Regional category, Page 315

One person driving a front loader was killed Monday afternoon in Somerset County, according to state police. The one-vehicle accident occurred as the person drove along Oden Street in Confluence Borough, near the borough’s VFW, officials said. When officers arrived on scene shortly after 12:30 p.m., they determined the driver...

Remnants of Hurricane Barry are expected to bring more rain to Western Pennsylvania this week — possibly as soon as Tuesday — as the region is still drying out from last week’s heavy storms. Barry strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 75 mph by Saturday morning when...

Six people are lucky to be alive after their raft went over the falls at Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County over the weekend. Park manager Ken Bisbee said the six, who are from the Pittsburgh and Monroeville areas, had bruises and scrapes after being rescued from a swollen Youghiogheny...

A juvenile who police say stole a car after escaping from a Butler County detention center Saturday night remained at large on Monday afternoon, according to authorities. The unidentified juvenile, whose age and gender were not released, is believed to have escaped from The Summit Academy in Summit Township around...

Gas prices are up in the Pittsburgh region, and the national average has risen for a third straight week on higher oil prices blamed on geopolitical tensions, declining oil inventories and Hurricane Barry. “With Barry in the rearview, we are unlikely to see major disruptions arise, and gas prices nationally...

A state law protecting Good Samaritans who rescue children locked inside hot cars took effect Monday. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill into law May 16. The law provides protection from liability for damages if a person believes a child is in imminent danger, provided they have made a good...

Penn State alumni can claim boasting rights this week thanks to a ranking that has nothing to do with college sports. A survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education found Penn State President Eric J. Barron was the third highest paid public university president in the nation last year when...

The state police’s annual Camp Cadet summer program offers children a chance to meet and interact with law enforcement. A few years ago, a trooper in the Lancaster area decided that opportunity should also extend to children and adults with special needs or disabilities, and the Sunny Day Camp program...

Firefighters and a hazardous materials team remained at the scene of a fire and chemical release in Rochester Saturday afternoon, but officials said it was safe for residents of the immediate area to leave their homes. Authorities issued two “shelter in place” orders advising residents to stay in their homes...

Thursday’s torrential rains may have been the final straw for Janet Seman. After six floods since moving to her North Huntingdon Township home in 2004, Seman doesn’t know if she can clean mud out of her basement one more time. “I have sump pumps, I have what I’m supposed to...

BOYERTOWN — A series of storms socked the Northeast with heavy rains and strong winds, causing the deaths of a boy and his pregnant mother whose car was swept away by floodwaters while she was on the phone with emergency officials. The rain started falling Thursday and continued through early...

Federal prosecutors say a Pennsylvania man sexually molested four teenage girls at a Kenyan orphanage he founded with a church’s help. U.S. Attorney William McSwain announced charges Friday against 60-year-old Gregory Dow, of Lancaster, hours after Dow was taken into custody. McSwain says Dow fled Kenya in September 2017 after...

A quarter-century has not abated the FBI’s desire to find out who killed Sarah Boehm and Kathryn Menendez and left their bodies in an Ohio park. Boehm was 14 when she was last seen alive leaving her Rochester Township home in Beaver County on July 14, 1994. Her body was...

Remember that time Slippery Rock University and Dr. Phil got into a spat? SRU does. The university had T-shirts made to commemorate the dust-up, and some of the proceeds will go into a student scholarship fund, according to spokeswoman Rita Abent. In April, Phil McGraw, the TV celebrity therapist better...

Police are investigating after a Uniontown man was found dead in his home Thursday morning with his dog biting his neck, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The news station identified the man as 52-year-old Homer Utterback, who investigators say suffered from seizures. Officials believe Utterback had an episode and fell...

TOLEDO, Ohio — Scientists are likely to warn that another massive harmful algae bloom will blanket western Lake Erie this summer when they release their forecast. It will be released Thursday. Researchers are expecting that record-setting rains in Ohio and neighboring states in recent months will fuel a large mass...

PHILADELPHIA — More than 60 prosecutors and other law enforcement officials have filed a court brief in support of a proposed supervised drug injection site that Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor is trying to block from opening. The officials say that Safehouse’s proposed injection site would prevent overdose deaths and help...

Traffic on several roads remained affected in Allegheny County Friday morning after heavy rains pounded Western Pennsylvania Thursday, causing widespread flooding and hazards that shut down major thoroughfares throughout the region. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said those roads spanned from Frazer Township to Crescent Township: • A bridge on Kittanning...

An Ohio woman was sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to four years and four months in prison for her convictions on conspiracy to distribute heroin and money laundering. Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Britny Beaver, 25, of East Liverpool. Federal authorities said Beaver...

GLEN ROCK — A Pennsylvania school principal who wore blackface to a staff meeting last year is taking a one-year sabbatical and will return as a teacher. The York Dispatch reports that minutes from a June 20 school board meeting indicate that Friendship Elementary School principal Lisa Boyer’s yearlong leave...

Two men accused of keeping illegal fish from the Allegheny River in Armstrong County could lose their fishing licenses for two years and be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fines. A state Fish & Boat Commission officer said another fisherman called the commission May 7 to report that...

Saturday is National Fry Day and, to celebrate, Sheetz is giving away free french fries. Customers who order through the Sheetz app can also receive any size fry for free, along with dipping sauce. While the history of National Fry Day is unknown, according to the National Day Calendar, it...

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is converting two more toll plazas — Gateway at the Ohio border and the Route 66 bypass in Westmoreland County — into cashless collection sites. According to the Turnpike’s cashless tolling website, the plazas will be converted by Oct. 27. The change is part of an...

A cool front Wednesday is expected to bring a little reprieve from the heat, but only after the mercury rises to nearly 90 degrees. Afternoon showers forecasted for Wednesday could drop as much as three-quarters of an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service in Moon Township. The...