Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1260
Man pleads to manslaughter in deaths of 2 men found in burning Point Breeze home
A man who said he was trying to kill himself when he set a fire in a Point Breeze home three years ago pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of two men. Vincent Smith, 61, of Point Breeze North, will be sentenced...
Hit-and-run driver smashes Stage AE sign on North Shore
The large lighted sign on the side of the Stage AE concert venue on Pittsburgh’s North Shore was heavily damaged on Sunday after a vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into the building. The crash occurred at around 6:15 p.m. along Chuck Noll Way, police told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV....
14 people displaced by fire at row house in Ambridge, no injuries reported
No injuries were reported in an early morning fire that damaged several row houses in Ambridge on Sunday. The fire was reported at around 2:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Glenwood Avenue, according to Beaver County emergency dispatchers. Emergency responders found heavy smoke pouring out of the two-story row...
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival canceled for 2nd year
The Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival has been canceled for the second consecutive year because of organizers’ pandemic-related concerns for the safety of vendors and visitors. “The festival cannot offer visitors the enriching and entertaining experience that they have come to love and expect due to the current restrictions and...
Indonesia landslides, floods kill 55 people; dozens missing
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Multiple disasters caused by torrential rains in eastern Indonesia have killed at least 55 people and displaced thousands, the country’s disaster relief agency said Monday. More than 40 other people were missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills onto dozens of homes in Lamenele village shortly after...
Cathedral of Learning upset: New peregrine falcon ousts male, takes up with female; now they have 4 eggs
Atop the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, where the Laurel Highlands can be seen on a clear day, is prime real estate for peregrine falcons, with expansive views and lots of prey available. Two new falcons have driven out the former residents and are incubating four eggs. Peregrine falcons...
Epidemiologist warns of covid-19 variant’s effect on kidsVideo
One of the covid-19 variants can infect children more easily, posing a new risk to kids, a nationally respected epidemiologist warned on Sunday. The variant called B.1.1.7, first detected in the U.K., represents “a brand-new ballgame” in the fight against covid-19, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious...
Restaurants seeing resurgence as restrictions loosenedVideo
It was a great day for family gatherings this Easter, as the country emerged from the darkness of a year ago when restaurants were open only for takeout and the covid-related restrictions were just beginning to clamp down on the country. “We had 2,000 reservations,” Ron DeNunzio said Sunday, counting...
Police: Man in critical condition after Stowe nightclub shooting
A man is in critical but stable condition in a Pittsburgh hospital following a shooting Sunday in the parking lot of a nightclub in Stowe, authorities said. Stowe Township police responded to a call for shots fired at 3:15 a.m. Sunday. When police arrived on scene, they learned that a...
Mother, son killed in Salem fire
A mother and son were killed in their Salem Township home early Sunday morning when fire engulfed the two-story structure, collapsing the second floor onto the first floor, a fire official said. Helen W. Staats, 84, and Davd J. Staats, 57, both of 1666 Route 819, were pronounced dead at...
Capitol attack raises questions of security vs. public accessVideo
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are trying to balance openness with safety after Friday’s attack within steps of the Capitol, a challenge for Congress, nearly three months after a mob stormed the seat of American democracy, to “make it as secure as it needs to be but as free as we could...
Murrysville women’s ball hockey league grows to 150 participants
“Pure terror — but also exciting!” That’s how Jocelyn Gunia of Bethel Park described the first time a shot came whizzing directly at her in goal while she was playing dek hockey. Gunia, 30, spent most of the past decade as a casual hockey fan, watching alongside her husband. These...
Singing hymns through masks, Christians mark pandemic Easter
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Christianity’s most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with the faithful far apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings on a second Easter Sunday marked by pandemic precautions. From vast Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant churches, worshippers followed national or local regulations...
In Easter speech, pope calls wars in pandemic ‘scandalous’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Sunday address denounced as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering and swollen the ranks of the poor. Francis tempered his “Urbi et Orbi″ address (Latin for “To the...
Amid outcry, states push mental health training for police
The officer who Cassandra Quinto-Collins says kneeled on her son’s neck for over four minutes assured her it was standard protocol for sedating a person experiencing a mental breakdown. “I was there watching it the whole time,” Quinto-Collins told The Associated Press. “I just trusted that they knew what they...
Woman ID’d in fatal crash on Route 136 in Hempfield
A Sewickley Township woman has been identified as the person who was killed Friday night in a two-vehicle crash along Route 136 in Hempfield. The woman, Joann Wardzek, 58, of Wolfe Lane, was pronounced dead at the scene along Route 136 between Edna Road and Lower Lane at 8 p.m....
Pa. cannabis legalization remains unlikely as neighboring states go for it
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan 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. New Jersey. New York. Virginia. One by one, Pennsylvania’s neighbors are moving to legalize recreational...
A man ahead of his time: Sen. John Heinz remembered 30 years after tragic death
Henry John Heinz III was a man in his prime. The 52-year-old U.S. senator and heir to the H.J. Heinz food empire had everything going for him April 4, 1991, the morning he climbed aboard a small, twin-propeller plane in Williamsport. The short flight to Philadelphia was for him to...
‘B’man’ continues to enjoy his honking ‘Beeple,’ but now also volunteers, raises money for charityVideo
After receiving countless beeps and honks from the motoring public, B’man is giving back. Sixteen-year-old Bill Carney, also known as B’man, is a fixture most evenings at what his family dubs his “corner office,” located at the corner of Freeport and Fox Chapel roads in the Fox Chapel Plaza parking...
In Alle-Kiski Valley churches, coping with pandemic will be part of Easter sermon message
Alle-Kiski Valley churches will be filling its pews on Sunday after not being able to hold in-person Easter services last year. Many churches had to resort to online streaming to deliver sermons during the 2020 Easter holiday. This year, church members can be present for Sunday’s worship where many will...
5-year anniversary: Rescued puppies galore at Paws Across Pittsburgh in TarentumVideo
There’s nothing like a parking lot of homeless puppies on a Saturday in Tarentum. But it’s a typical occurrence at Paws Across Pittsburgh, which is celebrating its fifth year of animal rescues, now topping more than 2,000 dogs and 740 cats. Paws Across Pittsburgh is a nonprofit that is a...
Mass covid-19 vaccination clinic set for former Sears at Pittsburgh Mills in FrazerVideo
The Allegheny Health Network is opening a mass covid-19 vaccination clinic in the former Sears Grand store in the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer on April 20. About 6,000 to 6,500 people are expected to receive the first Pfizer vaccine April 20 and the second one May 11, according to...
Pittsburgh police looking for vehicle thought to be involved in Knoxville shooting
Pittsburgh police are looking for a car seen fleeing a shooting on Reifert Street in Knoxville around noon Saturday. A police spokesman said police responded to ShotSpotter alert for the 300 block of Reifert Street at about 12:05 p.m. When Zone 3 officers arrived, they were alerted to a male...
Trout season gets off to a chilly startVideo
For several of the folks casting lines the first day of trout season Saturday on the chilly shores of the lake at Northmoreland Park, the efficient work of a passing osprey accounted for much of the early morning excitement. “I think that osprey was the only one to catch a...
New Prantl’s Bakery location planned for Squirrel Hill
It’s been only months since Joe Cugliari brought the burnt almond torte to North Huntingdon, but the owner of Prantl’s Bakery already has his eyes set on a new venture. Prantl’s will soon open at a new location along Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, Cugliari confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The...
