Top Stories category, Page 1174
Pittsburgh to consider restrictions on plastic bags
Pittsburgh City Council will be considering legislation to restrict single-use plastic bags under a resolution introduced Tuesday by Councilwoman Erika Strassburger. “It’s not the kind of product that should be used once and then thrown away,” Strassburger said. “If we’re truly going to have a circular economy, we have to...
Cash 5 ticket worth $200K sold at Hempfield store
A jackpot-winning Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket was sold Monday at Rick’s Tobacco Outlet along Route 30 in Hempfield, state lottery officials said. The winning ticket, sold along with a Quick Cash ticket, was for Monday’s drawing and matched all five balls drawn, 3-7-22-29-36. The winner won $200,000 less withholding,...
One ritzy fundraiser shows how tough selling lobbying reform in Pa. will be
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — For the first time, the Pennsylvania legislature’s top leaders are expected to throw their weight behind reining in the...
1 killed, 1 hurt in Fayette crash
A Uniontown woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Fayette County Monday and a man was seriously injured, according to state police. Linda L. Lewis, 76, was pronounced dead at the scene on Morgantown Road in South Union. She was the passenger in a car being driven by Bernard...
Son of Holocaust survivors, designer of Berlin’s Jewish Museum chosen to lead Tree of Life rebuildVideo
The son of Holocaust survivors will help rebuild the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the congregation’s board of trustees announced Tuesday, 2½ years after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in the country. Daniel Libeskind was selected unanimously by the Tree of Life - Or L’Simcha board of trustees to...
Mexico City metro overpass collapses onto road; 23 dead
MEXICO CITY — An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent a subway car plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring about 70, city officials said. Rescuers searched a car left dangling from the overpass for hours for anyone who...
FBI: Officers shoot armed man outside CIA headquarters
A man was shot Monday outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., after he “emerged from his vehicle with a weapon,” according to an FBI statement. The man attempted to drive into the campus without any access and was stopped by armed guards who operate the gates, according to reports. The...
Hundreds rally at Pine-Richland board meeting calling for fired coach to be reinstatedVideo
Hundreds of supporters of Pine-Richland’s ousted head football coach Eric Kasperowicz rallied outside the district’s administrative office, during Monday’s school board meeting, to call for his reinstatement. The sometimes boisterous crowd broke out in chants of “We Are P-R” and jeered as school directors arrived for the monthly planning session,...
Vandergrift gives no update on police conduct investigation
Vandergrift residents didn’t get an answer on whether a borough police officer accused of unprofessional conduct will remain on the force, nor did they get any update on the borough’s investigation Monday. Instead, borough officials adjourned to an executive session to speak about the matter privately, saying later only that...
FDA expected to OK Pfizer vaccine for teens within week
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for young adults age 12 and older by next week, according to a federal official and a person familiar with the process, setting up shots for many before the beginning of the next school year....
‘Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated’ and other Facebook groups offer neighborly resources
Leighann Bacher started the Facebook page “Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated” with a few other women, thinking she might share some resources with other residents of Hampton. Four months later, the page has nearly 40,000 members. After making her own vaccine appointment and helping members of her family do the same, she...
Bill and Melinda Gates announce they are ending marriageVideo
SEATTLE — Bill and Melinda Gates announced Monday that they are divorcing. The Microsoft co-founder and his wife, who launched the world’s largest charitable foundation, said they would continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In identical tweets, they said they had made the decision to...
Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for firing rifle at police
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday said he had no choice but to sentence a Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for shooting at police during a 2016 standoff. But, even without a state legislative mandatory minimum sentencing requirement in place, Judge Scott Mears said...
Biden lifts Trump refugee cap after delay backlashVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday formally raised the nation’s cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, weeks after facing bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling set by former President Donald Trump. Refugee resettlement agencies have waited for Biden to quadruple the number of...
Bethel Park School District employee charged with having guns on district property
A Bethel Park School District security guard was arrested Monday morning and charged with having firearms on school grounds, according to Bethel Park police Chief Timothy O’Connor. Bernard Switala, 43, of Bethel Park was taken into custody at the high school on a separate Allegheny County police warrant when officers...
Hempfield Area plans vaccine clinic for students 16 and older
Hempfield Area School District students may receive their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine during a clinic Tuesday at the high school field house. Other clinics are planned this month for students across the region. Shots of the Pfizer vaccine will be administered from 3 to 7 p.m. in Hempfield...
Pa. Supreme Court picks former Pitt chancellor to chair powerful redistricting commission
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — A former University of Pittsburgh chancellor will chair the committee...
Plans for redevelopment of Civic Arena site set for approval
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider approving plans for the first phase of development of the former Civic Arena site in the city’s Hill District. The plans are centered on a 24-story, $200 million office tower that will be the new headquarters for FNB Corp. Construction on the...
Mother pushes child to safety as car slams into Hempfield homeVideo
A 2-year-old boy escaped injury Monday after his quick-thinking mother pushed him out of the path of a car barreling into the front of their Hempfield home. Amanda Clark said the boy was standing at the glass storm door looking out at Sells Lane around 12:30 p.m. while she was...
Pittsburgh council, activists to talk about ‘mass displacement’ of Black residents
A former Penn Plaza resident who was displaced when the East Liberty apartment building was razed in 2017 is part of a group seeking acknowledgement from Pittsburgh leaders that Black people are leaving the city in large numbers. “This is an injustice,” said Randall Taylor, who now lives in Homewood...
GOP: Wolf should fire vendor that mishandled virus data
Pennsylvania should immediately terminate the no-bid state contract of a company that performed covid-19 contact tracing and exposed the private medical information of tens of thousands of residents, Republican state lawmakers said Monday. GOP leaders also called for state and federal probes into the Atlanta-based contractor’s mishandling of the data,...
Former Pitt player Rashad Weaver charged with assault in April incident on South Side
Former Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver — drafted into NFL by the Tennessee Titans over the weekend — is facing assault charges related to an incident last month on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The alleged assault — an altercation with a woman on East Carson Street — happened April 18, according...
Youngwood man jailed after police said he led them on 22-mile chase
A Youngwood man is behind bars after state police said he led troopers on a 22-mile chase over the weekend that began in Pittsburgh and ended in Hempfield, according to court papers. Ryan E. McKnight, 36, did not have a valid drivers license, police said. Troopers were traveling east on...
New covid cases continue statewide drop, rise in Allegheny and Westmoreland
It was a mix of good and bad news in the latest coronavirus reports in the state and Western Pennsylvania region. For a fifth straight Monday, Pennsylvania’s two-day covid-19 case report has shown a decline week over week. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported a two-day count of 4,381 new...
Some Churchill residents oppose Amazon as neighbor despite potential for jobs, tax revenue
A group of Churchill residents are concerned about the impact of a potential Amazon distribution center in their small residential community. The former site of the George Westinghouse Research Park, a 133-acre parcel located within Churchill Borough, could be developed into an Amazon property. The potential buyer for the property...
