Top Stories category, Page 1119
Crafty cockatoos master dumpster diving and teach each other
WASHINGTON — A few years ago, a Sydney scientist noticed a sulfur-crested cockatoo opening his trash bin. Not every resident would be thrilled, but ornithologist Richard Major was impressed by the ingenuity. It’s quite a feat for a bird to grasp a bin lid with its beak, pry it open,...
3 men injured during overnight shootings in South Side
Pittsburgh police officers found three men suffering from gunshot wounds in separate locations after hearing a volley of gunfire ring out early Friday morning while on patrol in the South Side. Officers from the Zone 3 station heard gunfire in the vicinity of East Carson and South 18th Street shortly...
Excela eyes covid vaccine mandate for hospital employees as delta variant spreads; nearly 40% of workers remain unvaccinated
Westmoreland County’s largest hospital system and employer is contemplating requiring health care workers to get vaccinated for covid-19 as concerns mount over the delta variant spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated. Excela Health, which employs about 4,300 across three hospitals and more than a dozen outpatient, testing and therapy providers, does...
Former Allegheny County Jail medical aide accused of assaulting incarcerated women
A former medical aide at the Allegheny County Jail allegedly used his position to abuse and harass three incarcerated women earlier this year, according to charges filed against the man Thursday. Shiquille Desesso, 28, of Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood, faces three counts each of institutional sexual assault and indecent assault, accused...
DOJ won’t investigate how Pennsylvania handled nursing homes
HARRISBURG — The Justice Department told Gov. Tom Wolf’s office on Thursday that it has decided not to open an investigation into whether Pennsylvania violated federal law by ordering nursing homes to accept residents who had been treated for covid-19 in a hospital. The letter comes 11 months after the...
Couple ties knot in first-of-a-kind ceremony along Kiski Township’s Roaring Run stream
With uncommon grace and ease, a woman in a long, flowing, white satin gown made her way to a rock the size of a pickup truck in the middle of Roaring Run stream. Surrounded by rocks covered in moss, she lifted the hem of the gown to prevent it from...
Gov. Tom Wolf says his position on voter ID has not changed
LOGANVILLE — With talks on wider election-related legislation at a standstill, Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday that his position on expanding Pennsylvania’s voter identification requirements has not changed, and that he is against anything that would “suppress the vote.” An expansion of Pennsylvania’s voter ID requirements became one of the...
Man pleads guilty to throwing brick through Pittsburgh police car window during 2020 protests
A man charged for throwing a brick through a Pittsburgh police cruiser during protests last year pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court. George Allen, 32, of Pittsburgh, pleaded to one count of obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder. Allen was charged in July 2020, accused of throwing a hunk of...
Greensburg doctor pleads guilty to taking kickbacks over fentanyl spray
A Greensburg doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to taking kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to distribute controlled substances. Thomas Whitten, 71, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV on Dec. 7. According to prosecutors, Whitten received kickbacks from Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics from May...
Sewickley Academy experiences leadership changes, pressure from parent group to eliminate equity initiative
Sewickley Academy is experiencing additional leadership changes following the departure of its former head of school, Kolia O’Connor, on July 1. Interim Head of School Ashley Birtwell announced the departure of five administrators and a fifth-grade teacher July 21. The positions included Head of Lower School Ryan Baxter, Director of...
Man pleads guilty to Homewood double homicide, gets 15 to 30 years in prison
A man from Pittsburgh’s Homewood North section will serve 15 to 30 years in state prison for the shooting deaths of a couple during a fight over a custody dispute two years ago. Darryl Barnett, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and two firearms counts Thursday before...
Only 11% of emergency rent money distributed in Westmoreland County
About 11% of nearly $13 million in emergency rental and utility bill funds has been disbursed to Westmoreland County residents who experienced hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dan Carney, executive director of Union Mission of Latrobe, said about $1.5 million was directed to 270 applicants over the past three...
Death rates soar in Southeast Asia as virus wave spreads
Indonesia has converted nearly its entire oxygen production to medical use just to meet the demand from covid-19 patients struggling to breathe. Overflowing hospitals in Malaysia had to resort to treating patients on the floor. And in Myanmar’s largest city, graveyard workers have been laboring day and night to keep...
3 inmates charged with falsely accusing Westmoreland jail guard of threatening sex assault
Police said three men made false claims that a guard at the Westmoreland County Prison threatened to sexually assault one of them in March, according to court paperwork. Westmoreland County detectives this week charged Joshua James Robison, 25, of Irwin; Nicholas John Grindle, 34, of Jeannette; and Paul Andrew Pierce,...
5-year-old girl struck, killed in parking lot at McCandless housing complex
A 5-year-old girl was struck and killed by a vehicle in a parking lot in McCandless on July 21, according to authorities. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Loujain Olleak, 5, of Wexford. The girl was hit in a parking lot along Salisbury Court in McCandless, which...
Rural Pennsylvanians would get $500M broadband boost under Rep. Pam Snyder’s new bill
State Rep. Pam Snyder wants to ensure rural Pennsylvanians have access to high-speed internet — particularly since the covid-19 pandemic has made the persisting digital divide more apparent and problematic for those who don’t. The Greene County Democrat announced Wednesday she plans to introduce a bill to devote $500 million...
Unity latest community to weigh shared-road access for ATVs
Motorists in Unity might soon share the road with all-terrain vehicles, if township supervisors give their approval. Jim Yokopenic, who lives on Bruno Road, has asked the township to allow ATV use on his road and three others nearby, in the vicinity of the village of Marguerite — Pond, Coke...
25-year-old bicyclist killed in Murrysville crash
A 25-year-old bicyclist was killed and three companions from a church group in Ohio were injured Thursday after they were struck by a car along Route 22 in Murrysville, police said. The crash occurred about 4 a.m. along Route 22 eastbound, east of Harrison City Road, Chief Thomas P. Seefeld...
Pittsburgh police seek help finding boy, 12, who’s missing again
Police asked for the public’s help Wednesday to find a 12-year-old boy who has gone missing for the second time in two weeks. Kirill Matveev was last seen 2½ days ago — about noon on Monday in the city’s Arlington neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh police. Police seek the public's assistance...
Greensburg MB Bride’s ‘Hug-A-Hero’ event gives wedding gowns to those in the military
Jenn Mason often felt like a single parent and often feared for her husband Michael Mason’s life when he went overseas. “As a wife and mother with a military husband, there were tough and scary times,” said Jenn Mason, store manager at MB Bride & Special Occasion wedding boutique in...
Nursing homes would provide more direct care to residents under proposed Pa. rule
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 — The Wolf administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited update to Pennsylvania’s decades-old nursing home regulations, acknowledging it must raise...
Opioid settlement could funnel $1 billion to Pennsylvania drug prevention, treatment
Pennsylvania could be in line to collect up to $1 billion in two massive multi-state lawsuit settlements with four companies that distributed and/or manufactured prescription opioids. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, one of the lead negotiators in the case, said the settlements call for three of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical...
Infrastructure bill fails first vote; Senate to try again
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans rejected an effort Wednesday to begin debate on the big infrastructure deal that a bipartisan group of senators brokered with President Joe Biden. But supporters in both parties remained hopeful of a better chance soon. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had scheduled the...
Warrant issued for Beaver County man accused of killing cousin, dumping body, fleeing to Mexico
A Beaver County man allegedly shot and killed his cousin, left him in the trunk of his own car at an abandoned gas station early Tuesday in Moon and then caught a flight to Mexico, according to the charges filed against him. Anoosh Almas, 25, is charged with homicide, abuse...
15-year-old boy charged as adult in fatal stabbing in Fayette County
A 15-year-old Fayette County boy is charged as an adult in connection with a fatal stabbing Monday in rural Springhill Township. Christopher S. Gaydos Jr. of Smithton was ordered held without bond after his arraignment Tuesday on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in Fayette County Tuesday....
