Giant ice disk equipped with webcam after surviving storm
WESTBROOK, Maine — Maine’s giant spinning ice disk that quickly gained international fame survived the weekend winter weather that pummeled New England and now has its own webcam. The webcam in Westbrook monitors the disk that’s been spinning in the Presumpscot River for more than a week and continues its...
South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg joins 2020 presidential race
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Democrat Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid, according to a video and email announcement obtained by The Associated Press. “The reality is there’s no going back, and there’s no such thing as ‘again’...
Ascend rock climbing gym expands to Bridgeville location
America’s climbing craze continues to catch on in the Pittsburgh area. Ascend, a rock climbing gym on the city’s South Side, announced on Facebook that they are opening a second location in Bridgeville. The new facility will be part of Newberry Market, a mixed use development in South Fayette Township....
Poll: Support for ‘Medicare-for-all’ fluctuates with details
WASHINGTON — “Medicare-for-all” makes a good first impression, but support plunges when people are asked if they’d pay higher taxes or put up with treatment delays to get it. The survey, released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, comes as Democratic presidential hopefuls embrace the idea of a government-run...
Dueling Senate bills would end shutdown in different ways
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders agreed to hold votes this week on dueling proposals to reopen shuttered federal agencies, forcing a political reckoning for senators grappling with the longest shutdown in U.S. history: Side with President Donald Trump or vote to temporarily end the shutdown and keep negotiating. Senate Majority Leader...
Police: Uniontown woman used potted tree during assault
A Fayette County woman is accused of attacking someone with a tree over the weekend, according to state police. Ronita Lynn Calloway, 32, of Uniontown, was arguing with someone in South Union at 12:34 p.m. Saturday when she allegedly grabbed a tree by its trunk and ripped it out of...
Traffic blocked on I-79 north after tractor trailer overturns
Traffic was blocked along I-79 north early Wednesday after a tractor-trailer hauling soft drinks overturned between the Crafton and Coraopolis exits, officials said. The crash was reported at 5 a.m. at mile marker 63.5. At 9:15 a.m., traffic cameras showed traffic getting past the rolled over tractor-trailer in one lane....
Upper Burrell police warn of phone scam
Scammers pretending to be Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) representatives are calling people and asking them for donations, Upper Burrell police warn. Police shared information about the scam on Facebook Tuesday, warning people not to provide the scammers with any financial or personal information. “DO NOT give out any financial...
Bethel Park School District cancels classes for Wednesday
Bethel Park High School will be closed Wednesday due to a sprinkler malfunction, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The malfunction occurred on Tuesday and resulted in an evacuation, WPXI-TV reported. A phone call went out to parents, notifying them that the needed cleanup was extensive enough that the school...
Arizona nurse arrested in rape of incapacitated woman who gave birth
PHOENIX — A nurse who was supposed to be looking after an incapacitated woman at a long-term health care facility has been charged with raping her, weeks after the patient stunned her caregivers and family by giving birth to a baby boy , Phoenix police said Wednesday. Investigators arrested Nathan...
Explosion near U.S. Consulate in Geneva; no injuries
GENEVA — An electrical fault triggered an explosion Wednesday near the U.S. Consulate in Geneva, police and officials said. The U.S. Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, issued a security alert over the blast, but no one was injured. “The explosion was linked to an electrical junction box, cooled by...
Structural engineer to evaluate Derry Township home hit by pickup truck
A pickup truck has been lodged in the side of Jesse Noel’s Derry Township home for the last two days. Noel and his wife, Sandy, were waiting Wednesday morning for a structural engineer to assess the damage while coping with the fallout after the truck slammed into their living room...
Cops: Mom spanked other parents’ kids with a belt, wooden spoon at sleepover
A Florida woman faces child abuse charges after police say she spanked other parents’ children at a sleepover she was hosting. “One girl mentioned that she was hit in the knee with a wooden spoon, and another one said that she was hit with a shoe,” Fred Jones of the...
Penn Township seeks volunteers for planning commission, library board
Penn Township needs a few residents who are willing to serve on local boards. The township is looking for alternate members for its planning commission and the Penn Area Library board of trustees, with two vacancies on each board. The planning commission meets on the first Tuesday of every month...
Greensburg’s Aerobic Center pool to reopen Thursday after closure for repairs
The swimming pool at the Aerobic Center at Lynch Field in Greensburg will open as scheduled at 5 a.m. Thursday after a temporary closure cancelled swim lessons Wednesday night, according to posts on the center’s Facebook page. “We had a mechanical malfunction with our filter. We’re repairing it,” said Rachel...
Pittsburgh looking to borrow $62M for capital projects in 2019
Pittsburgh is poised to borrow $62 million for capital improvements in 2019. City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary authorization for the issuance of bonds to pay for such things as street paving, facility improvements and equipment. Members also approved the hiring of Clark Hill, a Downtown law firm, to serve...
‘Hamilton’ brings history to life for Pittsburgh-area studentsVideo
“Hamilton” is more than a hit musical for more than 2,700 students in the region who’ve earned a spot to be in the room where it happens — the Benedum Center — on Friday. They include 55 students at Valley High School in New Kensington who have been studying the...
Upper St. Clair dog attacked by rabid raccoon
The Allegheny County Health Department said Wednesday a raccoon found in Upper St. Clair tested positive for rabies. In a news release, ACHD said the raccoon was “involved in an altercation” with a dog on Shenandoah Drive in Upper St. Clair. The dog was up-to-date on its rabies vaccinations. The...
Melissa McCarthy has an early bedtime. Should all adults?
Do you ever wish that you could go to sleep shortly after you put your kids to bed? Maybe you should. Early bedtimes don’t have to be just for kids. Actress Melissa McCarthy, 48, has one. The actress, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in “Can You Ever...
New hotline could help Hempfield schools investigate potential threats
A new communications platform could help make the Hempfield Area School District safer. Safe 2 Say Something, a hotline where students and adults can submit anonymous tips about something suspicious online or from a person who proposes a threat to themselves or others, is set to start next week. The...
Los Angeles teachers approve contract, end strike
LOS ANGELES — Teachers overwhelmingly approved a new contract Tuesday and planned to return to the classroom after a six-day strike over funding and staffing in the nation’s second-largest school district. Although all votes hadn’t been counted, preliminary figures showed that a “vast supermajority” of some 30,000 educators voted in...
Car hits Derry Township house
A car hit a house on Smith Street in Derry Township Tuesday night, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said. Firefighters from Bradenville responded to the report of the crash at 10:55 p.m. There was no information available on whether there were any injuries. An ambulance was dispatched to...
Penn Hills School District, facing $10.9M budget shortfall, accepts state oversight
The state-tapped chief recovery officer set to begin work at Penn Hills School District next month will confront an anticipated 2018-19 budget shortfall of $10.9 million, looming spikes in debt payments and a proposed property tax rate hike that would make residents in Penn Hills among the highest-taxed in Allegheny...
Russell Baker, droll columnist and memoirist who twice won Pulitzer, dies at 93
Russell Baker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who for 36 years brought whimsy, irreverence and droll commentary to the Observer column in the New York Times and whose memoir, “Growing Up,” was a bestseller, died Jan. 21 at his home in Leesburg, Virginia. He was 93. The cause was complications from...
Greater Latrobe limits any tax hike to 2.36 mills
Greater Latrobe School District will not increase real estate taxes for the 2019-2020 school year more than 2.36 mills, and very likely it will be less than that, a school official said Tuesday. Daniel Watson, Greater Latrobe’s business administrator, said Tuesday he does not anticipate the school district will raise...
