Top Stories category, Page 1013
Bishop David Zubik set to undergo shoulder surgery Monday
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik announced Sunday that he is set to undergo shoulder surgery. The surgery is slated for Monday at UPMC Mercy, Zubik said, and will repair a significant tear in his left shoulder. “I have full confidence in my well-respected surgeon and his very capable...
Rents reach ‘insane’ levels across U.S. with no end in sight
Krystal Guerra’s Miami apartment has a tiny kitchen, cracked tiles, warped cabinets, no dishwasher and hardly any storage space. But Guerra was fine with the apartment’s shortcomings. It was all part of being a 32-year-old graduate student in South Florida, she reasoned, and she was happy to live there for...
Canada’s protests settle down, but could echo in politics
TORONTO — The streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet now. The Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers’ horns has gone silent. But the trucker protest, which grew until it closed a handful...
U.S.: Russia closer to invading Ukraine, agrees to meeting
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraine’s northern border, a move that U.S. leaders said put Russia another step closer to what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine. Residents of Ukraine’s capital filled a gold-domed...
Quality Inn in New Kensington damaged by fire after car severs natural gas line, crashes into building
Quick action by firefighters early Sunday prevented a blaze from spreading through a New Kensington hotel when a car slammed into the building and sheared off a natural gas supply line that fed the flames, a New Kensington fire official said. “We averted a disaster,” New Kensington fire Chief Ed...
Not for ‘another 100’: Hope held that pandemic fades in Year 3, becomes part of normal cycle
Amy Ranker needed to restock her pantry, so she headed to her local Giant Eagle in Hempfield. She picked a Tuesday afternoon, when the supermarket is usually less crowded. She took her time wheeling a full cart through the produce department. Taking care with her shopping selections, she used a...
‘Hamilton’ performer to conduct class with Valley High School drama club
A member of the touring company that will be performing the musical “Hamilton” at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh is scheduled to speak Wednesday to students at Valley High School in New Kensington. Nikisha Williams, a singer and actress, will conduct a class with students in the New Kensington-Arnold school’s...
Serving up smiles: Whitehall Eat’n Park employee celebrates 50 years and counting
Carol Kusan was working as a server at a bar/restaurant. She explained that if her infant son was sick, she would need to call off. Her boss told Kusan she was required to be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for her shifts. “I left, and applied for a job...
Resignations leave Westmoreland coroner’s office short-staffed
Tim Carson, Westmoreland County’s new coroner, has lost 40% of his full-time staff as the office’s top lieutenant resigned and one of its longest- serving deputies retired. Chief Deputy Kirk Nolan and deputy John Ackerman, both holdovers from former Coroner Ken Bacha’s administration, are off the job, Carson said. The first-term...
Shock gas, grocery price hikes spur states to pursue tax relief
Rapidly climbing inflation in the U.S. is accelerating calls from governors and state leaders to provide immediate tax relief to cash-strapped residents facing higher prices on everyday products such as gas, milk and electricity. The governors of Maine and Kentucky this week joined states including Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Alabama,...
Conservative strategies for a post-Roe world face roadblock
Republican lawmakers in a handful of conservative states have stumbled on a roadblock to what they thought would be a clear path to setting new restrictions on abortion if the Supreme Court upends the landmark Roe v. Wade decision: right-to-privacy protections enshrined in their own state constitutions. In states where...
3 injured in head-on crash in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood
Three people were injured in a head-on crash involving two cars in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood Saturday afternoon. Police responded to the collision on Mifflin Road, just past Mooney Road, around 1:35 p.m. Police found an injured male and female inside one vehicle. Medics transported them both in critical condition....
‘You should be inclined to be skeptical’ police chief says about cash scam targeting elderly
The calls seemed so real. It played on their emotions — relatives were in jail and needed cash to post bond. But two Westmoreland County women were too wise and didn’t fall for the trick. Both received similar phone calls this week as state police warn residents of numerous reports...
Slots for 11th annual Derek Kotecki golf outing filling up quickly
Organizers and supporters of the K9 Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Scholarship Fund will hold the 11th annual golf outing Aug. 20 at Hill Crest Country Club. The tournament is an 18-hole, four-person scramble with 32 foursomes. Organizers initially planned to cap the golf outings at 10 years — the time...
Lower Burrell Marine tells the story of his life while he still can
Hal Shaffer is ready to die. “I’ve had so much pain and suffering in my life, I’m ready to go,” Shaffer, 74, said from the hospital bed in the living room of his Lower Burrell home with his wife, Dee, beside him. A Marine Corps veteran who survived a grenade...
Initiative to help women in workforce receives $207K grant from Richard King Mellon Foundation
EmployHER Pittsburgh gives women the support they need for better access to employment. The organization recently received some backing as well. A grant of $207,000 from the Richard King Mellon Foundation will be used to continue the development of EmployHER Pittsburgh by providing the aforementioned access to better employment as...
Man falls to his death while working in Churchill
A 45-year-old man died after falling from a tree in Churchill on Friday afternoon while working, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The man was identified as Heath Barr of Ellwood City. According to a medical examiner’s report, Barr died at UPMC Mercy hospital after falling from the...
Weather issues impact travel in Downtown Pittsburgh
Between the rains, the ice and intense snow squalls, the Pittsburgh region was hit with a heavy dose of Mother Nature late Friday and early Saturday. Parts of three interstates in Downtown Pittsburgh were closed Friday evening because of anticipated flooding, PennDOT said. By Saturday morning, the rivers had risen...
Infrastructure funding could clear way for Pittsburgh to get added passenger rail service
Funding from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed last year will clear the way for Pittsburgh to receive more passenger rail service to Harrisburg and points east, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday. Expanding passenger rail service eastward from Pittsburgh has been discussed for years. “With this infusion of federal money,...
Pittsburgh’s poorly rated South Negley Avenue Bridge slated for repairs
As discussions about the safety of Western Pennsylvania’s bridges continue in the wake of last month’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, Pittsburgh’s South Negley Avenue Bridge is the latest span to raise concerns. The Shadyside bridge has attracted attention for wooden posts placed beneath the deck that appear to be supporting...
Pennsylvania high court eyes how to pick House districts map
Ranks of lawyers packed the courtroom of Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court on Friday, with most of them aiming to persuade justices to pick their clients’ preferred map of new congressional districts for the state and reject a Republican-backed map recommended by a lower court judge. Oral arguments were on course...
Rains cause minor flooding along Allegheny River; to continue into early Saturday
High water flowing down the Allegheny River had largely receded Friday evening in communities leading into Armstrong County, although areas closer to Pittsburgh could soon feel the impact. According to Rich Redmond, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, flood warnings along the river at Parker, Rimer and...
A guide to Pittsburgh: Strip District blends best of old and new
For a small stretch of land, Pittsburgh’s Strip District has a big history. From its roots as an industrial center, through its reinvention as a produce distribution hub, to today’s vibrant blend of uses, it has continued to evolve. Today’s Strip District is a mix of old and new, traditional...
Kim Potter sentenced to 2 years in Daunte Wright’s death
Kim Potter, the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison. Wright’s family denounced the sentence as too lenient and accused the judge of being taken in by a “white...
Ottawa crackdown: police arrest 100 after 3-week protest
OTTAWA, Ontario — Police arrested scores of demonstrators and towed away vehicles Friday in Canada’s besieged capital, and a stream of trucks started leaving under the pressure, raising authorities’ hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country’s covid-19 restrictions. By evening, at least 100 people had been...
