Top Stories category, Page 324
Steelers fail to overcome big early deficit against Colts
INDIANAPOLIS — When the Pittsburgh Steelers last visited Lucas Oil Stadium 10 months ago, they frittered away an early two-score advantage and gave up 30 unanswered points in a deflating loss. Presented with a chance to turn the tables Sunday on the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers pieced together a furious...
Backyard bee watchers, photographers help discover multiple new species in Pa.
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Discovering bees requires patience, a discerning eye, and lots of tools. Over 16 months, Kevin Thomas, a participant in a citizen...
‘It wasn’t as trashy as I’ve seen it’: Luke Bryan clean-up crews leave little sign of Farm Tour stop in South Huntingdon
Passersby Sunday morning would have no idea the Cunningham family farm in South Huntingdon swelled to crowds of 18,000 people to see country music artist Luke Bryan the night before. Luke Bryan’s annual Farm Tour turned the once quiet 90-acre farm into a sea of RVs, school buses, cornhole boards...
East Huntingdon carjacking suspect caught in North Carolina; missing dog might be near I-95 rest stop
Lucky the dog was missing Sunday when his owner’s car was found. Kenneth Wilson Crider, 43, of Maryland, wanted in connection with an East Huntingdon carjacking, was apprehended late Saturday after a police chase in North Carolina. But Lucky, a 10-year-old Airedale terrier who belongs to the stolen car’s owner,...
Supplies, emergency workers rushed to North Carolina while Florida digs out from Helene’s damageVideo
PERRY, Fla. — The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became clear to officials who warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild. North Carolina...
Ianni’s Pizzeria in Delmont suffers ‘significant damage’ from fire
The Ianni’s Pizzeria location in Delmont suffered extensive damage in a fire early Sunday morning. Crews from Delmont, White Valley, Murrysville, Slickville, Claridge and Forbes volunteer fire departments were dispatched to the restaurant shortly before 4 a.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. The fire departments worked to put...
‘Microschools’ growing as option as more families seek school choice
In the fast-changing landscape of education, where school choice is increasingly valued by families across the political spectrum, a new model is growing in popularity: the microschool. Typically, microschools serve a small group of students, ranging from five to around 20 per school. These schools emphasize personalized learning experiences and...
Luke Bryan ‘kicks the dust up’ at Westmoreland County stop on his Farm Tour
A crowd of 18,000 party-seeking country music fans descended on Cunningham Family Farm in South Huntingdon Township on Saturday night. It may seem like an unusual venue from the outside, but for a stop on country music star Luke Bryan’s “Farm Tour,” the sprawling field fit right in. Bryan’s “Farm...
Westmoreland farm turns into a country music party venue as Luke Bryan brings in his Farm Tour
Thousands of vehicles carrying cowboy boot-clad country music fans descended upon a normally quiet family farm in South Huntingdon on Saturday afternoon. The 90-acre Cunningham family farm, tucked into a maze of rural roads not far from Interstate 70, welcomed country music star Luke Bryan’s annual Farm Tour. Hayrides, tractors,...
Urban oasis: Farms sprout in Pittsburgh’s food deserts
Ebony Lunsford-Evans would like nothing more than to spend all day tending her crops and chickens. “I spend a lot of my time out here,” the woman known to some as Farmer Girl Eb said on a recent August morning, gesturing at the farm she runs in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood....
Feeding the masses: Tarentum urban farm provides more than food to borough residents
Tarentum is far smaller than Pittsburgh, but the appetite for urban farming to help the poor is just as big. In this Alle-Kiski Valley community of just over 4,000 people, a small community garden launched in 2015 is today feeding low-income residents and others who struggle to find food in...
Thai Place Restaurant to close after 35 years in business
Surin Thamwiwat teared up as she talked about saying goodbye to customers, many who she’s known for more than three decades. “When I talk to customers and tell them we are closing, they cry and then I cry,” said Surin, sitting next to her beloved husband, Santi Thamwiwat, inside Thai...
JD Vance initially turned away from Primanti Bros. in North Versailles
Sen. JD Vance, the Republican pick for vice president, may have missed out on a Pittsburgh staple Saturday after he was initially turned away from the Primanti Bros. in North Versailles, but it seems there’s no hard feelings. Photos and videos posted to social media, including by a reporter from...
Paul Skenes shines in final start of rookie season, Pirates hit 5 homers to beat Yankees
Paul Skenes made Jazz Chisholm jump back off the plate with an inside fastball that was just a tick shy of triple digits for a called third strike to end the second inning, then walked off the mound wearing a wide smile. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander had a perfect ending...
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at Christian, revival-style event in Monroeville
Bookended in the schedule by pastors, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance played the hits at a tightly regulated town hall Saturday afternoon in Monroeville, addressing inflation, the opioid epidemic and what he called socialism in public schools. Hundreds of rally goers, some clad in gear with variations of the...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Move is what’s best for business for A’s
The A’s played their last-ever game in Oakland on Thursday. Oakland Coliseum was packed: 46,889 creating an atmosphere both celebratory and (mostly) funereal. It was sad. But the A’s will finish dead last in MLB attendance. Under a million. They also finished last in 2023 and ‘22. Second-last in 2021....
At least 52 dead and millions without power after Helene’s deadly march across southeastern U.S.
PERRY, Fla. — Massive rains from powerful Hurricane Helene left people stranded, without shelter and awaiting rescue Saturday — as the cleanup began from the tempest that killed at least 52 people, caused widespread destruction across the U.S. Southeast and left millions without power. Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big...
Abortion a top election issue for nearly half of state voters, Spotlight PA poll shows
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. HARRISBURG — Abortion is a top issue for nearly 50% of Pennsylvania voters when considering who to pick for president this November, a new Spotlight...
Pittsburgh Brewing’s Oktoberfest aims at being family friendly, ‘not a drink fest’
Gray skies and scattered showers could not dampen the spirits of hundreds of families that came out for the opening day of Pittsburgh Brewing Co.’s second annual Oktoberfest. Libations were flowing and attendance was growing Friday afternoon and into the night for the start of the two-day celebration in East...
A TV reporter was doing a live hurricane report when he rescued a woman from a submerged car
A weather TV reporter in Atlanta interrupted his live report about Hurricane Helene Friday to rescue a woman from a vehicle stranded by rising floodwaters. Standing in the rain with the submerged vehicle behind him, FOX Weather meteorologist Bob Van Dillen described how the woman drove into a flooded area....
Stop polluting Sewickley Creek, EPA tells Yukon landfill operator
A Yukon landfill operator that stores industrial and hazardous wastes it treats has agreed to repair its onsite wastewater treatment plant that has holes in it, allowing pollution from the facility to be discharged into Sewickley Creek, according to a federal consent decree released Friday. MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. of...
Earth will have a temporary ‘mini moon’ for two months
WASHINGTON — Earth’s moon will soon have some company — a “mini moon.” The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus at 33 feet (10 meters). When it whizzes by Earth on Sunday, it will be temporarily trapped by our planet’s gravity and orbit...
Harris inspects fence at U.S.-Mexico border as she works to project tougher stance on migration
DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Vice President Kamala Harris walked a scrubby stretch of fence line along Arizona’s border with Mexico on Friday, seeking to project an image of strength against illegal migration as she confronts one of her biggest vulnerabilities in the November election. In her first trip to the international...
Hurricane Helene kills at least 44 and cuts a swath of destruction across the Southeast
PERRY, Fla. — Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the southeastern U.S. on Friday, killing at least 44 people, snapping towering oaks like twigs and tearing apart homes as rescue crews launched desperate missions to save people from floodwaters. Among those killed were three firefighters,...
Police, FBI probe reported antisemitic attack on Jewish Pitt student
The FBI and Pittsburgh police are investigating an off-campus attack early Friday on a Jewish student at the University of Pittsburgh by a group of six to eight men who used antisemitic language, authorities said. Pitt confirmed Friday evening that the victim, who suffered a bruised lip and was not...
