Regional category, Page 21
Ex-Beaver County cop who assaulted witness pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter
A former Beaver County police officer pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other offenses just as his trial was set to begin, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday. John J. Hawk, 38, was charged after assaulting Kenneth E. Vinyard, 48, of Industry at the scene of a shooting outside...
Police charge Canon-McMillan high school teacher with having sex with student
A Washington County science teacher was arrested on Tuesday on charges he had a monthslong sexual relationship with one of his students at Canon-McMillan High School. Justin White, 48, of Canonsburg is charged by North Strabane police with 13 counts of institutional sexual assault and criminal use of a communication...
‘A superpower for energy’: Homer City power station developers to present site plans
Developers will present plans Wednesday for a $10 billion, 3,200-acre, natural-gas power plant in Indiana County. The former Homer City Generating Station, once a coal-fired plant, is being proposed to provide the electricity required for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Members of Homer City Redevelopment Group will host an open...
Cat rescue in Bethel Park rehomes felines after car crashes into building
A Bethel Park cat rescue had to scramble to find homes for several felines after a car crashed into the charity’s community room on Monday. In a Facebook post Monday evening, Cali Cats Rescue said that its power had been shut off after the accident, making it impossible for cats...
New college admission test gaining popularity
The SAT, accepted by almost all of the nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S., may have some growing competition. The Classic Learning Test (CLT) has proved quite the competitor against other admissions exams, including the SAT and ACT. Since its release in 2015, the CLT has reached more...
Politics from the pulpit now OK, IRS says
The Rev. Bob Ross’ weekly messages to parishioners at Heritage Baptist Church in Jeannette never tackle politics. It’s the way Ross views his role as a local faith leader. “I”m not political, so I’m not going to talk about politics from the pulpit,” Ross said. “My job is not to...
Butler ‘united and stronger than ever’ year after Trump assassination attempt, Kelly says
A year ago today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly didn’t know what to make of the loud popping sounds he heard. Then, after hearing another burst, he realized they were gunshots. What to that point had been a jubilant campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds was...
Here’s how weather alerts, warnings make it to the public in Western Pa.
The repercussions of fatal flooding on the Fourth of July in the sun-scorched Texas Hill Country are being felt more than a week later and 1,500 miles away in the similarly hilly terrain of Western Pennsylvania. Those reflecting on the tragedy are not just people shaken by the loss of...
With 911 working normally, investigation continues into cause of outages
Pennsylvania’s 911 system is again functioning normally. Late Friday, 911 calls resumed routing normally across the state, after what were described as “intermittent outages” earlier in the day. The root cause of the issue is under investigation, and an independent review will be performed to determine what can be done...
Fireflies are making a noticeable return to Western Pa.
The flickering fields of summer nights are back. Fireflies, it seems, are abundant again. Throughout the region, people are noticing more of the largely nocturnal, flashing insects. Once a staple of summer evenings, lightning bugs had seemed to become scarce over the past few years thanks to a loss of...
A general’s defeat: Anniversary will be observed in North Braddock
At the eastern edge of Westmoreland County’s Route 30 corridor lies one of the state’s best example of a colonial fort — Fort Ligonier, the site of the October 1758 battle where British and Colonial forces repulsed an attack by French and Native Americans. But it may not have been...
911 service restored in Pennsylvania; state official says investigation underway
911 service has been restored in Pennsylvania. Late Friday, 911 calls resumed routing as normal across the state and an investigation into what caused an hours long outage was ongoing, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. In a post on social media just before midnight, the agency reported 911...
VA insists veterans services remain robust in Pittsburgh despite staff departures nationwide
Pittsburgh-area veterans won’t see any interruption to their care or benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs claims, even as thousands of its employees head for the exits nationwide. The department is on pace to lose nearly 30,000 employees, or about 6% of its workforce, by the end of September. Already,...
AAA will host Monroeville event to replace peeling, illegible license plates
AAA East Central will host an event in Tuesday in Monroeville for drivers to replace license plates that have begun peeling. In Pennsylvania, drivers can be pulled over and fined up to $100 for an illegible license plate, defined as a plate where one or more characters cannot be recognized...
Morning Roundup: 2 pit bulls fatally attack smaller dog in Carrick
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Friday, July 11: 2 pit bulls fatally attack smaller dog in Carrick A pair of pit bulls fatally attacked a smaller dog in Carrick, Pittsburgh police said Thursday via a social media post. Police and Animal Care and Control...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Judge halts demolition of Homer City plant over contract dispute
Demolition at the site of a planned $10 billion project with a 4.5-gigawatt natural gas-fired plant near Homer City that would power a data processing center has been halted. Frontier Industrial Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y., was granted a preliminary injunction by Allegheny County Judge Philip A. Ignelzi. It prevents Homer...
Secret Service still reforming after Trump assassination attempt in Butler
After the Secret Service announced the suspension of six staffers over failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last year in Butler, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly commended the Secret Service’s new leaders for working to reform the agency. “I applaud Director (Sean) Curran and Deputy Director...
Morning Roundup: Police say convicted felon had drugs, guns during Kittanning traffic stop
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Thursday, July 10: Police say convicted felon had drugs, guns during Kittanning traffic stop A man was arrested after police said they found drugs and guns in his duffel bag during a traffic stop in Kittanning. According to federal...
Pittsburgh travelers react as TSA ditches shoe removal at security
Traveler Katie Wethli knew before anyone at the airport had to tell her. Word got out through social media that she no longer had to remove her footwear when going through Transportation Security Administration screening on Wednesday at the Pittsburgh International Airport. “It was on social media,” the Cranberry resident...
Shapiro signs bill lifting ban on Sunday hunting
Hunters across the state soon could find themselves afield — legally — on almost any Sunday. Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday signed a bill that lifts the state’s age-old ban on Sunday hunting, opening the door for the Pennsylvania Game Commission to build hunting seasons that include Sundays. “The Pennsylvania...
Pittsburgh man accused of stealing hundreds of identities to make Lowe’s, Giant Eagle purchases
A Pittsburgh man is charged with more than 200 counts of felony identity theft after authorities said he made $100,000 in unauthorized credit card purchases at area Lowe’s and Giant Eagle stores, then sold the merchandise. Cornelius P. Tucker, 33, of the city’s Hill District neighborhood, assumed the identities of...
Morning Roundup: Brookline vape shop robbed; pedestrian fatally struck in Mercer County
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Wednesday, July 9: Police investigating after stolen car crashes into Brookline vape shop Pittsburgh police are investigating after a vehicle smashed through the doors of a Brookline vape shop as part of a robbery early Tuesday morning. Police were...
EPA delays pollution limits, drawing jeers from environmentalists, cheers from U.S. Steel
The Trump administration is delaying mandates that would have forced steelmakers U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs to cut toxic emissions, drawing industry praise and environmentalist dismay. A July 1 order from the Environmental Protection Agency postpones until April 2027 stricter emissions standards for the country’s integrated steel mills, all of which...
Fireworks confrontation leads to Beaver Falls shooting, police say
A tossed firework led to a shooting Friday in Beaver Falls, authorities said. Police were called at 10:30 p.m. Friday to the 300 block of 12th Street where they found a 47-year-old man shot twice in the leg. He was taken to a local medical facility before being flown by...
