Top Stories category, Page 121
Parents sue Hampton school district over athlete’s injury on baseball field
The parents of a junior varsity baseball player are suing the Hampton Township School District for negligence, alleging that poor conditions on the baseball diamond led to a season-ending injury for their son. Jason and Joy Midgley claim their son, Holden Midgley, was hurt while playing second base during a...
Beef prices have soared in the U.S. — and not just during grilling season
OMAHA, Neb. — Anyone firing up the grill this summer already knows hamburger patties and steaks are expensive, but the latest numbers show prices have climbed increasingly fast. And experts say consumers shouldn’t expect much relief soon either. The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12...
Man charged with stabbing victim up to 40 times in Downtown Pittsburgh heads to trial
An Ohio man is headed to trial on charges that he stabbed a 65-year-old man dozens of times on a Downtown Pittsburgh sidewalk last month. A district judge Thursday sent the case of Christopher Leroy Harris Jr., 30, of Sidney, Ohio, 40 miles north of Dayton, to Allegheny County Common...
Jayhawk Commons retail space planned at former Monsour Medical Center property along Route 30
Work on a commercial space at the former Monsour Medical Center property in Jeannette is expected to begin next year, officials said. The retail complex would be accompanied by more than 30 nearby town homes, a project city officials hope will spur additional development. Developer Don Tarosky Jr., chief operating...
T.J. Watt, Steelers agree to contract extension, making him highest paid non-QB in NFL
There will be no hold out. No “hold in,” either, for T.J. Watt. The Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday agreed to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. According to a league source, the Steelers are signing Watt, their 30-year-old outside linebacker, to a four-year, $144.05 million contract that runs...
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided Florida county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws...
Trump is checked for lower leg swelling and diagnosed with a common condition in older adults
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the...
Supermarket squabble: Richland Shop ‘N Save sues neighboring Walmart over grocery sales
When Walmart was planning its Richland location in 1998, the company agreed it would not operate a full-service grocery store there — at least in part to try to protect the Shop ‘N Save store adjacent to it in Richland Mall. But in 2008, Walmart sent a letter offering to...
Bat cam: Streaming video reveals secret life of colony at Land Trust site in Hempfield
They only come out at night. Still, the Westmoreland Land Trust has shed some light on the lives of close to 50 bats that inhabit an old barn at its Hempfield nature park — thanks to some flexible cameras and ultrasonic detectors provided by trust board member Bill Powers. For...
Pittsburgh councilman mulls checkpoints, private security to quash East Carson Street chaos
A Pittsburgh councilman is exploring the use of checkpoints along a stretch of the South Side’s East Carson Street to counter the pandemonium that has rocked the entertainment district in recent weeks. The idea would be to regulate pedestrians and possibly vehicles on weekend nights and require anyone entering the...
Tuition increase approved for state-owned universities for 1st time in 7 years
Tuition for state universities is set to increase by 3.6% for students this fall, but that figure could decrease if state funding increases, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education said Thursday. In-state undergraduate tuition for this academic year will increase by $139 per semester, to $3,997 per semester, according...
Striking workers from Springdale’s Greco Steel Products push for improved safety, benefits
Worries about safety and his poor life insurance policy pushed Jerry Harris to go on strike from Springdale-based Greco Steel Products. Harris, 35, of Jeannette recalled watching a co-worker fall through a roof and die on the job in June 2023. Several of Harris’ striking colleagues pointed to that moment...
Carnegie Mellon temporarily shuts down The Fence in wake of anti-Trump message
Tensions over free speech continue to mount at Carnegie Mellon University as President Farnam Jahanian on Wednesday announced he was temporarily forbidding any new messages from being painted on an iconic campus fence that has served for a century as a student billboard. The decision was prompted by controversy over...
Tarentum dog-mauling victim reels from learning what police say about attack
Tarentum resident Michael Shutack was still reeling from a Halloween dog mauling when he learned Tuesday that the man who police said helped him escape the jaws of two pit bulls is the person who set them loose. “As much as I went through my whole life, including being in...
Senate passes $9B in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump
WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president’s top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House,...
Triaxle crashes, catches fire along Route 66 near Youngwood
More than a dozen passersby stopped Thursday morning to rescue a man trapped in a burning triaxle truck after it crashed in New Stanton, according to fire Chief Rob Cammarata. Joe Schiavone and Steve Parsons were headed to a job for Perfect Industrial Cleaning when they came upon the ball...
Western Pa. storms impact power, roads in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
Fire crews and power companies from around Western Pennsylvania were busy Thursday morning racing to address downed power lines and fallen trees blocking roadways, following Wednesday’s strong thunderstorms that rolled through the region. Wednesday’s storms produced at least an inch of rain throughout the Pittsburgh region, said Bill Modzelewski, meteorologist...
Victim in fatal Point Breeze rollover crash was Allderdice grad
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the teen killed in a Point Breeze car crash early Thursday as a Pittsburgh Allderdice High School graduate from Squirrel Hill. Jakob James Sirlin, 18, was killed and three others hospitalized after a vehicle rollover crash on Beechwood Boulevard, according to Pittsburgh...
Tarentum’s Dreshar Stadium, rich in sports history, ‘served its time’
Amy Nulph grew up at Dreshar Stadium in Tarentum. “My dad coached there for the Hornets, my brothers played there and now my kids are there with RYFO (Rams Youth Football Organization),” she said. Plans to demolish the 87-year-old sports complex are bittersweet for Nulph and many area families. Work...
Advocacy group blasts plea deal in cruelty case against Derry cat shelter operator
A national animal advocacy organization Wednesday criticized a probation sentence imposed against a Derry-area woman who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty offenses. In Defense of Animals, an international animal protection organization based in San Rafael, Calif., said the guilty plea entered by Kimberly Rose, 45, of Blairsville in late June...
Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex-FBI director
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. There was no...
Roads closed, wires down after rain pummels Harrison, Fawn
Heavy thunderstorms rolled through the area Wednesday, wreaking havoc in local municipalities, particularly Fawn and Harrison. In Fawn, Bull Creek Road was flooded for a considerable stretch in the vicinity of Iron Bridge Road. There was a report of a house that in that area having 5 feet of water...
Standing-room-only crowd gets detailed look at plan for Homer City natural gas plant
Members of the public got their first detailed look Wednesday evening at what would be the largest natural gas-fired power plant in the U.S. if it’s built: a 3,200-acre project in Homer City, Indiana County. Representatives from Homer City Redevelopment were on hand alongside officials from local trade unions and...
Fetterman says deals announced at Pittsburgh summit are ‘huge wins and investments’ in Pa.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman described the flurry of development deals announced at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh as “huge wins and investments” in the state. Companies attending the summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, announced plans to invest more than $90...
Greyhound sued over fatal bus stabbing on Parkway East
The family of an Indiana man who was stabbed to death on a Greyhound bus as it traveled on the Parkway East two years ago is suing the bus company for wrongful death. Cozell McQueen Jr., who represents the estate of his father, filed the complaint on Wednesday in Allegheny...
