Top Stories category, Page 1087
Shield Farm rally honors those lost in War on Terrorism
A revival rally Sunday at the Shields Farm in Delmont paid tribute to the heroes of 9/11 as well as the thousands who died over the past 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “Let’s Roll America” rally, which attracted about 200 people, featured all the elements of a summer...
W.Va. Sen. Joe Manchin favors trimming Biden budget plan by more than halfVideo
WASHINGTON — A Democratic senator vital to the fate of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending said Sunday he won’t support even half that amount or the ambitious timetable envisioned for passing it. The stand by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was described as unacceptable by...
Heavy rain means taller walls for Murrysville farm’s corn maze
Finding the way out is just the first challenge at Gearhard Farms’ annual corn maze in Murrysville. There are animal cutouts for children to find, and trivia questions for adults about the town and the bicentennial farm family whose members have created, cut and run the corn maze for the...
Patron’s O’Hara location closes
An O’Hara restaurant has permanently closed. Patron Mexican Grill in Fox Chapel Plaza along Freeport Road posted a sign announcing the closing on its locked front door. The notice offers no explanation for closing and read “we are closed for good.” The letter, written by owner Martin Bolanos, went on...
Allegheny County Jail inmate who tested positive for covid-19 dies
A covid-19-positive inmate in the Allegheny County Jail died Sunday, Warden Orlando Harper said. It’s the first covid-related death for the facility. The name of the inmate wasn’t released, but he was a 48-year-old man who had been hospitalized since late August. He died Sunday at a local hospital. He...
Blairsville-area woman held in boyfriend’s shooting death
A Blairsville-area woman was jailed without bail Saturday in the Indiana County Jail on charges of stemming from the Friday evening shooting death of her boyfriend. State Police from Indiana County say Matraca Lynn Vrana, 28, was arraigned Saturday afternoon before District Magisterial Judge Christopher Welch on charges of voluntary...
Internet funding rule could favor rural areas over cities
Cities and urban counties across the U.S. are raising concerns that a recent rule from President Joe Biden’s administration could preclude them from tapping into $350 billion of coronavirus relief aid to expand high-speed internet connections. Biden has set a goal of delivering fast, affordable internet to every American household....
FBI releases newly declassified record on Sept. 11 attacks
WASHINGTON — A declassified FBI document related to logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the Sept. 11 attacks details contacts the men had with Saudi associates in the United States but does not provide proof that senior kingdom officials were complicit in the...
Pa. school mask lawsuit backed by group that challenged 2020 election results
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Just before the start of the holiday weekend, the top Republican in the state Senate sued Democratic Gov. Tom...
Police seek cellphone video evidence of fatal North Versailles hayride shooting
Authorities are looking for anyone who witnessed or has cellphone video of a shooting Saturday evening at a hayride in North Versailles that left one 15-year-old dead and another teen critically wounded. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said Steven Eason of Wilkinsburg was pronounced dead of gunshot wounds at...
Senators call for transparency in nursing home staff vaccination reports
A pair of U.S. senators say the Biden administration must do more to provide families with easily accessible information on covid-19 vaccination rates among nursing home staff and residents. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Finance chair, and Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, D-Scranton, who chairs the Senate Committee on Aging, want the...
Freeport Area superintendent says he never really meant CYS may be called to help enforce the state’s mask mandate
Freeport Area School District Superintendent Ian Magness has apologized for what multiple parents said was a threat to call the Office of Children, Youth and Families if a student repeatedly refuses to wear a mask and a parent also does not comply with the recent state mandate. “A statement I...
Photos: Ceremony at Flight 93 National Memorial marks 20th anniversary of 9/11
“We can never move on, but we must continue to move forward,” said Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93. Felt, who lost his brother, Edward, in the crash addressed about 650 fellow family members and invited guests at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversay of the terrorist attacks...
The Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar hosts tribute to first responders on 9/11 anniversary
The Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar hosted a tribute to first responders Saturday on the 20th anniversary of the events of 9/11. Organizer and Shriner Robert Addleman began the ceremony introducing The Rev. John Piper from Castle Shannon, who let the crowd underneath the outdoor Shrine Pavilion in prayer, calling...
Ex-President Bush slams U.S. violent extremists as ‘children of the same foul spirit’ as 9/11 terrorists
Former President George W. Bush used the occasion of a 9/11 speech to take a thinly-veiled slam at the Jan. 6 insurrectionists and other U.S. political extremists. “We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within,”...
The heroes of Flight 93 live on as visitors flock to National Memorial
At first, they worried their story would be lost. The families of the passengers and crew members of United Flight 93 knew they held a precious piece of American history. The efforts of 40 people who lost their lives on a rural Pennsylvania mountaintop thwarting a terrorist plot to crash...
Leechburg holds parade, remembrance of 9/11 attacks, salute to first responders
Leechburg area Rev. Gary Lyon spent Saturday morning carefully crafting his words for a 9/11 dedication ceremony held later that day in Leechburg. Rev. Lyon serves as co-pastor alongside his wife, Lisa, at Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church in Leechburg. He serves as a longtime volunteer firefighter with the Leechburg...
Pennsylvania targeting doctors over blanket mask exemptions
Some Pennsylvania physicians are offering stock doctor’s notes for use by parents wishing to have their children exempted from wearing masks in school, according to state health officials who say they have referred the matter for possible disciplinary action. A statewide, universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools went into effect...
Biden’s vaccine rules ignite instant, hot GOP opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s aggressive push to require millions of U.S. workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus is running into a wall of resistance from Republican leaders threatening everything from lawsuits to civil disobedience, plunging the country deeper into culture wars that have festered since the onset of...
‘Don’t focus on hate’: World marks 20th anniversary of 9/11
The world solemnly marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, grieving lost lives and shattered American unity in commemorations that unfolded just weeks after the bloody end of the Afghanistan war that was launched in response to the terror attacks. Victims’ relatives and four U.S. presidents paid respects at...
Man dies in motorcycle crash in Ligonier Township
A Forest Hills man was killed in a motorcycle crash Friday night in Ligonier Township, according to the Westmoreland County coroner. Adam R. Kocher, 45, was driving a Ducati motorcycle west on Route 30 at 9:15 p.m. when investigators said he lost control around a bend in the highway and...
Ceremony marks 20th anniversary at Flight 93 National Memorial
Remember. That was the common theme at Flight 93 National Memorial on Saturday: Americans should emulate who they and the nation were the day after Sept. 11, 2001. “We remember the vast majority of Americans were unified in purpose … that time reminded us of the significance of our unity...
Editorial: To honor the losses of 9/11, remember together
For 20 years, America has had one shared cultural touchstone. Every Sept. 11, we are transported to the day when the whole country held its breath, watching and waiting to see what would happen next in an unbelievable day where things couldn’t possibly get worse, and yet they did, over...
Another festival in New Kensington, another packed downtown: this time, it’s the wine & beer fest
Downtown New Kensington was packed Saturday as thousands enjoyed the third annual New Kensington Wine and Beer Festival. Back bigger than ever after being canceled in 2020 because of the covid-related pandemic, an Alle Kiski Strong Chamber of Commerce official said attendance swelled to between 5,000 and 7,000 people. “This...
Cheswick man pulled from burning home died later
A Cheswick man who was pulled from his burning home Friday night has died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim Saturday as Darryl Joseph Hamley, 54. Fire Chief Rick Franks said firefighters from Oakmont and Springdale quickly responded to the duplex at 1419 Pittsburgh St. “He was...
