Top Stories category, Page 1007
State of Union: Biden vows to check Russia, fight inflation
WASHINGTON — Addressing a concerned nation and anxious world, President Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus. Biden declared that he and all members of...
Allegheny County 911 dispatchers authorize strike on day of St. Patrick’s Day parade
After previously protesting what they described as long shifts and low pay, unionized Allegheny County 911 dispatchers have authorized a one-day strike for March 12. The strike date coincides with Pittsburgh’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Al Smith, business manager for Service Employees International Union Local 668, said workers sent...
Former Mt. Pleasant, Perryopolis doctor gets prison for illegally prescribing drugs, having sex with patients
Dr. Emilio Navarro told the court he made a mistake. It was a mistake that he made dozens of times over four years. A federal indictment against Navarro, a longtime family physician who practiced in Mt. Pleasant and Perryopolis, said he wrote prescriptions for painkillers and Xanax to two patients...
Justices keep Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law in place, at least for now
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law will remain in place, at least for the near future, despite a state judge’s order that would have made it expire in two weeks, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The justices issued a one-paragraph order that overturned a Feb. 16 decision by Commonwealth...
Pittsburgh adopts measures intended to strengthen focus on city’s infrastructure
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved several measures intended to improve the way the city investigates, reports on and provides funding for its infrastructure needs. The measures come in the wake of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park in January, which has brought heightened awareness to the...
Jeannette officials aim to stop trespassers at crumbling former brewery
Notices discouraging anyone from entering the former Fort Pitt Brewery property in West Jeannette were put up last week after city officials received reports of trespassing, according to code enforcement officer Bill Whetzel. He said the city was notified that adults and children were inside the abandoned property and that...
Leechburg student creates website ‘How to Support Ukraine’ with roster of charities
A Leechburg Area High School honors student with Ukrainian heritage has created a website to showcase charities benefiting Ukrainians and encourage people to contribute. Jasa Oliver, a junior from Gilpin, grew up hearing stories about her great-grandfather Dimetro Buriak’s journey from Ukraine to America. When the invasion by Russian forces...
Toomey calls for tougher sanctions on RussiaVideo
As the war on Ukraine continues, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is calling for tougher sanctions on Russia. As a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Toomey holds considerable influence. President Joe Biden has led the international response to Russia’s invasion with severe sanctions targeting the Russian economy and against...
Police say ChildLine call led to Parks Township man being charged with rape of 6-year-old girl
A Parks Township man faces multiple felony sex charges, including the rape of a child, after, police say, he got drunk, crawled into a 6-year-old girl’s bed and sexually assaulted her. In addition to the child rape charge, Nathan Raymond Bortz, 34, of Jackson Street, faces a count of unlawful...
Police say gun fell from man’s pants while frisked in arrest for not paying child support
A Vandergrift man was charged with illegal possession of a firearm after a pistol fell out of his pants leg while officers were arresting him on a warrant for failing to pay child support, police said. William Dante Charles, 41, of the 300 block of Longfellow Street, was charged with...
Latrobe man jailed in Indiana County after being accused of dragging trooper with his car
A Latrobe man is in the Indiana County Jail after being accused of dragging a state policeman with his car as troopers responded to a harassment complaint, according to court papers. Matthew A. Rebar, 29, was arrested after an incident in White Township, just outside of Indiana Borough, where state...
TV Talk: WPGH to add evening newscast produced by WPXI
Pittsburgh viewers will soon have another half-hour weekday evening newscast option: WPXI-TV will begin producing a 6:30 p.m. newscast for WPGH-TV beginning March 14. WPXI’s David Johnson and Liz Kilmer will anchor the additional half-hour news broadcast that displaces a second run of the syndicated, Jay Leno-hosted game show “You...
Pandemic-related rental assistance program winding down in Allegheny County
Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh announced Tuesday that the joint Emergency Rental Assistance Program is winding down, with the last payments going out in May as federal and state funding for the program comes to an end. New applications for assistance will be accepted until March 31. The...
Russia takes aim at urban areas; Biden vows Putin will ‘pay’
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday in what Ukraine’s leader called a blatant campaign of terror, while U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to make his Russian counterpart “pay a price” for the invasion. “Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy...
Potholes are wreaking havoc again, leaving drivers swerving and road crews scrambling
Welcome to pothole season, when area roadways — and drivers — pay the price as winter and the bitter cold prepare to give way to spring and warmer temperatures. “I think it’s worse this year, everywhere,” Jessica Bernard, 35, of Harrison City said Sunday morning before walking into the Harrison...
Man kills 3 children, 1 other, himself at California church
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man shot and killed his three children, one other person and himself Monday at a church in Sacramento, authorities said. Deputies responding to reports of gunfire around 5 p.m. found five people dead, including the shooter, at the church in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood, said Sgt. Rod...
40-mile Russian convoy threatens Kyiv; shelling intensifiesVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — A 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks and other vehicles threatened Ukraine’s capital Tuesday as an intense shelling attack targeted the country’s second-largest city, and both sides looked to resume talks in the coming days aimed at stopping the fighting. The country’s embattled president said he believed the...
Pennsylvania moves to divest holdings in Russian assets
HARRISBURG — The Russian invasion of Ukraine is spurring Pennsylvania lawmakers to draft legislation to require the state Treasury Department and the state’s three public pension funds to divest holdings connected to Russia, as some selling off was already underway Monday. The state Treasury Department said it began divesting its...
2nd immersive art exhibit coming to North Side
First Vincent van Gogh, now Frida Kahlo. A second interactive art exhibit is coming to Lighthouse ArtSpace Pittsburgh, a converted warehouse, on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Lighthouse Immersive, a producer of experiential art exhibits, partnered with Impact Museums, which operates immersive experiences built around art, entertainment and social causes, and collaborated...
Westmoreland coroner appoints new chief deputy
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office has a new chief deputy. Newly elected Coroner Tim Carson announced Monday that he has tabbed Scottdale funeral director James Jacquillard as his second-in-command. Jacquillard, 50, has been a licensed funeral director for 28 years. He is a supervisor and funeral director at Graft-Jacquillard Funeral...
UPMC reports $24 billion in revenue in 2021
UPMC reported Monday that it posted $24 billion in operating revenue in 2021, up $1 billion, or about 4.3%, from the year before. Despite the increased revenue, the health care giant said that its overall operating income for last year totaled $843 million, down 4% from the year before. UPMC...
Eugene DePasquale will not oppose U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional District race
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry has just vanquished one major potential foe in his quest for a 6th term in Congress, as former Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has decided not to seek a rematch of their 2020 race. DePasquale, a Pittsburgh native, was widely considered Perry’s top political threat, with...
Many Capitol riot cases could hinge on 1st trial’s outcomeVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department launched one of the largest and most complex criminal investigations in its history after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol over a year ago. Now it’s time for a jury to hear some of the government’s evidence about the unparalleled attack...
McKees Rocks man pleads guilty to 3rd-degree murder in Robinson motel killing
A McKees Rocks man pleaded guilty Monday to killing a Beaver County man at a Robinson motel nearly two years ago. Jaquay Murray, 27, will be sentenced to 18 to 42 years in prison as part of a negotiated plea on March 29 by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward...
Nurse anesthetist accused of stealing painkillers from Greensburg hospital operating rooms
A certified nurse anesthetist who worked at Excela Health Westmoreland was arrested by agents from the state Attorney General’s office on accusations of stealing powerful painkillers from locked cabinets in the Greensburg hospital’s operating rooms, according to court papers. Todd A. Hrtyanski, 59, of Unity, who worked at the hospital...
