Top Stories category, Page 197
Man indicted in ‘grandparent scam’ that hit Western Pa. residents
An 89-year-old hearing impaired man received a call from someone he believed was his son on Dec. 12, stating he had been arrested for a drunken driving crash in Baltimore. Shortly after, the man received another phone call from someone posing as an attorney. This person said that the son...
Judge rejects plea deal in North Huntingdon high-speed crash
A Westmoreland County judge Friday rejected a plea deal for a North Huntingdon man accused of driving 90 mph in July 2024 before colliding with another vehicle in a crash that seriously injured the other driver. Judge Scott Mears said the plea deal arranged for Nolan P. Mullen, 22, would...
Investigation continues into fatal New Kensington fire
The cause of a house fire in New Kensington on Thursday afternoon that took the life of a bartender at the Lower Burrell American Legion remains unclear. Amy L. Seguiti died in her home in the 1100 block of Strawn Avenue when fire tore through the upper floor. She was...
Nearly half of National Weather Service offices have 20% vacancy rates, and experts say it’s a risk
WASHINGTON — After Trump administration job cuts, nearly half of National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates — twice that of just a decade ago — as severe weather chugs across the nation’s heartland, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. Detailed vacancy data for all 122...
Markets plunge with S&P 500 down 6%, Dow down 2,200 as their worst crisis since covid deepens
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s worst crisis since covid slammed into a higher, scarier gear Friday. The S&P 500 lost 6% after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week. The move increased the stakes in a trade war that could end with a recession...
Washington Township man sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison in 2023 fatal crash
A Washington Township man was sentenced to three to six years in state prison Friday for the death of a fellow township man in a 2023 fatal crash. David Bedick, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence in the death of Alex Orange, 21,...
Federal Reserve chief says Trump tariffs likely to raise inflation and slow U.S. economic growth
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Trump administration’s expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, and the Federal Reserve will focus on keeping price increases temporary, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell said that the tariffs, and their impacts on the economy and inflation, are “significantly...
Man claims Iron Mountain fired him for wearing company visor to Butler County Trump rally
A Butler County man claims in a federal lawsuit that Iron Mountain, one of the nation’s biggest record storage companies, fired him after he wore a sun visor emblazoned with its name to the rally where President Donald Trump was shot in July. Images of Clarence Stamm in the visor...
Pirates home opener: Fans looking forward to a day at PNC Park
For the first time ever, the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the New York Yankees in a home opener. Gates opened at 2 p.m. at PNC Park, which is celebrating its 25th season. First pitch is 4:12 p.m., a nod to Pittsburgh’s area code. The Pirates have struggled early on but...
Former Westmoreland purchasing department director, county agree to separation agreement
The director of Westmoreland County’s purchasing department who was suspended in February was allowed to resign under a separation agreement approved by the commissioners. The agreement offers no details about why Daniel Ellingsen, who was hired in mid-November, was suspended. He first was placed on paid leave and later the...
Trump says things are ‘going very well’ after worst stock market drop in years over tariffs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment after the stock market dropped sharply Thursday over his tariffs, saying, “I think it’s going very well.” “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” he said when asked about the...
China imposes 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products starting April 10
BEIJING — China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs. The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff...
Rain likely a factor for PNC Park’s opening weekend
Pittsburgh Pirates fans might be in for a soggy opening weekend at PNC Park. There’s a chance of rain throughout the weekend, with a flood watch is in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday, said Colton Milcarek, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon. It looks like the home opener...
Boom time: Trout opener boosts economy, outdoor fun
Isaac Versaw calls trout season the “money months.” The 19-year-old works at Allegheny Angler in Tarentum, a one-stop shop for licenses, bait, tackle, rods and reels of all kinds. He said the shop, which is next to the Tarentum Bridge about a block from the Allegheny River, attracts a special...
Despite market volatility, local retirement experts urge restraint
Ride it out. That’s the general advice local financial advisers are giving those nearing retirement age who are watching stock markets around the world tumble after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs. With at least 60% of Americans, by some estimates, tied to the stock market through 401(k)s, IRAs or...
Top Democrats protest after reported firing of National Security Agency director
WASHINGTON — Top congressional Democrats on Thursday protested the reported firing of Gen. Tim Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, with one lawmaker saying the decision “makes all of us less safe.” The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy...
Driver injured as car crashes into Hempfield auto dealership
The business day ended earlier than expected Thursday afternoon when an SUV crashed into the office of Pinnacle Auto Sales in Hempfield. The driver and sole occupant of the SUV was taken by ambulance for treatment at a hospital, firefighters said. There were no other injuries in the crash reported...
Officials, activists rally for transgender rights, call on UPMC to provide gender-affirming care to minors
Cori Fraser last week was preparing to take their 18-year-old child for a gender-affirming surgery at UPMC. But Salem, Fraser’s child who also uses they/them pronouns, found out just days before the surgery that it was canceled. Fraser said UPMC had scrapped planned gender-affirming treatments for patients under 19 to...
Stomped, stabbed, then a bullet to the head: Pair charged in vicious Pittsburgh slaying
Police have charged two Pittsburgh men with breaking into a Knoxville home in 2022, brutally assaulting the man who lived there and videotaping part of the attack before killing him. Deonte Kidd, 30, of Lincoln-Lemington, and Le’Juane Powell, 31, of Beltzhoover, were charged last week in the death of Victor...
Trump says Musk will probably leave in ‘a few months’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Elon Musk would likely leave his administration in “a few months,” the clearest sign that his most powerful and disruptive adviser will be wrapping up his work inside the government. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that “Elon is fantastic” but...
Westmoreland agency on aging celebrates uptick in staffing, performance rates
Carrie Nelson is proud to help prevent and address abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly Westmoreland County residents. But when the county Area Agency on Aging lost 75% of its protective services care managers in the summer of 2022, Nelson, as executive director, was put in a difficult position. “We...
O’Connor pitches ideas to improve public safety as Pittsburgh mayor
Corey O’Connor pledged Thursday that if elected Pittsburgh mayor he would oversee a range of public safety improvements. They would include bettering recruiting and retention of public safety workers, opening resource centers throughout the city and asking Pittsburgh’s hospitals to pay for new ambulances. O’Connor, who is Allegheny County’s controller...
Storms kill 7 in the South and Midwest as forecasters warn of catastrophic rain, floods this weekVideo
LAKE CITY, Ark. — Standing alongside the twisted steel tractors on his family farm in northeast Arkansas on Thursday, Danny Qualls looked on while friends and relatives helped him begin cleaning up. The home where he spent his childhood but no longer lives was flattened by one of many tornadoes...
Trial set for Greensburg man accused of providing fatal overdose to nephew
A Greensburg man accused of providing his nephew with the fentanyl-laced drug that killed him in October 2021 is scheduled to go on trial in Westmoreland County Court next week. Jury selection before Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of Michael A. Rebosky,...
Judge says U.S. government may have ‘acted in bad faith’ as he weighs contempt over deportation order
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration may have “acted in bad faith” by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country before a court could block their deportations to El Salvador. U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg in Washington pressed a Justice Department lawyer to...
