Top Stories category, Page 1756
Judge: UPMC-Highmark split set for June 30
A Commonwealth Court judge on Friday ruled against Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s request to block the insurance network split of UPMC and Highmark at the end of this month. Judge Robert E. Simpson determined that Shapiro’s legal team “cannot state a cause of action” for changing the expiration date...
Transgender track star: I’m the one at a ‘disadvantage’ racing against girls
Since Cece Telfer’s victory in an NCAA track and field race last month, many people have questioned the fairness of a trans woman competing against a field of cis gender women. Telfer agrees it isn’t fair. Although, she claims it’s her that has the disadvantage. ‘If anything, me competing against...
2 high school grads remembered after deadly Mammoth Park lightning strikeVideo
Sergio Bell would FaceTime every night with one of his best friends, Kaitlyn E. Rosensteel, who he nicknamed Bubba and took to prom. Everyone else referred to her as Moe. With his other best friend, Brendan A. McGowan, he would jam out to music in the car, sometimes persuading McGowan...
Trump won’t promise to endorse Pence for president in 2024
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday morning that if Vice President Mike Pence runs for president in 2024, he wouldn’t automatically have his endorsement. The president was asked the hypothetical during a wide-ranging interview on “Fox & Friends.” “You’re talking about a long time. You can’t put me in...
Parkway East closures to impact weekend traffic
Check your route if your weekend travel plans involve Parkway East. Westbound Parkway East lanes from Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) to the Boulevard of the Allies on-ramp will be closed starting at 9 p.m. Friday for road work, according to PennDOT. Closures will continue through 5 a.m. Monday. All trucks heading...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 14-16
There are plenty of things to do to celebrate with dad this weekend. Happy Father’s Day! Be artistic This is the final weekend of the 60th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Downtown. Friday through Sunday throughout the Cultural District, Point State Park, and Gateway Center. Get your art...
Another black bear sighting — this time in South Fayette
Don’t feed the bear. That’s what South Fayette officials are telling residents after a small black bear was spotted walking around the township on Thursday. Officials said the bear was roaming and eating bird seed in the Hunting Ridge CSA and Fairview neighborhoods. A photo of the bear was shared...
‘Huddle Up’: Going one-on-one with Kevin Rabbitt
What is Kevin Rabbitt’s biggest pet peeve? What athlete would he trade places with? Who was the best player he ever faced? Who is the most famous contact in his phone? Rabbitt goes one-on-one with Gus Frerotte and Dave Hager in this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. Rabbitt, an...
Pittsburgh’s Amateur Astronomers share their passion for night sky
It’s a party with a plethora of stars. But not the celebrity kind. Explore the night sky and learn about astronomy at star parties. They are sponsored by the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh at its two observatories — Nicholas E. Wagman in Deer Lakes Regional Park (Allegheny County) and...
McKees Rocks rape suspect in custody
A McKees Rocks man accused of rape and other sexual assault charges has turned himself in to authorities. Allegheny County police said Nino Johnson, 24, turned himself in to McKees Rocks police around 9 p.m. Thursday. He is charges with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated assault, rape, terroristic...
Amazon’s HQ2 is already making Virginia county’s housing prices skyrocket
The flood of prosperity Amazon’s HQ2 was supposed to bring to Arlington, Va., is already causing housing prices to spike and inventory to contract, according to new research from local real estate analysts. When the controversial HQ2 decision was announced, critics warned of the havoc it could wreak on the...
2 Western Pa. doctors found not guilty of alleged Suboxone scheme
Two Allegheny County doctors are not guilty of illegally prescribing medication used to treat addiction to narcotic painkillers, a West Virginia jury found Thursday. Dr. Krishan Kumar Aggarwal, 75, of Moon Township, and Dr. Cherian John, 66, of Coraopolis, were acquitted on all charges of health care fraud, conspiracy and...
Help wanted: Pick up 35 tons of bottles, cans, plastics and paper for River Sweep
Now in its 30th year, River Sweep is need of volunteers Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon to clean up litter and debris along local waterways including the Allegheny, Ohio, Monongahela, Youghiogheny, Beaver and Kiski rivers. River Sweep, the largest organized volunteer cleanup event in the country, winds through Ohio,...
Chinese tariffs could impact future firework sales
While thousands of fireworks already have been shipped from China for Fourth of July celebrations, the industry is bracing for tariffs on Chinese goods that could drive up prices and darken skies for future summer celebrations. The 25% tariffs, which the Trump administration proposed in May, would hit a U.S....
Friday is Flag Day in Pittsburgh and beyond
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania became the first state to celebrate Flag Day as a holiday in 1937. This year, the National Flag Foundation in Pittsburgh hopes to inspire Americans across the country to fly the flag for unity and civility. “My mission is to re-establish the flag foundation and revitalize...
Lightning strike kills 18-year-olds at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Twp.
Authorities have identified a man and woman, both 18, who died Thursday afternoon in a lightning strike at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township. Brendan A. McGowan of Eastview Drive, North Huntingdon, and Kaitlyn E. Rosensteel of Chestnut Street, Donora, were pronounced dead at the scene about an hour after...
Pennsylvania approves first mini casino; Westmoreland Mall site still on track
State gaming officials this week approved the first license for a mini casino to operate in Pennsylvania. A vote is expected in the coming months to finalize plans for a proposed facility at Westmoreland Mall. “It will be coming up over the next two, three or four months. It’s on...
Trump says Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to leave White House
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders will be leaving the Trump administration at the end of the month. President Donald Trump announced the news on Twitter Wednesday. He says Sanders will be returning to her home state of Arkansas and has not immediately named a successor. Sanders is...
The story behind that photo of Pittsburgh Councilwoman Harris on horse
It makes a lot of horse sense for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and North Side Councilwoman Darlene Harris to cooperate. And with Harris poised to ride off into the sunset of her time on council, it appears the two, longtime political foes appear to be doing just that. Peduto and...
6 reported injured in crash between bus and tractor-trailer in Salem
Six people were taken to area hospitals Thursday afternoon from a wreck involving two tractor-trailers, a Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus and a car at the intersection of Routes 819 and 22 in Salem Township, according to emergency responders. The male bus driver and his three wheelchair-bound passengers were among...
Burger King’s upside-down Whopper for ‘Stranger Things’ is just burger flipped over
Burger King is the latest company to partner with Netflix’s “Stranger Things” to offer up some nostalgia for customers and fans of the show as they wait for season three to start. The company announced Thursday it will serve upside down Whoppers in 1980s packaging at select stores beginning June...
Westmoreland Mall to host carnival
It might be a while before Westmoreland Mall’s mini casino comes to fruition. In the meantime, the landmark along Route 30 in Hempfield is hosting a carnival. Located in the parking lot outside the mall, the carnival — which starts at 5 p.m. Friday — will feature classic games like...
Man, teenage girl killed in Hill District gunfire at Airbnb identified
Authorities have identified a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man killed in a triple shooting Tuesday night in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The shooting happened at a home on McNeil Place that was being rented out as an Airbnb, according to the home-rental company. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified...
Budweiser’s video celebrating stepfathers is a tearjerker
Budweiser is raising a glass to stepdads this Father’s Day with a video that captures real stepchildren surprising their stepfathers with requests to be adopted. The video, posted Wednesday, shows three adults who confess that they weren’t very open to the idea of having a stepfather when it first happened....
Former fire chief convicted in Armstrong County sexual assault case
One of two Armstrong County men accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in 2016 was found guilty by a jury. Mark Alan Feeney, 56, was convicted Wednesday on charges of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors. Feeney is a...
