Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1444
‘You’ve got to do something’: Pa. rehabs buckle, begin to close under covid-19 strain
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Faced with the financial burdens of covid-19 and a lack of state support, drug and alcohol treatment facilities...
ABC to air ‘Black Panther’ as tribute to Chadwick Boseman
NEW YORK — ABC will air “Black Panther” commercial-free Sunday as a prime-time tribute to Chadwick Boseman. The film will be followed by an ABC News Special, “Chadwick Bosmeman: A Tribute for a King.” Disney said the special “will celebrate Boseman’s storied life, legacy and career” and “shine a light...
Postal chief DeJoy has long leveraged connections, dollars
WASHINGTON — During its search for a new postmaster general, the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors was presented with 53 candidates screened by an outside company. Not on the list: Louis DeJoy, who ultimately got the job. Instead, in what Democrats call a breach of protocol and blatant cronyism,...
Protester killed in Portland as mayor, Trump trade blameVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — A man who was fatally shot after supporters of President Donald Trump clashed with left-wing protesters on the streets of Portland, Oregon, was a supporter of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, its founder said Sunday. Joey Gibson, head of the group based in Washington state, told The...
Super PACs turn to Western Pa. voters for testimonials in presidential contest
On the surface, Janie and Shawn share little beyond their small-town Western Pennsylvania roots. But now, they are sharing 15 minutes of fame, thanks to their testimonials in ads supporting Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Identified only as 82-year-old Janie from Westmoreland, the tiny, blue-eyed woman who sports a halo...
Pittsburgh Public Schools move start of school year from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8
Citing a shortage of computer equipment for students, Pittsburgh Public Schools on Saturday night announced that classes will begin on Sept. 8, rather than Monday, Aug. 31. In late July, the district decided to hold classes online for at least the first nine-week grading period. In Facebook post and in...
Western Pa. farmlands preserved ‘forever’ with state aidVideo
Earning a living off the land has been in Alquin Heinnickel’s family since his great-grandfather came home after surviving the Battle of Gettysburg and the remainder of the Civil War to start farming in a village near New Alexandria. About 150 years later, the Heinnickel family’s agricultural holdings will remain...
Car crashes at shooting scene in New Kensington, 2 days after another daylight street shooting in Arnold
Officials were investigating a shooting in New Kensington on Saturday, two days after a similar incident in the same area just over the border in Arnold. A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said the incident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Leishman Avenue, near Catalpa Street and...
Aspinwall surgeon’s life destroyed when UPMC doctors ignored stroke symptoms, lawsuit says
Michael Hromanik had a difficult childhood. His mother died of lung cancer when he was 7. His uncle moved in with him and his dad. Five years later, their house in the Renton neighborhood of Plum burned down, killing his uncle and his dog. Still, Hromanik was the first in...
‘7 bullets, 7 days’: Protesters march for Jacob Blake in Kenosha
KENOSHA, Wis. — Roughly a thousand people gathered Saturday in Kenosha for a march and rally against police violence, about a week after an officer shot Jacob Blake in the back and left the 29-year-old Black man paralyzed. Marchers chanted “No justice, no peace!” and “Seven bullets, seven days” —...
New Kensington man rescued after falling 60 feet over steep hillside
The New Kensington Fire Department and EMS crews rescued a man who fell from a hillside Saturday afternoon. The man fell over a hillside in the 300 block of Fernledge Drive. He was doing yard work when he lost his balance and fell about 60 feet, according to New Kensington...
Pittsburgh journalist reflects on encounter between Chadwick Boseman, Ben Roethlisberger
There was a special guest at the Pittsburgh Steelers Family Fest at Heinz Field in August 2019. Chadwick Boseman, the actor best known for his starring role as T’Challa in “Black Panther,” was in Pittsburgh and stopped by to watch the Steelers practice. Boseman died of cancer on Friday at...
North Hills School District teacher, student test positive for covid-19
North Hills School District announced Saturday that a third-grade teacher at Highcliff Elementary School and a student at North Hills High School tested positive for covid-19. The teacher was in the school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, before symptoms appeared Wednesday evening. She was not in the building on Thursday or...
Mayor Peduto declares Juneteenth official holiday in Pittsburgh
Mayor Bill Peduto said Saturday that Juneteenth will be an official holiday in Pittsburgh. Peduto said that starting June 19, 2021, the city will honor the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Peduto made the announcement at the Black Voting Rights Forum at St. Benedict the...
2 soldiers killed in Black Hawk training crash in California
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Two soldiers were killed and three were injured when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise off Southern California’s coast, the Defense Department said Saturday. Staff Sgt. Vincent P. Marketta, 33, of Brick, New Jersey, and Sgt. Tyler M. Shelton, 22, of San Bernardino,...
Police: New York man steals school bus in Buffalo Township, drives it back home
A man was arrested in New York after allegedly stealing a school bus in Buffalo Township. The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office announced on Facebook that they had arrested Justin M. Preedom, 30, of Avon, N.Y., on charges of felony possession of stolen property. Last Monday, Aug. 24, sheriff’s deputies responded...
Nevada man 1st in U.S. to be infected with covid-19 twice, according to study
A Nevada man has become the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with coronavirus for a second time amid similar reports of reinfection out of Hong Kong. The 25-year-old from Reno initially tested positive for the virus in April. He later recovered, but was again diagnosed in...
Handcuffed prisoner escapes in Fairfield Township while en route to Westmoreland County Prison
Police closed off a section of Route 711 in Fairfield Township on Saturday afternoon to search for a handcuffed prisoner who escaped while in transit to the Westmoreland County Prison. A 911 dispatcher confirmed the prisoner took off from Seward police custody after he claimed he was ill and was...
Pennsylvania reports 843 new coronavirus cases, 16 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 843 new coronavirus cases, as the case count inches slowly upward from yesterday’s 835. The state Department of Health reported 16 new deaths attributed to coronavirus after posting 20 on Friday. Tuesday’s total of 26 was the highest total of the week. The total number of...
Allegheny County announces 83 new coronavirus cases, 5 new deaths
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 83 new coronavirus cases and five additional deaths. The county now has a total of 10,221 cases of covid-19 and 330 deaths. Seventy-six of the new cases are confirmed, while seven are listed as probable, according to data from the Allegheny County Health Department. Officials...
Black bear ‘poses’ for photographer for Kittanning and Pittsburgh Mills exhibits
Yes, Joyce Shellhammer likes nature and to photograph it. But talk about serendipity: A rather large black bear stumbled into her Parks Township yard earlier this month to make off with her bird suet feeder. That photo and others of local wildlife, landscapes and the sky will be featured in...
Trump to head to Louisiana as Hurricane Laura cleanup starts
LAKE CHARLES, La. — The angry storm surge has receded and the clean up has begun from Hurricane Laura, but officials along this shattered stretch of Louisiana coast are warning returning residents they will face weeks without power or water amid the hot, stifling days of late summer. The U.S....
Pedestrian identified who was killed in 1-vehicle crash in North Fayette
A Washington County man was killed early Saturday morning as he walked along Route 22 in North Fayette Township, police said. State police reported that Daniel Grennell, 35, of Langeloth, was struck by a pickup truck at 12:48 a.m. as it drove eastbound on an overpass above Old Steubenvelle Pike....
‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer at 43
LOS ANGELES — Chadwick Boseman, who played Black American icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown with searing intensity before inspiring audiences worldwide as the regal Black Panther in Marvel’s blockbuster movie franchise, died Friday of cancer. He was 43. Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with...
Pa. Turnpike stretch will close early Sunday morning for bridge work in Plum
The Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed between the Allegheny Valley (Exit 48) and Pittsburgh (Exit 57) interchanges from midnight through 5 a.m. on Sunday. Drivers will not be permitted to continue through the area after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. The five-hour closure is necessary so work crews can...
