Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1915
Democrats pick IUP professor to run for retired state Sen. Don White’s seat
Democratic committee members have nominated Susan Boser to be their candidate in the race to fill the remaining term of former state Sen. Don White. Brandon Cwalina, press secretary with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, confirmed Boser was nominated Sunday afternoon by members of Armstrong, Butler, Indiana, and Westmoreland Democratic committees....
Female Scouts BSA troop in Westmoreland takes inaugural camping trip
Friday night was far from the first time a group of Scouts braved the cold for a winter camping trip in the woods. It was, however, the first camping trip for a female Scouts BSA troop in Westmoreland County. “I’m actually, finally, part of a group,” said Greta Nicodemus, 11,...
Trump and first lady attend church service on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spent St. Patrick’s Day morning worshipping at the “Church of the Presidents” near the White House. Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, joined parishioners for Sunday’s 11 a.m. service at St. John’s Church, a historic yellow church across from the White House and...
Police: Man threw gun out truck window during chase in Duquesne
Duquesne police have arrested a North Versailles man they say threw a gun out a truck window during a chase. Police were conducting extra patrols Saturday night because of St. Patrick’s Day. Officers attempted to stop a pickup truck for suspected impaired driving, police said. When the truck wouldn’t stop,...
5 DUI arrests, 87 warnings during St. Patrick’s weekend patrols in North Hills
Five people were arrested by the North Hills DUI Task Force for driving under the influence Saturday. The task force made the arrests as part of a DUI detail and roving patrols in Marshall, McCandless, Ross and West View that were conducted as part of the St. Patrick’s Day “Drive...
8 arrested on South Side after Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day parade
Pittsburgh officials said there were no major incidents during the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, but eight people were arrested on the South Side as they celebrated later that night. Chris Togneri, public safety spokesman, said police arrested eight people for “mostly assault or public intoxication” on Saturday. Two summons...
Fox News pulls episode of Jeanine Pirro’s program after hijab remarks
Fox News pulled Saturday’s episode of conservative commentator Jeanine Pirro’s program after publicly admonishing her for on-air comments she made last week about a Muslim congresswoman’s hijab. “Justice With Judge Jeanine” — which airs Saturdays at 6 p.m. Pacific and is typically the most watched cable news program on the...
Report: Ex-Putin adviser who died in U.S. had broken neck
WASHINGTON — Newly released documents show that a former adviser to Russia’s president sustained a complete fracture of his neck “at or near the time of his death” in a Washington hotel room in 2015. The documents from the city’s medical examiner were released to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in...
White House aide says ‘absurd’ to link mosque shooter, Trump
WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Sunday that President Donald Trump “is not a white supremacist” and attempts to tie him to the alleged New Zealand mosque shooter are “absurd.” Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff, described the New Zealand shooter as a “disturbed individual” and “evil...
Some lawmakers worry about allowing sports bets on phones
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — For states looking to profit off the new world of legal sports betting, there’s an app for that. The question for state lawmakers: Should they allow it? As state legislatures across the U.S. decide whether to authorize sports gambling, lawmakers are debating whether the bets — like...
Growing movement calls on media to avoid naming shooters
A few months after teen shooters killed 12 classmates at Columbine High School, Coni Sanders was standing in line at a grocery store with her young daughter when they came face to face with the magazine cover. It showed the two gunmen who had carried out one of the deadliest...
Police seek suspect in Homestead shooting Thursday
Allegheny County Police are looking for a teenager accused of shooting a 60-year-old man in the leg Thursday. Demon Ronald Ross, 17, has been charged as an adult in the shooting. Ross and the 60-year-old man got into an argument that ended when Ross shot the man near the intersection...
Body found in Monongahela River in Braddock
A man has been found dead in the Monongahela River in Braddock, according to Allegheny County officials. A tugboat operator spotted the body near the Rankin Bridge at about 8:45 a.m. Sunday, officials said. First-responders recovered the body from the river. Further details were not immediately available....
2 killed, 4 injured in wrong-way crash on turnpike in Beaver CountyVideo
Two people were killed and four were injured in a head-on crash in Beaver County on Saturday because of a motorist was driving the wrong way on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to state police. Police identified those killed as William Paxton, 76, of Pittsburgh and Andrew Sworan, 36, of Cleveland....
Tragic deaths of Jonny Gammage and Antwon Rose twice put Pittsburgh in the spotlight
Western Pennsylvania over the span of nearly a quarter century has twice found itself at center stage of national outrage involving the deaths of black men at the hands of white police officers. The 1995 death of Jonny Gammage in the era of Rodney King and the L.A. riots focused...
Rosfeld’s lawyer Patrick Thomassey boasts long history of tackling the tough cases
Sporting a thick mane now more salt than pepper and an impeccably tailored suit, Patrick Thomassey cuts a confident figure in the courtroom. It’s a confidence borne of razor-sharp legal skills the 71-year-old Monroeville lawyer has honed in more than four decades in court. But friends and colleagues say the...
2 hurt in head-on wreck in East Huntingdon
Two people were injured when a pair of vehicles collided head-on in East Huntington on Saturday evening, according to Westmoreland County emergency dispatchers. The wreck occurred at around 7 in the 1200 block of New Stanton Ruffsdale Road. The section of the road where the accident occurred was reopened shortly...
David Urban: Trump’s Pa. popularity no accident
There’s a reason why President Trump is becoming more popular in important Midwestern battleground states like Pennsylvania: Voters don’t want to lose the ongoing economic renaissance that is transforming their lives. According to a recent opinion survey from The Wall Street Journal, the president “cumulatively leads a generic Democratic opponent,...
Power restored to 1,000 in Plum after transformer fire
The lights are back on for about 1,000 Duquesne Light customers who lost power in Plum Saturday evening when a pair of electrical transformers caught fire, according to police. The incident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. along Holiday Park Drive, police said. The affected homes were along Holiday Park Drive...
Comfort corner at Hempfield’s Stanwood Elementary to honor mother, son killed in 2016 shootingVideo
Nestled between the main office and the guidance counselor’s office at Stanwood Elementary School sits the Caleb & Dana Remaley Comfort Corner, a tribute to the mother and son who were killed just over two years ago. The room is filled with sensory toys such as a play therapy sandbox...
Election officials campaign for poll workers in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
Poll workers are becoming hard to find, both locally and statewide. It’s important work — checking in voters and delivering results — that takes more than 40,000 volunteers across Pennsylvania to make sure the process runs smoothly. But fewer are interested, making it a problem that seems to get worse...
From toys to trackers, pet products are going high tech
A survey by the American Pet Products Association showed that pet owners in the United States spent about $70 billion on pet products in 2017. Figures for 2018 aren’t in yet, but APPA projects that the final number will surpass $72 billion. That’s a lot of kibble — and treats,...
Advocates at Greensburg event call for more drug addiction treatment options
“Harm-reduction” advocates called for more treatment options for those addicted to drugs at a forum held at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg on Saturday. There are many problems contributing to the drug epidemic, said Devin Reaves, executive director of the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Committee, based in Philadelphia. Two of...
A sea of green Downtown, as Pittsburgh celebrates a cold-brewed St. Patrick’s Day with parade, revelry
Amid the sea of people dressed in green Saturday along the Boulevard of the Allies in downtown Pittsburgh, a white faux straw hat seemed to glow when the sun appeared from behind the stark, gray clouds. Robert Weck was wearing it as he and some of his family enjoyed Pittsburgh’s...
Apple Watch may spot heart problem but more research needed
A huge study suggests the Apple Watch can detect a worrisome irregular heartbeat at least sometimes — but experts say more work is needed to tell if using wearable technology to screen for heart problems really helps. More than 419,000 Apple Watch users signed up for the unusual study, making...
