Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1204
Bethel Park veteran has sounded taps more than 1,200 timesVideo
The final farewell is about to be sounded. Tom Beaver opens the black case slowly. He slides white gloves on his hands. Then he lifts the silver-plated brass instrument. Taking a few steps, he moves toward the shelter. The sun is shining. Wind is blowing through the nearby trees. Thousands...
Glenshaw man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
A Shaler Area substitute teacher, who the FBI said tried to organize other rioters, is accused of fighting with Capitol police officers and breaking into the building during the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C. Robert Morss, who witnesses said previously served in the military and attended Penn State University,...
Winning Treasure Hunt ticket worth $138,357 sold in Delmont
A lucky shopper at a Westmoreland County Walmart is holding a Pennsylvania Lottery ticket worth $138,357, officials announced. The retailer along Hollywood Boulevard in Delmont sold a jackpot-winning Treasure Hunt ticket on Thursday, according to the PA Lottery. The ticket matched all five balls: 1-12-14-26-27. The chances of matching all...
Forest Hills man cycling for MS Society fundraising milestone after serious crash
Bicyclist Larry Sachs knows his strength isn’t in climbing hills. His forte is making up time on the downhill. During a training ride with members of his bicycling group, he began a descent on Greenleaf Street from Mt. Washington to Route 51. His friends warned him to watch his speed....
Law enforcement struggles to recruit since killing of George Floyd
Law enforcement agencies across the country experienced a wave of retirements and departures and are struggling to recruit the next generation of police officers in the year since George Floyd was killed by a cop. And amid the national reckoning on policing, communities are questioning who should become a police...
East Vandergrift hires exterminator to combat rat problem
Unwelcome guests showed up at a Memorial Day family gathering near Susanne DeFalco’s home in East Vandergrift. “My kids were there for a cookout, and they were sitting here watching rats go up and down the steps,” said DeFalco, 76. DeFalco is one of five residents who voiced their concerns...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 11-13
The Dollar Bank Pittsburgh Three Rivers Arts Festival ends Sunday. That’s one of five choices on how to spend the weekend. Final arts festival weekend The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts wraps up Sunday. There will be entertainment on the main stage at Point State Park featuring Sugaray Rayford at...
Unity woman to pick best toy entry at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
A Unity woman is getting a promotion of sorts this weekend at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. June A. Penta will judge the Toy Group on Saturday after three previous stints of examining specific breeds only at the prestigious show. Her time commanding the ring will be quick —...
Violent night with rash of shootings, 2 involving kids, across Pittsburgh region
A 15-year-old boy was shot in Edgewood late Thursday, police said, in one of four shootings that happened across the region. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Allegheny County police. Officers responded to a call at about 9:40 p.m. for a shooting in the...
Pittsburgh police: Man shot multiple times outside Children’s Hospital
A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman confirmed that a man was shot multiple times Thursday night outside UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He was reported to be in critical condition at another hospital. Correction. 4400 block of Penn Avenue Pgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) June 11, 2021 An altercation apparently preceded...
Pittsburgh police: 6-year-old girl shot in abdomen in Homewood
A 6-year-old girl was in critical condition after being shot in the abdomen Thursday evening in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Police learned of the wounded girl, who was a passenger in an SUV in the 7100 block of Frankstown Avenue, after officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert about 6:20 p.m. in...
Greensburg man guilty of 1st-degree murder in Vandergrift woman’s deathVideo
The Greensburg man prosecutors said beat a Vandergrift woman with a hammer, choked her to death and burned her body in a remote area near Keystone State Park in early 2017 was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder. After 13 hours of deliberations over two days, a Westmoreland County jury returned...
Paul Kengor: Highway robbery on the Pa. Turnpike
In a column around this time last year, I wrote about the toll that covid was taking on tollbooth workers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I had been prompted by an eerie ride to Latrobe from my home in Grove City. Like many Pennsylvanians under lockdown, I hadn’t been on a...
Pa. Sen. Jim Brewster urges officials to pause vote on state university consolidations
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education says there are no plans to delay or postpone next month’s scheduled vote that could be one of the final steps in consolidating six state-owned universities into two institutions. System spokesman Cody Jones said Thursday that officials remain on target...
ATI, Steelworkers unable to find agreement on health care as strike drags on
Allegheny Technologies Inc. and the United Steelworkers continue to levy accusations at each other as they remain unable to agree on the key issue of health benefits and a strike drags on. Negotiators for ATI and the USW met Wednesday with the help of a federal mediator. No further talks...
Pa. legislature ends coronavirus disaster declaration, keeps waivers
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 Pennsylvania legislature has voted to immediately end Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus disaster declaration using a new power granted...
Pittsburgh animal control officer charged with felony animal cruelty
A Pittsburgh animal control officer dragged a dog through a parking garage on a control pole so violently that one witness said it looked like he was “mopping the floor” with the dog, according to charges filed Thursday. James Genco III, 46, is charged with one felony count of aggravated...
Pa. GOP proposes major election overhaul, including stricter voter ID and in-person early voting
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. Pennsylvania Republicans unveiled their first proposal for overhauling the state’s election system Thursday, with lawmakers in the state House...
Former Butler Health System COO, husband sentenced for embezzling $1.3 million
The former chief operating officer for Butler Health System, and her husband, a former detective, are going to federal prison on charges that they embezzled more than $1.3 million from her employer over a period of six years. The money taken by Stephanie J. Roskovski, 51, and her husband, Scott...
Coxcomb Hill Road reopens in Plum
Drivers in the Alle-Kiski Valley area have one less detour to deal with. Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum reopened Thursday afternoon, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. That is a day earlier than had been expected earlier in the week. Coxcomb Hill had been closed to traffic between Logans Ferry and...
Cheswick Generating Station, Allegheny County’s only coal-fired power plant, to close
Allegheny County’s only coal-fired power plant is set to permanently close in September. Houston-based GenOn Holdings LLC said Thursday it plans to close Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale by Sept. 15. The company said it also plans to close coal-fired power plants in Avon Lake, Ohio, and Newburg, Md. In...
171-year-old Edgeworth home available for $1.55M
Willa Cather wrote about this historic home in Edgeworth. The celebrated novelist used the elegant home — known as “Braeface,” Gaelic for “the brow of the hill” — as a setting for her 1925 story “Uncle Valentine.” She was a frequent guest there of the Slack family when she lived...
Attorney Milton Raiford apologizes for leaving client’s case during Zappala dispute; seeks to be restored
A day after Milton Raiford, who is embroiled in a public dispute with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., refused to represent his client in court, the defense attorney changed his mind. On Thursday, Raiford asked the court if he could return to Vanessa Williams’ case — telling...
Pennsylvania reports 17% drop in DUI arrests amid pandemic year
Pennsylvania State Police reported a 17% drop in DUI arrests in 2020, a year that saw weeks of stay-at-home orders and months of business shutdowns. According to a report released Thursday, state troopers made 18,412 arrests for driving under the influence in 2020. That’s down from 22,139 in 2019. Those...
Independent Marlin Woods to announce bid for Pittsburgh mayor
A 48-year-old East Liberty man who works as a benefits consultant will be announcing an independent run for Pittsburgh mayor Thursday evening. “Leadership is my product and I believe in it,” Marlin Woods said in an interview before his campaign kickoff, which is set for 6 p.m. at Highland Park...
