Top Stories category, Page 471

So, will it be Gallagher Walk or Gallagher Run? University of Pittsburgh trustees Friday renamed a spot in the heart of campus for departing Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, saying it reflected a transformational project during his nine-year tenure, and something else about him. The plaza and walkway that were chosen wrap...

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A coalition with wealthy backers is pushing Pennsylvania lawmakers to use public dollars to create tuition vouchers so K-12...

Police have arrested a second suspect in the 2021 fatal shooting of a young man in Pitcairn — and they’re looking for two more people they say are also responsible for his death. Finel Javon Thompson, 21, of Wall, was charged Friday with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence, recklessly endangering...

WASHINGTON — A powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, scrambling longstanding methods for reversing overdoses and treating addiction. Xylazine can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths — as suggested by officials in Washington...

PHILADELPHIA — Interstate 95 reopened Friday less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia, a quicker-than-expected rebuild to get traffic flowing again on a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway. Workers put the finishing touches on an interim six-lane roadway that will serve motorists...

A rare albino raccoon is in the care of a Westmoreland County wildlife rescue after it was found with its two siblings at a Somerset County lumberyard, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The three baby animals were captured Tuesday by state Game Warden Andy Harvey at Berlin Lumber, southeast...

Ritual House, which opened in February in the Union Standard Building in Downtown Pittsburgh, served up a new menu on Wednesday. The plan is to change up the offerings seasonally. Executive chef Edwin Smith and pastry sous chef Zoe Peckich have brought their American cooking styles and modernized dishes with...

Highmark Health laid off 118 employees this week across the regional health insurer’s operations, the company said. The layoffs occurred across all departments and included a small number of management positions, said Lynn Seay, a Highmark Health spokeswoman. With the layoffs announced Wednesday, Highmark has eliminated 259 positions this year,...

The skywalk at Kinzua Bridge State Park has reopened after high winds prompted an emergency inspection and a temporary closure, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The McKean County structure was closed Wednesday and was inspected Thursday. The skywalk stretches 225 feet above the valley floor...

As many as 50 farms and other properties in East Huntingdon could have municipal water service this fall when water lines are extended to tap into the municipal system. It’s a project that might never have happened without funding from Westmoreland County, according to East Huntingdon Supervisor Joel Suter. “It’s...

The desperate search to find the missing Titan submersible turned into a recovery effort Thursday after officials announced the vessel imploded sometime this week, killing all five aboard, near the Titanic shipwreck. Deep-sea robots will continue searching the sea floor for clues about what happened deep in the North Atlantic....

Twenty-two of 24 men who federal prosecutors say sold cocaine and fentanyl in Western Pennsylvania have been arrested in a sweeping raid that began last month, according to court documents. Law enforcement began arresting suspects in late May following a nine-count federal indictment. They are accused of dealing 5 kilograms...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, June 23: Woman pleads guilty to $340,000 theft from credit union A Rostraver woman pleaded guilty this week to taking $340,200 from a Monessen-based federal credit union almost seven years ago, then staging a fire in the safe...

A new development will bring affordable housing for senior citizens to Pittsburgh’s Fairywood neighborhood. Officials broke ground Thursday on Cedarwood Homes, a 46-unit development at the former Fairywood School site. “We’re going to make sure the people who live here can age in place and they can do it with...

The Fayette County Courthouse was placed on lockdown Thursday after shots were fired and a bullet struck the building. Officials said a bullet went through a window and struck a judge’s chair while she was sitting in it. She was not injured, and there no reports of other injuries. The...

CHEYENNE — Abortion pills will remain legal in Wyoming for now, after a judge ruled Thursday that the state’s first-in-the-nation law to ban them won’t take effect July 1 as planned while a lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys for Wyoming failed to show that the ban wouldn’t harm the plaintiffs before their...

I recently attended a Pirates game. As readers know, that’s no small step for me. I boycotted Major League Baseball after its ideological commissioner, Rob Manfred, needlessly thrust our beloved national pastime into the nastiness of partisan politics. Manfred and MLB boycotted the city of Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s...

It’s the weekend. Here are some ways to spend it. Art appreciation The Ohringer gallery in Braddock will host an exhibition featuring the work of artist Cue Perry. It runs Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 640 Braddock Ave. It will be Perry’s first solo exhibition. The works...

A district judge on Thursday revoked a Shadyside man’s bond and ordered him back to Allegheny County Jail after the district attorney’s office said he presented a threat to the community. Jasper Jacob Hilliard, 21, faces charges including attempted homicide in connection with the stabbing of a 72-year-old man on...

HARRISBURG — Faced with a rising number of Pennsylvania teachers leaving the profession, state House lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill to recruit more educators by giving student teachers a stipend while they’re in the classroom. The legislation seeks to remove the barriers for prospective teachers, whose work in the...

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has proposed a bill to make streets safer, citing Harrisburg as once being home to the “deadliest road in America” and the traffic fallout of the Interstate 95 collapse in Philadelphia. “The recent disaster on I-95 and the subsequent detour to the already dangerous Roosevelt Boulevard...

“Love wins” and “Love is love” are among the messages adorning apparel displayed in recognition of Pride Month at Rue 21, a chain clothing store at Westmoreland Mall. Not everyone is taking to heart such messages supporting the LGBTQIA community during June, as evidenced by recent backlash against some major...

West Deer supervisors approved conditional use and land development applications for the proposed Leto well pad, and neighbors say they plan to appeal that decision in court. The well pad, located off Oak Road behind a Dollar General store, was proposed by Olympus Energy of Cecil Township. Olympus plans to...

An attorney for Janet L. Winbush said the woman with a long and well-documented history of mental illness fatally stabbed her husband in self-defense in December 2020 after years of domestic abuse. Prosecutors argue that Winbush had planned to kill Deric Bryan Davis, 53, and then, after she did, she...

PHILADELPHIA — Two years after a former Gettysburg College student finally saw charges filed over her 2013 campus sexual assault, the man suspected of sending her a Facebook message that said, ” So I raped you,” remains on the run. Shannon Keeler, 28, and her attorneys question how Ian T....