position to say he’s open to new voter ID requirements. Wolf had said that changes to the state’s voter ID rules were...
Police: Argument over pizza sparked weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side
An argument over pizza led to the weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left a man in critical condition, according to charges filed in the case. Rafik White, 22, is charged with attempted homicide in the shooting, which happened shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. Police said they responded to...
Store security tape, red paint lead troopers to charge woman in Salem hit-and-run
Surveillance tapes from a convenience store and red paint on a car grille helped state police identify a woman they say was involved in a hit-and-run accident last month, according to court documents. Tamara J. Stoken, 46, of Irwin, was charged this week with careless driving, fleeing the scene of...
Diocese of Greensburg to put $20M in pledged donations toward tuition assistanceVideo
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg said Wednesday that pledged donations totaling about $20 million will help it provide tuition assistance to students in diocesan schools over the next five years, and contractors are doing about $300,000 in capital improvements at no cost to the diocese. During an announcement at Mary...
Pennsylvania decertifies Fulton County’s voting system after ‘audit’
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top election official has decertified the voting machines of a small southern county that disclosed that it had agreed to requests by local Republican lawmakers and allowed a software firm to inspect the machines as part of an “audit” after the 2020 election. The action by Acting...
Pa. Supreme Court deals blow to outdated claims of child sexual abuse
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court on Wednesday dealt a blow to victims of child sexual abuse who had hoped to revive their otherwise outdated claims, throwing out a lawsuit by a woman whose lower court legal victory had given hope to similarly situated victims who sued in the wake of...
Medical experts not alarmed by recent rise in Pa. covid casesVideo
The number of new covid-19 cases is increasing in Pennsylvania, but the uptick — fueled by the highly contagious delta variant — is not yet cause for alarm among experts in the Pittsburgh region. In the past week, there have been 2,930 new cases of the virus reported by the...
After $100K in damages, Hempfield Area to charge students insurance on borrowed computers
Hempfield Area School District officials want students to be more careful with their school-issued Chromebooks. After shelling out a whopping $107,000 in repair costs last school year, the district announced families will have to pay for a damage insurance policy this year to be able to take one of the...
TV Talk: Peggy Finnegan returns to WPXI-TV temporarily
In November when she announced her retirement, WPXI-TV anchor Peggy Finnegan said she’d potentially return to the air at Channel 11 for special coverage. This week she’ll be back on TV as part of the station’s coverage of NBC’s broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics. Tuesday night Finnegan posted a photo...
Pittsburgh cracks down on abandoned vehicles during 3-day blitz
Pittsburgh Police towed nearly two dozen vehicles during a three-day blitz to get abandoned cars and trucks off city streets. Police said the blitz — the third conducted this year — was focused in the city’s Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland, Woods Run, Troy Hill, Lower Perrysville and Upper Perrysville neighborhoods. Police investigated...
Pittsburgh police arrest man on sex-related charges involving minors
Pittsburgh police issued an alert for the public in connection with the arrest of Pittsburgh man on multiple counts of sex offenses involving minors. Donald Sickler, 39, of the city’s Greenfield neighborhood, was arrested July 15 and charged with more than a dozen counts including rape, unlawful contact with a...
Motorist drove over median in Route 22 wrong-way crash, police say
A Salem woman was seriously hurt after state police said she ran a red light and drove over a low concrete center median on Route 22 earlier this week, slamming into an oncoming tractor-trailer. Troopers said Wendi A. Hutton, 49, of Slickville was headed eastbound in Salem at 9 a.m....
Victim of fatal shooting in Homestead identified; county cops seek tips on suspect
Authorities have identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Homestead late Sunday morning. The county medical examiner’s office identified the victim as Anthony Colizza, 65, of Homestead. Allegheny County Police were notified of the shooting in the 1100 block of West Street shortly before 11 a.m.. First responders found...
Pa. agriculture secretary tours 4 Pittsburgh urban farms
Pennsylvania’s Urban Agriculture Week featured four farms and gardens across Pittsburgh, and Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding toured each on Tuesday as part of his statewide tour. “At the end of the day, (Urban Agriculture Week) gives us a chance to tell a story about food, about agriculture and sharing...
The hot dog has its day with annual deals on Wednesday
The best day of the year is here for those who dig dogs — hot dogs, that is. National Hot Dog Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, bringing windfalls for wiener lovers at regional and national restaurant chains. Sheetz has issued a promotional email to its card members, offering two...
Police: Beaver County man found fatally shot in trunk of his car in Moon
Homicide detectives are investigating after a Beaver County man was found dead in the trunk of his car in Moon. Officers were called to the former Texaco station at 8000 University Blvd. around 12:40 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a body found inside a vehicle. Allegheny County police said...
First day of public hearing on potential Amazon site in Churchill focuses on traffic issues
Discussion during the first day of a public hearing regarding a potential Amazon distribution center in Churchill revolved mostly around traffic, a concern voiced by many residents for months. Texas-based Hillwood Development has proposed building a 2.6 million-square-foot distribution and logistics facility for Amazon at the former site of the...
DEP suspects pesticide or herbicide caused massive fish kill on Chartiers Creek
The state Department of Environmental Protection suspects that a pesticide or herbicide caused a killed thousands of fish in Chartiers Creek in Washington County. Chartiers Creek, a tributary of the Ohio River, runs from the center of Washington County to Allegheny County, emptying into the Ohio at McKees Rocks. The...
Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Project aims to preserve history of robotics with large-scale archive
A large-scale effort by Carnegie Mellon University to preserve and promote the history of robotics has launched its first online exhibition. The Robotics Project began in 2019 when a team of archivists at Carnegie Mellon were investigating ways of preserving the history of robotics at the university, said Katherine Barbera,...
Former Shaler teacher to be detained in Capitol riot case pending trial
Calling him a leader and instigator who went to Washington, D.C., ready for a fight, a federal magistrate judge ordered a Shaler substitute teacher who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to be held in custody pending trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey said on Tuesday that Robert...
Latrobe councilman, former firefighter charged with stealing fire department funds
A Latrobe councilman and the patriarch of a city family involved in an ongoing dispute with the local fire department and its chief were arrested Tuesday by Westmoreland County detectives. Councilman Robert S. Forish, 58, and Fabian Giovannagelo, 65, were arraigned on charges of theft, theft by deception and misapplication...
