Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1630
Closing arguments delivered in Trump’s impeachment trialVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s lawyers and House impeachment managers issued their closing arguments Monday, with Democrats arguing the Senate has a “duty” to convict Trump and the president’s legal team saying senators would “vindicate” the right to vote by leaving the matter to voters in November. With Trump’s acquittal...
Water at Hempfield nursing home to be treated with chlorine to kill suspected Legionella bacteria
Additional efforts at Westmoreland Manor to remove the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease will begin this week. The thermal eradication process started at the end of last week to kill suspected Legionella bacteria found in water at the Hempfield nursing home was unsuccessful, Westmoreland County officials said in a statement...
Woman accused of hiding gun that killed New Kensington cop says she suffers from PTSD
A woman charged with disposing of the weapon that police say was used to kill New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw claims she could not have done so because she is afraid to enter basements. In court documents filed Monday, the lawyer for Lisa Danea Harrington, 33, of New Kensington...
Man walking with child in Wilkinsburg killed in shooting
A 23-year-old man who was shot and killed while walking in Wilkinsburg on Monday has been identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Kevin Hall was shot while walking along Winton Street with a 5-year-old relative at about 1 p.m., police said. A man with short dreadlocks and wearing a...
Carnegie Mellon, Penn State students to compete in ‘Jeopardy!’ College Championship
Emma Farrell, a Carnegie Mellon University senior from Telford in southeastern Pennsylvania, will compete in the “Jeopardy!” College Championship in April. The 10-day special event airs from April 6-17. Fifteen students from across the country will compete for a $100,000 grand prize and a berth in the next edition of...
Pennsylvania hunters killed record 4,653 black bears in 2019
HARRISBURG — Wildlife authorities say Pennsylvania hunters killed 4,653 black bears last year, setting a new record. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Monday the total is far above last year’s total of 3,153, which was the 11th highest total recorded but was also the lowest in almost a dozen years....
Where’s the snow? Winter so far has failed to deliver much to Western Pa.
All those things that make winter wintry in Western Pennsylvania — at least one snowstorm, shoveling snow, making a snowman — haven’t happened much this year. “I don’t think I’ve shoveled once,” said Greg Phillips, manager and CEO of the Westmoreland Conservation District. While there was some measurable snowfall in...
Rush Limbaugh announces he’s been diagnosed with lung cancer
LOS ANGELES — Conservative radio host and Republican kingmaker Rush Limbaugh said he’s been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Addressing listeners on his program Monday, Limbaugh said he will take some days off for further medical tests and to determine treatment. “I have to tell you something today that I...
Police: Father of 4-month-old unintentionally shot child
State police reported they believe the father of a 4-month-old child unintentionally fired a shot in an Indiana County apartment, hitting his son. According to police, the 21-year-old father fired a shot from a 9mm handgun while inside an apartment at 42 College Lodge Road in White Township, striking the...
Police: Shaler teacher used colleagues’ driver’s licenses to make fraudulent store returns
A Shaler Area Middle School teacher is accused of stealing her colleagues’ driver’s licenses and using them to make fraudulent returns at discount stores in the area, police said. Jeannine Vittorino, 45, of Robinson, was charged Saturday by Millvale police, who started investigating in September when one of Vittorino’s colleagues...
Rolling Stones dropping concert hints on billboards around Pittsburgh
Billboards going up around Pittsburgh seem to confirm the Rolling Stones are returning to Pittsburgh this summer. On Monday, at least 10 digital billboards with lyrics from Stones songs and the tongue-and-lips logo popped up around town. A fan website It’s Only Rock’n Roll says North American tour...
Witness testifies to chaos of 2016 Wilkinsburg shooting scene as defense attempts to discredit police evidenceVideo
Bleeding from her own gunshot wound, Tonjia Cunningham begged Tina Shelton to stay alive. “Tina, Tina, Tina.” “Talk to me.” “Tina, Tina, Tina, Tina.” “Don’t you (expletive) die on me,” she wailed. Jurors in Cheron Shelton’s murder trial heard the recording of the call Cunningham placed to 911 just before...
Pennsylvania health department officials say ‘coronavirus threat remains low’
While China has accused the U.S. of causing panic in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is doing what it can to keep residents calm. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine reminded Pennsylvanians Monday that the threat from coronavirus remains low. There have been...
Pennsylvania ranked as 5th best state for singlesVideo
Being single for Valentine’s Day might not be so bad this year — especially for people in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth came in fifth out of all 50 states as the best place to be single in 2020, according to a recent WalletHub.com report. The report used 29 metrics related to...
Latrobe Police looking for SUV involved in hit-and-run
Latrobe Police are asking the public’s help identifying the driver of an SUV that struck a building on Lincoln Avenue Sunday and fled. Police reported the crash occurred about 9 a.m. when the white vehicle struck the Holzer’s Deli store at 1700 Lincoln Ave., at the intersection of James Street....
1 dead, 5 wounded in shooting on California Greyhound bus
LEBEC, Calif. — A gunman killed one passenger and wounded five others on a Greyhound bus traveling from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol said. The shooting happened at about 1:20 a.m. as the bus was on the Grapevine section of...
Charges dismissed against accused gunman in Wilkinsburg mass shooting
Charges have been dismissed against one of two men charged in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case. Robert Thomas, 31, was taken back to the Allegheny County Jail about 9:30 a.m. Monday after Judge Edward J. Borkowski granted a defense motion made last week to dismiss the six counts of...
Police: Online scammer bilked Loyalhanna woman out of $45K
It started with some messages exchanged with a new Facebook connection. A 60-year-old Loyalhanna Township woman believed she was talking to a man in Denmark. He told her he needed some money to help his daughter, who supposedly was attending a private school in West Africa, according to state police....
Victims in apparent murder-suicide in Pittsburgh’s Hays section identified
Two people died in an apparent murder-suicide early Monday in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood, police said. Officers responded to a duplex in the 700 block of Baldwin Road at about 1:40 a.m. after a report of a man barricaded inside a home with a possible hostage. A third man inside the...
Peebles in Allegheny Township to take on sister store name Gordmans
Gordmans, a discount department store, will soon replace its sister brand, Peebles, in Hyde Park Plaza, Allegheny Township. Both stores’ owner, Stage Stores, headquartered in Houston, Texas, announced the grand opening for Gordmans for 9 a.m. Feb. 18 at with gifts and other giveaways. Given the demise of big box...
She didn’t want to be a nurse. Now she’s director of a Frazer school that teaches nurses
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Lynne Rugh never thought nursing was for her. But a nudge from a friend’s mother led her to a rewarding career she has been working in for close to five...
Small vape shops scramble for survival as government, Big Tobacco put up ‘one hurdle after another’
Chris McGrath doesn’t plan to give up his dream of helping people quit cigarettes by vaping. But the Harrison vape shop owner is worried the mounting challenges confronting his industry, particularly its smallest players, could push his and hundreds of other small shops and manufacturers out of business. “Small businesses...
Chocolate-covered dreams at Speckled HenVideo
Chocolate lovers have a sweet destination in rural Clinton Township. Speckled Hen Chocolate Co. opened in 2013, specializing in unique gourmet hand-dipped chocolates, gift baskets, event favors, chocolate-themed classes and homemade fudge. Sarver native and owner Valerie Cannon, 45, often provided homemade chocolate-covered pretzels for her co-workers. She made the...
Natrona fire leaves 6 people homeless
Four adults and two children escaped a fire Sunday night in Harrison’s Natrona section despite a lack of working smoke detectors in the duplex that burned, according to Hilltop Hose Fire Chief Krzeminski. “This could have been a tragedy,” Krzeminski said. “If this had happened in the middle of the...
China reports 361 dead from new virus, total of 17,205 cases
BEIJING — China on Monday reported 361 have died on the mainland from the new virus, with an additional 2,829 new cases over the last 24 hours bringing the Chinese total to 17,205. The latest figures Monday come a day after the first death from the illness was recorded outside...
