Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1893
Study: Climate change will make Pittsburgh feel southern by 2080
Pittsburgh, meet Jonesboro, Ark. A recent study by the journal Nature Communications says Pittsburgh’s climatic analog in the year 2080 is Jonesboro, a city in northeast Arkansas, if current climate change trends continue. That Pittsburgh will feel like a city in the South may be alarming to some, but the...
Barr to release redacted Mueller report within a week
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday he expects to release a redacted version of the special counsel’s Trump-Russia investigation report “within a week.” Barr told members of Congress at his first public appearance since receiving special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that his earlier projection of releasing a version...
Suspected Parkland gunman pens letters about having kids, naming them after guns
In love letters knotted with stick figures and smiley faces, Parkland shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz looks toward the future. “I really want kids. I think of it all the time, you know the joy they bring,” Cruz, 20, wrote on Halloween to Miley, one of his many online admirers whom...
Pennsylvania’s deer rifle season moved to Saturday after Thanksgiving
After more than 50 years of having the first day of deer rifle season start the Monday after Thanksgiving, the Pennsylvania Game Commission gave final approval to move opening day up to Saturday after the holiday. The board Tuesday voted 5-3 to approve the change. The commission gave a tentative...
What’s Brewing? Tips for how to taste beer
Interested in learning more about what beer tastes like? If so, you can start today with a flight or a couple of 5-ounce taster glasses next time you’re at a brewery. I’ve always enjoyed trying to detect the various flavors in a craft beer I’m drinking. Sometimes it’s obvious while...
Alec Baldwin says beating Trump in presidential election would be easy
Alec Baldwin, who has had a second career portraying President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” for over two years, thinks he would beat Trump if he ran for president. Baldwin tweeted Monday, ”If I ran for President, would you vote for me? I won’t ask you for any $....
Police: Man shot during street fight in Mount Oliver
A street fight late Monday in Mount Oliver left one man with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Allegheny County police. A 20-year-old victim was listed in stable condition at a Pittsburgh hospital, Lt. Ken Ruckel said. His name has not been released. The incident happened at 10:34 p.m. on Margaret...
Ghost of Toys R Us still haunts toy makers
NEW YORK — This year, children will have a hard time finding Uncle Milton’s glow-in-the-dark ant farm, or the gel and ant village version. Basic Fun, the parent company behind the brand, has stopped producing them and now makes just three versions — basic, giant and retro. Who’s to blame?...
White House steps up attacks as Mueller report release nears
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took a victory lap after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation. It may have been premature. The scramble to frame the investigation’s findings in the best political light is sure to be renewed in coming days when Mueller’s report is expected to be...
Helltown Brewing cans hit store shelves
Four varieties of beer from Westmoreland County-based Helltown Brewing are now available on store shelves in 12-ounce cans, the craft brewery announced. Six- and 12-packs of four beers became available Monday in Western and Eastern Pennsylvania: • Buffy Hazy IPA • Hop Frenzy IPA • Idle Hands Double IPA •...
Ross Township fire marshal: Power strip set sofa ablaze
A Ross Township couple escaped safely from their home early Tuesday after smoke alarms alerted them to an electrical fire in the living room of their Spruce Valley Drive home, according to authorities. The family’s dog also got out of the house, but their cat did not survive, according to...
Penn Hills man killed in motorcycle wreck on Homestead Grays Bridge
Investigators believe a motorcyclist was speeding before he crashed and was killed Tuesday on the Homestead Grays Bridge, according to Allegheny County police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as Gary Lamont Butler Jr., 41, of Penn Hills. The incident happened at 12:24 a.m. Tuesday and involved...
Is 4 hours of sleep really enough?
“Sleep is overrated.” So proclaims Stephen Klasko, who throughout his life has taken pride in sleeping only four or five hours a night. Those extra few hours away from his pillow, he believes, have allowed him to write books, run marathons and achieve his lofty professional goals. An obstetrician and...
Norwin opposes Sheetz beer sales near North Huntingdon school
Norwin School Board is expected to vote next week to oppose Sheetz Inc.’s plans to sell alcohol at its convenience store across the street from one of the district’s elementary schools. Barbara Viola, board president, said there is a board consensus to oppose Sheetz’s plans to sell alcohol at its...
California Rep. Eric Swalwell joins 2020 Democratic presidential field
Eric Swalwell, a four-term San Francisco Bay Area congressman who has grown into a cable TV fixture as a slashing and unremitting critic of President Donald Trump, formally announced Monday his long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Fittingly, he chose national television as the venue to declare his intent,...
CDC finds 78 new measles cases as outbreak sprints to record
WASHINGTON — For the second week in a row, U.S. health officials added dozens of new reports to the year’s list of confirmed measles cases, bringing the total to 465 — already the highest number in the last five years. It’s another significant milepost on the road to what will...
Shapiro appeals UPMC ruling to state’s highest court
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review consent decrees involving the dispute between healthcare giants UPMC and Allegheny Health Network. Shapiro announced Monday that he filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after the state’s Commonwealth Court last week ruled in favor of UPMC,...
Man found shot to death in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood identified
The identity of a man shot to death in a Larimer home on Monday has been released. Mark Anthony Jackson, 39, was killed at 6:18 p.m., according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. Pittsburgh police are investigating the fatal shooting. Police spokeswoman Alicia George said Zone 5 officers were...
Pennsylvania gun violence activists set sights on new bill
HARRISBURG — Fresh from a victory in Pennsylvania last fall, anti-gun violence advocates are turning their attention to legislation to empower family members or police to seek the immediate, if temporary, seizure of someone’s firearms. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America went to the state Capitol on Monday...
Bridge, slide repairs top $200M in road work this construction season
PennDOT expects to spend more than $200 million to fix the region’s roads and bridges this construction season. In addition to ongoing projects, PennDOT District 12 officials are slated to seek bids for $122 million in new construction projects, which will include resurfacing of 126 miles of highways and repairing...
Pittsburgh ranks second in nation for high number of Target stores
Love shopping at Target? Pittsburgh ranked second in the top 10 list for cities with the highest ratio of Target stores to residents, according to Apartment Guide, a rental website that helps people find apartments. According to the study, Pittsburgh has one Target for every 37,801 people. Knoxville, Tenn., topped...
Judge blocks Trump’s asylum policy but delays enforcement
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for an immigration court to hear their cases but the order won’t immediately go into effect. Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco granted a request by civil liberties...
Editorial: UPMC, Highmark should consent to modification
It’s not that nothing can be done. When Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson issued his decision in Josh Shapiro’s plea for a stay of execution in the UPMC-Highmark consent decree, he didn’t throw the Pennsylvania attorney general a lifeline. Simpson’s ruling might be read as helpless when he says, “this...
Stars of bear webcam, sow and cub, expected to leave their den soon
The time to watch a hibernating black bear sow and her single cub on a live webcam is running out as they are expected to leave any day now. The Pennsylvania Game Commission launched its first ever live bear webcam this year from a bear den under a porch at...
Dress for success: Westmoreland County sets business casual rule for workwear
Denim is out for Westmoreland County work attire. A new dress code approved by county commissioners, which takes effect April 15, sets business casual as the rule for attire for most of the nearly 1,800 workers at the courthouse and other government buildings. “We only have one opportunity to make...
