Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1764
Steelers rookie WR Diontae Johnson hopes to follow Smith-Schuster’s path
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Pittsburgh Steelers would be thrilled if Diontae Johnson could duplicate JuJu Smith-Schuster’s rookie regular season from 2017. So far, the third-round draft pick from Toledo is having a similar start to his NFL career, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Smith-Schuster dealt with three injuries...
Green energy firm founder gets 22 years in fraud cases
PHILADELPHIA — The founder of a green energy company who authorities say ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of millions of dollars has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison. Troy Wragg, 37, was sentenced last week in federal court to 22 years in prison and...
Street preacher who changed lives through boxing, service mourned during anti-violence vigilVideo
Tika Hemingway’s life changed the day she met the Rev. Sheldon “Sarge” Stoudemire on a street corner in Pittsburgh’s North Side about 15 years ago. Then 17, Hemingway had been getting into dangerous situations. She’d been caught stealing and getting into fights with men nearly twice her size. She was...
Ex-Rep. Joe Walsh to challenge Trump in 2020 GOP primaryVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Joe Walsh, once a backer of President Trump, said Sunday he would mount a Republican primary challenge to the president because “we can’t take four more years of Donald Trump.” Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” the former Illinois congressman, now a radio talk-show host, called Trump...
1 lane of Downtown’s Fort Pitt Boulevard reopens
One lane of the inbound portion of Fort Pitt Boulevard in downtown Pittsburgh reopened Sunday after being closed for crews to repair a water main break, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority announced. Crews began repairing the 10-inch water main on Friday that closed a portion of Fort Pitt Boulevard...
Buffalo Township Family Day brings community, first responders together
From turning on the sirens to climbing on the trucks, kids of all ages got to interact with local first responders up close and personal Sunday at the inaugural Buffalo Township Family Day. The free event was hosted by the Buffalo Township parks and recreation committee and the Friends of...
2 Youngwood crashes send drivers to hospital
Two motorists were taken by ambulance to a hospital after crashes Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning in Youngwood, according to rescuers. A female driver suffered apparent minor injuries when two sport utility vehicles collided head-on at about 5:20 p.m. Saturday on Silvis Farm Road, said Youngwood Fire Chief Lloyd...
Astronomer: ‘Magic’ nights make Hawaii best telescope site
HONOLULU — When starlight from billions of years ago zips across the universe and finally comes into focus on Earth, astronomers want their telescopes to be in the best locations possible to see what’s out there. Despite years of legal battles and months of protests by Native Hawaiian opponents, the...
U.S. tech industry becomes hotbed for employee activism
SAN FRANCISCO — When Liz O’Sullivan was hired at the New York City-based artificial intelligence company Clarifai in 2017, she felt lucky to find work at the intersection of two of her main interests: technology and ethics. Two years later, she found herself facing a moral dilemma. Clarifai was developing...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Andrew Luck’s retirement shines light on Steelers’ backup QBs
The stunning, sudden retirement of Andrew Luck shook the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. To see a franchise quarterback call it quits at age 29 sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. Luck might have terrible timing — announcing it only two weeks before the season opener — but I can’t help but...
Police: Somerset County pair lose thousands in prize scam
Two Somerset County residents were scammed out of thousands of dollars by a man who claimed they’d won millions of dollars worth of prizes, state police said. Police said a 42-year-old Confluence man and a 61-year-old Stonycreek Township woman were contacted by a man who claimed to be a Publishers...
AARP chief: How living to 100 changes our ideas about aging
Jo Ann Jenkins is the CEO of AARP, the world’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization. AARP is focused on helping people “improve their quality of life” as they age; it has more than 38 million members. Jenkins joined AARP in 2010 and became CEO in 2014. Previously she was chief...
White House says Trump regrets not raising tariffs higher
BIARRITZ, France — President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had second thoughts about escalating the trade war with China, but the White House later reversed that message saying the president was misinterpreted and that his only regret in hiking tariffs is that he didn’t raise them higher. Trump faced...
Westmoreland County veteran’s death at VA hospital ruled a homicide
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — West Virginia politicians are calling for answers after a Vietnam veteran’s death at a VA hospital was ruled a homicide. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito vowed Friday to investigate after a news report on the death of retired Army Sgt. Felix Kirk McDermott at...
‘BEEP for B’man’ a great reason to lay on your hornVideo
Motorists have a great excuse to lay on their horns in O’Hara. Fourteen-year-old Bill Carney, also known as B’man, sits at the corner of Fox Chapel and Freeport roads in Fox Chapel Plaza several evenings a week. His mission? Soliciting honks, beeps and waves from the driving public. A large...
Church compensation fund dredges up old agonies for onetime altar boy
“It’s not about the money.” In another time and place, Jack (not his real name) said he’d take the $41,990 offered through the Greensburg Catholic Diocese’s compensation fund for clergy sex abuse survivors and toss it back. Nothing will ever erase what he says the Rev. John J. Nyeste, a...
Brandywine Conservancy preserving legacy of Penguin CourtVideo
Penguin Court, the former family home of the late Tribune-Review publisher, Richard M. Scaife, is now a preserve of Brandywine Conservancy. Located off Route 30 in Laughlintown, the more than 1,000 acres of forest, meadow and open space, including Thomas Road Farm, represent one of Scaife’s bequests. Staff now care...
Westmoreland Fair secretary still loves her job 3 decades later
Marian Parker of North Huntingdon retired from her job as a school bus driver about two decades ago, but has yet to give up the job she really enjoys — secretary at the Westmoreland Fair, which closed Saturday at the fairgrounds near Norvelt. “I just love my job. Even though...
Living the dream as a professional angler takes commitment
It’s not just about fishing. Austin Aikins is good at that. The senior at Central Catholic is one of two Pennsylvanians on the 2019 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team. It’s a collection of 62 of the best, most well-rounded anglers from around the country. Sponsors nominate teens based on...
Police investigating Youngwood crash with several injuries
State police from the Greensburg station were on the scene of an accident Saturday afternoon on Silvis Farm Road in Youngwood. A state police dispatcher said several people were injured in the crash. Other details were unavailable....
Police: Bus driver electrocuted despite warning from passing motorist
A bus driver with hearing problems might not have heard another motorist’s shouted warnings Friday before he got out of his wrecked school bus on a rural Beaver County road and was electrocuted, an official said. Timothy VanKirk, 60, of Ellwood City died instantly from the live high-voltage electrical wires...
Lightning strike at Tour Championship causes fan injuries
ATLANTA — Five people were injured Saturday when lightning struck a 60-foot pine at the Tour Championship, showering the area with debris, Atlanta police said. The third round of the season-ending PGA Tour event had been suspended for about 30 minutes because of storms in the area, and fans were...
Kids enjoy sun, horses, helicopter at East Deer community celebration
Sandy Galie had her hands full Saturday keeping track of five grandkids — including two sets of twins — at the East Deer Township Summer Celebration in the Park. Galie, of East Deer, was helping four of them enjoy the seesaws at the township’s Memorial Park in Creighton. “They’re loving...
WPXI’s Damany Lewis moving on to Charlotte
After almost five years in Pittsburgh, WPXI reporter Damany Lewis is headed south. The veteran news man posted the announcement on Facebook on Saturday morning stating that he will become a Monday through Friday anchor for WSOC, an ABC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. It wasn’t immediately clear when his last...
Donte Moncrief among 5 players to watch for Steelers in 3rd preseason gameVideo
This is dress rehearsal week around the NFL, and that term takes on an extra meaning for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only is it the third preseason game, when coach Mike Tomlin gives his starters extended playing time, the contest against the Tennessee Titans will be showcased nationally on NBC....
