Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1819
Just Ducky Tours won’t open in Pittsburgh for 2019 season
There will be no duck boat tours in Pittsburgh this year. Just Ducky Tours, which operates eight amphibious vehicles out of Pittsburgh’s Station Square, will not be opening for the 2019 season, according to a statement posted on its website. “We are very sad to say that Just Ducky Tours...
Financial analyst: New Kraft Heinz CEO faces ‘monumental challenge’
A financial securities analyst says the Kraft Heinz Company may be running out of cash, and its new CEO has a “monumental challenge” on his hands. Guggenheim Securities analyst Laurent Grandet told Yahoo! News that Miguel Patricio, who will take the company’s CEO reins on July 1, will need to...
Allegheny County public defender to challenge DA Zappala in election
Longtime Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. could face a new challenger this fall. Allegheny County public defender Lisa Middleman announced Monday that she’s launching a campaign for district attorney. She plans to appear on the November ballot as an independent. “I’ve seen the racist, classist, criminal justice...
‘NBC Nightly News’ continues focus on Clairton Coke Works fires, air quality impacts
“NBC Nightly News” on Sunday took the story of yet another fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton plant and continuing community concerns about air quality and potential health risks to a national audience. “It shouldn’t be something that children have to deal with because of the air,” a tearful mother said...
Truck driver charged with 7 homicides in motorcycle crash
CONCORD, N.H. — The driver of a pickup truck in a fiery collision on a rural New Hampshire highway that killed seven motorcyclists was charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide, and records show he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving last month and in 2013. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy,...
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh members launch unionization effort
Employees from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh are meeting Monday to kick off unionization efforts. “I think it’s important because, as we exist now, we don’t have a contract,” said Rachel Masilamani, a part-time librarian at the Downtown branch. “So sometimes it could be difficult to bring up things that...
Jackpot: More than 2,000 winners in North Carolina lottery
RALEIGH, N.C. — Turns out that zero can be a lucky number. North Carolina’s state lottery Saturday said it set a record payout after the winning numbers in a Pick 4 game came back “0-0-0-0.” The lottery said about 1,000 tickets at $1 were sold and will pay out at...
Police confirm bear spotted in Clairton
There’s a different kind of bear walking the streets of Clairton. No, not the high school’s Clairton Bears that produced NFL wide receiver Tyler Boyd: We’re talking a real-life black bear. Clairton police said in a Facebook post that a black bear was seen in the area of State Route...
Police: Argument led to stabbing at Hempfield home; victim hospitalized
A Hempfield man is behind bars after state police said he stabbed a man Friday inside a township home. Vincente Alejo Andres, 34, is accused of stabbing the man in the face while the pair were fighting at a Tiffany Circle home. The injured man was taken to AHN Forbes...
Cops: North Side man beat woman because she ordered him the wrong beer
A Pittsburgh man became so angry at a woman who ordered him the wrong beer that he followed her outside a Murrysville restaurant and chased her across Route 22, where he is accused of kicking and punching her, according to court documents. Kadeem O. Warren, 28, of the North Side,...
Fayette man killed in off-road vehicle crash in Middlecreek Township
A Fayette County man died of injuries sustained when he crashed his off-road vehicle Saturday night in Middlecreek Township. State police said Joseph A. Cole, 33, of Mill Run, was driving north on Scullton Road near Whipkey Dam Road shortly after 10:15 p.m., when his vehicle left the roadway, ran...
Vicki Lawrence, ‘Mama’ keep Palace Theatre audience laughing
Vicki Lawrence and Mama had the sold-out crowd laughing hysterically, and at times on their feet applauding loudly, on Sunday afternoon at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. “Vicki Lawrence and Mama — A Two Woman Show” is an hour and a half of Lawrence sharing stories of her life from...
Police: DUI suspected in Murrysville motorcycle crash
Murrysville police believe a motorcyclist was driving under the influence Sunday night in a one-vehicle crash on Route 366. The driver lost control of the motorcycle at 8:18 p.m. and crashed near Hankey Church Road, according to police Chief Thomas Seefeld. The driver had a major head injury and broken...
UPMC, Highmark reach 10-year deal for patient coverage
UPMC and Highmark struck a truce Monday that will allow Western Pennsylvanians to maintain access to hospitals and doctors across both rival health systems for at least the next 10 years. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro hailed the unexpected contract — inked six days before UPMC and Highmark were scheduled...
Former Pa. congressman Joe Sestak launches presidential campaign
PHILADELPHIA — Former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak has become the latest Democrat to enter the presidential race. The retired Navy admiral who calls himself “Admiral Joe” on his campaign website joins a crowded Democratic field seeking the nomination to challenge President Donald Trump. He was launching his longshot candidacy Sunday...
McKees Rocks fire forces 6 families from apartment building
Six families were forced out of their apartment building after a fire late Sunday in McKees Rocks, WPXI reported. Firefighters responded to the blaze along Wayne Avenue around 10:30 p.m. No injuries were reported. Crews were able to rescue a dog and other pets. Flames appear to have broken out...
Rain returns briefly before string of mild days
After three days of sunny — and dry — weather, thunderstorms are expected to return Monday with potentially damaging winds and hail, according to the National Weather Service. Rain is expected late in the afternoon, just in time for rush hour, with stronger storms coming through after midnight. Temperatures will...
Police investigating gas station robbery in Marshall
Northern Regional Police are investigating an overnight gas station robbery in Marshall Township, WPXI reported. Officers responded at about 1 a.m. to the BP near T-Bones Plaza, just off I-79. A K9 unit assisted in the search along VIP Drive, which then extended to a nearby parking lot at Econo...
Church group: Drag queen bingo encourages fondling, groping
Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department won’t host another drag queen bingo, but it’s not because of the drag, Chief Jerry Lucia said. “We didn’t have the large crowd we thought, and then we had bingo players come here thinking they’d be playing bingo all night,” Lucia said. “They only played...
Tarentum barber makes impact on customers, communityVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com. William Tavarez is more than just a neighborhood barber....
Study says changing values will impact fish and wildlife management
It’s more evidence of a coming storm, perhaps. Fewer Americans than ever hunt these days. It recently hit a 25-year low. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, released in 2016, showed that 11.5 million Americans hunted. That was 4.4 percent of the population. If that sounds like a lot,...
Pittsburgh cops investigate 2 shootings
Pittsburgh police are investigating two shootings involving victims at two different locations. Shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting in the 40 block of Briggs Street. Witnesses told police that a man had been shot by someone driving a black Acura. The man was taken to a...
In Mideast, Mike Pompeo seeks a global coalition against IranVideo
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he wants to build a global coalition against Iran during urgent consultations in the Middle East, following a week of crisis that saw the United States pull back from the brink of a military strike on Iran. Pompeo spoke as he...
Steelmakers are next in the crosshairs as climate pressure grows
Flames leap from cauldrons brimming with molten iron as they’re tipped into giant vats at one of Europe’s largest steel mills. Heated to over 1,800 degrees in furnaces fired by coal, the liquid metal sloshing at Thyssenkrupp’s facility in Duisburg, Germany, will eventually wind up in automobiles, wind turbines and...
Change may be coming for Westmoreland transit authority
Westmoreland County commissioners will vote Monday on a proposal to allow the county transit authority to serve as its own bus operator. Authority board members endorsed the move last week to amend the agency’s charter, a change that officials said could dramatically transform the operation and offer an alternative to...
