Top Stories category, Page 1055
Russian national gets time served in money laundering, cybercrime scheme in Western Pa.
A Russian national was sentenced to time served for his role in an international money laundering scheme on Monday. Maksim Boiko, 31, pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The case was prosecuted in Pittsburgh because the funds that were attempted to...
Film-friendly atmosphere, ideal locations bring director back to W. Pa. for ‘The Pale Blue Eye’
A rich history, varied landscape and welcoming community have drawn director Scott Cooper back to Southwestern Pennsylvania to film his upcoming adaptation of “The Pale Blue Eye” for Netflix. “It’s an incredibly pleasant place to shoot,” said Cooper, “and it works exceedingly well for the 1830s Hudson Valley.” Cooper and...
Inflation squeezes holiday budgets for low-income shoppers
NEW YORK — Emarilis Velazquez is paying higher prices on everything from food to clothing. Her monthly grocery bill has ballooned from $650 to almost $850 in recent months. To save money, she looks for less expensive cuts of meat and has switched to a cheaper detergent. She also clips...
Moderna: Initial booster data shows good results on omicron
Moderna said Monday that a booster dose of its covid-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. And a full-dose booster was even stronger,...
Steelers vs. Titans: What they’re saying in Tennessee after loss
They can’t be happy in Nashville Monday morning. The Tennessee Titans controlled the time of possession against the Steelers, rushed for 201 yards and had 22 first downs. And they lost, 19-13. Four turnovers played a major role. Here’s what the sports writers are saying in Tennessee. “The Titans somehow...
Braddock man dies after being hit by vehicle in Forest Hills
A 62-year-old man died after being hit by a vehicle in Forest Hills on Sunday, Allegheny County Police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as Christopher Weiss of Braddock. Police said the collision happened shortly before 6 a.m. at Ardmore Boulevard and Digital Drive. They said the...
New Kensington council to consider traffic impact of proposed Popeyes restaurant
A proposal to build a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington will face its final hurdle before city council in early January. The mayor and council are scheduled to hear an appeal to grant a conditional use to the city’s zoning at 7 p.m. Jan....
At-home test could prove crucial in tamping down spread of covid-19, experts say
Editor’s note: This story first published on Dec. 20, 2021. Sue Lovgren’s family member was sick with covid-like symptoms the week after Thanksgiving, and they had decisions to make, depending on what the result was. “We were waiting on a PCR test and it was taking too much time, and...
Champion’s Crusaiders Rescue appeals to animal lovers to continue mission
In the early months of the pandemic, as pets were in high demand for adoption, Amber Phillips decided to go out on her own. The trained veterinarian tech had worked for years at Golden Mile Animal Clinic in Plum and Kiski Valley Animal Clinic in Allegheny Township. Opening Champion’s Crusaiders...
Royal Caribbean ship docks at Miami port with 48 cases of covid, cruise line says
MIAMI — Forty-eight passengers and crew members tested positive for covid-19 on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas ship, which docked Saturday at PortMiami, the cruise company said. Miami-based Royal Caribbean said in a statement Sunday that each person who tested positive immediately went into quarantine. Six people who had...
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker test positive for covid breakthrough
BOSTON — Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey say they have tested positive for covid-19, as the country deals with another surge in cases and the emergence of the omicron variant. In separate statements Sunday, the Democrats said they had been fully vaccinated with two...
Steelers eke out victory with rally against Titans
The running game was nonexistent — again — and the run defense was even worse. As usual. The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to score a first-half touchdown for the fourth game in a row, and they trailed after three quarters for the sixth consecutive week. The difference Sunday against the Tennessee...
Fauci says omicron variant is `just raging around the world’
WILMINGTON, Del. — The covid-19 omicron variant is “just raging around the world,” the White House’s top medical adviser said Sunday, and President Joe Biden is planning to give “a stark warning of what the winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease...
Sen. Joe Manchin says no to $2T bill: ‘I can’t vote for it’
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he cannot back his party’s signature $2 trillion social and environment bill, dealing a potentially fatal blow to President Joe Biden’s leading domestic initiative heading into an election year when Democrats’ narrow hold on Congress was already in peril. Manchin told “Fox...
Pittsburgh police investigate stabbing in Northview Heights
Pittsburgh police are investigating the stabbing of a man in his 30s in Northview Heights Saturday. Police said officers from Zone 1 were dispatched about 7:45 p.m. to the 200 block of Lamar Street for reports of a man with multiple stab wounds to his face, arm and back. The...
Police: Man stabbed at Tequila Cowboy bar on North Shore
A man was hospitalized late Saturday after he suffered stab wounds during a fight inside a bar on the North Shore, according to Pittsburgh police. Police responded to Tequila Cowboy on the 300 block of North Shore Drive just after 10 p.m. to investigate a fight where “a male suffered...
State police investigating misappropriation of nearly $100K from Freeport EMS
State police are investigating a case involving the alleged misappropriation of close to $100,000 of Freeport EMS’ funds. Trooper Anthony Vaccaro of the Kittanning station said he received numerous documents from the ambulance service but could not get into details of what police are looking for or who may have...
St. Vladimir leaders vow to rebuild after fire: ‘The church is not the building.’Video
Inside the mangled ruins of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold stands a bronze crucifix with Jesus’ face shrouded by a piece of fallen wallpaper. “That message is clear,” said the Rev. Yaroslav Koval, pastor of the church along Kenneth Avenue that was destroyed by fire on Dec. 4....
Proposed tax credit program could spur development at Pennsylvania airports
Planners at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport are looking to a future that could include businesses opening along the old runway. Pennsylvania legislators are considering a new program that could help entice companies to move their operations to the airport in Unity or to any of 121 other airports across the...
Blighted old brewery complex in Jeannette the ‘last big piece’ to city’s rebuild
Bob and Lola Barton see the decrepit remains of the former Fort Pitt Brewery every time they leave home. The West Jeannette couple said the crumbling, red-brick complex attracts rodents and troublemaking kids who have thrown rocks from the roof. The Bartons have lived on 11th Street for about 25...
Experts join discussion about potential plastic bag ban in Pittsburgh
Experts weighed in on City Council’s proposal to ban plastic bags in Pittsburgh, a measure the legislation’s sponsor said will likely be held till next year. Councilwoman Erika Strassburger introduced the legislation, which would ban plastic bags in most scenarios and implement a fee for paper bags, in November. Rather...
Wreaths Across America effort expands through Westmoreland County
Vietnam veteran Tim Brennan was among the few dozen volunteers who turned out on Dec. 19, 2020 — after a blizzard dumped 9 inches of snow on the region — to lay wreaths on 660 veteran grave sites in two Jeannette cemeteries in the inaugural Wreaths Across America event held...
Vaccine data gaps point to millions more in U.S. who lack shots
The U.S. government has overcounted the number of Americans who are at least partly vaccinated against the coronavirus, state officials warn, meaning millions more people are unprotected as the pandemic’s winter surge gathers steam. Last weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised a bellwether metric — the share...
Do employers have to follow Biden’s vaccine mandates?
Tens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have issued different rulings related to President Joe Biden’s covid-19 vaccine mandates for larger private companies, certain health care workers and federal government contractors. A federal appeals court panel has allowed a vaccine requirement for employers...
New front in Pa.’s GOP election ‘investigation’ draws challenges
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and a voting-system manufacturer are trying to prevent Republican lawmakers from expanding what they call a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election to a new front: inspecting voting machines. It is another step driven by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud....
