Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 19
Roving patrols planned through St. Patrick’s Day for impaired drivers
Police will be on the lookout for St. Patrick’s Day revelers behind the wheel starting this weekend in a coordinated enforcement initiative to keep impaired drivers off the road. The “Operation Sober Shamrock” campaign starts Thursday and runs through Saturday. While St. Patrick’s Day is still more than a week...
NFL Draft opens online fan registration
Fan registration for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh is open. In a joint release, the league, Visit Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelers said the event will transform Pittsburgh’s central neighborhoods into an “expansive Draft campus” showcasing the city’s landmarks and rivers. The league is encouraging draft attendees to download...
Takeaways from the 1st elections of the 2026 midterm campaigns
WASHINGTON — The midterms are here. The 2026 campaign kicked off Tuesday with high-profile primary elections in Texas, where Republican Sen. John Cornyn is heading toward a runoff vote against state attorney general Ken Paxton. Democrats chose state Rep. James Talarico over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett to be their candidate....
Structural issues delay Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge reopening in Pittsburgh
A key Pittsburgh bridge project has hit a speed bump. The Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge in Oakland, which was expected to reopen sometime this year, now won’t open until 2028 at the earliest. “As work continues on the Charles Anderson Bridge, inspectors have identified unexpected deterioration in portions of the...
Export seeks funding to create historical mine area, trail connectionVideo
Export officials have spent the past decade shining a light on its future, revamping the borough’s downtown area and paving its central parking lot. Now, they want to shine a light on its past. But it will take a big chunk of grant money to get it done. The borough...
Bikeshare workers form union in Pittsburgh
Workers at Pittsburgh bikeshare nonprofit POGOH have unionized. The organizers filed to join the Transport Workers Union of America last month, and they said in a Tuesday press release that POGOH employees “voted overwhelmingly” to do so. TWU already represents workers for bikeshare organizations in New York City, Boston, Chicago,...
Ex-Allegheny County health inspector, a Sikh man, claims he was forced to shave beard, files lawsuit
A Sikh man and former inspector with the Allegheny County Health Department is suing the agency in federal court alleging discrimination because of his beard, which he claims he was once forced to shave while at work. Navin Kohli, who served as an environmental health specialist, on Tuesday filed the...
Freight rail industry had safest year on record in 2025, advocacy group says
A group representing the nation’s freight rail companies said Wednesday that newly released data show last year was the safest year on record for the industry. The Association of American Railroads said the overall train accident rate dropped 14 percent compared to 2024, while derailments were down 13.6%, according to...
Turkey says NATO shot down Iranian missile heading to Turkish airspace
Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran heading toward Turkish airspace had been shot down by NATO air defenses, threatening to pull more countries into the widening conflict in the Middle East. The ministry did not say what the missile’s intended target was. An attack...
Georgia man charged in connection to Carrick homicide
A Georgia man has been charged with homicide after police say he caused his brother-in-law’s death and hid the body under an 18-wheeler in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood. Steven Thomas, 52, of Statesboro, Ga., is charged with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. At 8:29 p.m. Monday,...
Ligonier Country Market lease negotiations continue as traditionally scheduled opening nears
With the Ligonier Country Market’s May 16 opening day just over two months away, the future of the 50-year-old local tradition remains in limbo as organizers and their longtime landlord attempt to resolve a soured lease dispute. The Loyalhanna Watershed Association, which has hosted the market on its 9.6-acre property...
Westmoreland commissioners to revamp airport authority board
The board that oversees operations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is poised to be significantly revamped through a series of new appointments Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to vote on this week. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said they will appoint four new members to the nine-person...
A 2nd person dies from fatal Liberty Bridge crash; survivor faces rough recovery
A second person has died in connection with a Sunday morning fatal crash along the Liberty Bridge. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office late Wednesday identified the second victim as Jaren Wilkerson, 28, of Duquesne. A GoFundMe has been setup to help the family with burial expenses. Its organizer, Peri Lee,...
Event organizer feuds with Pittsburgh over 2026 NFL Draft permit
An event organizer with a history of clashing with Pittsburgh officials is once again at odds with the city, accusing it of slow-walking his permit application to host 100 Black vendors Downtown for the NFL 2026 Draft. William “B” Marshall is alleging the city, a Downtown nonprofit and the NFL...
Fetterman, Deluzio part of bipartisan push to strengthen rail safety requirements
Bipartisan bills introduced in Congress over the past week aim to strengthen safety requirements for rail carriers hauling hazardous materials, but the group representing the nation’s freight rail companies says the industry is in its “safest era ever.” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, cosponsored the Senate version of the Railway...
West Newton man pleads guilty to accessing intimate images on hundreds of victims through their Snapchat accounts
A West Newton man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to hacking into hundreds of individual Snapchat accounts, accessing intimate videos and images stored there and then trading them online. Michael Yackovich, 30, will be sentenced on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft by Chief...
Pittsburgh VA expanding emergency room at Oakland hospital
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is expanding the emergency room and renovating spaces for physical therapy, neurology and vascular care at its Oakland hospital. Upgrades to the emergency department at the University Drive medical center will allow for faster triage, shorter wait times and more patient beds, the Pittsburgh VA...
West Deer residents appeal to Commonwealth Court in fight over fracking wells
A case argued Tuesday before Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court could test the reach of local efforts to challenge natural gas fracking. Concerned Residents of West Deer (CROWD), a local advocacy group, has raised concerns for years about the Leto fracking well, which is located near the heart of the West Deer...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette files closure notice with Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s planned closure will affect 171 workers, according to a WARN notice filed Tuesday with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The WARN Act, meaning Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, is designed to protect workers, families and communities, according to the commonwealth. Through the act, employers are...
Kristi Noem defends her portrayal of killed Minneapolis protesters as agitators, in Senate hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her department’s immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged two protesters killed by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year. It was Noem’s first congressional appearance...
Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal
No one showed up in court for either side. Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver. And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life...
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, to reopen this weekend
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, is scheduled to reopen this weekend after a yearslong closure for renovations. Located in the city’s South Side neighborhood, the two-story structure is more than 100 years old. “It means a lot to South Side, but it’s not just South Side,” Councilman...
Where does Pitt rank in federal medical research funding?
A tumultuous time for federal research funding didn’t stop the University of Pittsburgh from increasing its annual haul through the National Institutes of Health. For the year ending Sept. 30, Pitt received roughly $670 million from the country’s top funder of medical research, up from $661 million the year prior....
Video plays key role in Wilkinsburg homicide arrest
Police have arrested a Wilkinsburg man for fatally shooting another man in the back of the neck and leaving his body in the middle of a borough intersection. Wilkinsburg police said they were dispatched around 8:40 p.m. Jan. 13 to the 700 block of South Avenue for a call about...
Secret Service probes $5M Unity scam as duo indicted in similar multi-state ‘gold bar’ scheme
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a scam that netted more than $5 million from a local resident through transactions in Unity. Meanwhile, two men are facing an indictment in Ohio federal court for a similar multi-state scheme that tricked senior citizens, including a West Newton man who reported losing...
