Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 916
Westmoreland Courthouse construction project on pace for October completion
Demolition work to expose and remove the underground parking structure at the Westmoreland County Courthouse will continue through July, officials said on Wednesday. Public Works Director Greg McCloskey said the $7 million project to rebuild the two-level dilapidated garage remains on schedule and is on pace for completion in October....
Hearings guide: What to know as the Jan. 6 panel goes publicVideo
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol will hold the first in a series of hearings laying out its initial findings Thursday night, a highly anticipated look at evidence the panel has been gathering for the last year. With the televised hearings, the...
About 1,100 W. Pa. residents still without power; forecast has sunshine returning
Electric utility crews had restored power to all but about 1,100 Western Pennsylvania residents Thursday evening after severe thunderstorms blew through the region late Wednesday, according to area utility companies. At 7:30 p.m., West Penn Power reported 666 customers without power in a nine-county region while Duquesne Light Co. reported...
Bill that would ask Pa. voters whether to privatize liquor system advances in House
Giving voters the power to decide whether to get the state out of the liquor business in Pennsylvania advanced on Wednesday to the full state House of Representatives for consideration. The House Liquor Control Committee voted 14-10 along party lines to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to privatize the liquor...
House passes gun control bill after Buffalo, Uvalde attacks
WASHINGTON — The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds....
Mehmet Oz wins Pa. Senate primary ahead of showdown with Fetterman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senate primary on Wednesday, narrowly defeating former hedge fund CEO David McCormick after a dayslong recount. Oz will face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November in a race that could...
New Jersey man gets 2 years for throwing firecracker during George Floyd protests Downtown
A New Jersey man who admitting throwing a firecracker toward police officers during the 2020 protests Downtown over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis will serve two years in federal prison. Nicholas Frank Lucia, 27, of Long Beach Township, was sentenced via video conferencing on Wednesday by U.S. District...
Kenny Chesney fans dock boats along Allegheny River as concert approaches
Country music star Kenny Chesney is a boater. His song “Guys Named Captain” begins: “Guys named Captain are always characters … Livin’ by the water, somewhere in the Americas South or Central or some Virgin Island.” Or Pittsburgh? Beginning three weeks ago, boaters have been anchored along the Allegheny River...
Ross woman gets 14 days incarceration, 2 years probation for entering U.S. Capitol during riot
A Ross woman who admitted to entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots will serve 14 days incarceration and two years probation. Jennifer Heinl, who turns 45 on Thursday, was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan via video conference. She must also serve 50...
‘I don’t want it to happen again,’ Uvalde student Miah Cerrillo says as gun laws debatedVideo
WASHINGTON — Miah Cerrillo gave lawmakers a horrifying firsthand account of the school massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde as she described covering herself in her friend’s blood to play dead while the shooter gunned down her classmates. The fourth grader testified Wednesday via a pre-recorded video in which...
World War II, ‘Top Gun’ aircraft among weekend Westmoreland air show attractions
Forget the movie theaters. The real action will be in the Westmoreland County skies this weekend. The Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow on Saturday and Sunday will be like a real-life version of “Top Gun: Maverick,” a sequel released last month to the 1980s action flick featuring Tom Cruise. Fighter...
DNA match from Greensburg man leads to arrest in Hempfield bank robbery
Authorities used DNA gathered from an index card to charge a Greensburg man with a Nov. 24 bank robbery in Hempfield, according to court papers. Jonathan Smith Jr., 29, wore a distinct red “DoorDash” covid-19 mask and dark ski cap in an attempt to hide his identity when he passed...
The best places in Western Pennsylvania to see mountain laurel in full bloom
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2018. Pennsylvania’s official state flower, the mountain laurel is in full bloom throughout the Pittsburgh region. Although most people are familiar with the laurel’s relatives — rhododendron and azaleas — the official state flower is plentiful but in select environments, mostly rocky,...
Pittsburgh poised to reallocate money meant for police training to Penn Circle project
Pittsburgh City Council seems to be poised to reallocate funds originally earmarked for a public safety training facility in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood to a project to convert Penn Circle into a two-way roadway. Council was initially expected to take a final vote on the measure Tuesday, but delayed to...
Man enters plea in 1995 fire that killed 3 Pittsburgh firefighters, maintains innocenceVideo
A man accused of setting a fire at his home on Bricelyn Street in 1995 that killed three Pittsburgh firefighters continues to claim his innocence. But on Wednesday, after fighting for 27 years, Greg Brown Jr. entered a guilty plea, finally bringing the case to conclusion. Brown, 44, entered what...
4 children injured in truck rollover crash in Fawn
Allegheny County Police detectives are investigating a pickup truck rollover crash in Fawn that resulted in four children being taken to the hospital. Fawn police Chief Timothy Mayberry said officers were dispatched at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday to a one-vehicle crash on Route 908 and Lardintown Road. He said six people...
Police: Peters man charged in infant’s death said he tripped on a grocery bag
A Peters man told police his infant son sustained fatal head injuries when he tripped on a grocery bag while carrying the child last month, according to the charges against him. Jordan Clarke, 36, is charged with homicide in connection with the death of the infant, referred to in the...
Tens of millions of Pennsylvania school dollars ‘unauditable’
Recent state audits have called attention to some Pennsylvania school districts’ lackadaisical controls that have made auditing how tens of millions of dollars were spent impossible. The audits do not suggest any illegal activity, but poor compliance measures can hide how taxpayer dollars are being wasted or improperly spent. A...
Delmont man to remain in jail as judge seeks answers to mental health questions
An 82-year-old Delmont man’s mental health struggle has left him behind bars for more than two years, and a Westmoreland County judge this week said he is at a loss as to what should happen next. “I think anything would be better than him spending his last years in jail...
Expert says Moderna booster targeting omicron could be superior to current boosters
As the covid-19 pandemic has changed with the emergence of new variants, Moderna is looking to update its vaccine offerings in response. The drug manufacturer is studying an updated booster vaccine that targets the omicron variant, which they say could offer better protection as the variant spreads. “The vaccine that’s...
Moderna says updated covid shot boosts omicron protection
Moderna’s experimental covid-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday. covid-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges. Moderna’s preliminary study results show people...
Resignations, retirement leave New Kensington police short-staffed
A pair of resignations and the retirement of a longtime officer have left New Kensington’s police force short-staffed. City Council on Monday approved the retirement of Detective Sgt. Dino DiGiacobbe and the resignations of patrol Officers Jose Pantoja and Christian Leonarski. A 1982 graduate of Freeport Area High School, DiGiacobbe,...
Police say Turtle Creek man sexually assaulted child; suspect arrested in Harrison
A Turtle Creek man faces charges that he sexually assaulted a child over a period of five years, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Police arrested Jose Melendez Jr., 33, on Tuesday in the Sheldon Park public housing plan in Harrison. They had been looking for him since issuing...
Fire chief calls blaze at former Derry auto shop ‘suspicious’
A blaze that destroyed the defunct Ralph Smith & Son Inc. auto repair shop in Derry was called “suspicious” Wednesday by borough fire Chief Josh Campbell. “The state police fire marshal is still investigating the exact cause. … I was there within 5 to 10 minutes of the call (Tuesday),...
Pittsburgh man arrested after fatal Homewood shooting
Police have arrested 19-year-old Khatrell Haynes-Morgan in connection with a homicide in Homewood. On June 1, Glenn Davenport, 34, died after Haynes-Morgan, from Pittsburgh, allegedly fired 11 shots at around 1 a.m. in the 7700 block of Frankstown Avenue. A woman was injured in the shooting and taken to the...
