Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 18
Freeze watch, frost advisory issued for Western Pa.
Get your winter coats back out, Western Pennsylvania. A freeze watch and frost advisory were issued by the National Weather Service in Moon — starting Monday. The frost advisory will be effect from 2 to 10 a.m. Monday, and the freeze watch will be in effect from Monday evening through...
Shapiro wants to eliminate 3 ‘niche’ tax credits; supporters say they should be expanded
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 — For the second year in a row, Gov. Josh Shapiro is asking Pennsylvania lawmakers to scrap three...
Louisiana man kills 8 children and shoots his wife and another woman in Shreveport
SHREVEPORT, La. — A Louisiana man fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport, Louisiana, neighborhood left shaken by one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years, police said. The gunman’s wife, who...
Businesses can claim refunds for Trump tariffs ruled unconstitutional starting Monday
NEW YORK — A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump imposed without the constitutional authority to do so is scheduled to launch Monday. Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal beginning at...
Canada’s prime minister says economic ties with U.S. are a weakness that must be corrected
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected. In the 10-minute address, Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen...
Fears of looser standards as the FBI and Justice Department scramble to fill a depleted workforce
WASHINGTON — The FBI and Justice Department are scrambling to rebuild a depleted workforce after a wave of departures over the past year, with leaders easing hiring requirements and accelerating recruitment in ways that some current and former officials see as a lowering of long-accepted standards. The FBI has used...
U.S. seizes Iranian-flagged ship near Strait of Hormuz and Tehran vows to respondVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires. It was the first...
3-alarm fire displaces 13 in Allentown
A residential structure fire early Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood left 13 people displaced from two homes. Pittsburgh Fire was dispatched just after 5 a.m. Sunday to the 1500 block of Arlington Avenue. What started as a 1-alarm fire “quickly grew to three alarms,” according to Pittsburgh Public Safety...
Editorial: Good start, Harrisburg. Now finish the budget
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is giving people reason to be optimistic. The lawmakers gave their approval Tuesday to the 2026-27 budget. The good news? This is the earliest a budget has moved this far in nine years. The bad news? This is not the finish line. Pennsylvania’s legislators —...
Tim Benz: Forget ‘Flip the Script.’ After Game 1 loss, the Penguins need a playoff rewriteVideo
The Penguins “Flip the Script” rallying cry for the playoffs is quickly taking on a different tone. Because after the team’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the postseason opener Saturday night, that script is going to need a total rewrite. “We were just off in a lot of...
‘We need to regroup’: Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin preaches need for reset ahead of Game 2Video
Inside the Pittsburgh Penguins’ locker room late Saturday night, there was a lot of agreement in the postgame takeaways offered by players. After the Penguins dropped the opening contest of their first-round series to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, at home, the consensus centered around improvements being required before Game 2...
Penguins bumble through Game 1 loss to Flyers
One of the people partly responsible for several of the Stanley Cup banners that hang from the rafters of PPG Paints Arena had a nuanced, measured and calming assessment of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 home loss to the rival Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their first-round series Saturday. Rick...
‘It’s electric’: Penguins vs. Flyers 1st playoff matchup draws rowdy, excited fans to Pittsburgh
Soaked Pittsburgh Penguins fans clamored at the doors of PPG Paints Arena on Saturday, waiting to be let in to the Stanley Cup playoff opening game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Stormy weather in the evening broke up a sunny and warm afternoon and left Jackson Butler and his friends standing...
Death of 2-year-old Pleasant Hills girl ruled a homicide
The death of a 2-year-old girl in Pleasant Hills last week has been ruled a homicide, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said Saturday. According to the medical examiner, Sarah Darji was found unresponsive at home in the 100 block of McClellan Drive on April 7. She was taken to...
FBI says a threatened flight landed safely in Pittsburgh
A plane with a reported threat landed safely at Pittsburgh International Airport Saturday, according to FBI Pittsburgh. United Airlines Flight 2092 departed from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was traveling to LaGuardia Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. It was diverted after the crew reported “a possible security issue” and...
With or without heels, men walk in Greensburg to raise awareness about gender-based violence
It didn’t take a mile to discover that walking in heels can be painful. Just putting them on was enough. “It hurts so bad,” said Brandt Sandstrom, 16, a Greensburg Salem sophomore. He was among members of the school’s football team participating Saturday in the Blackburn Center’s 15th annual Walk...
8 people shot, 2 fatally, in 3 shootings in Pittsburgh and Braddock
Police in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County say eight people were shot, two fatally, in at least three separate incidents in Saturday’s early hours. Braddock The first shooting, in Braddock, was reported just after 2 a.m. That was followed by a shooting just before 2:30 a.m. in Pittsburgh’s Bedford Dwellings neighborhood...
Iran says it has closed Hormuz again over U.S. blockade
CAIRO — The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz quickly escalated again Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade choking off Iranian ports. Confusion over the strait, through which...
All eyes on Pittsburgh as NFL Draft week takes over the city
The stage is set, the city is ready — and the eyes of the football world will soon turn squarely on Pittsburgh. It’s NFL Draft week, at long last. The three-day event begins Thursday, transforming the North Shore and Downtown Pittsburgh into a sprawling festival of football, music and fanfare...
Allegheny Valley School Board to discuss daylong phone ban for students
Allegheny Valley students are barred from using their cellphones during classes, but the school board plans to discuss a new policy that would ban phone use throughout the school day. Students would not be allowed to access their phones at lunch, between classes or during study halls. The board will...
Joe Starkey: Thankfully, Pittsburgh sports in much better shape as NFL Draft spotlight falls upon city
We’re not quite the City of Champions again, but we’re not the City of Chumps, either. Not anymore, and thankfully not this coming week, as the eyes of the sports world descend upon Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft. It’s easier to be a good host when you’re not wearing a...
Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging cuts back as budget falls short
Allegheny County’s Area Agency on Aging is facing a projected shortfall of more than $5 million in its roughly $50 million budget — a gap officials say will mean longer wait times, new service limits and reduced access for older adults seeking help. On Friday, officials said the agency, part...
$1.3B UPMC Presbyterian Hospital tower construction enters home stretch
Sunlight streams in from almost every angle of UPMC’s new glass-paneled hospital tower in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Each of the 636 patient rooms has floor-to-ceiling windows, incorporating research showing the therapeutic effects of a connection with nature. The respite areas for workers to collect their thoughts during tough days follow...
Arts Landing highlights Downtown revitalization efforts ahead of NFL DraftVideo
Arts Landing — the 4-acre, outdoor civic space located at Eighth Street and Penn Avenue in the Cultural District — is open on time ahead of next week’s NFL Draft. The $31 million project’s completion after 22 months contributes to what elected officials and civic leaders called a generational, arts-driven...
Pittsburgh cop punched handcuffed woman in face after she bit, scratched him, court papers say
A Pittsburgh police officer punched a handcuffed woman, bloodying her nose, after she bit and scratched him while resisting arrest on a drug charge, according to court papers filed Thursday. Officer Ronald Postell “delivered a closed-fist strike” to the face of Angel Bradford, 28, during the arrest Wednesday evening in...
