Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 36
Vandergrift fire departments resume operations after 6-day service gapVideo
Vandergrift’s two fire companies are back in business. The volunteer fire departments returned to normal operations Thursday after a six-day service pause, said Mayor Lenny Collini. The gap was caused by lapsed workers’ compensation insurance, which the mayor said was reinstated at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Vandergrift officials noticed the lapse...
Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife and himself 2 weeks before a court deadline to move out
ANNANDALE, Va. — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was facing a court-ordered deadline to move out of his family’s home before police say he killed his wife and then himself on Thursday. Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, were found dead in their home in the...
Pope blasts ‘tyrants’ ravaging the Earth during his visit to CameroonVideo
BAMENDA, Cameroon — Pope Leo XIV blasted the “handful of tyrants” who are ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, as he preached a message of peace Thursday in the epicenter of a separatist conflict considered one of the world’s most neglected crises. Leo traveled to the western Cameroon city of...
2 residents, 2 firefighters injured in 3-alarm blaze in Lawrenceville
Two residents and two firefighters were sent to the hospital early Thursday morning after a three-alarm blaze tore through a Lawrenceville row home. Crews were called to the fire around 12:45 a.m. on the 3400 block of Ligonier Street in Lower Lawrenceville. A man living at the home was rescued...
Pittsburgh man accused of firing gun with kids nearby after Neville Island fight
A Pittsburgh man is facing criminal charges after police say he fired several gunshots in the air with children nearby Wednesday evening at a Neville Island roller rink. Tommy Lamont Paige Jr., 32, of Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood is charged with endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and...
Alle-Kiski EMS Authority gets state approval
Property owners in Harrison, Brackenridge and Tarentum will learn in the coming weeks how much they’ll pay for ambulance service next year. The Alle-Kiski Emergency Services Authority, voted into existence March 25 by the three municipal governments, was officially approved this week by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The newly...
Mobile home park owner takes over as Westmoreland County’s top taxpayerVideo
A New Jersey-based company that owns mobile home parks and prefabricated residential communities in a dozen states will be Westmoreland County’s largest taxpayer in 2026. New totals from the county’s tax assessment office reveal United Mobile Homes Properties Inc. has taken the top spot among local taxpayers, replacing the owners...
Doctor gets probation for selling weight-loss drugs from China to Mon Valley Hospital colleagues
A former doctor at Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital was ordered Wednesday in federal court to serve two years probation after pleading guilty to illegally selling weight-loss drugs to hospital employees. Liana Bittner, who worked at the hospital as an emergency department physician, said in court documents she was not...
Officials hope sky’s the limit for Downtown Pittsburgh following NFL DraftVideo
New retailers, art installations and even a small museum are popping up throughout Downtown Pittsburgh in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft — and officials hope they remain long after the event. Mayor Corey O’Connor, standing Wednesday afternoon in a new Moonshot Museum Simulation Lab on Penn Avenue near...
Murrysville attorney on trial for alleged road rage incident
The former wife of a high-powered Murrysville lawyer told a Westmoreland County judge her estranged husband used his car as a weapon and ran her off a road near her home three years ago amid a heated custody battle. Brad Funari, 49, was charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless...
Pa. House sends budget proposal to Senate earlier than it has in nearly a decade
The state House sent a proposed $53.3 billion budget for the coming fiscal year to the Senate on Tuesday — the earliest it has initially passed a spending plan in nearly a decade. The plan passed this week by the Democratic-controlled House has virtually no chance of making it through...
Sewickley father detained by ICE since February has reunited with family
A Sewickley father has been reunited with his family after being in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for nearly two months. Bruno Guedes da Silva, a native of Brazil, was freed on a $5,000 bond set by an immigration judge this week. He reunited with the family Tuesday evening at...
Harrison family creates community rock garden to memorialize 3-year-old daughter
A purple tulip sprouted in Madisyn Murray-Sinicki’s Natrona lawn the day she decided to plant a rock garden for her daughter. “I believe it was a sign,” said Murray-Sinicki, whose 3-year-old daughter, Karma, died in January at their Pine Street home. “I have this idea — it’s a little silly...
Lawsuit accuses Shady Side Academy of firing nursing director who raised concernsVideo
The former director of nursing at Shady Side Academy, a private pre-K through grade 12 school in Fox Chapel and Pittsburgh, is suing after she said its administrators repeatedly directed her to disregard state regulations governing how medications are delivered in school and interfered with her ability to do her...
Pittsburgh Brewing pours its heart into new Downtown taproom experimentVideo
After 165 years brewing and distributing some of Pittsburgh’s most iconic beers, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. has reemphasized the first word of its name by pouring its heart into a taproom experiment in the heart of Downtown. With the first of its taprooms located at its 42-acre brewing and distilling campus...
What is the ‘just war theory’ that U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson invoked to defend Trump from Pope Leo?
Following recent social media disagreements between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV surrounding the Iran war, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday used the “just war theory” to defend the president’s criticism of the pontiff. But what exactly is the “just war theory”? Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, insisted...
Senate Republicans reject effort to halt Iran war, but some eye future war powers votesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that...
Driver in red-light crash that killed motorcyclist in Downtown Pittsburgh gets probation
Heidi Christopher knows exactly how long it’s been since her father was killed driving his motorcycle in Downtown Pittsburgh: 640 days. That’s how she measures time now as she grieves the man who helped her raise her children, who provided unconditional love, who had spent nearly 21 years sober and...
Pittsburgh man charged with fatally beating, burning girlfriend
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man charged with killing his girlfriend in December, accusing him of beating and burning her before driving her naked corpse to a North Side home and abandoning it. Tyrone Good, 44, was arraigned Wednesday on one count of criminal homicide, a day after being extradited...
Jeannette boosts pay for new patrol officers to address 3 open positions
Two agreements between Jeannette and its police union are aimed at filling three open full-time positions in the department and alleviating rising overtime costs. Council approved the measures that will increase pay for new hires in 2026 and allow the police chief to collect overtime pay. So far this year,...
FDA to weigh easing limits on unproven peptides favored by RFK Jr. and other MAHA figures
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting this summer to consider easing restrictions on more than a half dozen peptide injections, a group of unapproved therapies that have become popular among wellness influencers, fitness gurus and celebrities. The meeting announcement Wednesday follows repeated pledges by Health...
Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders pitch board on ‘Future-Ready Facilities Plan’ to improve equity
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials on Tuesday presented more information on the impacts its proposed Future-Ready Facilities Plan will have on school instruction, staffing and finances. The plan calls for the closure of nine buildings and 12 schools, reconfigures grade structures at some district buildings and phases out nearly all elementary-level...
DNA leads to charges, arrest in 1989 kidnapping, rape case in Reserve
A DNA match has resulted in an Aliquippa man being charged in connection with a kidnapping and rape of a woman reported to Reserve police more than 37 years ago. Allegheny County Police charged Lewis Vearnon, 65, on Tuesday with rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault and indecent assault. Vearnon...
Mark Madden: Penguins vs. Flyers in the Stanley Cup playoffs just means more
The old enemy. Playing Philadelphia in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs seems scripted. Miss the postseason for three years, then get re-introduced via the Battle of Pennsylvania. The Flyers hadn’t made the playoffs since 2020. It will be intense. But the problem with this script is that...
Authority board approves scaled-back solar farm project for Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
A scaled-back solar farm is moving forward at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport after an Arizona-based energy company received the green light this week. The project aims to power an expanded passenger terminal in Unity and could generate extra revenue for the airport over the next 20 years. The $4.4 million...
