Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1071
Hope springs eternal: Community leaders look forward to better 2022
Seen in a meme: “The fact that 2021 is almost over proves that time also flies when you’re NOT having fun.” Wasn’t 2021 supposed to be the year that life returned to normal — or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof? At the beginning of the year, it seemed as...
2 of the 3 people found shot dead in Homewood South have been identified
Pittsburgh police responded to a report of shots fired early Friday and discovered three people shot and killed inside a home in the city’s Homewood South neighborhood, according to a spokesman for the department of public safety. Police said officers were dispatched to the 7500 block of Hamilton Avenue around...
Westmoreland County stories of the year in 2021Video
The covid-19 pandemic continued to make news locally in its second year, from continued illness and deaths to vaccinations and heated discussions and demonstrations about how best to keep children safe at school. But life in Westmoreland County continued in 2021, and other important and newsworthy events happened — including,...
North Apollo vintage stainless steel Yak Diner hits the road for move to new home
There’s more than meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes keeping the old stainless steel Yak Diner in North Apollo going. The manufactured 1955 O’Mahony diner is a movable prefab building, and it has to go. The new diner owners will hook the Yak to a semitrailer Monday to move it just...
2 in critical condition following hit-and-run crash in Tarentum
Allegheny County Police investigators are pursuing information on a hit-and-run crash that critically injured two pedestrians Thursday on the Tarentum Bridge. The two people injured — an adult and juvenile — were transported by ambulance to undisclosed area hospitals after the 6:04 p.m. crash. Police reported the collision occurred in...
Biden, Putin talk nearly an hour as alarm rises over UkraineVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke frankly for nearly an hour late Thursday amid growing alarm over Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine, a simmering crisis that’s recently deepened as the Kremlin has stiffened its demands for increased security guarantees and test fired hypersonic missiles to underscore...
Colorado wildfires burn hundreds of homes, force evacuationsVideo
DENVER — An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said only one injury has been reported, but didn’t rule out finding out later...
UPMC receives limited supply of preventative antibody treatment for the most immunocompromised
George Spine Jr. thought it was a scam when he first got a call from UPMC around 7:45 a.m. Thursday offering a new antibody treatment meant to protect the most immunocompromised before they’re exposed to covid-19. “I thought it was a scam, so I gave the girl a hard time,”...
University of Pittsburgh issues shelter-in-place request, required covid testing for students
The University of Pittsburgh’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office has released a plan for the spring semester that includes a phased move-in beginning Jan. 8 along with a shelter-in-place request and testing for students. Pitt will make available one covid-19 test through Quest Diagnostics for all of the approximately 34,000 students...
Notable deaths in Westmoreland County in 2021
Here are a few of the notable people who lived, served and loved Westmoreland County who died in 2021. State Rep. Mike Reese State Rep. Mike Reese, 42, of Mt. Pleasant Township, was a 12-year House veteran representing Westmoreland and Somerset county residents in the 59th Legislative District....
Allegheny County covid cases skyrocket as omicron spreads
The number of new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County has grown exponentially this week, with nearly 2,000 new cases reported Thursday — a sign health director Dr. Debra Bogen said is a likely due to the quick-spreading omicron variant. From Monday to Tuesday, the county recorded 654 new cases, followed...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveils 50-foot rabbit installation for First Night
Easter is months away. But that didn’t prevent this bunny family from hopping into town on Thursday. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust inflated a large 50-foot animal with floppy ears and three smaller similar creatures as part of its Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event, which is happening from 6 p.m. to...
Pittsburgh public safety leader will not be part of new mayor’s administration
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said he’s been informed that he will not be retained under Mayor-elect Ed Gainey’s incoming administration. “We’ve seen lots of change, and even trying times together, and hopefully we were able to make a positive difference over these past six years,” Hissrich said Thursday...
Longtime Shanksville fire chief, who responded on 9/11, in need of heart transplant
The Somerset County area is digging deep to help longtime area firefighter Terry Shaffer, who was Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department’s chief when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on 9/11. Shaffer, 66, was admitted last week to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of congestive heart failure, according to his...
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County stories of the year in 2021
The covid-19 pandemic continued to dominate daily news cycles this year in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. But many other news events occurred in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in 2021 — including the election of Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and the arrests of dozens of Western Pennsylvanians after the riot at...
U.S. unemployment claims drop to 198,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell...
Powerball jackpot will climb to $483 million on New Year’s Day
Looks like 2022 is going to be a great year for someone. The Powerball lottery jackpot will climb to $483 million on New Year’s Day after no one matched the five numbers and Powerball in Wednesday’s drawing, according to state lottery officials. The numbers drawn were 2-6-9-33-39 and the Powerball...
When there’s no room at nursing facilities, convicted sex offenders often land in unregulated boarding homes
Christopher Farkas said he’s not one to judge the 23 convicted sex offenders living at his boarding house in a rundown, troubled section of McKeesport. Without Farkas’ Hospitality House, he said those offenders, most needing help with basic daily tasks such as cooking, laundry and complying with the rules for...
State lawmakers vow to better protect care home residents from convicted sex offenders
Pennsylvania lawmakers have vowed action to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents by changing the system that has sent convicted sex offenders to nursing, personal care and assisted-living homes where some have found their next victims. Their promises come after learning the results of a Tribune-Review investigation showing...
Hidden danger: Registered sex offenders often go undetected in care homes, sometimes at an unspeakable cost
It was just a few days past Christmas 2020 when a 57-year-old woman with advanced dementia and a penchant for wandering the hallways stumbled into Richard Marlin Walter’s room at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Frail, confused and robbed of her ability to speak, she couldn’t scream for help when...
Yak Diner’s move to briefly close River Road in North Apollo on Monday
River Road closure for moving the Yak Diner delayed Closure of a section of River Road in North Apollo that was set of happen Monday will be delayed for at least a day. Arlene “Dolly” McCoy said Saturday that moving the diner must be delayed until PennDOT releases a permit....
Wilkinsburg man charged after police said they found missing children in his apartment
A Wilkinsburg man faces charges after police said multiple missing juveniles were found in his apartment. Tyron Scott, 21, is charged with four counts of child endangerment and one count each of corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. Police from Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg responded early Monday to a report of...
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case
NEW YORK — The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described...
New Westmoreland County row officers, district judges, sworn in
There’s a full slate of court proceedings waiting for Rebecca Calisti Tyburski in her first week as district judge in Harrison City. She’s excited to get started Monday after weeks of learning the ropes with help from District Judge Helen Kistler, who is retiring from the Penn Township seat. “She...
$4 per gallon gas possible in spring before relief arrives, outlook says
Gasoline could reach a national average of $4 per gallon early next year, price tracking service GasBuddy says in its 2022 fuel price outlook released Wednesday. For all of 2022, GasBuddy expects the national average price to increase by nearly 40 cents per gallon, from $3.02 in 2021 to $3.41....
