Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 868
Pittsburgh restaurant worker accused of spiking co-worker’s drink with degreaser
A Downtown Pittsburgh sports bar employee is accused of spiking a co-worker’s drink two weeks ago with pipe degreaser, causing co-worker’s upper and lower lips to turn red and feel a burning sensation, Pittsburgh police said. Gregory Evans Jr., 30, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, is accused of putting the degreaser...
Dr. Oz denies report of Trump regret during campaign stop at Westmoreland Fair
Dr. Mehmet Oz rejected media reports that surfaced over the weekend that suggested former President Donald Trump had soured on his U.S. Senate candidacy. “It’s not true. It’s not true at all. He’s been very supportive, offering advice. His team has been helpful as well, and he’ll be coming to...
Allegheny County Councilman Tom Duerr not seeking reelection
The youngest Allegheny County councilman said Monday that he will not seek reelection next year. Councilman Tom Duerr, D-Bethel Park, became the youngest elected official in Allegheny County government history when he was elected in 2019 at 24. In a tweet, Duerr said he would not seek reelection because he...
Trump seeks special master to review Mar-a-Lago documents
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge Monday to halt the FBI’s review of documents recovered from his Florida estate earlier this month until a neutral special master can be appointed to inspect the records. The request was included in a federal lawsuit, the first...
Commonwealth Court orders Pa.’s health department to release information on medical marijuana program
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 panel of Commonwealth Court judges has ordered the Wolf administration to reveal how many medical marijuana patients have...
Driver in fatal Salem crash is Pennsylvania State Police trooper from Uniontown
A Pennsylvania state trooper remains on the job after his involvement in a fatal Aug. 17 crash in Salem, officials said Monday. A BMW driven by Tyler J. Strini, 27, of Homer City did not slow down for stopped traffic, troopers said. Strini, assigned to Troop B in Uniontown, joined...
Bishop Zubik undergoes spinal surgery with ‘no complications’
Bishop David Zubik on Monday successfully underwent surgery to address ongoing issues he has had with collapsing discs, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said. “According to his surgeon, everything went as planned,” officials said in a news release. “There were no complications,” He was treated at UPMC Mercy Hospital in...
Gas prices fall for 10th straight week as parts of Pa. near $4 mark
The streak of falling gas prices continued for a 10th straight week despite some areas seeing prices rise slightly last week, an industry analyst said. The average price also continued to fall in Pennsylvania, where some counties are now within a few cents of $4, according to AAA. The national...
Dr. Anthony Fauci announces departure from government service
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert who became a household name — and the subject of partisan attacks — during the covid-19 pandemic, announced Monday he will depart the federal government in December after more than five decades of service. Fauci, who serves as President...
Laurel Highlands in running again for best fall foliage honors
For the third consecutive year, the Laurel Highlands region is in the running to be named the 2022 Best Destination for Fall Foliage in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The region finished eighth in last year’s voting and third in 2020. The contest includes 20 destinations across the...
3 Arkansas cops suspended after video captures beatingVideo
MULBERRY, Ark. — Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended, and state police launched an investigation after a video posted on social media showed two of them beating a suspect while a third officer held him on the ground. The officers were responding to a report of a man making...
Arrest warrant issued for man wanted in fatal North Braddock shooting
Allegheny County police have obtained an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in North Braddock. When police and paramedics responded to a shooting near the intersection of Jones and Baldridge avenues shortly after 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14, they found Leonard S. Morris-Graham, 29, of...
Special training, equipment prep emergency crews for water, physical rescues
When divers pulled the body of a 3-year-old Armstrong County boy from the Allegheny River about a year ago, the emotional impact of the untimely death was cause for concern — for the recovery team as well as for the young victim’s loved ones. “Anything like that that’s associated with...
Social media posts draw attention to Pa. election races, but will they affect the outcomes?
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman has repeatedly taken to social media to mock his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, during this year’s campaign — using celebrity cameo videos to call out Oz for moving from New Jersey to run, memes to criticize his vast wealth and even Oz’s own...
Jury selection to start in death penalty trial in 2017 triple fatal Homewood fire
Jury selection begins Monday in a death penalty case against a man accused of setting fire to a house in Homewood in 2017 and killing three people, including a 4-year-old child. Martell Smith, 45, is charged with 13 counts, including three counts of criminal homicide, stemming from the fire Dec....
Kansas recount confirms results in favor of abortion rights
OLATHE, Kan. — A decisive statewide vote in favor of abortion rights in traditionally conservative Kansas was confirmed with a partial hand recount, with fewer than 100 votes changing after the last county reported results Sunday. Nine of the state’s 105 counties recounted their votes at the request of Melissa...
Pittsburgh’s Bishop Zubik to undergo back surgery
Pittsburgh’s leader of the local Catholic Church will undergo spinal surgery Monday at UPMC Mercy Hospital. According to a news release from the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop David Zubik, 72, has suffered from continuing problems with collapsing discs, and the surgery should address those. Zubik has a history of...
Police: Driver shoots at car after sideswiping it near Parkway East ramp
A driver sideswiped a vehicle Sunday morning on Ardmore Boulevard in Wilkinsburg then shot at the car, striking its hood, state police said. According to a release from the Pittsburgh office, a gray sedan drove alongside a red Toyota Avalon at 11:35 a.m. and sideswiped the Toyota. The driver of...
Church dome struck by lightning in Pittsburgh’s North Side
Just before Mass on Sunday, parishioners at St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in Pittsburgh’s North Side got a visit from Zeus, as the dome of the large Catholic church was struck by lightning. The Rev. Larry DiNardo said a lightning bolt hit the dome of the church on East Street...
Court puts on hold Lindsey Graham’s testimony in Ga. election probe
ATLANTA — A federal appeals court on Sunday agreed to temporarily put on hold a lower court’s order requiring that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham testify before a special grand jury that’s investigating possible illegal efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. A subpoena had instructed the...
Car blast kills daughter of Russian known as ‘Putin’s brain’Video
MOSCOW — The daughter of an influential Russian political theorist often referred to as “Putin’s brain” was killed in a car bombing on the outskirts of Moscow, authorities said Sunday. The Moscow branch of the Russian Investigative Committee said preliminary information indicated 29-year-old TV commentator Daria Dugina was killed by...
Cellphones in schools: Some districts take steps to eliminate devices from class while others balance benefits
Wake up. Check your phone. Go to class. Check your phone. Start homework. Check your phone. Go to bed. Check your phone. For some high schoolers, cellphone use is almost on par with blinking, with the average teenager raking in up to nine hours of screen time each day, according...
Western Pa. amateur bakers make taking the cake look easy as pie at Westmoreland Fair contest
As she baked her chocolate cake for the Westmoreland Fair’s Cake and Pie Showdown Contest, Jennifer Lang had one person in mind: her mom. Lang’s mother has terminal cancer and couldn’t make it to the fairgrounds to watch her daughter take first prize in the Saturday morning cake contest. “I...
Wendy’s pulls lettuce from sandwiches amid E. coli outbreak
The fast-food chain Wendy’s says it is pulling lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania after people eating them there reported falling ill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it is trying to determine whether romaine lettuce is the source of an E....
Sweet corn, tomatoes are foundation for more diverse offerings from Western Pa. farmers
Hempfield farmer Neil Palmer says that for 50 years his operation has been focused on growing fresh produce, which is sold at his own farm market. “This year, we have a little more than 20 acres of fresh vegetables,” said Palmer, a fourth-generation farmer. “For the most part, it’s been...
