Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1762
Johnson & Johnson opioid ruling spreads optimism around Western Pa.-based lawsuits
Westmoreland County is one of about 2,000 municipalities across the country with pending lawsuits against various drug manufacturers accused of promoting the opioid addiction epidemic that has devastated communities in recent years. This week’s court ruling in Oklahoma, in which the state was awarded a $572 million judgment from drugmaker...
Cheswick church rallies behind pastor who needs heart transplantVideo
Clinton Blazevich was told he could live with his heart condition for maybe three to five years before needing a heart transplant. That was nearly 20 years ago. Blazevich, 42, suffers from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, and cardiomyopathy, a condition that makes it harder for the heart to...
Liberty Tunnel closures begin Tuesday night
An overnight outbound closure of the Liberty Tunnel begins Tuesday night and continues through Thursday night, weather permitting, according to PennDOT. The outbound Liberty Tunnel will close to traffic from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night as crews perform ceiling repair work. The inbound tunnel will not be impacted....
Ranieri family raising money for scholarship fundVideo
Terry Ranieri’s legacy is living on through a scholarship fund for Hempfield Area Marching Band students. Ranieri, who passed away last week, graduated from Hempfield Area School District in 1975, attended home football games regularly in the decades since supporting the marching band and spent time hanging out with friends...
Former Monessen School District bus driver accused of possessing child porn
A former Monessen School District bus driver was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of possessing child pornography, federal prosecutors said. Jack Brian Laforte, 54, of Monessen is accused of possessiong videos and images in computer graphic files that showed minors, some younger than 12, engaged...
ScareHouse to create Scream District in Strip District
Pittsburgh’s popular haunted attraction ScareHouse is transforming. The creators of ScareHouse, formerly housed on Locust Street in Etna, will present a new attraction called “The Scream District” in a new temporary home in the Strip District. An exact location has not been revealed. The new iteration of the ScareHouse will...
Pitt researchers develop marijuana breathalyzer
With more and more states legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, sooner or later some bright scientist had to invent a marijuana breathalyzer. Now it appears researchers at the University of Pittsburgh may have just walked to the head of the class. A Pitt spokesman said a team from the university’s...
Unity auto repair shop destroyed by fireVideo
A quick-moving fire Tuesday gutted an auto repair shop in Unity. The owner of Rain’s Auto Body, Dean Rain, said workers had started welding a car when sparks flew, igniting the fire about 2:16 p.m. He said workers tried to put the fire out, but “it spread really fast.” Rain’s...
Latrobe man accused of assaulting mother, boy
A 38-year-old Latrobe man has been jailed for allegedly assaulting a woman and injuring her 2-year-old son, police said. Louis Anthony Campbell, of 905 Chestnut St., is accused of causing the boy to sustain a lump on his forehead during an incident at a home in the 1900 block of...
Farmers’ Almanac predicts ‘Polar Coaster’ winter for Pennsylvania, Northeast
A “Polar Coaster” of temperature changes, from above-average highs to frigid lows, is coming this winter, according to the 2020 Farmers’ Almanac, with the eastern part of the country potentially facing the worst of it. “We expect yet another wild ride this winter,” almanac editor Pete Geiger said. That wild...
Wendy Bell gets own KDKA radio show; Marty Griffin back to mornings
After eight months sharing KDKA-AM News Radio 1020’s on-air afternoon commute slot together, Wendy Bell and Marty Griffin are now each taking the driver’s seat for their own shows. Starting Sept. 3, Griffin will return to the 9 a.m. to noon slot, with Lynne Hayes-Freeland moving from 10 a.m. to...
Pitt suspends Chinese language program in wake of visa issues for foreign scholars
The University of Pittsburgh has suspended a language program sponsored by the Chinese government in the wake of visa issues for 15 Chinese scholars previously scheduled to oversee the program. The school suspended its Confucius Institute language programs after the U.S. State Department issued “unwelcome and unexpected” guidance regarding the...
Bernie Sanders picks up union endorsement in visit to Pittsburgh
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders picked up the endorsement of a Pittsburgh-based union Monday after a Downtown stop. The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America endorsed Sanders, a Vermont senator who is among those leading a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in...
Hearing set on expanding take-out beer, wine for restaurants in Pennsylvania
Diners wanting to buy more beer and wine to-go from a restaurant could do so if a bill to revise the restaurant liquor license rules becomes law. Representatives from the state Liquor Control Board, the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, and Wendell Young, president of the United Food and Commercial...
New study shows optimists live longer
As Monty Python says: “Always look on the bright side of life.” Turns out, those funny Brits hit upon a very healthy outlook. A new analysis of two previous studies shows that optimists have a better chance of reaching age 85 and older. “A lot of evidence suggests that exceptional...
DA drops charges against North Hills teacher accused of improperly touching student
The Allegheny County District Attorney has dropped charges against a North Hills School District elementary teacher accused of inappropriately touching a student. The DA’s office on Tuesday declined to comment on the specific reasons why the charges were dropped against Nathan Buttenfield, 42, of Gibsonia. “The only reason we gave...
DA will seek death penalty for man accused of killing Pittsburgh Officer Calvin Hall
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing Pittsburgh police Officer Calvin Hall. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala announced Tuesday his office charged Christian Bey, 30, of Wilkinsburg with homicide and three firearms violations in connection with the July shooting. Bey has been in...
Former Pitt dean Jere Gallagher remembered as ‘beautiful inside and out’
Jere Gallagher devoted her life to caring for others, whether it was her family, her friends or her many students. As an associate dean at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education, she spearheaded multiple initiatives to improve the lives of children and future teachers while also making sure those closest...
Surviving victims in Tree of Life mass shooting react to decision to seek death penalty
Members of one of the congregations targeted by the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue last year are “saddened and disappointed” by the government’s decision to seek the death penalty for accused gunman Robert Bowers. Dor Hadash, one of the congregations worshipping inside Tree of Life the morning that...
2 children killed, 10 hurt in Dayton crash with stolen police SUV
DAYTON, Ohio — The Dayton Police Department says two children were killed in a multi-vehicle accident involving a stolen police SUV. WHIO-TV reports that Maj. Eric Henderson says the incident started Monday evening with a complaint about a stabbing on Xenia Avenue. He says Dayton police responded and the suspect...
Moon Area High School adds police presence after BB gun found on 1st day
Additional police officers will patrol the Moon Area High School campus this week after authorities confiscated a BB gun from a young man on Monday evening, according to school officials. The incident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. when a school security guard stopped two men near the high school because...
Man swimming at Maryland’s Ocean City fatally hit by large wave
OCEAN CITY, Md. — Officials for a Maryland town say a 76-year-old swimmer died in a beach accident when a large wave knocked him down. Ocean City communications manager Jessica Waters told the Salisbury Daily Times that authorities responded Sunday to Ocean City Beach for a report of a distressed...
Boy missing from Hill District has been found
Pittsburgh police said a missing boy from the Hill District has been found. Delvon Dobbins, 12, was reported missing sometime after 5:30 p.m. Monday. He was seen wearing a blue and white striped shirt and tan shorts while near Memory Lane. Police reported late Monday night that Delvon was safely...
Hempfield Township honors Terry Ranieri with proclamationVideo
Terry Ranieri, a beloved Hempfield community member who passed away last week, was honored by Hempfield Township supervisors Monday night through a proclamation. Ranieri, who graduated from Hempfield Area School District in 1975, attended home football games regularly in the decades since and spent time hanging out with friends at...
Jury finds Pittsburgh man not guilty in fatal shooting of teen at Swissvale park
A jury on Monday found a Pittsburgh man not guilty of killing a Swissvale teen at a playground a little more than two years ago. William Smoot, 21, of the city’s Homewood neighborhood was acquitted of homicide and other charges connected to the 2017 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Vallen Davies-Mack....
