Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1257
Number of kids alone at U.S.-Mexico border hits all-time high
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor’s hardline immigration tactics. A complex mix of factors...
Pennsylvania sees rise in covid cases, hospitalizations
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania continue to rise overall, while cases in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties remain cautiously steady according to the latest data available from the state. Hospitalizations also continue to be a concern as the numbers rise. The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 4,746 additional cases; the...
Frick Park snake identified as native black rat snake
The search for what some might call a terrifyingly large snake in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park was called off Thursday, as it turns out he belongs there. Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted mid-afternoon that reptile specialists helped Animal Care and Control identify the snake, captured in a photo by a parkgoer earlier...
Pirates fans return to PNC Park for home openerVideo
There are plenty of indications that spring has arrived in Pittsburgh, including the recent warm temperatures. But let’s face it, spring is really just a rumor until the Pirates return to PNC Park and the fans with them. It’s bad enough having to wait through one winter to get back...
Authorities: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former NFL player Phillip Adams fatally shot five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren before killing himself early Thursday. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference that investigators had not yet determined a motive for Wednesday’s mass shooting. “There’s...
Firefighters battling blaze at Forest Hills home
Firefighters are battling a blaze at a single-family home in Forest Hills Thursday morning. The fire in the 300 block of Avenue F, near Greensburg Pike, was reported shortly before 6 a.m. Authorities said the 2 1/2 story brick home was unoccupied when the fire broke out. Nobody was injured....
Stabbing after child’s birthday party leaves 1 man dead, his cousin charged in Wilkinsburg
A fight after an infant’s birthday party ended in a fatal stabbing in Wilkinsburg early Thursday, leaving one man dead and his cousin charged with homicide, according to Allegheny County Police. Police received a call just before 12:30 a.m. about a stabbing at a home on Penn Avenue, said Sgt....
Eager for the next total solar eclipse in Western Pa.? Just wait 3 years
The next total solar eclipse that will cross much of the United States is three years away, on April 8, 2024. For Western Pennsylvania residents, it promises to, indeed, eclipse the similar 2017 event that saw people throughout the area grab solar glasses and gaze skyward. According to NASA, the...
Slaying victim identified in pair of overnight shootings in Northview Heights
One man was killed and another wounded in separate shootings overnight along the same block in Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights neighborhood, according to authorities. Authorities identified the deceased as Tyjuan Malachi, 18, of Pittsburgh. Officers responded just before 9:15 p.m. Wednesday to Shotspotter notifications of several rounds fired in the 800...
Part of South Park closed because of vandalism
Allegheny County officials on Wednesday closed off a portion of South Park due to vandalism. South Park's 3 B’s Action Park is currently closed due to vandalism. Provided no more incidents occur the facility will reopen Monday, April 12th. To learn more about 3 B's Action Park, visit pic.twitter.com/KglEyIsO7N—...
Hawaii vacation of 3 friends from Carnegie Mellon ended in death
HONOLULU — A Hawaii vacation for three tourists from the East Coast turned deadly once one of them became “psychotically” drunk, his friend testified Wednesday. Alexander Germany-Wald of Montclair, N.J., testified at a preliminary hearing for his college buddy, Benjamin Fleming of Pittsburgh, who is charged with murder in the...
Linton Middle School in Penn Hills to be used as a covid vaccine clinic for certain seniors
A covid vaccine clinic for certain older people will take place at Linton Middle School in Penn Hills later this month. The clinic is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 at 250 Aster St. Participants must be at least 50 years old, a registered client of...
Biden making new moves on guns, including naming ATF boss
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment.” “The idea that we have so many people dying every...
Police: 2 boys shot in Jeannette, taken to hospital
Two boys were sent to a hospital after being shot Wednesday evening in Jeannette. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said the incident took place shortly before 6 p.m. along the 100 block of Locust Street. Jeannette Police Chief Shannon Binda said one of the boys was shot in the hand...
Tarentum police arrest man after responding to shots fired call
A Tarentum man who is not legally allowed to possess a gun was arrested early Wednesday after police said he fired shots in the air. Tarentum police charged Thomas William Curt Mueller, 38, with two felony firearms charges and lesser charges. In a criminal complaint against Mueller, borough police said...
Indiana County man, 76, dies after suffering burns in a house fire
A 76-year-old Indiana County man who suffered serious burns in an April 4 residential fire died two days later, according to officials. Michael Recek of Green Township died from extensive burns and inhalation injuries, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death on April 6 at West Penn...
Pittsburgh police probe afternoon shooting in Allentown
Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting in the city’s Allentown neighborhood that sent one person to the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Officers responded at about 12:40 p.m. to a Shotspotter alert in the 800 block of East Worthington Avenue. They learned that a male who had been shot fled to a...
Allegheny County is in the ‘fourth wave’ of covid cases, officials sayVideo
Allegheny County is “well into our fourth wave of cases here,” Dr. Debra Bogen, health director, said Wednesday. Daily covid-19 case counts have set records for 2021 in the past several days, she said, with 418 new cases reported Wednesday. The test positivity rate is also nearly 9%, and hospitalizations...
Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system disclosed Tuesday that it is dealing with a federal investigation, although officials atop the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System have yet to publicly disclose the nature or scope of the inquiry. In addition, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is on the...
Trump favorite Sean Parnell is ‘99% sure’ he’s running for U.S. Senate
PHILADELPHIA — Sean Parnell, a decorated combat veteran and favorite of former President Donald Trump, is all but certain to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to a Republican official who spoke with Parnell this week. “He said he was 99% sure this is what he was going to...
Wolf in McKeesport: Every resident wanting vaccine should receive dose by May
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said he believes every Pennsylvanian who wants to receive the covid-19 vaccine will be able to get at least one dose by the middle of May. “We’re figuring that sometime toward the second week in May we should reach the point where we have reached...
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable. The president turned fiery in an afternoon speech, saying that the United States is failing to build, invest and...
AHN, UPMC to vaccinate 25,000 people at drive-thru clinics
About 25,000 people will receive a covid-19 vaccine at multiple drive-thru clinics throughout Western Pennsylvania in the coming week. Allegheny Health Network and UPMC, the region’s two largest health systems, announced partnerships Wednesday with the Allegheny County Health Department to provide Johnson & Johnson shots to the public. AHN and...
Pittsburgh church founder sentenced for labor trafficking, fraud charges
A Pittsburgh woman who founded her own church, recruited and abused women in it, then perpetrated a years-long fraud operating a fake travel agency will spend 12 years in prison. Tracie Dickey, also known as Tracie Williams, 57, was sentenced on Monday on wire fraud and labor trafficking charges in...
2 Jeannette neighbors charged with neglect of animals
Two Jeannette neighbors were charged Tuesday with neglect of animals after five pit bulls were found without water last year and infected with parasites, according to court papers. Investigators said the animals belonged to Dale A. Shaw, 65, and Elaine Decker, no age available, was their caretaker. Both live on...
