Top Stories category, Page 1161
Oak Street in Irwin used for ‘Quadfather’ film shootVideo
Dominick Domasky of Greensburg is in the inspiration business. Whether it takes the form of books, motivational speaking or, on Thursday night, film-making in downtown Irwin, Domasky’s Motivation Champs company “shares inspiration, positivity and smiles 24/7, and helps other people do the same,” he said. One of Domasky’s clients is...
White House, GOP infrastructure talks hit crucial stage
WASHINGTON — Negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan are hitting a crucial stage ahead of talks Friday after the latest GOP offer left some dismay in the administration that there wasn’t more movement off the Republicans’ initial $568 billion proposal....
More charges for Penn Township double murder suspect’s alleged shooting spree
Police say Victor F. Steban went on a shooting spree across central Westmoreland County hours before he killed two people at a Penn Township home. Steban, 53, was arraigned on new charges filed Thursday by state police, including multiple counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and shooting into occupied structures...
Fayette man’s rapid control of robotic arm at Pitt lab detailed in ‘Science’
Having the sensation of touch makes quite a difference for Nathan Copeland. The 35-year-old man from Dunbar, Fayette County, lost the sensation and most of the motion in his limbs at 18 when he broke his neck in a car crash. Since 2014, he’s been participating in a study at...
Gov. Tom Wolf extends covid-19 disaster declaration, days after votes to curb his powers
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a renewal of the state’s disaster order related to the coronavirus pandemic. The governor announced the renewal Thursday afternoon, just two days after voters approved two measures to curb his powers in disasters. The previous covid-19 disaster order expired Thursday. “Covid-19 vaccinations have increased...
Israel, Hamas agree to cease-fire to end bloody 11-day war
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead. At 2 a.m. local time, just as the...
Pennsylvania terminating vendor that mishandled virus data
Pennsylvania is firing a company that performed covid-19 contact tracing and exposed the private medical information of tens of thousands of residents, according to legislative Republicans who released a statement from the state Health Department on Thursday. Employees of Insight Global used unauthorized Google accounts — readily viewable online —...
Sewickley lawyer joins Pennsylvania’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial primaryVideo
Make it three and counting in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary after Sewickley lawyer Jason Richey threw his hat into the ring Thursday. Richey, 49, joins a growing field of Republicans, including former Rep. Lou Barletta and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, is expected...
Hempfield woman accused of DUI, homicide by vehicle in fatal motorcycle crash on Route 66
A 33-year-old Hempfield woman is accused of being drunk when she crashed into a motorcycle last year, killing the driver. Tuesdae M. Checque was arraigned this week on multiple criminal charges, including homicide by vehicle while DUI, careless driving, driving at an unsafe speed, driving on the wrong side of...
Guard charged in connection with Allegheny County Jail drug sale operation
A guard at the Allegheny County Jail is accused of working with an incarcerated man to sell drugs to others within the jail, allowing him to go from cell to cell to make the sales and provide payment information, according to Allegheny County Police. Lewis Bagnato, 32, of Kennedy, faces...
Former Pittsburgh mobster, Youngstown mob boss Lenny Strollo dies at age 90
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A former mob boss whose criminal enterprise helped earn Youngstown the name “Crimetown U.S.A” before turning federal witness has died at age 90. The funeral home handling arrangements on Thursday confirmed Lenine “Lenny” Strollo’s death. Authorities accused Strollo of running a criminal enterprise that involved gambling, drugs...
Jury finds Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a teen girl
A Westmoreland County jury late Thursday found former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. The jury found Vazquez guilty on 15 counts, including the most serious charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact or communication with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of...
More than 50% of Pennsylvania adults fully vaccinated for covid
Pennsylvania passed a milestone with more than 50% of adults considered fully vaccinated against covid-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 5,088,210 million adults — those 18 and older — who are considered fully vaccinated. That’s 50.1% of the adult population. Pennsylvania’s mask mandate can...
Hacker who sold UPMC employee data on the dark web pleads guilty
A Michigan man pleaded guilty Thursday morning to hacking a UPMC employee database in 2014 and stealing the personal information of more than 65,000 people and then selling it on the dark web. Justin Sean Johnson, 30, will be sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Mark Hornak in about four...
U.S. jobless claims fall again as some states end extra $300-a-week federal aid
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week — the latest encouraging sign for the rebounding U.S. economy — just as Republican-led states are moving to cut off a federal benefit for the jobless. Twenty-two states, from Texas and Georgia to Ohio and Iowa, plan to begin blocking a...
81-year-old incumbent defeats challenger, 20, in Pitcairn mayoral primary
A person’s first foray into politics is often a disappointing one. And so it was for 20-year-old Mika Petrosky, who lost her bid to unseat 81-year-old incumbent Margaret “Betsy” Stevick in Tuesday’s Pitcairn Democratic mayoral primary. With 100% of the vote counted, Stevick had 247 votes to Petrosky’s total of...
As Pittsburgh mayor, @billpeduto was prolific on Twitter, so he fittingly signaled his concession in a tweet
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s supporters were in the banquet room of a South Side union hall watching their candidate’s lead wither. The mood was strikingly different from two hours prior. Early returns had Peduto with a comfortable lead of more than 3,000 votes. It was...
Richard King Mellon Foundation gives $150M gift to Carnegie Mellon University
The Richard King Mellon Foundation on Thursday announced its largest ever grant — $150 million to Carnegie Mellon University. Half of the historic investment — $75 million — will go toward the construction of CMU’s long-awaited, cutting-edge $210 million science building on Forbes Avenue, adjacent to the Carnegie Museum in...
Man airlifted to hospital after fireworks spark blaze at McKeesport home
A McKeesport man was taken to the hospital by medical helicopter after fireworks sparked a blaze in his home. The fire in the two-story building in the 2600 block of Banker Street was reported shortly before 3 a.m., according to emergency dispatchers. Firefighters encountered flames shooting from the second floor...
Sewickley Manager Marla Marcinko fired; officials won’t say why
Sewickley Council has fired borough manager Marla Marcinko. However, officials remain mum on their reasoning for the termination via a split vote earlier this month. “The elected officials voted to make a change in the manager’s position,” council President Jeff Neff said when questioned about the move. He said he...
Technical issue, ballot reviews cause reporting delay of Westmoreland election results
It took more than 22 hours after Westmoreland County polls closed Tuesday night before complete unofficial results from the hundreds of primary races were posted to the county’s website. Updated results to reflect totals from all 307 precincts and the nearly 13,000 mail-in ballots that arrived at the courthouse by...
‘Better and better’: Allegheny County officials hopeful as covid numbers dropVideo
Allegheny County officials took an optimistic tone during a virtual news conference Wednesday, as they predicted the county is “near the end of the pandemic.” “We’re seeing better and better results,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, said Allegheny County is now averaging less than 130...
Here’s why some experts believe Bill Peduto lost Pittsburgh’s mayoral primary
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto may have been too complacent in his bid for a third term leading the city, political analysts say, as he fell short in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. The mayor also was hurt by a national trend against incumbents that played out locally during the primary election. State...
Pennsylvania casinos top $400 million for 2nd consecutive month
For the second consecutive month, revenue streams at Pennsylvania casinos topped $400 million, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Combined gambling revenues totaled more than $404.1 million in April. That’s up significantly from the $46.1 million seen in April 2020, when non-life-sustaining businesses were forced to...
35 Republicans buck Trump, back commission of Jan. 6 Capitol riotVideo
WASHINGTON — Thirty-five House Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday in voting to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, risking the wrath of former President Donald Trump and flouting GOP leaders who condemned the proposal as unfairly partisan and unneeded. The Republican mavericks were led...
