Top Stories category, Page 187
‘Who am I to judge?’ Pope Francis had an informal, lighthearted speaking style
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who died on Monday, had an informal, lighthearted speaking style, and sometimes he even created words in a combination of his native Spanish with the Italian that he spoke as pope. Some of his memorable quotes: A simple, initial greeting “Brothers and sisters, good evening!”...
‘Very humble and very patient’: W. Pa. Catholics mourn Pope Francis
Meeting Pope Francis made for a memorable, albeit unusual, 25th wedding anniversary celebration for Nat and Melanie Pantalone. The Greensburg couple, about 20 priests and several others celebrating their anniversaries had a private Mass in April 2015 in Rome with the first Latin American pontiff. Nat Pantalone remembered being nervous...
Survey finds ignorance and fear surrounding nuclear cleanup in Parks Township
A report from a University of Pittsburgh public health graduate student has found lingering information gaps and distrust surrounding the Army Corps of Engineers’ planned cleanup of the Parks Township nuclear waste dump. “There is a very intense fear around the site, and people have stuck to that,” said Ariana...
What happens after the pope dies? Here’s how the next pope is elected
VATICAN CITY — The death of a pope starts a centuries-old ritual involving sacred oaths by the cardinals electing a successor, the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they’re counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there’s a...
Pope Francis, 1st Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday. He was 88. The Vatican said Francis died of a stroke that put him into...
Vehicle destroyed by fire on Route 28 in Armstrong County, no one hurt
No one was hurt in a vehicle fire Sunday morning on Route 28 in Armstrong County, according to Freeport Fire-EMS. The fire on northbound Route 28 just north of the Buffalo High Level Bridge in South Buffalo was reported around 9:30 a.m., according to Armstrong County 911. Freeport Fire-EMS was...
Hegseth had 2nd Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, The New York Times reported. A person familiar...
Authorities searching for pit bull after attack on 2-year-old in Knoxville home
Authorities are searching for a dog that ran from a home in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood after seriously injuring a 2-year-old boy Sunday afternoon. The dog attack in the 200 block of Moore Avenue was reported just after 1:30 p.m. According to police, homeowners called 911 after their dog, a 2-year-old...
Police investigate shooting on subway platform that led to Harvard students sheltering in place
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Transit police in Boston were investigating a shooting on a subway platform at Harvard University on Sunday that prompted the school to issue a shelter-in-place order for students and staff. Authorities temporarily rerouted passengers on part of the city’s subway system to shuttle buses as officers from...
Tornado-producing storm deals deadly flooding and large hail to Oklahoma and TexasVideo
A slow-moving, active storm system brought heavy rain, large hail and tornadoes to parts of Texas and Oklahoma and left two people dead as severe weather warnings Sunday continue to threaten parts of the south-central and Midwest U.S. On Easter Sunday, communities in Texas and Oklahoma were beginning to assess...
Hempfield driver dies in head-on collision with tree
A Hempfield man died Saturday after the Ford pickup truck he was driving crashed, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Kenneth R. Altman, 68, was traveling on North Greengate Road in Hempfield around 4:15 p.m. when the pickup left the road and collided head-on with a tree. He was...
PennDOT sets open house for I-70 interchange project, plans paving, patching in Westmoreland
PennDOT is hosting an open house Tuesday in Rostraver to offer details on the construction timeline and related traffic changes for its update of the Arnold City interchange on Interstate 70. The meeting is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at the Rostraver Central fire hall, 1100 Fells Church Road....
After years of turmoil, Lower Valley Ambulance Service does ‘complete 180’
When Terry Anzaldi took over as EMS chief of Lower Valley Ambulance Service in October 2023, he said reordering the foundering service was like putting together pieces of a puzzle. In 2022, the service rang the alarm bells, saying it had entered a “financial crisis” and needed relief from local...
Editorial: Hunting for joy at Easter
Easter is about a joy that isn’t given. It is sought. On the Fourth of July, joy lights up the sky. On Halloween, we knock on doors and ask for it. On Thanksgiving, it is spread out on the table. On Christmas, it is wrapped up and tagged and placed...
Team that resurrected dire wolf has Pitt, Penn State connectionsVideo
Some of the scientific groundwork that paved the way for a rebirth of the long-extinct dire wolf took place in Pennsylvania. With much fanfare, Texas company Colossal Biosciences announced April 7 that its scientists had returned the dire wolf, a species extinct for more than 10,000 years, “to its rightful...
Power tools: Robotics research at Carnegie Mellon aims to revolutionize everyday tasksVideo
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s foremost tech conference, farming machinery giant Kubota introduced Flash, a vehicle-mounted camera that creates ultra-detailed images to help farmers care for their crops. It was an idea born in a Carnegie Mellon University robotics lab and another example of the revolutionary technology...
Building the Valley: Numa Yoga brings a calming presence to Freeport
It’s mid-morning on a Thursday in March, and Kristen Formaini is searching for “effortless.” The soft music, wafts of burning palo santo and three heaters set to a stuffy 85 degrees are all meant to help her and her students find it. “We repeat things all the time in this...
Anti-Trump protesters turn out to rallies in New York, Washington and other cities across country
NEW YORK — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals. The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of...
Pirates offer vouchers for fans who missed out on Paul Skenes Rookie of the Year bobblehead
Paul Skenes Bobblehead Day proved to be quite a draw for fans Saturday afternoon at PNC Park. So much so that the Pirates have decided to offer additional bobbleheads to those who weren’t among the first 20,000 to enter the ballpark. Fans lined the streets of the North Shore and...
Volunteers turn out to get New Ken mansion in order for reopening as restaurant, bed-and-breakfast
Robin Richards has been fascinated by the former Bloser Mansion in New Kensington since she was a little girl. She had always wanted to go inside but wasn’t even allowed on the property. “We were dirty looking little kids,” she said. Richards went inside the mansion for the first time...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: 10 things to expect for Penguins in 2025-26
Ten things that will happen before the end of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ next season: 1. Winger Ville Koivunen will be NHL Rookie of the Year. Good speed, great playmaker, plays the 10-foot game that Sidney Crosby prefers. He had seven assists in eight NHL games this season and only scratched...
Spring allergies are back. Here’s how to check pollen levels and keep from sneezing
ATLANTA — Allergy season can be miserable for tens of millions of Americans when trees, grass, and other pollens cause runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing. Where you live, what you’re allergic to and your lifestyle can make a big difference when it comes to the severity of your...
250 years after America went to war for independence, a divided nation battles over its legacy
LEXINGTON, Mass. — Thousands of people came to this Massachusetts town Saturday just before dawn to witness a reenactment of how the American Revolution began 250 years ago, with the blast of gunshot and a trail of colonial spin. Starting with Saturday’s anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord,...
Some Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump are now embraced as heroes and candidates for office
JACKSON, Mich. — Ryan Kelley thought he had a good shot at becoming Michigan’s governor in 2022. That is, until he was charged with misdemeanors for participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. His campaign sputtered and he finished fourth out of five candidates in the Republican...
Man, juveniles convicted of poaching white-tailed deer in Somerset County, prohibited from hunting for decades
It will be decades before three people convicted of poaching 19 white-tailed deer in Somerset County over a two-month span in 2020 are allowed to hunt again, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Although authorities were able to tie 19 poached deer to the three suspects, they said they believe...
