Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1475
Michael Ropelewski retires from Harrison police force after 42 years
Sgt. Michael Ropelewski has some good stories about his 42-year tenure with the Harrison Township Police Department. Once, he said, a man approached him while he was having dinner with his son at a local pizza shop. The man thanked Ropelewski for arresting him a few years before. He said...
Motorcyclist killed in Penn Township crash was former Jeannette sports standout
A former three-sport standout at Jeannette High School was killed Sunday night in a motorcycle crash. Tre Cunningham, 20, was driving a Honda CBR 1000 east on Route 130 in Penn Township around 8:30 p.m. and attempted to overtake a BMW SUV in a no passing zone, said Penn Township...
Wolf sides with transparency in allowing Right-to-Know bill to become law
Saying he was “erring on the side of transparency,” Gov. Tom Wolf allowed legislation requiring his administration to process Right-to-Know Law requests during emergency declarations to become law without his signature. Wolf previously said he would veto the legislation. Unanimously approved in both chambers, House Bill 2463 requires all agencies...
Hartwood Acres wildflowers aren’t just easy on the eyes; they’re reducing maintenance costs, floodingVideo
A 5-acre patch of Hartwood Acres has been transformed into a meadow with a blazing sea of yellow black-eyed and brown-eyed Susans. The wildflowers, known as Rudbeckia, weren’t planted at the park just for their visual appeal. “The idea was to reduce the amount of grass in the parks,” said...
Nursing home operator using Lower Burrell site to care for covid-19 positive patients
A Lower Burrell nursing home is being used by its parent company to house and treat covid-19 patients. In a statement issued Sunday, Guardian Elder Care confirmed it is using Belair Healthcare & Rehabilitation on Little Drive as a dedicated covid-19 recovery unit. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health,...
Portland protesters breach fence around federal courthouseVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities declared a riot early Sunday in Portland, Ore., where protesters breached a fence surrounding the city’s federal courthouse building where U.S. agents have been stationed. Police described via Twitter the “violent conduct of people downtown” as creating a “grave risk of public alarm.” Police demanded people...
Editorial: Pa. swings and misses in Blue Jays call
The score in a game is more than just a record of who won and who lost. The score is a way to navigate through the game itself. It charts the progress from the first pitch to the last run. It lets a team know where it stands. So why...
Mike Ditka rips kneeling athletes: ‘Get the hell out of the country’Video
Former NFL legend and Pitt Panther Mike Ditka has some unkind words for athletes and coaches who kneel for the national anthem. In an interview with TMZ Sports about his women’s pro football X League, Ditka was asked if his players would be allowed to do it. He gave an...
Body of civil rights icon John Lewis crosses Selma bridgeVideo
SELMA, Ala. — The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon. The bridge became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten...
Workers praise Disney virus safety, but will visitors come?
ORLANDO, Fla. — Every week, it seems, Kaila Barker, her husband and their five children change their minds about whether to travel from their home in Connecticut to Florida’s Walt Disney World as planned in September. On the one hand, the lack of crowds means more opportunities to go on...
White House pushes narrow virus aid; Pelosi blasts GOP delay
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday assailed Republican “disarray” over a new pandemic relief package as the White House suggested a narrower effort might be necessary, at least for now. The California Democrat panned the Trump administration’s desire to trim an expiring temporary federal unemployment benefit from $600...
Westmoreland Big Brothers Big Sisters group gets creative to raise cash during the coronavirus pandemic
Raising money isn’t easy in the era of a pandemic. But after canceling several fundraising events in the last few months, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region couldn’t forego its annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake bowlathon. It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year, said Director Stephanie Mihleder. “It’s...
Police: 27-year-old man shot and killed in Wilkinsburg
A 27-year-man died after he was shot Sunday morning in Wilkinsburg, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said the man was shot inside his vehicle at the intersection of Ardmore Boulevard and Marlboro Avenue shortly before 11:30 a.m. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died. Witnesses...
Westmoreland County reports 31 new cases of covid-19
Westmoreland County saw 31 new cases of covid-19 added to its total Sunday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported, with no new deaths. The county’s death toll remains at 43. There was one new death reported on Saturday. The new cases make a total of 1,302 cases in the county...
Pennsylvania reports 800 new coronavirus cases, 4 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 800 new cases of covid-19 and four new deaths in the state on Sunday. The new data brings the total cases to 107,425 with a death toll of 7,118. Sunday’s report of 800 cases comes after the state had reported back-to-back days (Friday and...
Allegheny County reports 133 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Allegheny County Health Department officials reported 133 new covid-19 cases and no new deaths on Sunday. The latest case numbers were out of 1,750 test results, according to the department. New cases range in age from 2 to 95 years with a median age of 53 years. The department also...
AP-NORC poll: U.S. course at record low, Trump sinks on coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — With the November election 100 days away, more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump’s presidency, putting the incumbent in a perilous position as his reelection bid against Democrat Joe Biden enters a pivotal stretch. A new...
Photos: Carrie Carpool Cinema drive-in held at Carrie Blast Furnaces
Rivers of Steel kicked off its Carrie Carpool Cinema series at the Carrie Blast Furnaces this weekend with movies shot in Pittsburgh. On Friday, “Flashdance” and “Out of the Furnace” were projected onto a large screen at the Rankin site, followed by “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Kingpin”...
Woman, 4-year-old girl hospitalized after Fineview hit-and-run
A woman and her 4-year-old daughter were hospitalized late Saturday after being hit by a car in Fineview, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers were called to the intersection of Belleau Drive and Belleau Street around 11:45 p.m., according to a public information officer Cara Cruz. The woman and her daughter...
30 years later, Americans with Disabilities Act still lauded but ‘work is never done’
When Dick Thornburgh witnessed the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act 30 years ago, he knew his son’s life would be changed forever. The Pittsburgh native and former Republican Pennsylvania governor was the U.S. attorney general at the time. Leading the Justice Department, he was integral in working out...
Police declare riot at Seattle protests, make arrests
SEATTLE — Seattle police declared a riot Saturday following large demonstrations in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and deployed flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear an area near where weeks earlier people had set up an “occupied protest zone” that stretched for several blocks. Via Twitter, police...
Virus-weary Texas hit by Category 1 Hurricane Hanna
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Hurricane Hanna roared ashore onto the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, bringing winds that lashed the shoreline with rain and storm surge, and even threatening to bring possible tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases. The first...
Mnuchin: Virus aid package soon, $1,200 checks by August
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that Republicans were set to roll out the next covid-19 aid package Monday and assured there was backing from the White House after he and President Trump’s top aide met to salvage the $1 trillion proposal that floundered only days before. Mnuchin...
Virginia panel recommends Lee statue removal at U.S. Capitol
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia panel has recommended Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s statue in the U.S. Capitol be replaced with another yet-to-be named Virginian amid national discussions about removing controversial symbols. The eight-member Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol voted unanimously Friday to take down the...
Photos: Black Lives Matter, Back the Blue rallies held in Shaler
Competing Black Lives Matter and Back the Blue rallies were held in Shaler on Saturday. The Black Lives Matter rally formed outside of Shaler Middle School and was organized by Suburban Action, a group of local Shaler students and recent graduates who “saw a need to take action, not just...
