Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1222
U.S. home construction falls a surprising 9.5% in April
WASHINGTON — U.S. home construction fell a surprisingly sharp 9.5% in April and economists attributed that partially builders who delayed projects because of a surge in lumber prices and supply constraints. The April decline left construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units, the Commerce Department said...
GOP Leader McCarthy opposes Jan. 6 commission ahead of vote
WASHINGTON — House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that he won’t support a proposal to form an independent, bipartisan commission to study the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, almost certainly eroding GOP support ahead of a vote and positioning his party as opposed to investigations of...
Belle Vernon area teen accused by troopers in 2020 brick-throwing incident on I-70
A 16-year-old is charged in Westmoreland County juvenile court in connection with a brick-throwing incident along Interstate 70 in North Belle Vernon last year, state police said. Trooper Brian McKee said evidence against the teen from the Belle Vernon area culminated with charges of criminal mischief, propulsion of missiles and...
Evidence suppressed in federal gun case against suspect in Unity woman’s disappearance
A 2018 search at a Potter County cabin was illegal, a federal judge has ruled, suppressing evidence against Thomas George Stanko in a weapons case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that federal authorities didn’t have a valid reason to believe that a gun would be found at the cabin....
Jeannette police dog vehicle funded solely by donations hits the streets
A new police dog patrol unit is on the streets of Jeannette after incredible support from the community helped handler Sgt. Jim Phillips keep a promise he made years ago. The entire cost of the 2020 Ford Explorer Interceptor — $47,611 — was funded solely by donations to the department’s...
Sparse voter turnout for Pennsylvania primary election; votes start being countedVideo
Voter turnout for Pennsylvania’s primary Tuesday was sparse compared to November’s election, but officials say it was bolstered by mail-in voting and statewide ballot questions drawing out third-party voters. Results are slowing coming in for Allegheny County and Westmoreland County races. In Allegheny County, voters requested 124,813 mail-in ballots —...
North Allegheny teacher accused of dragging 6-year-old girl with Down syndrome won’t face criminal charges
A teacher at North Allegheny’s Hosack Elementary School who was placed on administrative leave May 4 while McCandless police investigated allegations that a young girl with Down syndrome was dragged across the floor during a gym class will not face criminal charges, according to authorities. The McCandless police department began...
Police: Man shot multiple times in Stowe
A man was shot multiple times along a Stowe Township street Monday night. Allegheny County police said they were dispatched for a shooting around 9:20 p.m. along the 600 block of Woodward Avenue. Officers found a man with multiple injuries and other evidence of a shooting, according to a county...
Fire under investigation in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a three-alarm fire that heavily damaged an apartment building in Bloomfield on Monday night. The fire was reported shortly before 9:45 p.m. in the 4100 block of Main Street, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. The fire quickly was raised to three...
Penn Hills reverses decision on hiring former Wilkinsburg police officer under investigation in shooting death
Penn Hills community members and activists celebrated Monday after the Municipality of Penn Hills pivoted on the hiring of former Wilkinsburg police officer Robert Gowans. Penn Hills council held an emergency meeting Monday afternoon that resulted in letting Gowans go, after facing backlash from the community over his hiring in...
House consumed by tension over Capitol riot as vote on investigation nears
WASHINGTON — Amid increasing tension between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over the January insurrection, the House is expected to vote this week on whether to establish a commission to investigate what led to the violence and whether to pay nearly $2 billion for police back pay and the security...
Biden expresses ‘support’ for cease-fire in Netanyahu callVideo
President Joe Biden expressed support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the eighth day of air strikes and rocket barrages that have killed at least 200 people, most of them Palestinians in Gaza. Biden stopped...
Former Rep. Lou Barletta changes the calculus on Pa. GOP gubernatorial primaryVideo
Former congressman Lou Barletta, the failed 2018 U.S. Senate candidate and frequent Donald Trump surrogate at campaign events last year, changed the calculus for Pennsylvania’s 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary with his official campaign announcement Monday. Barletta, 65, a four-term congressmen who sprang to national prominence 15 years ago as the...
Heat wave finally on the way to Western Pa.
Get those air conditioners ready. A warmup is expected to kick in with temperatures in the low-80s by Wednesday and the mid- to upper-80s by Friday. Seemingly gone for good are the below normal temperatures that brought frost potential earlier this month. “We’re coming off a period of cold weather...
Gov. Wolf should apologize for implying cops are ‘racist murderers,’ head of Pa. state troopers association says
Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President David Kennedy is demanding that Gov. Tom Wolf apologize for promoting what Kennedy insisted is “a false narrative that police are racist murderers.” What Kennedy targeted in a statement released Monday were Wolf’s comments in a letter sent to state employees Friday regarding the declaration...
Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union in favor of in-person return
HARRISBURG — The president of Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union expressed support Monday for in-person instruction in the fall, calling it a “top priority” now that many teachers have been vaccinated and older children have become eligible for the covid-19 shot. “As more students are vaccinated over the summer, we believe...
Supreme Court abortion case: Here’s what it all means
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide a major abortion case that could dramatically alter decades of rulings on abortion rights and eventually lead to dramatic restrictions on abortion access. It’s been nearly 50 years since the court announced in its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision...
Confused about CDC’s guidance about masks? Here’s what you need to know
The government’s new guidance on masks for vaccinated people has left some Americans confused and sent businesses and states scrambling to adjust their rules. Target and CVS on Monday became the latest retailers to say vaccinated shoppers and workers don’t have to wear masks in stores. New York said it...
‘It’s a personal choice’: Western Pa. residents have mixed reactions to mask guidelinesVideo
Since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, some have embraced face masks while others resisted them. Even now that the CDC says fully vaccinated people can go mask-free in many public settings, masks remain the topic of much debate. In Pennsylvania, the mask mandate now requires fully vaccinated people wear...
Coronavirus vaccines for homebound individuals underway in WestmorelandVideo
It was as if a higher power had something to do with getting a coronavirus vaccine into Greg McNaughton’s New Alexandria home on Monday. “Ave Maria” played on the television in McNaughton’s room while his left arm was injected with the vaccine by Lorenzo Garino, director of operations with Mutual...
Springdale High School baseball coach enters batterer’s intervention program
Springdale High School baseball coach Brett Burger on Monday agreed in court to enter a batterer’s intervention program in exchange for dismissal of criminal charges connected to an April incident involving a woman. At a preliminary hearing before Harmar District Judge David Sosovicka, Burger’s attorney David Chontos said Burger has...
Teen testifies to sexual relationship with ex-Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, says initial contact was ‘super cool’
A 17-year-old girl testified Monday she thought it was “super cool” when Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez responded to her social media message in which she wished him a happy birthday in July 2017. Six weeks later, with her parents away for the day, Vazquez had sex with her...
Pennsylvania’s covid report dips under 1,000 for 1st time in over 7 months
It hasn’t happened since Oct. 5. That’s the last time Pennsylvania’s daily covid report showed fewer than 1,000 new cases. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health added just 872 new cases. It’s been 225 days since the state posted such a low number — adding 672 on Oct. 5....
Victims ID’d in Penn Township double homicide, police find stolen vehicle 5 miles away
A man and woman were fatally shot at a Penn Township home Monday, and a Toyota Tacoma taken from the scene was found abandoned in Manor hours later, according to investigators. Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck identified the victims as Jacob R. Erdeljac, 41, and Mara Casale, 27. They...
Pittsburgh Fourth of July fireworks show returning
Pittsburgh’s Independence Day celebration will return this year, and other summertime events may also resume as coronavirus restrictions are eased, the city announced Monday. The traditional gathering at Point State Park will include patriotic music and food vendors from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the fireworks starting at dusk....
