Regional category, Page 194

In light of rising covid-19 vaccination rates, Pennsylvania no longer has a mandate that masks be worn in public settings. Businesses still may require a mask to be worn, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines still call for masks in public transportation, airports, shelters, prisons and hospitals. Dr....

Advocates tallied a win — albeit a narrow one — in federal court this month when the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a Montgomery County woman’s conviction and 21-year sentence for sharing a fatal dose of drugs with a friend. A divided three-judge panel ruled that the federal drug...

A decade ago, amid rising casualties from drug abuse, a Pennsylvania drug law was revised to target dealers responsible for overdose deaths. The new statute was termed “drug delivery resulting in death,” or DDRD in legal shorthand. It called for 20- to 40-year prison sentences for anyone who sells or...

When the climb got roughest during the 320-mile trek across Pennsylvania, Tucker McCullough mustered the energy to press forward by invoking the past. Accompanied by five comrades on the PA Hero Walk from Philadelphia to the Alle-Kiski Valley, the Army veteran recalled the many brave soldiers who traversed the same...

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh voted Saturday to elect the Rev. Ketlen Solak as its ninth bishop, making the Delaware minister the first woman and person of color to helm the religious leadership post in Western Pennsylvania. Solak, the rector of Brandywine Collaborative Ministries in Wilmington, Del., and a native...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University tuition is going up this fall, the school’s Board of Governors decided on Friday as it also approved a budget of about $1.1 billion for the next fiscal year. Tuition will climb 1.87% for resident students, or $84 a semester. Nonresident students’ tuition will...

A Connellsville man was killed early Saturday when he was struck by a vehicle in Armstrong County. Pennsylvania State Police in Kittanning said Alan Lipscomb, 29, was laying in the middle of State Route 422 near Worthington Slate Lick Road shortly after 2:30 a.m. when he was hit by an...

INDIANA — When Nellie Bly completed her globe-circling journey in 1890, the New York World hailed the intrepid journalist as “the best-known and most widely talked-of young woman on earth today.” But had she not dropped out of Indiana Normal School a decade before, no one would have ever heard...

A one-day closure on Monroe Road will impact drivers in Buffalo Township on Monday. PennDOT announced the closure, which will impact a stretch of Monroe Road from Sarver Road to the intersection of State Route 356. The area stretches from Freeport Area High School’s football field to the Butler-Freeport Rails...

Route 40 in Henry Clay Township, Fayette County, between the intersection of Route 281 and the Somerset County line, will remain closed over the weekend and into next week because of a slide that blocked the highway with trees and debris, PennDOT officials in Uniontown said Friday. The road will...

Summer is a time for vacations, picnics, fun in the sun and the dreaded educational slide. When students head back into the classrooms after summer break, teachers expect them to have lost some of the knowledge they gained the previous school year. This could be even more true after the...

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is enrolling children for a covid-19 pediatric Moderna vaccine trial. Moderna is testing the safety and effectiveness of their covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 12 years old. “Certainly, even though we know the vaccines are working in adults and they are safe...

State police from Ebensburg are seeking information on an Altoona man who fled a Route 22 traffic stop on Tuesday at speeds of almost 130 mph, according to police. An arrest warrant was issued for Johnnie Ray Weaver, 46, of Altoona, after police said he led them on a pursuit...

A Westmoreland County man and two others from Beaver County are among the latest to face charges related to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Samuel C. Fox of Scottdale, Mitchell P. Vukich of New Brighton and Nicholas Perretta of Baden all face charges related to the incident,...

U.S. Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block the Democrat-backed “For the People Act” — an election reform bill — Tuesday in Washington. Pennsylvania lawmakers voiced opinions on the legislation ahead of a test vote needed to begin debate on the bill in the Senate. “This would be the most...

Even as covid-19 vaccines become widely available and pandemic restrictions begin to relax, a new variant of the virus raises new worries. The delta variant, first identified in India, is classified as a “variant of concern,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the variant circulates in...

The Republican National Committee on Monday reacted to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Pittsburgh visit regarding “Child Tax Credit Awareness Day” and President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan. “Border facilities are critically overcrowded, but President Biden and his border manager — Vice President Harris — refuse to visit the scene,” Keith Rothfus,...

Strong storms and a couple inches of rain dropped trees, caused sporadic flooding and led to tornado warnings being issued across parts of the region Monday evening. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for southeastern Allegheny County, western Westmoreland County and portions of Fayette and Washington counties...

A Washington County woman who confined her disabled 53-year-old sister to a wooden cage while she used her Social Security payments will be released from federal custody. Leona Biser, 52, of Vestaburg, pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud and representative payee fraud in February before U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose....

In one of her first on-camera interviews with a national news outlet since being confirmed as U.S. assistant secretary of health in late March, Rachel Levine discussed Sen. Rand Paul’s criticism of her during her confirmation hearing. Speaking on “60 Minutes Plus” on CBS’s streaming service Paramount Plus, Levine discussed...

A Washington County man was killed in a one-vehicle crash early Sunday, according to state police. Hunter Hickle, 20, was driving south on Waynesburg Road around 6 a.m. in Amwell Township when police say he “failed to negotiate a left bend in the roadway.” Officers said Hickle’s vehicle hit a...

Volunteer firefighters are busy reigniting their fundraising efforts. According to the Chestnut Ridge Community Volunteer Fire Company, firefighters spend nearly 60% of their time fundraising. Typical fundraisers include raffles, bingo nights, food sales, cash bashes and, of course, carnivals. Stations were forced to curtail these events when the coronavirus pandemic...

The University of Pittsburgh is staking a claim in the battle against false narratives and conspiracy theories that spread online with the speed of light. Pitt officials said they hope to tap a new venture — the Pitt Disinformation Lab in the Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security —...

It’s a common-enough dream — you’re at work, at school or in some other public place, when suddenly you realize you aren’t wearing any clothes. That doesn’t mean you’re a secret exhibitionist. Rather, dream analysts say, it hints at hidden insecurities and the fear of having them revealed to others....

A report of a suspicious vehicle at a Kiski car wash lead to the discovery of a man’s body Thursday afternoon, according to township police. Police said they got a call shortly after 7:30 a.m. about a vehicle left at the Apollo Car Wash on Route 56 just outside of...