Top Stories category, Page 1175
Are Pa.’s state House and Senate maps gerrymandered? Depends on how you measure them
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 — When Amanda Holt was preparing to vote in 2010, she...
Luxury auction firm hits local high of $5M with Ligonier Township home sale
An owner looking to unload a multimillion-dollar home, in an area where such properties are the exception, might consider holding an auction to avoid taking a major loss on the investment. Several such palatial estates in the Ligonier Valley recently changed hands through the services of Platinum Luxury Auctions, a...
Victim of McKees Rocks shooting identified
A man is dead in McKees Rocks after being shot in the head early Monday, authorities said. The victim was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office as Nathan Freeman, 24, of Sheraden. Emergency crews responded at about 1:30 a.m. to a shooting near Sarah and Vine Streets, according...
Homewood man dies after being rescued from fire
A Homewood man died after being pulled from his burning apartment early Monday, authorities said. Emergency crews responded at 3:40 a.m. to a blaze in the 500 block of Clawson Street and found flames shooting from the second story, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews. Firefighters were able...
Pittsburgh man charged with shooting Reserve woman in front of her children
A Reserve woman remained in critical condition Monday, a day after her on-again, off-again boyfriend allegedly forced his way into her home and shot her multiple times in front of her children, according to Allegheny County Police. Joseph Hogg, 35, called 911 just after 8:30 p.m. Sunday to report that...
Cyril Wecht’s memoir tells renowned forensic pathologist’s personal storyVideo
Cyril Wecht has never been one to hold his tongue. When the former Allegheny County coroner and county commissioner is bothered by something, he speaks his mind. The same holds true for his recently published memoir, “The Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht: Memoirs of America’s Most Controversial Forensic Pathologist.”...
Team DetermiNation races through North Park in lieu of canceled Pittsburgh Marathon
The Pittsburgh Marathon may have been canceled Sunday but not runner Cathy O’Brien’s will to compete. The mother of four from Marshall Township joined an impromptu race at North Park in lieu of the 13-mile half-marathon she trained for. She was among 10 members of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS)...
Guardian Angels on earth: Highmark sponsored service dogs assist veterans
Charlie and Blue are more than a man’s best friend. The German shepherds are lifesavers. If Dan Smith’s blood sugar is approaching dangerous levels at night, Charlie, who sleeps on a cot next to Smith’s bed, wakes him up. Right before Shar’Ron Harris is about to have a seizure, Blue...
3 killed, 27 hospitalized after boat capsizes off San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Three people were killed and more than two dozen others were hospitalized Sunday after a boat capsized and broke apart in rough water just off the San Diego coast during a suspected human smuggling operation, authorities said. Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded around...
Bishop Loran Mann recalled as great presence, visionary
Bishop Loran Mann, a velvet-voiced minister and founder of Pittsburgh’s Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, is being remembered by city leaders as a monumental figure in the region’s landscape. Mann died Sunday at the age of 74, the Pentecostal Temple Church announced Sunday. “He had a gregarious nature...
North Korea warns U.S. of ‘very grave situation’ over Biden speechVideo
North Korea on Sunday warned that the United States will face “a very grave situation” and alleged that President Joe Biden “made a big blunder” in his recent speech by calling the North a security threat. Last week, Biden, in his first address to Congress, called North Korea and Iran’s...
Adviser suggests Biden still wears mask outside out of habit
WILMINGTON, Del. — One of President Joe Biden’s top White House advisers suggested Sunday that he’s still wearing a mask outdoors out of habit although the latest public health guidance says he doesn’t need it. Questioned about Biden’s practice, senior adviser Anita Dunn told CNN’s “State of the Union” that...
SpaceX returns 4 astronauts to Earth; rare night splashdown
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX safely returned four astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first U.S. crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot. The Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3 a.m., ending...
Wyoming backs coal with $1.2M threat to sue other states
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — While most states pursue ways to boost renewable energy, Wyoming is doing the opposite with a new program aimed at propping up the dwindling coal industry by suing other states that block exports of Wyoming coal and cause Wyoming coal-fired power plants to shut down. The law...
Western Pa. venues weigh pros, cons of vaccinated-only spectator sections
Pittsburgh entertainment venues soon might join others across the country in separating fans into vaccinated sections — another trend in efforts to encourage mass vaccination against covid-19, while growing audiences back to pre-pandemic levels. The Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday proposed the idea in a petition to the state. Fans in...
Attorney General: 2 more people arrested in 2017 double homicide in Somerset County
Two more people were arrested for their involvement in a double homicide that occurred in rural Somerset County in 2017, officials with the state Attorney General’s office said. Marekus Benson and Deandre Callender are facing several charges for conspiring with two previously arrested defendants to kidnap and murder Damien Staniszewski...
Pittsburgh police: Man in stable condition after Homewood West shooting
A man is in stable condition after an early morning shooting in Homewood West, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to a Shotspotter alert in the 6900 block of Kelly Street around 2:50 a.m. Sunday. Zone 5 officers who arrived on scene found a man sitting in the 600 block...
Police: Man dead after shooting in Polish Hill
A Pittsburgh man is dead after Pittsburgh police say he was found in Polish Hill with multiple gunshot wounds early Sunday morning. In an update, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said, “Police are now investigating this shooting as a homicide.” Authorities received a ShotSpotter alert in the 3000 block...
Doubtful about covid vaccine? It depends on your occupation, study shows
Vaccine hesitancy among working-age adults varies by occupation — and so does their reasoning for being hesitant, a study from University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University scientists found. Scientists from the institutions analyzed results from an ongoing national covid-19 survey by CMU’s Delphi Research Group. Since March 2020, the...
Trib Executive Editor Susan McFarland to retire
Trib Total Media Executive Editor Susan McFarland, who led the news organization through a period of dramatic transformation and sweeping digital growth, will retire Sept. 15, the company has announced. During her five years as the top newsroom leader, the Tribune-Review has been recognized three years in a row as...
Police fatally shoot gunman who killed 2 at Wisconsin casino
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a Wisconsin tribal casino complex a few miles from Lambeau Field, killing two people and wounding another in what witnesses described as a hailstorm of bullets before police shot him to death. Brown County Sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Pawlak said the...
Food truck festival benefits Lower Burrell VFC No. 3
Before it even began, the Lower Burrell VFC No. 3 fundraiser on Saturday afternoon was a raging success. The event, billed as a food truck festival, was scheduled to run 1 to 6 p.m. But by noon, the parking lot of the fire company along Leechburg Road was bustling with...
Police searching for missing, endangered man in Unity
State police are searching for a missing, endangered man who was last seen in the Wimmerton area of Unity. Martin Hussey, 72, was seen around 7 a.m., officials said. Hussey is 5 foot 11 inches and around 160 pounds. He has blue eyes and is bald. According to police, Hussey...
Former Sewickley woman is trainer for Hidden Stash in Kentucky Derby
Victoria Humphrey Oliver said she knew there was something special about Hidden Stash when she watched the 3-year-old thoroughbred run. “I could just see he had talent,” said Humphrey Oliver, of Lexington Ky., who lived in Sewickley from second grade until the end of her freshman year at Sewickley Academy....
Pa. covid hospitalizations decline for 10th straight day
Hospitalizations for covid-19 dropped in Pennsylvania for the 10th straight day, according to data released Saturday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Saturday’s total of 2,207, is down 76 from Friday. That’s is a decline of almost 23% from the 2,842 who were hospitalized on April 21. In the state,...
