Top Stories category, Page 785
Ukraine faces grim start to 2023 after fresh Russian attacks
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainians faced a grim start to 2023 as Sunday brought more Russian missile and drone attacks following a blistering New Year’s Eve assault that killed at least civilians across the country, authorities reported. Air raid sirens sounded in the capital shortly after midnight, followed by a barrage...
‘Lord, I love you’: Aide recounts Benedict’s last words
VATICAN CITY — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s last words were “Lord, I love you,” his longtime secretary said Sunday, quoting a nurse who helped care for the 95-year-old former pontiff in his final hours. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, a German prelate who lived in the Vatican monastery where Benedict took up...
Full speed ahead: ‘Avatar’ sequel again dominates box office
NEW YORK — “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the box office king for a third straight week, and shows no sign of slowing down. James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to the first “Avatar” film brought in an estimated $63 million over the holiday weekend, roughly the same as the previous...
Multiple homes in Philadelphia collapse in series of gas explosions early New Year’s Day
PHILADELPHIA — Multiple gas leaks in Port Richmond resulted in an explosion early New Year’s Day that led to the collapse of two homes and multiple people being taken to hospitals, according to city fire officials. None of the injuries appeared to be fatal, but two people were rescued from...
Dems, GOP have distinct priorities for 2023, poll says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eva Guzman’s expenses have swelled, but she feels comfortable financially thanks to the savings she and her late husband stockpiled for a rainy day. Nevertheless, the 80-year-old retired library clerk in San Antonio limits trips to the grocery store, adjusts the thermostat to save on utilities and...
Trump rings in 2023 facing headwinds in his White House run
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump began 2022 on a high. Primary candidates were flocking to Florida to court the former president for a coveted endorsement. His rallies were drawing thousands. A bevy of investigations remained largely under the radar. One year later, Trump is facing a very different reality. He is...
NY officers injured, suspect shot near New Year’s Eve event
NEW YORK — A man wielding a machete attacked three police officers at the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City, authorities said, striking two of them in the head before an officer shot the man in the shoulder. The attack happened a little after 10 p.m. about eight...
Pittsburgh’s top stories of 2022
The year 2022 began with Pittsburgh making national headlines as the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in the city’s Frick Park. It ended with the death of beloved NFL Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. Throughout the year, Pittsburgh would see several other major headlines, including the completion of a...
Pittsburgh celebrates New Year’s Eve with fireworks, festivities
Thousands of people gathered downtown Saturday night to ring in 2023. The Dollar Bank Children’s Fireworks kicked off the annual First Night event, which also included a variety of free activities including musical, theater and dance performances, an ice maze, art displays and the annual New Year’s Eve Parade. The...
In U.S., sharply contrasting views on Benedict XVI’s legacy
NEW YORK — In the United States, admirers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remembered him warmly for his theological prowess and devotion to traditional doctrine. However, some U.S. Catholics, on learning of his death Saturday, recalled him as an obstacle to progress in combating clergy sex abuse and expanding the...
Suspect in Idaho killings plans to waive extradition hearing
BOISE, Idaho — A suspect arrested in connection with the slayings of four University of Idaho students plans to waive an extradition hearing so he can be quickly brought to Idaho to face murder charges, his defense attorney said Saturday. Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in...
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $785M after no big winner
The first Mega Millions drawing of the new year will be a big one after no one won an estimated $685 million jackpot. No ticket purchased for the lottery matched all six numbers drawn Friday night, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday. The top prize increased to $785...
Public online auction slated for closed Waterworks Walmart
A public, online auction will be held next week for the remaining contents of the former Walmart in The Waterworks shopping plaza near Aspinwall. The store closed in November 2022, citing underperforming sales, according to Felicia McCranie, Walmart’s North and East communications director. The public can view and inspect hundreds...
Verona man dies after Penn Hills shooting
A Verona man has been identified as the victim in a fatal shooting in Penn Hills early Saturday morning. Kenneth E. Dorsey, 39, died from surgery-related complications at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner and Allegheny County Police said. Dorsey was shot in the abdomen around...
Benedict XVI, reluctant pope who chose to retire, dies at 95
VATICAN CITY — He was the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps and Mozart piano concertos to the public glare and majesty of Vatican pageantry. When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI and was thrust into the footsteps of his beloved and charismatic...
Publishers Clearinghouse Prize Patrol makes New Kensington woman $1 million richer
Jo Ann Sutherland said she didn’t hear the knocks or bell rings at her front door Friday afternoon because she was feeling under the weather and decided to nap on the couch. It took repeated telephone calls from the 78-year-old New Kensington woman’s neighbors to get her to answer the...
2 sides in legal battle over fatal Bricelyn Street fire still making their caseVideo
When Greg Brown entered a plea 27 years after a fire on Pittsburgh’s Bricelyn Street killed three city firefighters, the government saw it as a victory. Though the unusual Alford plea made earlier this year allows Brown to continue to proclaim his innocence and carries no additional sentence, he took...
50th anniversary of Roberto Clemente’s death brings ‘mixed emotions’
At some point on New Year’s Eve, Tom Walker and his wife of 48 years, Carolyn, will raise a toast in their Pine Township home to the man who Walker says saved his life a half-century ago: Roberto Clemente. “None of this, none of the blessings I’ve had in life,...
In new year, $250 in unpaid turnpike tolls could mean loss of vehicle registration
If you have outstanding an outstanding balance with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, now is the time to pay up. On Monday, a new state law will go into effect that suspends the registrations of Pennsylvania vehicle owners who owe $250 or more in turnpike tolls. The law bolsters a previous...
Several hundred birders slough through rain to count thousands of birds, some rare
For the 123rd Christmas Bird Count, several hundred people scoured all types of habitats from Pittsburgh’s three rivers to the brushy fields of Hartwood Acres in Indiana Township to the Laurel Highlands for the annual census of birds. There are never enough boots on the ground for the longest-running community...
Barbara Walters, television news trailblazer, dies at 93
NEW YORK — Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93. Walters’ death was announced by ABC on air Friday...
Authorities release little information about New Kensington bank robbery
New Kensington police are still looking for a suspect in the robbery Friday of First National Bank in New Kensington. The bank is a freestanding building at the front of the Riverview Plaza property at 90 Tarentum Bridge Road. A male robber threatened bank tellers by saying he was armed,...
Community rallies around Verna Montessori School in Fayette County after burst pipe floods classrooms
The sisters of Verna Montessori School are thankful for the support of their community after they discovered a pipe had burst in the ceiling of the Bullskin, Fayette County, school on Christmas morning. According to its principal, Sister Juliana Tengia, she and five other nuns were checking on the school...
Lawsuit alleges improprieties in cosmetology school
A former employee is suing the Fountain of Youth Academy of Cosmetology and its owner alleging financial improprieties, defamation and retaliation. Jennifer Michael, of Hopewell, filed the complaint against the school and owner Cheri Herold on Tuesday in federal court. It also includes claims under the state whistleblower act. Herold,...
Wait continues for residents of flooded Scottdale apartment complex
A water leak forced 29 residents from the Scottdale Court apartment complex on Christmas Day, and it’s unclear how long it will be until they can return to their homes. Greensburg’s Homes Build Hope, which developed the complex in 2013, expects most of the displaced residents will be able to...
