Top Stories category, Page 752
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to clean up toxic derailmentVideo
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won’t be forgotten. Speaking to reporters near...
4-day workweek trial: Shorter hours, happier employees
LONDON — Work less, get more. A trial of a four-day workweek in Britain, billed as the world’s largest, has found that an overwhelming majority of the 61 companies that participated from June to December will keep going with the shorter hours and that most employees were less stressed and...
‘They saved his life’: Daughter of man who collapsed at Pirate City thankful for team’s medical response
BRADENTON, Fla. — The daughter of a man who collapsed on the field at Pittsburgh Pirates spring training practice Tuesday morning credited the team’s medical and training staff for saving her father’s life. Ernie Withers, 68, of Bradenton, Fla., was shagging fly balls in the outfield when he went into...
I-79 changes — speed limit, express lane shutdown — target work zone safety improvements
PennDOT announced it has made changes to an Interstate 79 construction zone to improve safety. The I-79 southbound express lane has been closed and a 45 mph speed limit was enacted in the southbound lanes while engineers work through safety changes. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the speed limit was...
Putin suspends Russia’s involvement in key nuclear arms pact
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States — sharply upping the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine. Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address,...
Buttigieg urges safety changes after fiery Ohio derailment
OMAHA, Neb. — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants the nation’s freight railroads to immediately act to improve safety while regulators try to strengthen safety rules in the wake of a fiery derailment in Ohio that forced evacuations when toxic chemicals were released and burned. Buttigieg announced a package of reforms...
Soccer complex proposal draws criticism from neighbors in Murrysville
A proposal for a soccer complex along School Road South near the Murrysville-Penn Township border is drawing criticism from nearby residents. More than a half-dozen residents are opposed to the proposal to develop a sports complex with one full-sized and one seven-on-seven soccer field in the 4900 block of School...
Morning roundup: McKeesport police return to work
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023: McKeesport officers back on duty McKeesport police department returned to work Monday, two weeks after the shooting death of one of its officers, Sean Sluganski. A Facebook post from the Mayor’s Office said people can...
Route 30 openings and closings — Aldi in, Boston Market out
Construction is busy on and around Route 30 in Hempfield. Here’s a roundup of happenings in the area. Aldi plans second location 6207 US-30 A second Aldi location is headed to Hempfield. The supermarket chain known for its low prices could move into the space that houses Staples near Sam’s...
Mary Queen of Apostles, Kiski Area get shares of $8M state grants for school safety
Kiski Area School District and Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School are among 166 schools or districts across Pennsylvania getting shares of more than $8 million in state grants to improve school safety. Mary Queen of Apostles received two grants totaling nearly $100,000 for use at its two schools in...
Explosion at Ohio metals plant kills 1 worker, injures 13
OAKWOOD VILLAGE, Ohio — A maintenance worker was killed in explosion at an Ohio metals plant that sparked a large fire and sent more than a dozen people to hospitals, with at least two in critical condition, authorities said. Emergency crews were called to the I. Schumann & Co. copper...
Committee to study opening resource centers for youth, families in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh officials on Monday announced members of a new committee that will study curbing youth violence in the city and launching resource centers geared toward youth and families. Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith and Mayor Ed Gainey teamed up to form the new Advisory Committee for Youth and Family...
Students, faculty return to Michigan State after shooting
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University students and faculty returned to the East Lansing campus Monday as the university resumed normal operations, one week after a gunman shot and killed three students and injured five others. The 50,000-student university’s campus remained relatively quiet on the first day back, with...
New quake hits battered Turkey, Syria; 3 dead, hundreds hurt
ANKARA, Turkey — A new 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday killed three people and injured more than 200 in parts of Turkey laid waste two weeks ago by a massive quake that killed tens of thousands, authorities said. More buildings collapsed, trapping some people, while scores of injuries were recorded...
Social Security and Medicare: Troubling math, tough politics
WASHINGTON — It seems no one wants to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits. Not President Joe Biden, who is already telling voters his upcoming federal budget proposal will “defend and strengthen” the programs. Not Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has declared cuts to the programs off the table...
Man believed dead after chase that ended near Cloverleaf Golf Club in Salem
Police believe a man died by suicide Monday near the border of Penn and Salem townships in an incident that prompted a large police response along a road south of Route 22. Trooper Steve Limani said authorities were notified of a man having a mental health issue around 10 a.m....
Pa. Department of Health sues to keep medical marijuana program data secret
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 — The Pennsylvania Department of Health is again suing Spotlight PA in an attempt to keep information about how patients...
Gas prices edge lower in Pittsburgh, across Pa. while national average unchanged
While gas prices in some states moved higher in the past week, Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area are among those where prices came down slightly. According to AAA, the statewide average price of a gallon of gas Monday was about $3.69. That’s about 4 cents less than last week, about...
Gilpin officials investigating reports of stolen business yard signs
Gilpin officials are investigating recent reports of sign thefts in the township. Supervisor Charles Stull took to social media Friday to ask for the public’s help regarding multiple reports of what he described as a “strange” crime throughout the township. “Yard signs for various businesses throughout Gilpin Township have gone...
United Way, Westmoreland County partner to use 211 service to help residents
Westmoreland County residents looking for help finding behavioral health or developmental services will be funneled through United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s 211 service under a new partnership. Rob Hamilton, Westmoreland County director of human services, said call takers will be trained on such offerings through county government and in the...
Record 6,542 guns intercepted at U.S. airport security in ’22
ATLANTA — The woman flying out of Philadelphia’s airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380-caliber handgun in a black holster. The weapon was one of the 6,542 guns...
Morning Roundup: K9 retires in North Versailles
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023: K9 retires in North Versailles North Versailles Police K9 Laky worked his last shift Saturday, retiring to live a life “eating carrots and licking the yogurt container,” according to the township’s Facebook. Laky has been...
Bicycle Heaven Museum reopens after Christmas flood
Cycling and fix-it enthusiasts can get their fill once again after a popular North Side destination has reopened seven days a week. Bicycle Heaven Museum, pegged as the “world’s largest bike museum, sales shop and repairs,” has been closed since Christmas Eve after a broken waterline flooded the space along...
Biden declares ‘Kyiv stands’ in surprise visit to Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — President Joe Biden paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a defiant display of Western solidarity with a country still fighting what he called “a brutal and unjust war” days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. “One year...
Tim Benz: Questions remain around Kenny Pickett — and many other quarterbacks
At this time a year ago, pretty much any Pittsburgh Steelers conversation was focused on the quarterback position. Would Aaron Rodgers really retire or leave Green Bay? What’s happening with Russell Wilson and Derek Carr? Do the Steelers have any faith in Mason Rudolph? How serious is the team about...
