Regional category, Page 299
Cooling U.S.-Iran tensions bring lower oil, gas prices, analyst says
Gasoline prices fell in Pittsburgh and across the nation in the past week as oil prices fell along with tensions between the U.S. and Iran, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. “With Iran and the United States de-escalating rising tensions last week, oil prices plummeted back under $60 per barrel,...
United Methodists talk more about potential split over same-sex marriage, gay clergy
As Methodists in Western Pennsylvania consider the future of their denomination, a group that has proposed an amicable split explained the proposal in more detail Monday. Known as the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation,” the proposal allows for the formation of a new “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would...
Ghost Town Trail named 2020 Trail of the Year by state conservation officials
The Ghost Town Trail that runs from Blairsville to Ebensburg has been named Pennsylvania’s 2020 Trail of the Year by the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Built initially as a 12-mile trail in 1994, Ghost Town Trail was the first in the state constructed using transportation enhancement funding....
Small manufacturers in Western Pa. not seeing boon from steel tariffsVideo
Some of the region’s steelmakers and small manufacturers found the Trump administration’s 25% tariff slapped on imports almost two years ago was not the business boost they were promised. Customers accustomed to paying a certain price for their products were not keen on seeing costs jump because of the tariffs,...
Troopers: Arkansas man dies in Butler County crash
An Arkansas man died after he drove his pickup off the road and into a creek early Sunday morning in Butler County, according to state police. Troopers identified him as Michael C. Cain Jr., 25, of El Dorado. The crash occurred just after 4:30 a.m. on Route 68, also known...
Mountains of tires, appliances, electronics collected in 2019 by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliates — including Westmoreland Cleanways and other area environmental groups — announced Friday that it had collected more than 2 million pounds of electronics and other waste. That includes more than 21,000 tires; 6,000 appliances, and 61,000 pounds of household hazardous waste from local residents in 2019....
Week in review: Fatal Turnpike crash, new sheriff’s office trashed, paramedic dies on the job, new Mac Miller recordVideo
Here’s a look back at some of the top news and features from the Tribune-Review this week: Pa. Turnpike tragedy: 5 dead in ‘horrific incident’ that could take weeks to investigate Five people died and 60 others were injured when a tour bus traveling along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt....
Police: 4 suspects shoot up Fayette County home, almost hit baby
Two men, a woman and a 1-year-old girl were woken by gunshots in the early morning of Dec. 29, according to state police. Six shots were fired into a Connellsville, Fayette County home, missing the victims by a few feet. According to police, there were four shooters. Investigators don’t know...
Criminal charges filed against Pennsylvania teens in deer torture video
Two Pennsylvania teens were hit with felony charges Friday in connection with a social media video that authorities say showed them torturing a wounded deer, state Game Commission officials said. The charges against Alexander Brock Smith, 18, of Brookville and an unidentified 17-year-old boy stem from a video posted Nov....
Walmart offering flu shots at Western Pa. wellness clinics
Walmart announced Friday that low-cost flu shots will be available at wellness clinics in its stores on Saturday. The “Walmart Wellness Day” will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all Walmart stores in Western Pennsylvania. The cash price for shots will start around $39, spokesman Keegan Gibson...
Daffodil Days returns as American Cancer Society fundraiser
The American Cancer Society is hosting a colorful fundraiser with the goal of bringing hope to cancer patients. Daffodil Days, which allows people to purchase flowers that can be delivered to patients in hospitals, treatment centers and other facilities, will return in March. “We are so very grateful to the...
Mild weather impacting flocks of robins in Pittsburgh region
If you’re noticing more American robins lately — flocks of them — so did residents counting birds in the Pittsburgh area for the 120th annual National Audubon Society Bird Count. Volunteers tallied a little more than 28,000 birds among 72 species in the Pittsburgh area count circle during a Dec....
Olympic, X Games skiers head to Seven Springs for rail jam competitionVideo
Skiers who placed in the Olympics and X Games are taking to the slopes at Seven Springs this weekend as Pittsburgh native and professional freeskier Tom Wallisch brings a piece of his childhood back to the area. Steel City Showdown is one of the first rail jams — or contests...
Gas leak leads to cancellation of classes in Brownsville Area School District
Classes have been canceled Friday for all students in the Brownsville Area School District because of a gas leak, district officials announced. The leak was detected in the building that houses the middle and high schools, according to a posting by the district on social media. The closure also affects...
Uniontown’s elected treasurer claims racism by city officials has kept her from taking office
A woman who will be sworn in next week as Uniontown’s first black municipal treasurer claims in a federal lawsuit that a conspiracy between a council member and city clerk kept her from taking office this week because of her race. Antoinette Hodge, who will be sworn in Jan. 13...
Temps across Western Pa. expected to jump by 50 degrees
If you didn’t like Thursday morning’s cold temperatures, be patient. By Saturday, temperatures will be in the mid 60s — a jump of more than 50 degrees from lows in the teens early Thursday morning. Kinda chilly this morning, huh? Many areas saw their coldest temperatures since December 20th or...
Allegheny Technologies seeks tariff exclusion as USW contract talks begin
The CEO of a Pittsburgh-based specialty steel producer that operates 10 plants in the region and others across the country is lobbying federal officials for an exclusion to the 25% tariff on imported steel that’s been imposed by the Trump administration. “We can’t allow our hardworking Pennsylvania employees to be...
IUP, Duquesne, Robert Morris to bolster addiction prevention programs
When students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania return to class Jan. 21, they will be among the first in the state to benefit from a new program designed to prevent opioid abuse. IUP, which received a $99,888 state grant to underwrite the effort, was among 13 colleges and universities selected...
Solar energy conference coming to Indiana County
A statewide conference on solar energy is coming to Indiana County in February. The 2020 Pennsylvania Solar Congress will be held at Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort & Conference Center, 132 Pine Ridge Road, Blairsville, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15. The event was held in Wilkinsburg last...
Police charge Fayette County woman in starvation deaths of 2 cats, dog
After finding two cats and a dog dead inside her former Washington County apartment, state police on Wednesday charged a 22-year-old woman with multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect. Dominique Lynn Cronin abandoned the animals in her former apartment in Daisytown about a month ago when she moved to...
2020’s 13 full moons to include rare blue moon, 2 super moons
If you like moon gazing, 2020 will not disappoint — as long as cloud cover over Southwestern Pennsylvania doesn’t obscure a rare blue moon on Oct. 31 and two supermoons included among this year’s 13 full moons. According to NASA, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a...
Person under 50 among new Pennsylvania flu deaths, health department reports
Pennsylvania’s influenza epidemic claimed four more lives in the past week, including the first fatal case of the season involving a person younger than 50, according to data released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases and flu-related hospitalizations surged over the past week, data...
Packages in Pa. Turnpike crash remain on delivery route
UPS packages that were being hauled by tractor-trailers involved in the fatal Pennsylvania Turnpike crash will reach their intended destinations if they were not damaged, a company spokesman said Tuesday. “If a package is damaged, we contact the shipper for replacement or reimbursement of that delivery,” said Matthew O’Connor, senior...
PennDOT vehicles enforcing speed limits in work zone on Boulevard of the Allies
PennDOT has launched a new automated system that records the speed of vehicles traveling through work zones to make it safer for road repair crews. The electronic speed timing devices, which will be mounted on vehicles so they can easily be moved to various locations, were deployed Monday in seven...
‘It feels like a movie.’ Turnpike crash survivor recounts ordeal
Quwanjay Ellis was drifting off to sleep on a bus traveling from New York to Ohio about 3:30 Sunday morning when he heard a voice in his head: “Open your eyes.” He had only moments to brace for what came next. Sitting in the aisle seat directly behind the driver,...
