Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1662
Big Shot Bob’s to open new Hempfield location
Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings is expanding once again, this time outside Westmoreland Mall. The wing joint will be located at the former Winghart’s spot in Westmoreland Crossing behind the mall. Owner Keith Wassel said he hopes to open the Hempfield location, which will serve over 100 flavors of...
TribLIVE’s top 25 photos of the year
Captured by the Tribune-Review visuals staff, this collection of our most visually compelling images from 2019 reminds us of the most intriguing news, sports and cultural events of the year....
Judge denies Yakopec’s request for transfer back to Westmoreland prison
A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday rejected a request from the son of a Lower Burrell district judge to be transferred back to the county’s jail to finish serving out a six-month sentence for drug offenses. The attorney for Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell in court documents filed this...
Fireworks companies sue North Huntingdon for more than $30,000
Two Kansas fireworks firms sued North Huntingdon for more than $30,000, saying the township’s refusal to grant a permit that would keep their store open near the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s entrance has caused a “significant” loss in sales the past two months. Fireworks Leasing LLC and Wholesale Fireworks Enterprises LLC, both...
Next Interstate 70 project will add 3 roundabouts at Madison exit
PennDOT’s ongoing Interstate 70 improvements are expected to continue next year, with revamping of the Madison and Yukon exits. Construction could begin as early as February and is expected to continue through September 2022, according to PennDOT District 12 officials. Submitting a proposal of about $92.9 million, Trumbull Corp. is...
Skiing accident at Pennsylvania resort kills Virginia man
MACUNGIE — A skiing accident at an eastern Pennsylvania resort claimed the life of a Virginia man, authorities said. Matthew Rosenstein, 23, of Arlington, Va., died Monday of multiple blunt force injuries, the Lehigh County coroner’s office said Wednesday. The coroner’s office said he struck snowblowing equipment while skiing at...
Springdale Township man gets ‘Christmas gift’: Police home in on hit-and-run suspect who wrecked his garage
Dave Houston got an unexpected knock at his door the Saturday morning before Christmas. “Did you see your garage?” his neighbor asked. Perplexed, the 55-year-old man walked outside his Springdale Township home thinking, “Maybe I left my garage door open all night.” “Well,” Houston recalled, “The garage door wasn’t even...
13 Latrobe area churches band together to serve free Christmas meals to all who need themVideo
Anna Louise Castellano spent Christmas Day with her extended family. It’s a family that included many folks she didn’t even know but who gathered together Wednesday afternoon for a Christmas meal at St. John the Evangelist Church in Latrobe, in what has become a local tradition. “This is for anybody...
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski ‘disturbed’ by McConnell impeachment remark
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she was disturbed to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be “total coordination” between the White House and the Senate over the upcoming presidential impeachment trial. “And in fairness, when I heard that I was...
Pitt basketball’s Kyla Nelson returns to the court after cancer surgeryVideo
The game of basketball can mirror life. In between those lines, there is a competitor. Athletes go out every day to challenge themselves and persevere against roadblocks to victory. For Pitt women’s basketball player Kyla Nelson, the competitor was cancer, the challenge surgery and the roadblock the will to live....
Remains of soldier killed in Afghanistan returned to U.S.
DOVER, Del. — The remains of a 33-year-old American soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble of Washington Township, New Jersey, was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in northern...
Man robs Colorado bank, throws cash, says ‘Merry Christmas’
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A 65-year-old Colorado man is jailed after witnesses say he robbed a bank in Colorado Springs, walked outside and threw money out of the bag and then said “Merry Christmas.” The man walked to the coffee shop next door, “sat down and waited for the cops,”...
Songwriter Allee Willis, who did ‘Friends’ theme, dies
LOS ANGELES — Allee Willis, a songwriter whose work included the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” as well as the theme song from the TV show “Friends” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” has died. She was 72. The cause of death Tuesday was a cardiac event, her publicist, Ellyn...
Deer Lakes High School students use emoji paintings to encourage frank conversationsVideo
Art students at Deer Lakes High School are hoping students and staffers will stop and see the emoji. Not the cartoon-like images on their cellphones, but ones on the walls. Emoji allow people to express emotion digitally through a variety of faces that display different expressions and picture characters. They...
Ben Roethlisberger vows to ‘come back stronger’ for Steelers in 2020
Ben Roethlisberger gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans a Christmas gift on Wednesday when he vowed to resume his football career in 2020, shooting down a report that cast doubt about his football future. Underneath a family photo posted on his website, bigben7.com, Roethlisberger wrote that he is “working hard and more...
Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be savedVideo
PARIS — The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument. Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said restoration work isn’t likely...
Police: Woman shot in Duquesne drive-by
Allegheny County Police are investigating the drive-by shooting of a 32-year-old woman in Duquesne. Police said Wednesday morning the woman was struck by a bullet. They said the wounds aren’t life-threatening. Police said it was not immediately clear whether the victim was specifically targeted. Authorities said the shooter was in...
Kindness comeback: Acting like Fred Rogers in his neighborhood and beyond
At a time of partisanship, polarization and rancor, Christmas comes along to smooth the hard edges of our divisions. Acts of kindness somehow come more naturally this time of year. But by the time February rolls around, everybody’s grouchy again. Does kindness have any staying power? Perhaps because kindness may...
Police: 3 dead in apparent murder-suicide in Florida; 4 children safe
LAKELAND, Fla. — Three adults were killed in an apparent murder-suicide on Christmas Eve while four young children were inside the home, authorities in Florida said. The children were safely removed from the home after the shooting Tuesday night, Lakeland Police Capt. Ed Cain told reporters. The three dead adults...
Dense fog causes travel headaches on Christmas Eve in Pittsburgh
Thick fog blanketing Western Pennsylvania prompted flight cancellations and driving warnings, and air travel around the country continued to be affected Christmas morning. A dense fog advisory was extended until noon Wednesday for Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties. Visibility was close to zero in some parts of the region...
Pope marks joyful Christmas Eve after less-than-joyful year
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis assured the faithful on Christmas Eve that God loves everyone — “even the worst of us” — as he celebrated the joyous birth of Christ after a less-than-joyful year of scandals and opposition. With a choir singing the classic Christmas hymn “The First Noel,” Francis...
Murrysville webcam catches deer giving ground to wild turkeysVideo
A webcam recently captured a herd of deer relinquishing its ground to a group of invading wild turkeys in Murrysville. PixCams of Murrysville has 13 wildlife webcams, including ones monitoring the Pittsburgh bald eagles nest in Hays, elk in Benezette and wooded areas in places such as Murrysville. In the...
Officials: Flu continues to slam Western Pennsylvania
State health officials are concerned about the growing number of confirmed flu cases in Allegheny County and all of Western Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Western Pennsylvania is the hardest hit region of the state so far this season, which began Sept. 29, spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said. Laboratory-confirmed flu cases...
Pittsburgh is 23rd rudest city in national poll
When Americans were asked to name the rudest cities in the country, Pittsburgh landed about in the middle. The Steel City ranked 23 out of the top 50 metro areas, according to a new Business Insider survey of 2,092 adults. Poll respondents were asked in October and November to choose...
Attorney: Family of Wilkinsburg man killed by police wants transparent investigationVideo
The family of a Wilkinsburg man shot and killed by police Dec. 22 after he fired at them during a foot chase wants the investigation into his death to be transparent, Pittsburgh attorney Todd J. Hollis said. Hollis is voluntarily representing Romir Talley’s family. During a press conference Tuesday, he...
