Top Stories category, Page 1114
Thousands of Pa. households still waiting for rental relief as eviction ban nears its end
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 — Almost every day for the past month, as the end of a federal freeze on evictions edges closer, Brian...
Market Street Pizza, born out of the pandemic in Leechburg, closes its doors
Downtown Leechburg is losing another restaurant. Market Street Pizza, at 132 Market St., is scheduled to close July 30. Thistle Events president Joe Hesketh announced the news on social media Wednesday, posting the decision to close was decided with “conflicting emotions.” Market Street Pizza is part of a restaurant portfolio...
Pa. health officials: Nearly all covid hospitalizations, deaths among unvaccinated
Nearly all of the covid-related hospitalizations and deaths in Pennsylvania are among the unvaccinated, state health officials said Thursday. Of those hospitalized across the state, 97% are unvaccinated, said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. Of deaths happening now, she said, 99% are of unvaccinated people. “At this stage, these...
Congress passes bill to fund Capitol security, Afghan visas
WASHINGTON — Congress overwhelmingly passed emergency legislation Thursday that would bolster security at the Capitol, repay outstanding debts from the violent Jan. 6 insurrection and increase the number of visas for allies who worked alongside Americans in the Afghanistan war. The $2.1 billion bill now goes to President Joe Biden...
Lawyer files new appeal for Franklin Regional school attacker Alex Hribal
A new lawyer for a former Franklin Regional High School student serving a 60-year prison term for a 2014 knife attack that injured 21 people contends not enough evidence was presented on his behalf during his sentencing hearing. Alex Hribal, 23, formerly of Murrysville, was 16 when he was charged...
Biden urging state, local governments to offer the unvaccinated $100Video
WASHINGTON — The nation’s millions of federal workers will be required to verify they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The newly strict guidelines are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates among the huge...
Troopers charge Arona man with rape of a child
A 34-year-old Arona man on Thursday was ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison after state troopers arrested him on rape charges. Michael A. Wiser was arraigned on charges of deviate sexual intercourse and rape of a child. According to state police, the mother of a young girl reported an...
Gardening goats return to Frick Park to munch on weedsVideo
The goats are back. Just after 10 a.m. Monday, 14 goats and their guardian, a donkey named Hobo, in a procession entered their temporary home and project site at the Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh. The goats were led to the Clayton Hill trail area of Frick Park to resume...
Pittsburgh Public Schools board approves mask mandate
Students in Pittsburgh Public Schools will have to continue wearing masks during the upcoming academic year, according to the district’s health and safety plan. The plan — which requires masks indoors and keeps many covid-19 mitigation measures in place for the 2021-22 school year — was passed during Wednesday’s school...
Transportation panel to issue plan on Pa. gas tax elimination
HARRISBURG — A transportation funding commission set up by Gov. Tom Wolf to find ways to end Pennsylvania’s reliance on its gas tax will issue a $15.6 billion package of recommendations, which lean heavily on shifting to a vehicle-miles-traveled fee that numerous states are exploring. The Transportation Revenue Options Commission...
AstraZeneca to seek U.S. approval of covid vaccine later this year
LONDON — AstraZeneca said Thursday that it intends to seek U.S. approval for its covid-19 vaccine later this year, further delaying the application even as the company announced it had already delivered more than 1 billion doses to other countries. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said the application has been delayed because...
Severe thunderstorm watch issued as storms approach Pittsburgh region
Damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes are possible with storms expected to reach southwestern Pennsylvania this afternoon, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. The service issued a severe thunderstorm watch at 3:30 p.m. that runs until 10 p.m., meteorologist Lee Hendricks said. The watch covers a swath from Indiana through...
Allegheny Township ice cream stand is up for sale
A popular ice cream business in Allegheny Township is on the market. Sweetie’s Ice Cream, at 6273 Leechburg Road, is listed for $339,000 with Jason Mazzei of Keller Williams Realty. Co-owner Edward Spix, who has owned it for almost a decade, said, “It’s time to move on.” Mazzei said he...
Allegheny County Police arrest suspect in fatal North Braddock shooting
A North Braddock man is accused of the fatal shooting of a Swissvale man in North Braddock early Thursday morning, Allegheny County Police said. The suspect, Robert Lawson-Johnson, is charged with homicide and firearms violations in the shooting death of Benjamin Dixon, 33, in the 1200 block of Rebecca Avenue...
Ohio man killed, driver injured in tractor-trailer crash on Pa. Turnpike near Donegal
A Columbus, Ohio, man was killed and another person was injured in a crash early Wednesday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to state police. Crews were dispatched to the eastbound lanes at mile marker 91, about one mile east of the Donegal interchange at 3:55 a.m. Thursday for reports of...
‘So unbelievable’: Police say Mt. Lebanon man killed parents, fatally shot himself
Neighbors heard at least a dozen gunshots early Thursday before police and SWAT officers swarmed a quiet stretch of Gilkeson Road in Mt. Lebanon, where police say a man killed his parents and then opened fire on police. “We were trying to go to sleep when we were awakened by,...
Police: Man in critical condition, 2 others taken to hospital, after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood
A man is in critical condition, and two others were taken to the hospital, following a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood Wednesday night, police said. Pittsburgh police and EMS responded to the 1600 block of Brownsville Road around 11 p.m. where they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, according...
Pa. fish commission considers statewide opening day for trout
The head of the region’s Trout Unlimited chapter supports having a single opening day for trout season in the state — the first Saturday in April — as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is considering. “I would support an earlier opening day because of the impact of climate change...
Diocese: 2 Catholic churches in Penn Hills, as well as 1 in Monroeville and Pitcairn to close in August
Two Catholic churches in Penn Hills will soon close their doors for good. Diocese of Pittsburgh officials said St. Bartholomew Church, at 111 Erhardt Drive, and St. Gerard Majella Church, at 121 Dawn Drive, are in poor physical condition. A recent decree from Bishop David Zubik cited both roofs, as...
2 hospitalized after Route 30 crash in North Huntingdon
Two people were taken by ambulance after being injured in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday night in North Huntingdon, according to county emergency officials. Eastbound Route 30 was partially closed for just under an hour after the crash, which was reported at 8:48 p.m. A Westmoreland County 911 supervisor said two...
Whitehall man who threatened to ‘blow up’ Treasury Dept., attack CIA pleads guilty to explosives charges
A Whitehall man who made threats online to blow up government buildings in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. using homemade bombs has pleaded guilty to gun and explosives charges. Kurt Cofano, 32, was convicted of three counts of five counts brought by a grand jury indictment in connection to his arrest...
Pittsburgh man caught with child sex videos gets 1 year, 9 months in prison
A federal judge sentenced a Pittsburgh man caught with videos depicting children younger than 12 years old engaged in sexual acts to serve a year and nine months behind bars. Philip Wagner, 44, will must also spend at least eight years on probation following his release from federal prison, Acting...
Body of missing Stowe woman found
The death of a 64-year-old Stowe Township woman, reported missing July 28 after family members had not seen or heard from her in three days, is under investigation by the county coroner. Allegheny County Police were seeking information last week on the whereabouts of Patricia Moran, 64. She was last...
Brackenridge man pleads guilty to $101,000 federal credit union robbery
A Brackenridge man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a July 2019 robbery of more than $100,000 from the Allegheny-Ludlum Brackenridge Federal Credit Union. Thomas George, 66, pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery, according to acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman. According to court records, on July 10, 2019,...
Rep. Conor Lamb preparing to launch Senate run in August
WASHINGTON — Rep. Conor Lamb is expected to launch a Senate campaign in August, according to three sources familiar with the Pennsylvania Democrat’s decision. Two sources said Lamb is planning a campaign event Aug. 6 at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall in Pittsburgh, with one source noting...
