Top Stories category, Page 13

The person who killed a Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement agent last year on the Montour Trail pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Monday to third-degree murder. Antonia Quesen, 26, will be sentenced Nov. 18 by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski. In Pennsylvania, a person who...

Raychal Collins-Struck has lived in her Monroeville home since 2018, but now — six years later — it is a safe and lead-free environment for her son and daughter to play in. On Monday, county officials and community partners gathered at the residence to announce the completion of Allegheny County’s...

An ongoing effort to revitalize Pittsburgh’s Market Square is on track to be finished before the city hosts the NFL Draft next year. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Monday said the project — which will limit vehicle traffic and add greenery, lighting, seating and a canopy where people can gather...

Pricey prescriptions and nagging medical costs are swamping some insurers and employers now. Patients may start paying for it next year. Health insurance will grow more expensive in many corners of the market in 2026, and coverage may shrink. That could leave patients paying more for doctor visits and dealing...

Pittsburgh-area doctors are sounding the alarm on medetomidine, a veterinary tranquilizer that’s increasingly permeating street drugs like “flysky” in Western Pennsylvania. And it’s not abating anytime soon. The drug continues to become more prevalent, and doctors say there are minimal clear treatment options for the severe withdrawal process. Unlike heroin...

The brightly colored posters, comfortable seats and hands-on science experiments present in Kaylyn Wojnarowski’s Gateway classroom might not exist if the first grade teacher relied solely on the district’s budget for supplies. Wojnarowski welcomed students back to her classroom at Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary on Thursday — the start of...

Three people were hurt in a fight involving a machete on Sunday afternoon in Fineview neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s North Side, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Officers from Zone 1 responded to the fight on Graib Street around 3:50 p.m. According to police, a man suffered a laceration to an arm,...

WASHINGTON — Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary. A Defense Department official who was not authorized to...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina has given the all-clear after issuing an alert Sunday about a possible active shooter near a library on the main Columbia campus, just days after false reports of active shooters at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga led to...

A majority of about 700 nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital have voted to unionize with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the union announced Sunday. Ballots were counted late Saturday following voting that day and Tuesday. Nurses voted 402 to 305, or 57% to 43%, in favor of unionizing. Nurses, elected officials, patients...

SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, warned us for two years. Some people stopped listening because impoverishment has been the perpetual soundtrack of the transit system, and salvation always seemed to arrive at the last minute. Not this time. Massive cuts in SEPTA service began early morning Sunday. For the...

Indiana University of Pennsylvania has remained mum on whether its cheerleading squad will be allowed to perform along the sidelines for the Crimson Hawks this football season. The squad was disciplined over the summer for forcing new members to participate in alcohol-related events, requiring underage members to assist in buying...

Two women were hospitalized early Sunday morning as a result of stab wounds in the Pittsburgh Perry South neighborhood, Pittsburgh police said. The victims, who were not identified, were found on the street outside 30 Strauss St., shortly after 1:15 a.m., police said. One woman who was stabbed in her...

The ongoing budget stalemate in Harrisburg will have little impact on Westmoreland County Transit Authority operations, officials said. Executive Director Alan Blahovec, during the authority’s monthly board meeting Thursday, said the agency has enough funding in place to continue its current schedule of fixed-route bus service and paratransit programs throughout...

It is no secret that President Donald Trump does not like mail-in voting. “Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” he said of it on Twitter in 2020. Despite pushback from officials across the country who have maintained the practice is safe...

Five years after Hempfield Area School District approved a feasibility study for a renovation of its 1956 high school, the district is starting to nail down what the refurbished building will look like. Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project in October, and the school board...

As Labor Day looms, it’s time to take stock of summer. Beyond the big-ticket activities — like trips south to the Outer Banks, Gulf Coast or Disney — are staples of the season that fill the memories of Pittsburghers. They’re things as simple (and sumptuously satisfying) as hot Potato Patch...

Superintendent Tammy Andreyko started her tenure at Quaker Valley in August 2018 meeting with district officials to discuss the possibility of building a new high school. Seven years later, dirt has yet to be moved on the 150-acre property the district purchased in May 2017 to replace its nearly century-old...

All the manpower and equipment at Citizens Hose Fire/Rescue EMS in Harrison couldn’t stifle the heat that was emanating right in front of their station Saturday. It was the fiery spirit of a little more than 200 Western Pennsylvania pro wrestling fans in the lot off Burtner Road cheering and...

Mark Petros of Herminie thought it was odd the way Harrison funeral director Patrick Vereb handled his dog, Bear, in late December after Vereb was contacted to cremate the family’s pet, with the understanding they would receive the remains. “I carried the dog out and placed it in his van,”...

How do you keep the next generation of farmers interested in staying on the farm, when that life offers them the guarantee of hard work seven days a week with compensation far below other occupations? That’s a challenge for Westmoreland County farm families, as farmers are getting older, with the...

A 14-year-old boy was in critical condition after having a medical emergency and falling into the Kiski River Saturday, a Kiski Township police officer said Sunday. The boy, whose name was not released, was being treated at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Patrolman Colton Howard said. First responders were called...

Aaron Rodgers offered a one-word wish for the final preseason game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Health.” Rodgers didn’t have to worry about the risk of injury because he didn’t play a snap against the Carolina Panthers. Or in the entire preseason, for that matter. Same goes for Cameron Heyward, T.J....

Two and a half years after a derailed train spewed toxic gases across eastern Ohio, none of the nation’s largest freight railroads have fulfilled promises to join a voluntary federal close call program designed to reduce rail hazards and prevent accidents. Two railroads — BNSF and Norfolk Southern — launched...