Western Pennsylvania’s craft beer market grows with the flowVideo
John Titus and Tim Molinari are taking the plunge into the competitive world of craft beer brewing, after toiling for months to open their New Crescent Brewing Co. taproom in a converted storefront in downtown Irwin. Although craft brewers dot Route 30 in North Huntingdon and others are planned for...
Government shutdown cost U.S. economy at least $6 billion, analysis says
President Trump’s government shutdown finally came to an end — but not before costing the U.S. economy at least $6 billion, according to an analysis by S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency’s Global Economics branch said the overall cost to the economy for the shutdown that crippled Washington, D.C., and...
Got shade? These plants don’t mind
While no plants will survive with a total lack of sunlight, there are some plant groups that have evolved to thrive in even low-light areas of the outdoor landscape. If you’re looking to add plants to an area on the north side of a house or in another densely shaded...
State representative from Pittsburgh holds forum on legalizing marijuana
Navy veteran Derrick Clark suffered a traumatic brain injury during his time serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he hasn’t had a migraine in three years, he said, thanks not to opioid painkillers, but rather medical marijuana. He said he doesn’t have nightmares anymore either, and the cannabis has helped...
Experts, images suggest a Saudi ballistic missile program
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A military base deep inside Saudi Arabia appears to be testing and possibly manufacturing ballistic missiles, experts and satellite images suggest, evidence of the type of weapons program it has long criticized its archrival Iran for possessing. Further raising the stakes for any such program...
Fishing imperils 40 shark species in the Galapagos
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador — The teeming waters that surround the famed Galapagos islands support more shark species than anywhere on Earth. Schools of wide-eyed scalloped hammerheads, 40,000-pound whale sharks, reef-patrolling whitetip sharks, more than 40 species in total, many endangered, are found only here. Yet, these top marine predators, in...
12 immigrant workers at Trump golf course fired, lawyer says
NEW YORK — A dozen immigrant workers at one of President Donald Trump’s golf clubs in New York who are in the U.S. illegally were fired this month even though managers had known about their legal status for years, a lawyer for the workers said Saturday. As the president railed...
Authorities identify 2 men killed in fall from Parkway East onto Second AvenueVideo
Authorities have identified two men who died Saturday when they either fell or jumped from the Parkway East near Oakland during a traffic crash, plummeting to Second Avenue below where they were struck by a passing car. The incident shortly before 4 p.m. involved three vehicles on the Parkway and...
Aliquippa teen convicted of arranging parents’ 1996 slayings resentenced
A man convicted as a teenager of hiring a pair of classmates to kill his parents in their western Pennsylvania home more than two decades ago could have a chance of parole beginning at age 76 following resentencing. Brian Samuel, 39, was sentenced in 1997 to two consecutive life terms...
Koch network gathers wealthy donors after 2020 Trump snub
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Hundreds of wealthy donors gathered by the conservative billionaire industrialist Charles Koch are meeting this weekend for the first time since his powerful political network said it won’t support President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. It remains to be seen how much the Koch network’s biannual...
Louisiana shooting leaves 5 dead; suspect at large
NEW ORLEANS — Authorities in Louisiana say separate but related shootings in two different parishes have left five people dead. A suspect was at large and was being sought. Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre told a news conference that deputies were called to a trailer in the city of Gonzales...
Women make big gains in state capitols, but men still rule
Following a record-setting election for women, state legislatures across the country are convening this year with at least 17 new women in top leadership roles. But those gains are offset by another reality: At least a dozen women who led their legislative chambers or caucuses last year will no longer...
German expert panel agrees on 2038 deadline to end coal use
BERLIN — In a pioneering move, a government-appointed panel on Saturday recommended that Germany stop burning coal to generate electricity by 2038 at the latest, as part of efforts to curb climate change. The so-called Coal Commission reached agreement in the early hours of Saturday, following months of wrangling that...
Ice artists create more than 70 sculptures for Ligonier Ice Fest, continues SundayVideo
Ernie DiMartino’s ice carvers have been working behind the scenes for weeks. And they’re not done yet — nine workers are transforming blocks of ice into beautiful sculptures at Ligonier’s Diamond Park. “There’s a lot going on, the weather’s perfect,” said Cindy Purnell, chairwoman of the 28th annual Ligonier Ice...
Taking tune from ‘The Office,’ Arizona man helps save woman’s life
TUCSON, Ariz. — A classic scene from a decade-old episode of “The Office” helped an Arizona mechanic save an unconscious woman’s life. The Arizona Daily Star reports that 21-year-old Cross Scott found a woman locked in her car this month and broke in, finding she wasn’t breathing. He doesn’t have...
Women’s March drew more moderates in its third year. Why? It’s all Trump, researchers say.
WASHINGTON - Two years in, the Women’s March is still bringing out first-timers, according to organizers and researchers who attended last Saturday’s demonstration. And they’re not who you might expect to find at a rally for the so-called “resistance.” Unlike the first march, with crowds made up almost exclusively of...
Smaller government? Some Trump supporters cheer the shutdown
FORT HANCOCK, Texas — Donald Trump didn’t carry many parts of Texas’ heavily Democratic areas along the border with Mexico, but he won remote Hudspeth County thanks to people like Terry Rose. And the 71-year-old mechanic saw the longest shutdown in U.S. history as a campaign promise kept. “I want...
Registered sex offender in Greensburg accused of asking girl, 16, for sex
A Greensburg man who is a registered sex offender is accused of repeatedly asking a 16-year-old girl for sex, according to court papers. Henry Lee Bailey Jr., 31, is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $125,000 bail on charges of corruption of minors and harassment. The girl reported...
Verona man fatally shot outside of Penn Hills lounge
A Verona man was fatally shot outside of a Penn Hills lounge early Saturday, according to Allegheny County police. Authorities were called at 1:03 a.m. to the parking lot of The Lounge on Verona for a report of numerous shots fired, according to a news release. Paul McMillan, 48, was...
Amendments planned for Pittsburgh proposed gun restrictions
Pittsburgh City Council got a feel this week for what people think about its proposed ban on certain semi-automatic weapons, ammunition and firearms accessories. More than 100 people signed up to speak at a public hearing on the restrictions Thursday that went for hours. So what’s next on the gun...
Transgender military personnel in limbo over Trump plan
NEW YORK — Long term, lawyers and activists battling to ensure that transgender people can serve openly in the U.S. military are convinced they will prevail. Short term, they are braced for anguishing consequences if the Trump administration proceeds with its plan to sharply restrict such service. The U.S. Supreme...
Trafford home gets new furnace thanks to charity program
A home in Trafford will be heated well this winter after a new furnace was installed for free Saturday morning through a charity program. TUDI Mechanical Systems and Dollar Bank provided 20 furnaces to Pittsburgh-area families through the annual Heat For The Needy program, according to a news release. Employees...
Court: Illinois mom can sue Six Flags for fingerprinting son
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Friday that a woman can sue Six Flags Great America for fingerprinting her child without telling her how the data would be used in violation of the state’s biometric law, which privacy advocates consider to be the nation’s strongest biometric data safeguards....
Carrick fire death in August classified as homicide
A 53-year-old man’s death in a house fire last August has been classified as a homicide, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday. Martin Thomas Boehm died Aug. 21 — four days after he was injured in a house fire along the 1600 block of Leolyn Street in Carrick....
Police: Boy, 10, slips on ice under moving van on Polish Hill, critically injured
Pittsburgh police said a 10-year-old boy was pulled from under a loaded passenger van at the West Penn Rec Center on Polish Hill just before 8 p.m. Friday. He was in critical condition in a local hospital, a city public safety spokeswoman said in a news release. Police, medics and...