Top Stories category, Page 1212
Wolf: Bar service in Pa. to return, alcohol curfew to lift on Easter
Pennsylvania bars and restaurants can resume bar service, sell alcohol without a food purchase and operate at 75% capacity beginning April 4, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. The curfew on alcohol sales also will be lifted. Currently, bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and clear tables...
Familiar face from Fort Ligonier moving to The Westmoreland
A familiar face at Fort Ligonier will soon be a familiar face at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Erica Nuckles, the fort’s director of history and collections, will join the Greensburg museum’s staff in April as director of learning, engagement and partnerships. “I am thrilled and honored to join...
Arbitrator upholds termination of former Pittsburgh cop with troubled history
A former Pittsburgh police officer who’s been in trouble dozens of times throughout his career will not return to the force. An arbitrator recently upheld the termination of Paul Abel Jr., who was fired after an incident involving a homeless man on the North Side in December near Heinz Field,...
Men from Morgantown, State College charged in assault of Capitol officer who died after riotVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 riot, but they do not know yet whether it caused the officer’s death. George Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.Va., and Julian Khater, 32, of State...
Revamped Bakery Square in Pittsburgh includes 4 new restaurants
Comfort food, Asian cuisine, fresh pasta and burgers will be cooked up at the new Bakery Square food hall, slated to open in May. Galley Bakery Square is being developed by the same company that launched Smallman Galley in Pittsburgh’s Strip District in 2015. The new East End location has...
Pennsylvania surpasses 11% fully vaccinated for covid
More than 1.4 million Pennsylvanians have now been fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to the latest data released Monday. That means more than 11.2% of every resident — including the 20.6% that are under 18 and not eligible for the vaccine — have received either both doses of the Pfizer...
New Jersey man arrested after attempted break-in at Hempfield home
A New Jersey man is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after state police said he tried to break into a Hempfield home Friday, according to court papers. Colin Daniel O’Connor, 19, of Clarksboro, is charged with attempted burglary, harassment, resisting arrest, false identification and flight to avoid apprehension....
Allegheny County launches program to provide rent, utility relief
Allegheny County residents struggling to pay rent or utility bills can apply for help through a program that launched Monday. The program is a cooperative effort by the county, the City of Pittsburgh, Action Housing and Dollar Energy. It will distribute nearly $36 million in federal coronavirus appropriations to help...
Giant Eagle clinic at Heinz Field extended, open to more teachers
Giant Eagle’s mass vaccination clinic at Heinz Field was again extended, this time for all PreK-12 teachers in Western Pennsylvania. The chain will be holding clinic hours, by appointment, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. As with...
Pedestrian struck, killed in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man was killed Saturday night after he was struck by a car in Downtown Pittsburgh, according to police. The incident happened about 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Stanwix Street and Penn Avenue, said Pittsburgh police spokesman Chris Togneri. First responders arrived and found the man pinned under the...
Fight leads to stabbing outside Waterfront Giant Eagle
A jitney driver is accused of stabbing another man outside the Waterfront Giant Eagle, leaving the man with eight wounds, including one stab wound to his head, according to court documents. Homestead Police responded to the grocery store about 9:30 a.m. Friday for a report of a fight followed by...
‘Mank,’ ‘Nomadland,’ ‘Chicago 7’ lead Oscar nominationsVideo
NEW YORK — David Fincher’s “Mank” has led nominations to the 93rd Academy Awards with 10 nods, and for the first time, two women — Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell — were nominated for best director. Eight films were nominated for best picture. “Mank” was joined by Fennell’s “Promising Young...
Vatican excludes gay union blessing as God ‘can’t bless sin’
ROME — The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.” The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. The answer, contained...
During height of coronavirus pandemic, Pa. lawmakers still cashed in big on meals, lodging
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 — Within weeks of the first coronavirus cases last spring, as large swaths of Pennsylvania’s economy shut down, the state...
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift make history at the GrammysVideo
The Grammys are drunk in love with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: the singers both made history at the 2021 show. Swift, 31, became first woman to win album of the year three times. “We just want to thank the fans,” said Swift, who won the top prize with “folklore.” Swift...
IRS online tool lets you track your stimulus money
Once again, the U.S. government is handing out money. And, once again, there’s a way to find out where your check is. A year ago, the IRS launched the online “Get My Payment” tool that let you check your payment status and confirm your payment type: direct deposit or check....
KDKA’s Mary Ours won’t be back on the air till the summer … here’s why
KDKA meteorologist Mary Ours will be off the air until the summer because she’s going on maternity leave. On Sunday morning, Ours announced on social media that she would be taking a break to give birth to a son. And she used the hashtag #38weekspregnant so it could be soon....
A first: Bald eagles nesting at U.S. Steel plant along Monongahela River in West Mifflin
A pair of bald eagles chose another unlikely urban spot to nest in the once highly industrialized Pittsburgh area — the U.S. Steel Irvin plant in West Mifflin along the Monongahela River, across from Glassport. There are no other known eagle nests in the state at a steel mill, making...
Pelosi pledges swift work on major infrastructure packageVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday pledged swift work by Congress on a job and infrastructure package that will be “fiscally sound,” but said she isn’t sure whether the next major item on President Joe Biden’s agenda will attract Republican backing. Fresh off a major legislative victory on...
Winter storm closes roads in Wyoming, Colorado, NebraskaVideo
A powerful late winter snowstorm intensified over the central Rocky Mountains on Sunday with heavy snow and wind leading to airport and road closures, power outages and avalanche warnings in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. The National Weather Service in Wyoming called it a “historic and crippling” winter storm...
Average U.S. price of gas up 25 cents a gallon in past 3 weeks
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 25 cents a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.89. The average price in Pennsylvania rose to $3.03 per gallon on Sunday, according to price tracking service GasBuddy, with the Pittsburgh region averaging $3.06. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg...
Duquesne man, 21, dead in Saturday night shooting
Authorities are investigating the Saturday night shooting death of a Duquesne man. According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, Damont Adams, 21, of Duquesne was pronounced dead at about 7:47 p.m. Saturday of gunshot wounds in the 500 block of Ferndale Ave., Duquesne. Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating...
Authorities investigating fatal Big Beaver fire as a homicide
A man is dead after an early morning house fire in Big Beaver that authorities say is being investigated as a homicide. Beaver County Emergency Management Agency officials confirmed the coroner’s office was dispatched to the scene of the fire on the 1000 block of Shenango Road in Big Beaver...
Pittsburgh Parks & Rec reaches food distribution milestone during pandemic
Many organizations have had to reinvent themselves since the start of the pandemic one year ago and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation is no exception. While Citiparks recreation and senior centers have been closed to activities during the pandemic, many have been repurposed as safe sites...
As pandemic continues, GOP lawmakers prepare for retreat at pricey Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
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. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — When Republican lawmakers come together for their annual retreats this month and next...
