Regional News category, Page 188
Meteorologists say predicting this particular storm is tricky stuff
Preparing for a storm is tough, but predicting one is even harder. Just ask a meteorologist. But WPXI-TV ’s chief meteorologist, Stephen Cropper, isn’t complaining. In fact, he loves the challenge of predicting the kind of severe weather we’re expected to have this weekend. “We’re looking at the temperature, the...
National Weather Service issues winter storm warning for region
A major winter storm headed for Western Pennsylvania might dump 6 to 11 inches of snow from mid-afternoon Sunday into Monday afternoon, according to the latest prediction from the National Weather Service office in Moon Township. The National Weather Service in Moon issued a winter storm warning Saturday afternoon. Snow...
Experts say too soon to tell what drop in covid counts means for Western Pa.
As some countries and major U.S. cities emerge from suspected omicron peaks, experts and health officials in Southwestern Pennsylvania say it’s too soon to say whether this region also has passed the worst of omicron. Cases have flattened in New York City, according to The New York Times, as well...
Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign falls just short of $2.4 million fundraising goal for Western Pa.
Although the Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania Division fell a little shy of its $2.4 million fundraising goal last year, shortfalls in some places were offset by gains elsewhere. In Westmoreland County, Salvation Army campaigns in four areas fell $20,000 short of their overall $282,000 goal. So while only $57,603 was...
Collectors journey back in time looking for classic bicycles
Pretty much everyone has a bicycle story. There are memories of learning to ride. Youngsters graduated from having to use training wheels. And, sometimes, they fall off, scraping a knee or losing a tooth, and then get right back on and keeping going. On that bicycle, children often traveled to...
How Highmark and other insurers will cover at-home covid tests
Highmark will begin reimbursing its customers for at-home covid-19 tests this weekend and is looking to eliminate the need for customers to pay first, a vice president of the insurance company said Thursday. Under federal rules, Highmark and other private health insurers are required to cover up to eight over-the...
Fayette County man ordered to jail without bond on accusations of severely abusing toddler
A 26-year-old Fayette County man is accused of severely abusing his 20-month-old daughter, police said. Keith A. Kalbaugh is being held without bond in the county prison after state police arrested him Wednesday. His daughter remains in the intensive care unit of a West Virginia hospital. Kalbaugh was arraigned Wednesday...
6-8 inches of snow expected to hit Western Pa. starting Sunday
The couple of inches of snow that hit the Pittsburgh region last week was minor compared to what is likely headed our way this weekend. As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service in Moon was predicting heavy snow will begin falling in Southwestern Pennsylvania sometime Sunday afternoon and continue...
Police: Student causes disturbance, lockdown at Indiana Area Senior High
An Indiana Area Senior High student’s rampage caused a brief lockdown of the school Wednesday and is expected to result in charges, according to state police in Indiana County. Police said patrol units responded shortly after 12:30 p.m. to a report of a 17-year-old girl engaging in “repeated tumultuous behavior”...
4 Western Pa. Catholic schools shift to remote learning
With omicron variant cases on the rise in Western Pennsylvania, four Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will begin or extend remote learning into next week. The schools include Sacred Heart Elementary in Shadyside; St. Therese School in Munhall; Mary of Nazareth School in White Oak and Butler...
Former Greensburg-based dentist accused of killing wife to collect millions in life insuranceVideo
A former Greensburg dentist and big-game hunter is facing federal charges after authorities said he killed his wife during a safari in Zambia five years ago and collected more than $4 million in life insurance. An arrest warrant was issued Dec. 22 for Lawrence Rudolph, 67, who was living in...
Pittsburgh RV Show sees high attendance, continued interest in recreational vehiclesVideo
Ken and Katie Wakal recalled their early days of camping. “We put up a tent, which was fine 30 years ago. But now we have a recreational vehicle — which we love,” said Katie Wakal. “We don’t have to sleep on the ground anymore or worry about bears in the...
Red Cross: Blood donations needed to reverse worst shortage in a decade
The American Red Cross has issued an appeal for blood donations to help reverse what officials say is the worst shortage in more than a decade as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As an incentive, people who arrange blood donations through the Red Cross website (redcrossblood.org) during January will...
Fayette County attorney accused of misusing clients’ money expected to plead to wire fraud
A Fayette County lawyer who previously served as an assistant district attorney and solicitor is accused in federal court of misusing client funds. John William “JW” Eddy, 39, was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He is expected to plead guilty, according to the...
Off-duty state trooper suspended after alleged assault at private party in Cambria County
A state trooper from the Ebensburg station in Cambria County was suspended without pay after investigators say he was involved in an off-duty physical altercation with another man during a private party. Trooper Scott Myers, 34, was arrested early Saturday on charges of aggravated assault, harassment, simple assault and terroristic...
Pittsburgh gas prices remain steady as national average moves higher
The national average price of gasoline increased in the last week, but is unchanged in the Pittsburgh area, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. According to GasBuddy, the national average rose 2.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.29 on Monday. That’s 5.5 cents per gallon less than...
Primanti Bros. celebrates Steelers win with free sandwiches to anyone named ‘Chris’ or ‘Boswell’
Chris Boswell kept the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoffs hopes alive Sunday with an overtime-winning field goal against the Baltimore Ravens. To celebrate that, Steel City sandwich slinger Primanti Bros. announced it will give free classic sandwiches to anyone named Chris or Boswell on Monday. The offer is good at all Primanti...
Pittsburgh mother’s milk bank seeking additional donors
Thanks to the efforts of nearly 2,000 carefully screened volunteer donors, the Mid-Atlantic Mother’s Milk Bank distributed its 1 millionth ounce of pasteurized human donor milk since its establishment in 2016. Pasteurized donor human milk provides critical nutrients and immunological support for medically fragile babies, and is used regularly in...
Report: Pittsburgh on short-list for potential 2024 Republican National Convention sites
Could Pittsburgh potentially host the next Republican National Convention? The city is on the GOP national committee’s shortlist for 2024, according to a report in Politico.com, along with Milwaukee, Nashville and Salt Lake City. “We always welcome commerce in the City of Pittsburgh, whether it’s filling our hotel rooms or...
Center for Organ Recovery and Education sees record-breaking number of organ donations
A nonprofit that facilitates organ, tissue and cornea donations for the region saw a record-breaking number of organ donors in 2021. The Center for Organ Recovery and Education announced Thursday that 2021 marked the third consecutive record-breaking year. The group — which facilitates donations across western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and...
Blairsville man accused of robbing service station, assaulting clerk
A Blairsville man was is accused by state police in Indiana of robbing a service station in Armagh early Friday and assaulting the clerk. Nicholas R. Empfield, 27, was arrested and ordered held in the Indiana County Jail after failing to post $150,000 bond, according to court dockets. Troopers were...
Teacher shortage stokes covid threat for W.Pa. schools fighting to stay in the classroom
More than 5,000 schools across the country, including in Pittsburgh, spent last week teaching children remotely or delaying their return to the classroom as covid infections continued to skyrocket with the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. While the vast majority of districts in Southwestern Pennsylvania and elsewhere have...
Worker killed in Fayette County mine collapse
One person has died in a mine collapse in Fayette County. Emergency crews worked for more than eight hours to free the worker at the Laurel Aggregate Lake Lynn Mine on Springhill Furnace Road in Springhill Township near the West Virginia border. Saturday morning, the company that owns the mine,...
PennDOT lifts speed limit restriction on major roads
Speed limit restrictions were lifted Friday morning after a snowy, slippery night across Western Pennsylvania. The reductions were put in place Thursday night and PennDOT urged motorists to avoid unnecessary travel as crews cleared major roads in the area. Around 7 a.m. Friday, the restrictions ended on Interstates 70 and...
Pennsylvania Senate committee to hold hearings on its audit of the 2020, 2021 elections
A state Senate committee plans to forge ahead with hearings in early spring on any information discovered in a controversial audit seeking to uncover irregularities in Pennsylvania’s 2020 elections and last year’s primary, a Republican spokeswoman said Thursday. The Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee would conduct the hearings on any findings...
