Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 988
Health care leaders and Alzheimer’s Association officials celebrate passage of state lawVideo
A new state law promotes Alzheimer’s awareness and, its backers say, will help provide assistance to families impacted by it and other degenerative diseases. Local health care leaders and other officials gathered Thursday at Presbyterian SeniorCare Network’s facility in Oakmont to celebrate the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or...
Astrobotic’s Griffin test model moves lunar lander closer to 2023 mission
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic has moved one step closer to a 2023 moon landing for its Griffin Lunar Lander, the largest lunar-lander since the Apollo Lunar Module. Astrobotic announced that it has completed a Griffin Lunar Test model and is now headed for environmental testing. Unlike the Apollo landers of the late...
Uber driver killed, left in Monroeville pleaded for life during robbery, police say
Christi Spicuzza pleaded for her life as the man in the back seat of her Nissan Sentra pressed a gun against her head, telling the man that she had a family and four kids at home, court paperwork shows. Spicuzza, an Uber driver, had picked up 22-year-old Calvin Crew about...
Northbound Route 28 in Aspinwall to have single-lane restriction during the day starting Monday
Lane restrictions will start Monday on northbound Route 28 in Aspinwall, PennDOT announced. Single-lane and shoulder restrictions are planned between the on-ramp from the Highland Park Bridge to the Delafield Avenue exit starting Monday, weather permitting. Officials said they will continue as needed weekdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m....
Cocaine, fentanyl, guns, body armor found when cops raid New Kensington house; 2 people arrested
Investigators say crack cocaine, fentanyl, guns, body armor and other evidence of a drug-dealing operation were discovered Wednesday when they raided a home in New Kensington. Markus Jaquell Bryant, 28, and Khadijah Wright, 27, were taken into custody when officers from the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force and state narcotics...
Men charged in shooting outside Greensburg bar treated city street ‘like it was the O.K. Corral’
A 24-year-old man said he dropped his cane and tried to get to safety upon hearing gunshots as he left The Rialto bar in Greensburg last month but was struck by a bullet. William Piscar testified he was leaving the establishment at the intersection of West Otterman Street and North...
Construction wraps on problem-plagued Mariner East pipeline
PHILADELPHIA — Work is finished on a multibillion-dollar pipeline system that connects the vast Marcellus Shale gas field in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal near Philadelphia, according to its corporate owner, which faces criminal charges that it fouled waterways and residential water supplies during pipeline construction. Energy Transfer said...
Pittsburgh Public Schools to launch national search for new superintendent
Pittsburgh Public Schools is looking to hire consultants to help it conduct a national search for a new superintendent. Former PPS superintendent Anthony Hamlet resigned in October after the district received criticism over in-person schooling decisions related to the pandemic and the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission found Hamlet violated the state’s...
Estimated 73% of U.S. now immune to omicron: Is that enough?
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society. Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to...
Police: Teen charged in Squirrel Hill Tunnel crash had gun, marijuana
A teenager ran out of his shoes when he fled from state troopers after a brief chase and crash in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel on Wednesday, according to the charges against him. Cash Jones, 18, is charged with carrying a firearm without a license, fleeing police, driving under the influence...
The Colab in Monroeville Mall aims to elevate, feature Black entrepreneurs, small businesses
A Facebook post brought two Penn Hills entrepreneurs together to open a store in the Monroeville Mall that will help fellow entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. Donald Davis sent out a message in a Facebook group asking if anyone did pop-up shops. The 30-year-old received many responses before reaching out to...
Police: Shots fired in Downtown Pittsburgh road rage incident
An apparent road rage incident ended in gunfire in Downtown Pittsburgh early Thursday, authorities said. The incident happened about 12:20 a.m. near the intersection of Smithfield Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard, police said. A man told officers he was driving behind a red Chevy Impala that was blocking two lanes,...
As virus surged, few Pa. schools signed up for free covid-19 testing
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 — Nearly six months into the school year, the majority of Pennsylvania schools have not opted into a free, on-site...
Pittsburgh International Auto Show drives into town
After stalling last year, the Pittsburgh International Auto Show is rolling once again. “We are so happy to have the show this year,” said Lisa McIntyre, CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers Association, host of the event. “It is always the perfect opportunity to see what’s new in automobiles from...
Police identify suspect in wrong-way crash on I-70 in Washington that killed woman, 32
A Washington County woman died in a Pittsburgh hospital, and a 48-year-old man is facing charges, after a wrong-way crash early Thursday near the Jefferson Street ramp on Interstate 70 in Washington, according to authorities. The crash happened shortly before 2:30 a.m. on I-70 eastbound near Exit 17, state police...
‘The brand is so toxic’: Democrats fear extinction in rural U.S.
SMETHPORT — Some Democrats here in rural Pennsylvania are afraid to tell you they’re Democrats. The party’s brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers and yard signs and refuse to acknowledge their party affiliation publicly. These Democrats...
More virus rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead
The nation’s leading health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. is moving closer to the point that covid-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during...
How American cash for Canada protests could sway U.S. politics
WASHINGTON — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader. Yet whatever impact the protests have on...
Biden: Russian threat to invade Ukraine is still ‘very high’
Fears of a new war in Europe resurged Thursday as U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Russia could invade Ukraine within days, and violence spiked in a long-running standoff in eastern Ukraine that some worried could provide the spark for wider conflict. World dignitaries raced for solutions, but suspicions between...
Police: Pine man charged with felony after going to hospital with self-inflicted gunshot wound
Northern Regional Police filed felony gun charges against a Pine man after they say he showed up at a hospital suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. James Brady Thompson, 48, of the 100 block of Fieldview Drive, was charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm in connection...
Students ‘no longer members’ of Winchester Thurston after video mocking George Floyd
Multiple students no longer attend Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh after the social media posting of a viral video mocking the death of George Floyd, according to a letter from the head of the school. A video, filmed inside Winchester Thurston’s upper school campus in Shadyside, was posted two weeks...
Pittsburgh activists, officials hope legislation will end ‘systemic racism’ in traffic stops
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday heard input from local activists and the Philadelphia councilman whose legislation spurred Pittsburgh to ban traffic stops for minor, secondary violations. Pittsburgh in December passed legislation sponsored by Councilman Ricky Burgess to stop police from pulling over drivers for having a burned-out brake light or...
Allegheny County’s covid-19 stats ‘headed in a favorable direction,’ health director says
All of the covid-19 metrics in Allegheny County right now are “headed in a favorable direction” as average daily case counts, testing positivity rates and hospitalizations tick downward after a particularly deadly January, county Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said Wednesday. “As we come out of the omicron surge,” she...
High crude oil price, rising demand boosting Pittsburgh region gas prices
Gasoline prices are increasing in Western Pennsylvania as crude oil stays above $90 per barrel, according to AAA East Central’s gas price report. The average price in Western Pennsylvania this week was about $3.63 per gallon, which is a 3-cent increase from last week. That’s also 82 cents higher than...
Pennsylvanians bet $68 million on Super Bowl, a 26% increase over 2021 wagers
Pennsylvania’s sports betting industry is off to a strong start after Super Bowl LVI set a record for wagers in the Keystone State, according to preliminary figures from state regulators. Pennsylvanians wagered more than $68 million on Sunday’s game, which saw the Los Angeles Rams overtake the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20....
