Top Stories category, Page 887
Mission accomplished: How rescuers saved the trapped Quecreek miners
Brad Hillegass had operated a crane plenty of times but never with the lives of nine men in the balance. That changed July 24, 2002, when nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County and his job was to safely lift them to freedom...
‘A complete miracle’: 20th anniversary of the Quecreek Mine rescueVideo
John Unger promised his wife that if something bad ever happened on his job in the coal mine, he’d find a way to survive. For 29 years, he kept that promise, always returning to the rural, century-old Somerset County home where they raised a family and tended to their cattle....
‘A sticky weekend’: Temps in the upper 80s, 90s expected in Pittsburgh region
It’s going to get hot in the Pittsburgh region this weekend. As a heat wave sweeps across the nation, the area will see temperatures upward of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures are expected in the upper 80s on Friday and Saturday and low-to-mid 90s on Sunday, according to Lee Hendricks, meteorologist...
Lee Zeldin, GOP nominee for NY governor, assaulted at rally
NEW YORK — U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, was assaulted by a man who apparently tried to stab him at an upstate event Thursday but the congressman escaped serious injury. “I’m OK,” Zeldin said in a statement. “Fortunately, I was able to grab his...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 22-24
It’s the weekend and it’s going to be a hot one with temperatures near or in the 90s. Here are some ways to spend it. Deutschtown Music Festival Three days of music at 40 venues on the North Side — including near PNC Park — begins Friday and goes through...
Pa.’s unemployment trust fund is broke. The Wolf admin says a long-term fix will save taxpayers millions
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 — Pennsylvania lawmakers have failed to adopt a policy change that supporters say would bolster the state’s pandemic-battered unemployment program...
Minor injury reported when car collides with bear in Loyalhanna Township
A driver escaped with minor injuries when his car collided with a bear Thursday evening on Route 981 in Loyalhanna Township, according to first responders. The crash was reported shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Route 981, between Pump Station Road and Mulberry Drive. “It’s a rather rural area,” said Bill...
Dog missing from Trafford family found dead in Braddock
One day after an Armstrong County woman was charged with theft after police say she failed to return a dog she was pet sitting for a Trafford family, the animal was found dead near railroad tracks in Braddock. Eva Hodgdon, owner of the 1-year-old German shepherd named Nani Nyx, said...
Jan. 6: Trump spurned aides’ pleas to call off Capitol mobVideo
WASHINGTON — Despite desperate pleas from aides, allies, Republican congressional leaders and even his family, Donald Trump refused to call off the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, instead “pouring gasoline on the fire” by aggressively tweeting his false claims of a stolen election and telling the crowd of...
West Deer woman accused of beating, sexually assaulting 7-year-old girl faces multiple felony charges
A West Deer woman faces multiple felony charges after a girl told authorities she was beaten and sexually assaulted by the woman multiple times. Kerren Amanda Morra, 28, of Hampshire Lane was charged with two counts of aggravated indecent assault and counts of unlawful contact with a minor and endangering...
Mt. Washington man convicted of killing witness against him gets life plus 80 years in prison
A Mt. Washington man convicted of killing a woman when he learned she was going to cooperate with federal investigators was sentenced Thursday to serve the rest of his life plus 80 years in prison. Price Montgomery, 42, proclaimed his innocence throughout the three-hour hearing before U.S. District Judge Mark...
Georgia man accused of taking $30K from women in expert witness scam targeting doctors, nurses
A Georgia man is accused of taking more than $30,000 from two women in a scam targeting doctors and nurses in the Pittsburgh area. Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus on Thursday announced the apprehension of Richard Wayne Long, 48, of Ellenwood, Ga. According to a criminal complaint, detectives found Long...
100-ton beams for Fern Hollow Bridge replacement to begin 124-mile journey
Beams that will ultimately support the rebuilt Fern Hollow Bridge will begin their 124-mile journey Monday from Central Pennsylvania to Frick Park, according to PennDOT officials. The beams were produced in Roaring Spring in Blair County and will travel through Cambria and Armstrong counties before ending up on the South...
Pittsburgh Jewish, Black leaders call out Doug Mastriano for ties to Gab social platform
A group of prominent Jewish and Black Pittsburgh leaders on Thursday condemned Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano for his ties to the right-wing social media platform Gab. Gab is a site accessed by the accused Tree of Life shooter Robert Bowers, who used the platform to share conspiracy theories targeting...
Pittsburgh Public Schools taps Wayne Walters as superintendent
Wayne Walters, who has been working as interim superintendent, will become the permanent head of Pittsburgh Public Schools after a national search concluded he remained the top candidate to fill the role, school board officials said Thursday. School board President Sala Udin pointed to Walters’ “career-long dedication to high standards,”...
House OKs bill to protect contraception from Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The right to use contraceptives would be enshrined in law under a measure that Democrats pushed through the House on Thursday, their latest campaign-season response to concerns a conservative Supreme Court that already erased federal abortion rights could go further. The House’s 228-195 roll call was largely along...
Activist pleads guilty to trying to set fire to 2 Pittsburgh pizza shops
A Pittsburgh activist and art curator said that when she attempted to start a fire at two different pizza shops one night in October 2019 that she was mentally exhausted from fighting against a racist system. “My brain broke,” Nicky Jo Dawson told a judge on Thursday. “It, literally, was...
Ex-Pitt emergency management director gets probation for stealing/reselling PPE
Christopher Casamento earned $95,000 as the director of emergency management at the University of Pittsburgh. It was a job he went to school for and loved. But he lost it and more when he stole more than 13,000 pieces of personal protective equipment from the stockpile that he oversaw to...
Professional wrestling training school coming to downtown New Kensington
Michael Young wants to show that there’s more to professional wrestling than what many people think. Young, 27, a Lower Burrell native living in Bloomfield, is the current singles champion for Pittsburgh-based Enjoy Wrestling, where he’s known as MV Young. He is opening a wrestling school, Technique 2 Train Pittsburgh,...
Republicans challenge Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law anew
HARRISBURG — Republicans have sued again in an attempt to throw out Pennsylvania’s broad mail-in voting law, even as the state’s highest court considers a separate lawsuit aimed at wiping out a law that lost favor with Republicans following former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud. It is...
Biden tests positive for covid-19, has ‘mild symptoms’Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19 on Thursday and is experiencing “very mild symptoms,” the White House said, as new variants of the highly contagious virus are challenging the nation’s efforts to get back to normal after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions. White House...
Longtime Allegheny County solicitor resigns, sworn-in as Common Pleas Judge
Longtime Allegheny County solicitor Andy Szefi resigned his post on Wednesday to be sworn in to the Court of Common Pleas judgeship to which he was appointed earlier this year. Szefi, the county’s top attorney for a decade, was appointed to the position by Gov. Tom Wolf, and he was...
A beginner’s guide to requesting public records on Pa. law enforcement
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. Disputes over public records reached a record high last year, with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records reporting 322 appeals involving...
More than 2 million covid vaccines discarded across Pa. as doses expire
A year and a half ago, as the demand for the newly released covid-19 vaccines far and away outstripped the minute supply, shot-seekers rushed clinics and fought desperate battles to snag short-lived appointment openings online. Now, however, as demand for the vaccines falls to its lowest point, thousands of vaccines...
Harrison library reveals ‘Secrets of the Allegheny River,’ including long-popular Jack’s Island
Growing up in 1940s Natrona, Mary Ann Debor didn’t have to look far for a perfect riverfront getaway. Her family was among a dozen who built wooden cabins on Jack’s Island, an idyllic retreat plopped in the middle of the Allegheny River between Harrison and Lower Burrell. “We had a...
