Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 41
Holy fish fries: Fish consumption skyrockets during Lent
Lent becomes a feeding frenzy when it comes to fish fries. Tons of breaded or beer-battered cod and haddock are consumed in Southwestern Pennsylvania during the 40-day holiday period in which Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays leading to Easter. Imperial-based wholesaler Nappies Food Service exports to churches and restaurants...
‘Buyers of last resort’: Experts weigh in on Namdar’s Macy’s purchase
Despite owing Frazer and Allegheny County millions of dollars in fines, the owner of the Pittsburgh Mills mall campus is purchasing real estate there. It’s a practice that experts say is uncommon but not prohibited. “In general, I mean, if real estate’s for sale, and you have a buyer and...
Mt. Pleasant man charged in connection with monkey torture videos
A Mt. Pleasant man has been charged in federal court with paying people overseas to torture monkeys and video record the acts. Joseph Garrett Buckland is charged with conspiracy to create and distribute “animal crush” videos. Animal crushing involves intentional crushing, burning or other torture. It is illegal for anyone...
Lawmakers say U.S. military used laser to take down Border Protection drone
FORT HANCOCK, Texas — The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. It’s not clear why the laser was deployed but it’s the second...
Netflix walks away from Warner Bros. deal, clearing the path for Paramount
NEW YORK — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to...
An angry Gov. Josh Shapiro pledges to block ICE detention centers in Pa.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro met with leaders in Berks and Schuylkill counties Thursday as those communities confront the planned federal conversion of two warehouses into ICE detention centers, pledging to do everything possible to block the Trump administration’s plans in the state. Shapiro, a Democrat who first opposed the potential...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
Surging natural gas prices in Pa. could mean higher utility bills
Wholesale natural gas prices in Pennsylvania surged 71% last year, according to a new report, likely leading to higher residential utility bills. The Independent Fiscal Office, a state agency that supplies lawmakers in Harrisburg with revenue projections and economic analysis, released its quarterly natural gas report Wednesday. It found the...
3 men face homicide charges in Penn Hills shooting death
Police have arrested three men in the 2024 fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Penn Hills man. Allegheny County Police on Thursday afternoon said they charged Trevor Twyman, 23, of Turtle Creek; Kelshon Lovelace, 24, of Wilkinsburg; and Lemoyne Williams, 18, of Monroeville, in the Dec. 5, 2024, shooting death of...
Cutting-edge BioInterphase moves into Troy Hill’s historic firehouse
When Noah Snyder walks into his new office and laboratory space at a historic firehouse in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, he’s met with a “whimsical” mix of old and new. A fireman’s pole descends from a circular hole — now patched over with plywood — in the engraved black ceiling,...
School zone stop sparks foot chase, immigration arrest in Washington County
A traffic stop at an elementary school in Washington County led to a foot chase and a federal immigration arrest. On Tuesday, Greene Washington Regional police were patrolling the streets in an unmarked vehicle near Joe Walker Elementary School in South Franklin Township, when an officer saw a white Chevrolet...
2 killed in Route 22 Indiana County crash; coroner says IDs might take weeks
Two people were killed Thursday morning in a three-vehicle crash along Route 22 in Indiana County that closed the highway for hours, state police at Indiana said. It might take days or weeks to confirm the victims’ identities, according to a release from Coroner Jerry Overman’s office. They were in...
Pleasant Hills police probe bar brawl involving 4 off-duty Pittsburgh cops
Pleasant Hills police are investigating a brawl at the Pleasant Bar earlier this month involving four off-duty Pittsburgh police officers and an alleged victim who said he was smashed in the head with a beer bottle. Three of the four city officers, who have not been publicly named and were...
‘I probably won’t survive’: Pittsburgh firefighters train for deadly flashoversVideo
Pittsburgh fire Capt. Brian Tarbuck watched smoke billow from a rust-red shipping container as he described how the first responders training inside could spot the telltale signs of an impending “flashover” — the deadly near-simultaneous ignition of all combustible materials in an enclosed space. When room temperatures top 1,000 degrees,...
New Kensington-Arnold implements security camera system that dispatchers can view in real time
Westmoreland County dispatchers will now have the ability to instantly view live campus security footage when a 911 call comes in from the New Kensington-Arnold School District. The district is implementing 911 camera sharing across district buildings in an effort to strengthen campus safety and speed emergency response. “We want...
Lower Burrell man charged with attempted stabbing and robbery at Tarentum gas station
A Lower Burrell man is in Allegheny County Jail after Tarentum police charged him with felony aggravated assault and robbery of a vehicle in connection with a Christmastime attack at the borough’s Marathon station. Robert Harmon, 35, also faces charges of theft, receiving stolen property, terroristic threats and simple assault....
Parents arrested after child falsely reports dad as dead to 911
Two Charleroi parents were arrested over the weekend after one of their children called 911 to falsely report their father had died. Instead, police said, they discovered a filthy home without running water. Jackson Alexis, 40, and Roldy Noel, 27, of Charleroi were arrested this weekend and are being charged...
Alcoa plans to sell off 10 former facilities for use as data centers
Alcoa, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum giant, intends to sell 10 of its closed or curtailed sites for use as data centers. Alcoa CEO Bill Oplinger announced the sell-off Tuesday at the BMO Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals Conference in Florida. Of the 10 facilities going on the market, “we think...
‘I wish we could have done better’: Now with Twins, Derek Shelton reflects on Pirates tenureVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Shelton returned to LECOM Park as a manager, this time in the visiting dugout. The former Pittsburgh Pirates skipper was wearing new colors that were old colors to him. The former Minnesota Twins bench coach is now their manager, only months after being fired by the...
Judge rejects request to block Trump White House from building its $400 million ballroom project
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a preservationist group’s request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that The National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely...
Columbia student detained by federal agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ school says
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to her student housing by posing as investigators searching for a “missing person,” according to her attorneys and a statement from the school’s president. The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from...
Deadly shooting in Cuban waters highlights obsessions with counter-revolution as U.S. pressure mounts
MIAMI — Word from the Cuban government of a deadly encounter between its troops and a boat carrying armed expatriates is casting a spotlight on Cubans living in the U.S. who still harbor aspirations of a counter-revolution 67 years after a guerrilla uprising ushered in communism. Cuban soldiers confronted a...
Mark Madden: A blueprint for how the Penguins survive during Sidney Crosby’s absence
Sidney Crosby won’t play for at least four weeks because of a lower-body injury, widely presumed to be a strained knee. The most frightening two words contained in that prognosis are “at least.” The Pittsburgh Penguins were five points safe in a playoff berth when NHL play resumed Wednesday night....
Rodent infestation closes Ollie’s location in GreensburgVideo
The Greensburg Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has been shut down because of a rodent infestation, according to the state Department of Agriculture. A Tuesday inspection report showed there was evidence of rodent activity in multiple areas of the store. There were excess droppings and urine found, wrote the inspector from the...
Hillary Clinton testifies she has no information on Epstein’s crimes and doesn’t recall meeting him
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton. “I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do...
