Top Stories category, Page 13
6 backcountry skiers found alive, 10 missing after Northern California avalancheVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Six backcountry skiers were found alive and 10 others were still missing Tuesday after an avalanche in Northern California during a powerful winter storm moving through the state. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911...
Former baseball coach threatens Kiski Area with lawsuit
Attorneys representing a former Kiski Area middle school assistant baseball coach say they plan to file a lawsuit against the school district after the former coach was not rehired for the job over what they say is political retaliation. Attorney Amanda Shields said Tuesday her firm plans to file a...
Treasury officials question legality of taxpayers paying for security upgrades at Shapiro’s family home
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Late last year, Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement agency revealed taxpayers would pick up the tab for more...
Former Torrance State Hospital nurse charged with sexual assault of patient
A former nurse at Torrance State Hospital is accused by state police of having regular sexual encounters with a patient over seven months last year, according to court papers. The encounters between Dana R. Coxon, 40, and the patient, in his mid-20s, were video recorded and photographed on a cellphone...
Westmoreland Hospital, former nurses sued again for alleged mistreatment of patients
A third lawsuit has been filed against a Westmoreland County hospital and four former staffers accused of mistreating patients. According to court documents, the alleged incidents occurred over five days in late June 2024 after Shirley Stouffer of Hempfield was admitted to Independence Health’s Westmoreland Hospital with heart issues and...
Liberian refugee’s killer sent to prison for Pittsburgh slaying
When Eddie Kimber was growing up in the West African nation of Liberia, he had difficulty breathing, struggled to gain weight and would easily become exhausted from minimal activity. Doctors couldn’t find what was wrong. But when Kimber’s family fled war there and entered a refugee program, his brother said...
Pittsburgh City Council approves new solicitor, planning director
Pittsburgh officially has a new solicitor and planning director. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Corey O’Connor’s picks to lead the Law Department and the Department of City Planning. Lisa Zeidner Marcus is the city’s top lawyer and Ivette Mongalo-Winston oversees planning. Both had been serving in their roles...
Picklesburgh adds 4th day to Pittsburgh festival
Pickle lovers, this year’s dates for the Picklesburgh festival were just announced — including an extra festival day. Running four days long in 2026, the Downtown festival will be held from July 16 through July 19, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced. “Back by popular demand, Picklesburgh will kick off Thursday...
Wilkinsburg man gets double life terms for killing woman and daughter, 4
A Wilkinsburg man who shot and killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter in an act the judge called calculated and vicious will serve the rest of his life in prison. Marquise St. Julien-Givner, 23, was sentenced Tuesday to two consecutive life terms with no chance for parole for killing...
Plan for proposed Westmoreland convention center stalls
Progress on a proposed Westmoreland convention center pitched by the county’s chamber of commerce appears to have stalled. Chamber President Dan DeBone confirmed funding remains the major sticking point, preventing forward movement on what is estimated to be an $86 million project in Hempfield. Last August, the chamber released results...
Bruce Springsteen returning to Pittsburgh on ‘Land of Hope & Dreams’ tourVideo
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are heading back out on the road, including a Pittsburgh stop this spring. Springsteen, 76, and his band are launching the American run of their “Land of Hope & Dreams” tour, with a May 19 show at PPG Paints Arena. “We are living...
Pittsburgh City Council calls on Harrisburg to legalize marijuana
Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday called on Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers in Harrisburg to legalize cannabis. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, sponsored a will of council that urged Pennsylvania officials to pass adult-use cannabis legalization during this year’s legislative session. Warwick’s statement said such a measure is a “necessary...
Strikes on 3 more alleged drug boats kill 11 people, U.S. military says
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers. The series of strikes conducted Monday brought the death...
O’Connor pitches vision of economic growth to Pittsburgh Technology Council
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday outlined a vision of economic growth before a consortium of technology companies, reiterating a mantra he has focused on since his mayoral campaign. “If we want to grow Pittsburgh, we have to do it, and we have to do it fast,” O’Connor told roughly...
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, revered Civil Rights leader, has died at 84
CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84. As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with...
Police mergers prove beneficial for Western Pa.’s smaller communities
Police mergers, which have long provided staffing and financial relief for smaller departments, are emerging as a solution for forces of all sizes across the Alle-Kiski Valley. As equipment costs climb and retaining part-timers becomes increasingly difficult, consolidation is more often being eyed for viability. “There are only so many...
6-year-old Girl Scout from Pittsburgh breaks Western Pa. cookie sales record
Pim Marie Anorak Neill became enamored with selling Girl Scouts cookies at just 3 years old, long before she was old enough to become a Scout. Now a 6-year-old from Mt. Washington, Pim is the top seller in the organization’s 27-county Western Pennsylvania district. Pim has sold 106,800 boxes of...
3 killed, including suspect, in shooting during Rhode Island youth hockey game
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A shooting during a Rhode Island youth hockey game left three people dead, including the shooter, and three more hospitalized Monday night in critical condition, authorities said. Pawtucket police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that someone helped bring a swift end to the violent scene Monday afternoon...
Robert Duvall, acting legend known for intense roles, dead at 95
When Robert Duvall was floundering around in college, his father, a career Navy man who retired with the rank of rear admiral, told him to shape up — and start acting. “I wasn’t pushed into it but suggested into it,” Duvall once told an interviewer. “They figured I did skits...
1 killed in McKeesport crash
One person was killed and three others injured in a two-vehicle crash in McKeesport Saturday night, Allegheny County Police said. The victim, who was not identified, was a passenger in a Honda Accord in the accident that occurred at about 8:50 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of 28th and Rockwood...
Explore Amish culture at Dutchman Amish Market in Vandergrift
Aundrea “Andie” Martin has always appreciated Amish culture and the products created through Amish practices. Martin, from the West Lebanon neighborhood of Young Township, Indiana County, has embarked on a mission to bring Amish creations to a larger population. She’s doing it through her store, The Dutchman Amish Market in...
With arrivals of All-Stars, Pirates GM proclaims this team the ‘most talented group we’ve had’
BRADENTON, Fla. — Don Kelly was pumped to see the new All-Star additions to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the field together for the first time, as sluggers Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna made their Pirate City debuts in black and gold. Only to be upstaged by Paul Skenes...
2 from W.Va. charged with threatening people in Tarentum home with guns during custody exchange
A woman and a man from West Virginia were arrested after the woman pulled a handgun during a child custody exchange in Tarentum on Friday night, according to court records. Tarentum police arrested Alexis Sage Simpkins, 22, of Morgantown, W.Va., and Joseph Erickson, 24, of Fairmont, W.Va., after responding shortly...
Pittsburgh to see winter warm-up reaching 60 degrees in week ahead
After enduring an extended run of bitterly cold weather and a snowfall unlike any seen in years, Pittsburgh-area residents will get to enjoy a winter warmup in the week ahead. The upward trend will peak Friday, when there’s a chance of breaking 60 degrees for the high, National Weather Service...
Lower Burrell residents report unusual behavior from neighbor before police say he fired shot into their house
A Lower Burrell resident told police they were standing near their kitchen window Saturday evening when they heard a “pop,” followed by a loud ringing in their ears and the feeling of glass hitting their face. They figured it had to have been a bullet fired from the house next...
