Top Stories category, Page 385
Dry, hot weather brings timber rattlesnakes out in Westmoreland
Timber rattlesnakes spotted recently in the St. Clair and Seward areas of Westmoreland County are likely just trying to beat the heat, according to officials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. A St. Clair police officer posted a photo on social media of a timber rattlesnake Friday. The snake...
Bodies found in June in a Moon Township creek have been identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified both people who were discovered last month in Montour Run Creek in Moon Township. First responders were dispatched to the creek, which is in the area of the Montour Run Trail just after 4 p.m. June 28, where they found a man’s...
Violent incidents in Downtown Pittsburgh prompt police to bolster presence
On a Thursday afternoon last month, a summer intern from Pittsburgh’s suburbs was walking on Downtown’s Smithfield Street when she was savagely attacked. Her assailant punched her twice in the head, dragged her into the street by her hair and broke her nose by punching and kicking her in the...
Kittanning nursing home workers plan 3-day strike
Employees at a Kittanning nursing home say they will hit the picket line later this month if a new contract can’t be reached. More than 60 workers represented by the Service Employees International Union at Armstrong Rehabilitation & Nursing Center unanimously approved sending an unfair labor practices strike notice to...
Biden’s low-profile doctor has been thrust into the spotlight after the president’s debate disaster
WASHINGTON — As the physician to President Joe Biden, Dr. Kevin O’Connor is well-known around the White House. The stocky former Army surgeon is always close by his number one patient, ready to provide care or a consult as needed though few outside the building would know who he is....
Chef Toni Pais remembered as mentor, influential culinary force in Pittsburgh
Portugal native, global restaurateur and chef Antonio “Toni” Pais was a culinary leader and fixture in Pittsburgh for more than 40 years. Pais died July 7 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 69. “This was an extraordinary man and there’s not one person who could say anything unkind about...
Murrysville police use drone to find man accused in assault
A high-tech drone helped Murrysville police quickly narrow down where a domestic assault suspect was hiding Tuesday morning in acres of woods, said Capt. Dave Coleman. He manned the device that tracked Jeremy Rupp, 28, of Penn Hills, off Christy Road and ultimately helped officers on foot find and apprehend...
Pittsburgh council creates new fund for festivals … but without any money
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a fund to support festivals and events that were disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic — but they don’t have any money for it. Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, last month introduced legislation to create a fund from the city’s allotment of federal pandemic...
Is there too much Philly in Pennsylvania’s new license plate?
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled new Pennsylvania license plate and state welcome sign designs — ahead of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. One could argue the new license plates have a Philadelphia flavor. The off-white plates contain an image of the Liberty Bell, and the phrase “Let Freedom Ring”...
Pittsburgh councilwoman pushes to end pot testing for medical marijuana card holders
A Pittsburgh councilwoman wants to ban employment discrimination for people with medical marijuana cards. Legislation introduced Tuesday by Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, would make medical marijuana cardholders a protected class. The bill would ban almost all employers in the city from testing prospective employees and current workers for cannabis use...
Pa. great-grandmother who just finished radiation treatments for breast cancer wins $5M lottery prize
A great-grandmother from Pennsylvania who recently completed radiation treatments for breast cancer won $5 million on a scratch-off state lottery ticket that she only bought because a scheduled family trip didn’t go as planned. Donna Osborne, 75, scored the big prize last month when she bought a $50 “Monopoly Own...
Proposed IUP medical school picks up $2M donation
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has picked up another $2 million toward its proposed college of osteopathic medicine, campus officials announced Tuesday. It comes from Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka, IUP graduates and longtime campus supporters. In remarks prepared for the gift’s announcement, Tim Cejka told his alma mater that the...
Shake Shack among new restaurants, stores coming to Pittsburgh International Airport
A new Shake Shack location will be coming to Pittsburgh International Airport, following the chain’s first location in the region opening in the Strip District in May. The chain previously noted plans for upcoming locations in East Liberty and North Fayette. The planned airport location is part of 15 new...
The White House faces many questions about Biden’s health and medical history. Here are some answers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s terrible performance at the June 27 presidential debate has raised concerns about his age, health and ability to lead the federal government. Administration officials have blamed his confused and at times indecipherable answers at the debate with Republican Donald Trump on a head cold, jet...
Morning Roundup: Heat advisory in Southwestern Pa.; woman shot in East Liberty
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, July 9. Southwestern Pennsylvania under heat advisory Much of Southwestern Pennsylvania was placed under a heat advisory by the National Weather Service for Tuesday, from noon until 8 p.m. The advisory stretches across Beaver, Allegheny, Washington, Greene, Fayette,...
Tarentum museum to feature exhibit on former St. Ladislaus Church
During a four-month salvage job at the former St. Ladislaus Church in Natrona, Rachel Brown climbed into the ceiling and crawled through walls to research architecture at the 120-year-old building. “I was in places of the church that people hadn’t been in 100 years,” said Brown, who wasn’t a member...
What should the future of Hempfield Area School District be? New superintendent aims to focus on plan
In his first week as Hempfield Area School District’s superintendent, Mark Holtzman has been busy. The former superintendent for Beaver Area School District began his five-year contract at Hempfield on July 1. In a letter posted online on the district website, he detailed his plans to conduct a series of...
Latrobe’s lone police dog, Zeus, to retire as city opts to end K-9 program
Zeus’ crime-fighting days soon will be over. Latrobe Council voted this week to retire the city police department’s sole police dog and to terminate its K-9 program. City officials said the timing is right for both moves because the German shepherd is more than 8 years old and Latrobe’s police...
Greensburg covers $10K cost of blood storage coolers for Mutual Aid, becomes 2nd municipality to support service
Greensburg will donate $12,000 to Mutual Aid EMS that will cover the cost of two blood storage coolers, becoming the second municipality to give direct financial support to the ambulance service. Mutual Aid launched its blood program in May, outfitting two of its vehicles with bags of blood, transfusion equipment...
United Methodists gather in Pittsburgh this week for northeastern conference
Hundreds of United Methodists are in Pittsburgh this week for the first time since the denomination voted to remove restrictions on LGBTQ pastors and same-sex marriages. Delegates from 12 states are attending the 2024 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, typically held every four years. The event brings together about 600 members of...
Bloody footprints link New Kensington murder suspect to crime scene, police say
Police say bloody footprints link a New Kensington man to the stabbing death of his former roommate. Nico Harris, 40, is charged with killing David Risher, 58, in the house they once shared at 615 Freeport Road. Police said they arrested Harris after finding bloody footprints near Risher’s body that...
Tim McNulty, ex-reporter, Peduto and Penguins spokesman, dies at 54 after cancer battle
Tim McNulty, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter who went on to serve as a spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto and then the Pittsburgh Penguins, died Friday at his North Side home after a long battle with cancer. He was 54. City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith plans to introduce legislation Tuesday to...
Westmoreland authority targeted in ‘vendor impersonator scheme,’ official says
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County said Monday that it lost a significant amount of money in what the agency’s top legal official described as a “vendor impersonator scheme.” “This was not a data breach. It was a vendor impersonator scheme,” said Scott Avolio, the authority’s solicitor. “It was literally...
Judge gives Etna mom probation in infant son’s drowning death
A judge on Monday sentenced an Etna woman to probation in the drowning death last year of her 1-year-old son in a backyard pool. Brittany Garrison, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, court records show. Prosecutors dropped charges of endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly...
Report: Parkinson’s doctor has visited Biden White House regularly
A doctor who is an expert on Parkinson’s disease reportedly visited the White House on a fairly regular basis in the past year, including at least once for a meeting with President Joe Biden’s personal physician. Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who recently published a paper on Parkinson’s, made eight...
