Top Stories category, Page 853
U.S. warns monkeypox could mutate to resist antiviral drug
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials are warning against overuse of the lone drug available to treat monkeypox, saying that even a small mutation in the virus could render the pills ineffective. The Food and Drug Administration updated its guidance this week for Tpoxx, which has been prescribed to tens of...
Former McKeesport teacher faces more sex charges
Police on Wednesday filed additional sex charges against a former McKeesport Area middle school teacher who already was accused of sexually assaulting several boys. The new charges against Eric Vincent Fairman, 26, of Pleasant Hills, relate to his former role as a basketball coach and involve two players, according to...
Pittsburgh police brace for busy weekend with Elton John, Steelers home opener
Pittsburgh police are anticipating a busy weekend, with an Elton John concert and the Pittsburgh Steelers home opener. “With the large events, there will be extra officers,” Acting Police Chief Thomas Stangrecki said Thursday, explaining the bureau is working with other agencies. The department is short staffed, he said, and...
Ligonier Highland Games return to Idlewild & SoakZone
A friendly disagreement about recipes led to the creation of a shortbread baking contest at the Ligonier Highland Games. The baking contest will be held for the fourth year, as the 63rd games take place Saturday at Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township. Gates open at 8 a.m., with the...
Migrants, long used as political props, dumped at the vice president’s residence
WASHINGTON — Politicians have been using migrants as props for decades. Republicans visit the Southwest border and declare that immigration is out of control. During the Trump administration, Democrats made their way to detention centers to decry the treatment of children locked in cages. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas...
Biden: Tentative railway labor deal reached, averting strike
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Thursday a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a potentially devastating strike before the pivotal midterm elections. He said the tentative deal “will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.” The Democratic president believes unions built the...
WWE shirt sales will benefit Pittsburgh-based cancer research nonprofit
In recognition of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month in September, the V Foundation for Cancer Research has announced a host of fundraising initiatives, including sales of a T-shirt to benefit a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit. The WWE and V Foundation have been partners since 2016 in Connor’s Cure, a nonprofit that got its...
Cost of living increases force everyone to find ways to make ends meet
Paul Resnick waited in a line of more than 200 vehicles before snaking his way through a monthly food distribution at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. “I’d starve without it,” Resnick said. “Everyone in every realm that I know is up against it.” With prices ticking upward on groceries,...
Pittsburgh teen charged in May slaying, wounding of 2 others
A Pittsburgh teenager was arrested Wednesday for allegedly fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy and wounded a male and female in a May incident in the city’s Allentown neighborhood, Pittsburgh police said. The suspect, Nazair Macon, 17, is accused of shooting three victims in the 700 block of E. Warrington Ave.,...
3 shot in 2 incidents in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Three people were shot in two separate incidents Wednesday night in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, city police said. • In a shooting in the 2800 block of Centre Avenue at about 9:45 p.m., a child received a grazing wound on the head and a male victim was shot in the thumb,...
Police: Man shot in chest in Pittsburgh’s Homewood North neighborhood
A man was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after being shot in the chest in Pittsburgh’s Homewood North neighborhood. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said officers were dispatched around 10:25 a.m. Wednesday for a reported shooting along the 7200 block of Bennett Street. Officers found a man in a...
Pittsburgh man accused of killing off-duty Oakdale officer ordered to stand trial
A Pittsburgh man accused of killing an off-duty Oakdale police officer following a road rage incident in July will stand trial. Kevin McSwiggen, 40, appeared for a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge Nick Martini. Following testimony, all charges were held for trial, including charges of criminal homicide and two...
Video shows route that police say man took to get gasoline before burning Homewood house, killing 3
When Rico Carter arrived at his burning house early on the morning of Dec. 20, 2017, he raced toward it, hoping to save his mother, girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter. But in a chaotic scene capture in a police car dashcam video, Carter was intercepted near the front porch by...
Hempfield man stopped at Delmont Dairy Queen with guns told police he was ‘fighting the shadow fake presidency’
A 2021 involuntary mental health commitment prohibited a Hempfield man from possessing a firearm, but Delmont police said they confiscated three loaded handguns from him after an incident at a Dairy Queen on Saturday, according to court papers released Wednesday. The man claimed to be an undercover state trooper who...
Former NFL player attacked North Versailles woman in front of her 11-year-old son, police say
A former NFL player is accused of breaking into a North Versailles home and beating a woman in front of her 11-year-old son earlier this week. Rontez Miles, 33, of Forest Hills, is charged with burglary, aggravated assault, simple assault and criminal mischief in connection with the alleged attack. A...
Man who stabbed cousin to death gets reduction in sentence
An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday reduced the sentence for a man convicted of stabbing his cousin to death. Emmanual Jones, who was originally ordered to serve 8 1/2 to 17 years in prison will now serve seven to 14 years. Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski handed down the...
1 rail union rejects deal, 2 accept ahead of strike deadline
OMAHA, Neb. — Members of one union rejected a tentative deal with the largest U.S. freight railroads Wednesday, while two ratified agreements and three others remained at the bargaining table just days ahead of a strike deadline, threatening to intensify snarls in the nation’s supply chain that have contributed to...
Thieves target cars at Westmoreland County parks
Westmoreland County Park Police are investigating a rash of thefts from cars at county parks, including one apparently linked to a fraudulent transaction at a Hempfield financial institution. Daylight thefts have occurred throughout the county park system, according to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers, and have included purses and other items stolen...
Hempfield school officials, police investigating after bus picks up person who claimed to be a student
The Hempfield Area School District is investigating after a person claiming to be a student was picked up by a school bus Wednesday morning and dropped off at the high school. According to information sent to parents, the driver of bus 65 received permission from the bus garage to pick...
U.S. Senate candidates Fetterman, Oz to debate in late October
After repeated calls from his challenger for multiple debates in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election, Democratic candidate and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has agreed to participate in one debate in late October. Fetterman’s campaign said Wednesday that the Democratic nominee has committed to an Oct. 25 debate hosted by Nexstar, a...
Pittsburgh secures funding to boost DUI enforcement, which is about half what it was 5 years ago
Pittsburgh police are making about half the DUI arrests they did just five years ago, but a state grant could help the bureau ramp up enforcement, officials said Wednesday. A $174,000 grant from PennDOT’s Highway Safety Division will help pay for overtime for officers to work DUI checkpoints and patrols,...
Harrison, ATI and Western PA Conservancy partner to ‘put trees to bed for winter’
Harrison resident Sharon Ellis spent much of Tuesday morning weeding and mulching around the trees that dot the grass outside the Highlands High School football stadium along California Avenue. “Trees are good for the health of the community and it’s important that you take care of them properly,” Ellis said,...
Pa. law protects workers who are approved for medical marijuana — but once they use it, it’s a different story
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. Vague legal safeguards for medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania are forcing patients to choose between their job and a drug they...
Local kids get free bikes from Kiski Township police
Kiski Township police bestowed a rainbow selection of bikes for kids living in the Pine Valley Estates along Sugar Hollow Road. Small Huffy bikes with silver streamers on the handlebars, along with red and green boys’ bikes, and pink models emblazoned with butterflies with white wheels for girls, arrived Tuesday...
Queen Elizabeth II lies in state after solemn procession
LONDON — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace for the last time Wednesday, borne on a horse-drawn carriage and saluted by cannons and the tolling of Big Ben, in a solemn procession through the flag-draped, crowd-lined streets of London to Westminster Hall. There, Britain’s longest-serving monarch will...
