Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 16
Could hantavirus spark the next pandemic? Pittsburgh doctors explain
In the wake of a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship, some people have fears the virus could spark another pandemic similar to covid-19. As conflicting claims spread online, Pittsburgh medical experts say it’s important to separate fear from fact. So what exactly is hantavirus, and should people be...
Advocates call for Pat Catena to be removed as Allegheny County Council president
A coalition of LGBTQ+ advocates is preparing to attend Tuesday’s Allegheny County Council meeting to protest a campaign flyer distributed by Council President Pat Catena’s state House campaign that targeted a group supporting transgender athletes. The mailer repeatedly refers to Catena’s opponent in next week’s primary election, Brittany Bloam, as...
‘I lost complete trust,’ Delmont husband testifies against wife charged with adopted son’s murder
Jacob Maloberti took the witness stand Monday to testify against his wife, telling a Westmoreland County jury he only began to question how the couple’s 5-year-old adopted son died after they were both arrested and charged with his murder. Testifying before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears, the 36-year-old...
Millvale showdown fizzles fast after police post Facebook warning
High noon looked like it was set to arrive an hour early Tuesday in Millvale. Millvale police Chief Timothy Komoroski took to social media Monday afternoon to give three unidentified people an ultimatum: Call his detectives by 11 a.m. the next day about a vehicle they “brutally damaged” on Sheridan...
Homer City power plant water usage remains unclear
Finding the amount of water the proposed Homer City natural gas-fired power plant and hyperscale data centers will draw from Two Lick Creek remains an unanswered question as state officials prepare for a public hearing Tuesday. During the past six months, the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory at the University of Pittsburgh...
Carnegie resident and immigrant reunites with wife and baby amid legal battles
When Luis Gilberto Loja Mayancela emerged from a friend’s car Friday and into his wife’s arms, it marked an emotional end to nearly four months in federal immigration detention. The reunion had a twist of humor: A friend asked Mayancela’s wife to step outside to look at something in his...
New farmers market proposed for former Ligonier Country Market siteVideo
A special event permit application with Ligonier Township indicates the site previously used by Ligonier Country Market could be filled on Saturdays this summer after all. The Loyalhanna Watershed Association is seeking a permit to use the 9-acre field it owns for a twice-monthly farmers market that would focus on...
Trump says he’ll move to suspend federal gasoline tax. He can’t do it on his own
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he will move to suspend the federal tax on gasoline to help Americans shoulder surging fuel prices caused by the Iran war. The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move. Lawmakers from both parties...
Pittsburgh Mills owners headed to trial on criminal charge
Owners of the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills are headed for a criminal trial following a Monday status conference overseen by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill Rangos. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office charged the property owners in April 2025 with one misdemeanor count of creating a public nuisance due...
Trump says Iran ceasefire is on ‘life support’ and proposes gas tax pause as strait stays closed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump on Monday said the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after rejecting Tehran’s latest proposal, which officials said included some nuclear concessions. Trump also proposed suspending the federal gas tax to help with higher fuel prices caused by the war. The stalled...
Editorial: A clean debate on emissions inspection
Pennsylvanians deserve clean air. Everyone does. That’s not up for debate. The state requires cars to be inspected annually to be legal to drive. In 25 counties, particularly around more densely populated centers like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, there is an additional emissions inspection. Double the stickers. Double the cost. Last...
Greensburg woman optimistic about facing 3rd kidney transplant
Judith “Judy” Hansen O’Toole is in a familiar place. For the past 15 months, the Greensburg resident has undergone kidney dialysis three days a week while awaiting a kidney transplant — 24 years after receiving her first one. “I’m generally an optimistic person,” said O’Toole, 72, who served as the...
Pa.’s home healthcare crisis: Low Medicaid rates drive nursing shortage
Zayva McCachren is one of the oldest living children in the world with a rare terminal condition known as sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase-4, or SMPD4. She is 7. SMPD4 is a gene in the human body, and deficiencies cause severe neurodevelopmental disorders, including a significantly smaller head and stiff or fixed joints....
Cash, code words and contraband: Guards charged in Fayette prison drug ring
State corrections officials have fired two jail guards they say ran a drug ring at a Fayette County prison, fueled by code words shared over jail phone calls and packages mailed from nonexistent addresses. Pennsylvania State Police said a former inmate at State Correctional Institute-Fayette helped corrections officers Beau Thomas...
Frost advisory issued for areas north of Pittsburgh, followed by a freeze watch
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a frost advisory for areas north of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties Sunday night. Allegheny and Westmoreland could fall under a frost advisory Monday night into Tuesday morning, when northern areas will be under a freeze watch, meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said. Counties covered...
Harvest Moon Coffee reimagines space at Heights Plaza
With the closings of major anchor stores at Heights Plaza in Harrison and the loss of traffic, the owner of Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates has chosen to reimagine the second location she opened there under three years ago. Desiree Singleton announced Sunday that her Heights Plaza cafe on Union...
NTSB gathering details on Frontier Airlines evacuation after plane hit and killed person in Denver
The National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday said it is gathering information about the evacuation of a Frontier Airlines plane after it hit and killed a person on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff. The plane, which was heading to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro endorses Bob Harvie’s campaign to oust Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County congressional seat
Gov. Josh Shapiro has officially thrown his support behind Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie’s campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. The Democratic governor’s endorsement comes a little more than a week ahead of the May 19 primary, when Harvie will face grassroots candidate Lucia Simonelli for the party’s nomination...
2 injured in South Side stabbing on East Carson Street
Two men were injured in an early-morning stabbing Sunday in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood, police said. The incident comes amid an uptick in crime in the city’s largest entertainment district. Pittsburgh police said they were dispatched shortly after 3 a.m. for a fight near the intersection of East Carson and...
Iran responds to U.S. ceasefire proposal but Trump rejects it as ‘unacceptable’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the Iran war via Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but U.S. President Donald Trump quickly rejected it in a social media post as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” — the latest setback to efforts to resolve the standoff...
American evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship tests positive
TENERIFE, Canary Islands — One the 17 American passengers evacuated from a cruise ship In the Canary Islands has tested positive for the hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, U.S. health officials said late Sunday. The charter flight was carrying 17 Americans evacuated off the MV Hondius following its...
Editorial: The courage to reach out
There are times when it seems there is nothing to do — when something terrible has happened and all there is to offer is helpless despair. The five-car crash Wednesday near Fort Duquesne Bridge was that kind of moment. Yes, there were people who could be helped. Yes, there were...
From cardiac arrest to recovery: A woman’s journey to her 1st Mother’s Day
A 7-month-old baby squealed with laughter as his father lifted him toward a wind chime hanging from the front porch of the Lovejoy family farm. The sound of the baby’s laugh drifted across the property’s 85 acres in Forward Township. Hannah Lovejoy stood at the bottom of the porch steps,...
Experts: Negotiations likely to reduce fines against Pittsburgh Mills mall
The owners of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer owe more than $19 million in fines on the property, but it’s doubtful the township will ever collect that much money. Experts say that’s because most of the fines are tied up in court appeals and such code violations typically are...
Steelers’ Mike McCarthy says 4 QBs ‘would be awesome,’ but no sign of Aaron Rodgers yet
The system of passing drills that comprise Mike McCarthy’s QB school work best with a trio of quarterbacks, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach explained Saturday at rookie minicamp. “The ideal is to have three guys,” said McCarthy, who mentioned Drew Allar, Will Howard and Mason Rudolph as forming that trio once...
