Top Stories category, Page 1193

BOSTON — A man is warning people against using headphones while falling asleep after health care workers had to remove a wireless earbud from his esophagus. Worcester resident Brad Gauthier, who detailed his bizarre experience in a Facebook post, went to bed Monday listening to music. He woke up Tuesday,...

A 26-year-old woman was killed late Saturday in a one-vehicle crash on Saw Mill Run Boulevard, according to Pittsburgh police. Katherine Lynn Barvilchak of Pittsburgh was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Emergency responders were called to the crash into a utility pole around...

Disinformation, misinformation and social media proved a potent brew in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Experts say it is important to understand the role each played in inciting protesters to sack the Capitol. But no one was surprised events...

Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn were members of the same Hall of Honor class for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it was fitting they also received the NFL’s biggest honor together. Faneca, the former All-Pro guard, and Nunn, whose scouting and personnel career with the Steelers spanned five decades, were elected...

A sibling is often someone’s first friend. The person who best understands the family’s dynamic. Someone who travels through life’s stages, shares memories of childhood. Many forge lifetime bonds. The death of a sibling can leave a cavernous hole. “A sibling’s death becomes an anchor marker,” said Paul Friday, chief...

A free food event set for noon in Leechburg on Saturday was over before it was supposed to begin, a stark reminder of how great the pandemic’s burden has been on so many people. The drive-thru event at the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Department — the first of four scheduled for...

A Ligonier councilwoman has been nominated by the Westmoreland County Democratic Party to fill an open seat in the state House of Representatives, according to an announcement. Mariah Fisher was elected in 2017 to borough council. She is set to be the party’s nominee for the 59th Legislative District in...

Buy a beer and help the local food bank. Win, win. For folks in Westmoreland and Washington counties, that soon will be a reality when Helltown Brewing and Ohio nonprofit Helping Hops partner to release “Hellping Hops.” A portion of sales from the 6.5% ABV New England-style India pale ale...

WASHINGTON — Arguments begin Tuesday in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on allegations that he incited the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A look at five key questions about what to expect when senators hear the case against the former president in the very...

More than 2,000 high-risk Allegheny Health Network patients 75 and older on Saturday got the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Health system spokeswoman Candace Herrington said AHN is planning to hold additional clinics as vaccine supply increases. That will include events similar to one...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 72 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, as hospitalizations and case counts decline in the area. The county’s total cases are at 25,202, which is an increase of about 540 cases from the preceding week’s 24,661. The week before had...

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 — In 2020, the coronavirus thrust state government into the lives of Pennsylvanians unlike any other time in recent history....

Sometimes one small thing leads to something bigger. For Janel Young, a direct message from Verizon Media Shop to help design merchandise such as a water bottle, notebook and weekly planner led to her being the first outside artist asked to create a logo to celebrate Black History Month for...

Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 3,930 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts continue to trend downward in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 865,604. That’s a jump of more than 26,000 additional cases from this time last week. Two weeks ago, the...

Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 271 new coronavirus cases, as recent daily numbers continue to decline. Reports haven’t reached 500 cases in nearly three weeks and the county hasn’t reported any 1,000-case days in the past five weeks, according to data from the Allegheny County Health Department. Thirty deaths were...

Pennsylvanians might not be able to legally bet on what color the Gatorade will be dumped on the winning team’s coach or the length of the National Anthem, but many people likely will make other proposition bets offered during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Prop bets, or side wagers, allow people to...

A bipartisan team of Pennsylvania lawmakers will invoke a rare emergency provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, seeking to restore a constitutional amendment ballot question long sought by victims of child sex abuse. An administrative error by the Department of State, discovered late last month, prevents the question from appearing on...

A West Mifflin woman was killed Friday in a one-vehicle crash in Fayette County, according to state police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Hope Marie Derry, 29, was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed on Route 51 in Perry Township at about 9:45 a.m., troopers said. Police...

A few people were hurt in a Saturday morning crash that closed a portion of Interstate 70 on the Belle Vernon-Speers Bridge at the border of Westmoreland and Washington counties, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The crash was reported around 6:45 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of I-70. The...

Several streets in Downtown Pittsburgh will be closed Saturday morning so crews can install new cooling towers on the roofs of EQT Place and One PPG Place. Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said roads closures will occur from 7-11 a.m., weather permitting. Togneri said the operation may be moved to...

A Penn Hills man burned to death inside his home along Southern Avenue, police Chief Howard Burton reported. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday identified the victim as Herman Hill, 74. Burton said Hill’s girlfriend had come by the house around 5:10 p.m. Thursday to pick him up...

Heinz Field has been offered up as a possible site for a mass covid-19 vaccine distribution — but there are no imminent plans to do so as Pennsylvania scrambles to get enough vaccine doses to people in top-priority groups. “We previously offered Heinz Field for use as a vaccination site...

Pennsylvania voters will be able to decide in the May 18 primary election the fate of the Republican-backed proposed constitutional amendment to rein in the governor’s power to extend future emergency disaster declarations beyond 21 days without approval by state legislators. The General Assembly on Friday gave its final approval...