Top Stories category, Page 843
Ian leaves dozens dead as focus turns to rescue, recovery
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Dozens of Florida residents left their flooded and splintered homes by boat and by air on Saturday as rescuers continued to search for survivors in the wake of Hurricane Ian, while authorities in South Carolina and North Carolina began taking stock of their losses. The death...
Pa. Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer, a Pittsburgh native, dies, called ‘a tireless champion for children’
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has been in the eye of the storm in recent years as it decided a series of hot-button issues that ranged from covid responses and reapportionment to election reform. At its center was Chief Justice Max Baer. Baer, 74, died Friday night at his home near Pittsburgh....
Kennywood reopens with new security measures in place after triple shooting
An increased police presence and stricter security screenings awaited Kennywood customers Friday night as the amusement park reopened six days after a shooting that wounded three people. An altercation between two groups of juveniles led to a 39-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy being shot in the leg and another...
Oz tells Pittsburgh press conference Fetterman should be more transparent in his Senate campaign
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz called for more transparency in the campaign, saying he is open to answering questions from the public and the press, and claimed that his opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, is not. At a half-hour press conference at the Wyndham Hotel in Downtown...
New Kensington-Arnold condemns ‘vulgar’ video Valley students made in school, posted online
The New Kensington-Arnold School District on Friday condemned a video it says Valley High School students created and posted on YouTube containing “inappropriate content and offensive language.” The video has been removed and the district has started an investigation, according to a letter to district families signed by Superintendent Chris...
Hurricane Ian lashes South Carolina as Florida’s death toll climbs
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A revived Hurricane Ian pounded coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and flooding streets after the ferocious storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, trapping thousands in their homes and leaving at least 27 people dead. The powerful storm, estimated to be one of the costliest...
Red Cross volunteers, EMS workers from Western Pa. among those helping after Hurricane Ian
Bob Johnson knew without a doubt that when Hurricane Ian was projected to slam into Florida this week, he would need to be there helping in the aftermath. On Sunday, the Red Cross volunteer from Connellsville headed to Florida, where he waited out the storm in Pasco County before helping...
Shapiro sets spending record, outraises Mastriano in final weeks of governor’s race
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 — Democrat Josh Shapiro’s campaign spent a staggering $28 million on his bid for Pennsylvania governor over the past three...
Man on run for nearly 2 years after fatal DUI crash conviction arrested in Uniontown
One of the most wanted criminals in the county is back in the Allegheny County Jail. Daquan Thompson, 28, Clairton, was arrested without incident Wednesday in Uniontown and taken into custody after being on the run for more than two years. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office said it received an...
Wilkinsburg group restarts Pittsburgh annexation process
A petition filed Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court seeks to start annexation proceedings for Wilkinsburg to be incorporated into Pittsburgh. It could restart an annexation battle that effectively was paused in February, after Pittsburgh City Council voted down a petition request. The new petition, filed on behalf of...
Abstinence not ‘expected norm’ in updated Pittsburgh Public Schools sex education policy
Pittsburgh Public Schools updated its sexuality education policies and will no longer teach that abstinence is the “expected norm.” The school board unanimously approved the changes this week. “It is in the public’s best interest to ensure that young people are equipped with medically and scientifically accurate, developmentally appropriate information...
Philadelphia man charged in Allegheny County catalytic converter thefts
Authorities in two Allegheny County communities used surveillance video and cellphone records to identify a Philadelphia man as the person who they believe took $71,000 worth of catalytic converters from two car dealerships, according to court papers. Curtis B. Wallace Jr., 34, was arrested last week on charges of theft,...
Mayor Ed Gainey releases preliminary 2023 Pittsburgh budget with no tax increase
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday unveiled his first preliminary budget, which does not propose a tax increase. The $657 million operating budget and $147 capital budget include cash from the American Rescue Plan and aim to fund key areas important to Gainey’s administration, like safe neighborhoods, infrastructure, housing, the...
In Hurricane Ian’s wake, worried families crowdsource rescue efforts
Many people whose loved ones stayed behind in the pathway of Hurricane Ian are crowdsourcing rescue efforts as they grapple with the helplessness of waiting and not knowing. In TikTok videos and Facebook posts, families are sharing their desperate pleas and strangers are answering their calls, even as local officials...
Route 28 construction 70% done; the rest is coming — eventually
PennDOT will complete about 70% of the work for the Route 28 Highland Park interchange by the end of the year as well as 40% of the Harmar-to-East Deer improvement project. A third, related project on the expressway will be mostly finished by the end of the year. The $15.3...
Police: Man nabbed in stolen rental car in Hempfield was awaiting sentencing in bank robberies
A former McCandless man awaiting sentencing for a string of bank robberies in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties was arrested this week after authorities said he led police on a chase in a stolen rental car. Dylan M. Poole, 28, was scheduled to be sentenced in September in federal court in...
Fetterman-Oz in statistical dead heat heading into home stretch of Senate campaign
With 40 days until Election Day, John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz are in a statistical dead heat for the state’s U.S. Senate seat. Multiple polls released in the past few days show Oz, the celebrity heart doctor and Republican candidate, still trailing Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor and Democratic...
Hurricane Ian’s impact on Western Pa. forecast to be mild
How much rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ian can the Pittsburgh region expect to receive over the weekend? National Weather Service meteorologist Jenna Lake said most of the Pittsburgh area will remain on the edge of Ian’s system, resulting in about a half-inch of rain over the weekend. “But...
50 years later, Roberto Clemente remains gatekeeper of MLB’s 3,000-hit club
Fifty years ago today, Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente laced a double off New York Mets rookie pitcher Jon Matlack to join one of baseball’s most exclusive fraternities: the 3,000-hit club. “I still think it was a pretty good pitch,” Matlack, now 72, recently told the Tribune-Review, describing the curveball...
5 things to watch in Week 5 of high school football
In an ultra-competitive Class 5A, Bethel Park, Hempfield and Upper St. Clair are the only WPIAL teams that haven’t lost to a 5A opponent yet this season — a list that keeps getting shorter. The other 15 teams have all lost at least once. If that parity keeps up over...
Judge extends Trump special master deadline until December
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida has extended the timeline for the review of documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, delaying the fight over whether any materials are privileged by another two weeks. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, citing delays in hiring a vendor to scan...
Man fatally shot in East Liberty
Pittsburgh police are investigating after a Penn Hills man was found shot to death in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood Thursday evening. Officers responded to the 600 block of North St. Clair Street around 5:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call for shots fired, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman...
ALS drug wins FDA approval despite questionable data
WASHINGTON — A much-debated drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease won U.S. approval Thursday, a long-sought victory for patients that is likely to renew questions about the scientific rigor behind government reviews of experimental medicines. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals based on results from one...
Vandergrift police seek public’s help in identifying man who they say illegally dumped a TV in Kennedy Park
Vandergrift police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man they said illegally dumped a big screen TV Wednesday in Kennedy Park. Chief Joe Caporali said surveillance footage obtained from Kennedy Park recorded a man getting out of what appears to be a dark Jeep Grand Cherokee with a...
Royal treatment: Former Hempfield homecoming queens gather for special weekend
When Mandy Coughenour heard that airports in Florida were shutting down this week ahead of Hurricane Ian, she knew she had to get the next available flight to Pittsburgh if she was going to make it back in time for Hempfield Area’s homecoming. On Tuesday — a day before Hurricane...
