Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1238
Tim Benz: What’s not to like about Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth pick, other than he’s not a lineman?
I can hear the calls from the capacity crowd of Steelers fans at Heinz Field already. Well, assuming capacity crowds are allowed back in the fall. “MUUUUUUTH!” Eh, who am I kidding? They’ll still be yelling, “HEEEAAATTTH!” I’ve got little to complain about when it comes to Steelers second-round draft...
Why allergy season is worsening in Western Pa.
As temperatures rise, allergy symptoms are ramping up for many seasonal sufferers — especially in the Pittsburgh region. Pittsburgh ranks as the fifth most challenging place to live with seasonal allergies, according to a recent report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. “This report validates what everyone who...
AG Shapiro: 5 charged in drug ring that brought $400K of fentanyl from Philly to Butler
Four Butler women and a Philadelphia man face charges brought by a statewide grand jury for their alleged roles in a drug ring that investigators say trafficked an estimated $400,000 worth of fentanyl from Philadelphia to Butler County. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the drug operation involved at least...
Police outline case against man accused of crashing stolen truck into building at Pittsburgh International Airport
A North Carolina man is facing several charges after police say he stole a maintenance truck Friday evening and moments later drove it into a building at Pittsburgh International Airport. Harry Griffith, 35, was arrested Saturday. He is charged with recklessly endangering another person, harassment, ethnic intimidation, criminal mischief, theft...
Prosecutors seek higher sentence for Chauvin in Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors are asking a judge to give Derek Chauvin a more severe penalty than state guidelines call for when he is sentenced in June for George Floyd’s death, arguing in court documents filed Friday that Floyd was particularly vulnerable and that Chauvin abused his authority as a police...
Pittsburgh schools address bus seat shortage as 10K students set to return
Pittsburgh Public Schools reduced its daily transportation shortage by nearly 1,000 seats, district officials said Friday, ahead of thousands of students scheduled to return to buildings Monday. The district will welcome back more than 10,000 students Monday as part of its phased hybrid learning plan. More than 4,000 students returned...
Mask mandate for air travel, public transportation extended through Sept. 13
Travelers will be required to wear face masks inside airports and on planes, buses and trains through Sept. 13. The mask mandate, in place since the beginning of February, was set to expire May 11. Transportation Security Administration officials said Friday the new extended timeline is consistent with covid-19 guidance...
Brothers accused of attacking paramedics, another charged with arson after father’s death
A Baldwin man has been charged with arson in connection with a Thursday fire along Revo Road. Vincent Chalmers, 46, is charged with two counts of endangering people by arson and one count of endangering property by arson. In a criminal complaint filed against Chalmers, police said Richard Revo told...
TV Talk: Paul Martino leaving KDKA-TV
Paul Martino, a veteran KDKA-TV reporter/anchor, will retire from the station July 1. Martino has been with the station since 1984 and until recently anchored weekend evening newscasts. He was replaced in that role by younger reporters and reassigned to weekday general assignment reporting. KDKA-TV news director Kathy Hostetter did...
U.S. Steel nixes $1 billion upgrades at Mon Valley Works facilities
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will cancel plans for more than $1 billion in upgrades and investment at the Mon Valley Works facilities, CEO David Burritt said in a letter to the community released Friday. The projects, worth more than $1.2 billion collectively, were announced just under two years ago, in May...
Backlog of covid cases contributes to rise in Pennsylvania; Allegheny, Westmoreland also up
Pennsylvania on Friday saw an uptick in covid-19 cases, with similar rises reflected in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The increase comes as nearly half the state’s population has at least one dose of covid vaccine. Cases The state added 4,607 cases of covid-19, the most reported in a single day...
Studies show covid vaccine protects twice as long as natural immunity
New medical studies are examining both the length of natural immunity in patients who have recovered from covid-19, as well as the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine in producing antibodies to combat the virus. A study published in BioMed Central found that fewer than half of 37 covid-positive patients retained...
Judge dismisses lawsuit over Pitt’s refusal to refund tuition during pandemic shutdown
A judge has thrown out a federal lawsuit filed by students against the University of Pittsburgh for failing to refund any of their tuition and fees when campus was shut down last year because of the pandemic. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV on Tuesday granted Pitt’s motion to dismiss....
Meadows Casino seeks $69,000 gambling debt from jailed Greensburg doctor
The Meadows Casino and Racetrack wants a former Greensburg doctor to repay more than $69,000 — a gambling debt that grew from a $48,000 line of credit seven years ago. The problem for the North Strabane casino, which filed for a $69,344 judgment in Westmoreland County court on Wednesday, is...
Saint Vincent College goes into lockdown as covid-19 numbers surge
Saint Vincent College went into lockdown status Thursday evening as the number of covid-19 cases on campus surged. College President the Rev. Paul Taylor ordered the campus community to shelter in place and all classes to be conducted remotely as of 3 p.m. Thursday. His order came as the campus...
250 million birds will pass through Western Pa. this spring — starting now
An estimated 250 million birds are expected to pass through Southwestern Pennsylvania this spring, according to Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve in Cook Township, Westmoreland County. The bird feeders and hummingbird feeders are hung. Binoculars are at the ready. The onslaught has begun: Wednesday morning, researchers at...
Rick Sebak signature cocktail available at Independent Brewing in Squirrel Hill
If WQED film director Rick Sebak ever does another unusual television program about to-go cocktails, he’s got the perfect drink to serve his viewers. The Independent Brewing Co. in Squirrel Hill created “The Rick Sebak Cocktail,” also known as “A Gentleman’s Breakfast,” back in 2014. It had previously only been...
Rain forces Lernerville Speedway to cancel event celebrating 1,000th sprint car race
At event at Lernerville Speedway meant to celebrate the track’s 1,000th sprint car race on Friday was canceled due to inclement weather. With an event dubbed Lernerville Grand, the speedway was set to host its 1,000th sprint car race. The event was planning to feature the All Star Circuit of...
Counting the costs of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — America’s longest war, the two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan that started in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, killed tens of thousands of people, dogged four U.S. presidents and ultimately proved unwinnable despite its staggering cost in blood and treasure. This final chapter, with...
Religious festival stampede in Israel kills 45, injures 150
JERUSALEM — A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed at least 45 people and injured about 150 early Friday, medical officials said. It was one of the country’s deadliest civilian disasters. The stampede began when large numbers of people...
Tim Benz: Steelers got the best player at their biggest position of need. That’s enough ‘value’ for me.
During Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers got the player most analysts feel is the best player at their biggest position of need. All the way down at pick No. 24. It was a good night. Let’s not “yeah, but” ourselves to death on this one....
McKeesport store owner gets 2 years in federal prison for food stamp fraud
A Glassport man has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for running a food stamp fraud and money laundering scheme out of his McKeesport grocery store. Sin Y Sit, 46, was convicted of conspiring to defraud the federal government of between $250,000 and $550,000 over a...
Police: Woman rescued after car went over hillside in the South Side
A woman was rescued Thursday after her car careened over a hillside in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said Pittsburgh emergency responders were dispatched to the 2800 block of Patterson Street around 1 p.m. They saw a car on the wooded hillside between Patterson and Josephine streets....
Rostraver man sentenced up to 2 years in jail after pleading guilty to child pornography charges
A Rostraver man could spend about 17 more months in the Westmoreland Count Prison after pleading guilty Thursday to child pornography charges. Benjamin D. Powell, 38, was sentenced by Westmoreland Judge Christopher Feliciani to one year, less one day to two years, less two days in return for pleading guilty...
Latrobe woman sentenced to 8-to-16 years on rape, child sex charges
A 34-year-old Latrobe woman has been sentenced to 8-to-16-years in state prison Thursday for having sex with two teenage boys in a Unity home, starting as far back as 2004 and as recently as 2016. Shanda Rae Hitchcock was sentenced by Westmoreland Judge Timothy Krieger as a result of her...
