Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1178
Wrong-way crash on Route 22 in Salem seriously injures 1 person, dispatchers say
At least one person was seriously injured Monday in a wrong-way crash that closed the westbound lanes of Route 22 at the intersection with Route 819 in Salem for two hours, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. Multiple fire departments and state troopers were called to the scene near...
2 young amateur Pittsburgh boxers receive champions’ welcome upon return from National Junior OlympicsVideo
A pair of young Pittsburgh boxers received a champion’s welcome Sunday night when they returned from the 2021 National Junior Olympics in Texas. Delbert ‘Sonny’ Taylor, 19, and Michael ‘Spoonie’ James, 15, represented 412 Boxing and Third Avenue Boxing Gym in the 10-day championships in Lubbock. Tailor and James both...
Capitol rioter who breached Senate sentenced to 8 monthsVideo
CHICAGO — A Florida man who breached the U.S. Senate chamber carrying a Trump campaign flag was sentenced Monday to eight months behind bars, the first resolution for a felony case in the Capitol insurrection. Paul Allard Hodgkins apologized and said he was ashamed of his actions on Jan 6....
Microsoft Exchange email hack was caused by China, U.S. says
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday blamed China for a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year. The administration and allied nations also disclosed a broad range of other cyberthreats from Beijing, including ransomware attacks from...
Family of Connellsville woman who needs double organ transplant issues plea for help covering medical costs
The family of a Connellsville woman launched a fundraising campaign to help cover the cost of a double organ transplant. The family of Rebecca Rowan, 26, started the GoFundMe page following an incident while Rowan and her brother were hiking in Arizona. Family members say the Fayette County siblings went...
Pa. requested $340 million in emergency contracts in 2020 with little oversight
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 — Lawmakers this week will probe whether state agencies had too much leeway in securing emergency contracts during the pandemic,...
Jane’s Room at UPMC Magee is a solemn hospital space for grieving parents, families
Berkley Wellstein felt the silence. Her baby wasn’t moving. “I was 32½ weeks pregnant, and it was a normal pregnancy,” Wellstein said, as she stood with her husband, Bob, on July 8 inside UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland. “There was a lack of movement. I went to see my doctor....
Legalizing marijuana could stem opioid abuse, Pitt study suggests
Legalizing marijuana for recreational use could lead to fewer opioid-spurred health emergencies and overdose deaths, a University of Pittsburgh study has found. Opioid-related emergency department visits dropped by 7.6% within a year of cannabis legalization for adult residents in four states — California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts — according to...
Investigation: Journalists, activists among firm’s spyware targets
BOSTON — An investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provides further evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. From a list of more than 50,000...
McKeesport Lower 10th Ward could be without water for more than a week
Residents in McKeesport’s Lower 10th Ward could be without water for at least a week, according to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. Those living in the ward have been advised not to use tap water since Friday when fire tore through McKeesport Auto Body on Rebecca Street. Fire suppressing...
Police: Missing Pittsburgh woman and son found safe
Update: Toni Baker and her son have been found safe, according to Pittsburgh Police. Pittsburgh police are looking for a woman and child they considering endangered and vulnerable. Toni Baker, 41, and her son, 12-year-old Najeh Taylor, were reported missing from Wind Gap Avenue in the West End. Anyone with...
Pittsburgh Public Schools renew mask mandate in proposed safety plan
People may be putting their masks away as covid mandates are lifted, but students and teachers at Pittsburgh Public Schools will need to take them back out for the upcoming school year if a health and safety plan proposed by district officials passes on July 28. Not only will masks...
With pandemic worsening in U.S., Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is worriedVideo
The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that he’s concerned about what lies ahead with cases of covid-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven’t received...
3 people flown by medical helicopter following crash along I-70 in Rostraver
Three people were flown by medical helicopter following a crash Sunday morning on Interstate 70 in Rostraver, according to the Rostraver Central Fire Department. Crews responded to the two-vehicle crash on the eastbound side of the Matthew Smelser Memorial Bridge, also known as the Smithton high-level bridge, shortly before 10:30...
In Trump’s Jan. 6 recast, attackers become martyrs, heroes
WASHINGTON — A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation — of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history — is fueling delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6. Hate is “love.” Violence is “peace.” The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots. Months after the then-president’s...
Pennsylvania election audit gets GOP campaign trail embrace
HARRISBURG — Former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts. But in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where Trump lost by 80,000 votes eight months ago, they’re finding new signs of life. A Republican...
Police: Man shot during home invasion in Reserve Township
A man was shot in the leg during a home invasion in Reserve Township Saturday night, police said. Allegheny County dispatchers were notified of a home invasion in the 2700 block of Mount Troy Road shortly before 10:20 p.m. Reports indicated that one person was shot during the incident. First...
Closure of Cheswick Generating Station sparks mixed feelings in community
Some mourn the loss of jobs. Others celebrate the demise of a coal-burning plant and related environmental concerns. All acknowledge their Alle-Kiski Valley communities surrounding the Cheswick Generating Station will be forever changed. The station, which is Allegheny County’s last coal-fired power plant, is scheduled to close permanently in mid-September....
Reunion of Pirates’ 1971 World Series champions brings back memories
As Al Oliver looked around the room at his old teammates wearing their white home jerseys and gold hats, he recognized how many members of the 1971 World Series champions were missing. The remaining Pittsburgh Pirates were determined to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world champions by honoring the...
Ligonier Valley Historical Society holds living history weekend at Compass InnVideo
History lovers who braved intermittent rain showers Saturday afternoon were transported back to the 1800s as the Ligonier Valley Historical Society presented its second living history weekend this year. The event was held at the Compass Inn Museum in Laughlintown. It featured members of Ship’s Company, a Maryland-based maritime reenactment...
Alle-Kiski Valley firefighters practice driving firetrucks in tight spaces
Parallel parking is often the most difficult part of any driver training course — staying between the orange barrels, learning to use your side mirrors and hoping you don’t hit the curb. Now imagine doing it in a 40-ton fire rescue truck. “This is like a driving test, but way...
Kiski Township traffic stop turns up drugs, guns
Police arrested an Indiana man this week after a traffic stop turned up drugs and guns, authorities said. Sahid Nasir-Evans, 27, faces charges related to firearms violations and possession of marijuana, said Kiski Township Police Sgt. Thomas Dessell. Officers stopped Nasir-Evans just after 1 a.m. Monday on Route 56 near...
Western Pa. among nationwide areas seeing dangerous rise in opioid epidemic
Throughout the height of the covid-19 pandemic, it seemed as if the opioid epidemic had come to a sudden halt — largely because coronavirus headlines dominated newsstands, television broadcasts and everyday conversation. The latest overdose death figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, convey a starkly opposite...
Westmoreland places ‘leveraged bet on market’ to shore up county pension debt
Westmoreland County’s largest ever bond issue, which will put taxpayers on the hook for $173.6 million, won’t lay water or sewer lines, pave roads, fix aging bridges or set a single steel beam. Instead, debt on the $126.48 million in bonds to be paid by taxpayers over the next 20...
Astrobotic’s MoonRanger rover a step closer to lunar mission
On the 52nd anniversary of the day Apollo 11 blasted off and headed for its historic moon landing, Astrobotic has taken a “giant leap” toward its own moon landing. The Pittsburgh-based aerospace company has announced the autonomous rover MoonRanger it partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to create, has passed another...
