Top Stories category, Page 509
Police accuse Penn Township nurse practitioner of illegally ‘prescribing pills by the thousands’
The arrest of a nurse practitioner accused of writing fake prescriptions culminated from months of police work, including examining trash put out at the suspect’s Penn Township home, executing search warrants at 19 locations and surveillance, court filings show. Penn Township police Chief John Otto said his department received a...
Scrapped merger of Spirit, JetBlue good news for Westmoreland airport, official says
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport’s top official welcomed Monday’s announcement that Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways are grounding plans for a proposed $3.8 billion merger. “It is a great opportunity for us to know what we are facing. I think it holds nothing but good news for us,” said Gabe Monzo,...
Mark Madden: Penguins need change at trade deadline, but options are limited
Nobody should be mad about the Pittsburgh Penguins for falling apart. It’s organic and was inevitable. The Penguins made the playoffs every year from 2007-22. They were legit Stanley Cup contenders every year from 2008-18, winning three times and reaching another final. Great teams in capped leagues ultimately go splat....
Pittsburgh ties its record high temperature Monday
On a typical early March day, riding the zipline at Murrysville Community Park would mean risking frostbite. Thanks to southern winds, however, there was no chance of that Monday, as Pittsburgh tied its record high temperature for the date, meteorologists said. As of 4 p.m., the thermometer had hit 74...
Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot, rejecting state attempts to ban him over Capitol attackVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday restored Donald Trump to 2024 presidential primary ballots, rejecting state attempts to hold the Republican former president accountable for the Capitol riot. The justices ruled a day before the Super Tuesday primaries that states, without action from Congress first, cannot invoke a post-Civil...
1 dead, 2 injured in shooting in Allentown
A man died in a shooting Sunday night in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood Pittsburgh police responded to a 10-round ShotSpotter alert just before 7 p.m. in the 700 block of East Warrington Avenue. On the scene, police said they found a male victim inside 707 E. Warrington Ave. with a gunshot...
Arnold man dead after crash in O’Hara
O’Hara police are investigating the death of an Arnold man who died Sunday after a vehicle crash in O’Hara, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Thomas Harrity, 67, was traveling in a vehicle at 3 p.m. in the area of Powers Run and Freeport roads, when it apparently left...
Man’s body recovered from Yough in Ohiopyle State Park
A man’s body was recovered from the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle State Park on Sunday afternoon, according to park manager Ken Bisbee. The body was spotted by hikers on the Great Allegheny Passage between Confluence and Ohiopyle around 3:45 p.m. He appeared to be a fisherman, Bisbee said. In a...
Cursive handwriting makes a comeback in elementary schools
Second grader Evi Thompson’s favorite letter is “S.” “I like how my pencil feels on the paper when I write it,” Evi said from her classroom at Mary Queen of Apostles in New Kensington. “It’s very loopy.” Evi and her classmates are learning the art of cursive writing, the old-school...
Pa. was deluged by election lawsuits in 2020 and experts say 2024 will be even more intense
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 — Earlier this year, a group of Republican state lawmakers filed suit in federal court to throw out executive actions aimed at expanding voter...
Nikki Haley wins the District of Columbia’s Republican primary and gets her first 2024 victory
WASHINGTON — Nikki Haley has won the Republican primary in the District of Columbia, notching her first victory of the 2024 campaign. Her victory Sunday at least temporarily halts Donald Trump’s sweep of the GOP voting contests, although the former president is likely to pick up several hundred more delegates...
Chris Mortensen, an award-winning reporter who covered the NFL, dies at 72
Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72. ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death. “Mort was widely respected...
Congressional leaders come out with 6 spending bills in a drive to avoid a partial shutdown
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders on Sunday came out with a package of six bills setting full-year spending levels for some federal agencies, a step forward in a long overdue funding process beset by sharp political divisions between the two parties as well as infighting among House Republicans. The release of...
A Supreme Court decision could come Monday in a case about barring Trump from the 2024 ballot
WASHINGTON — A Supreme Court decision could come as soon as Monday in the case about whether former President Donald Trump can be kicked off the ballot over his efforts to undo his defeat in the 2020 election. Trump is challenging a groundbreaking decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that...
‘Such a gift:’ Bishop Zubik leads special Sunday Mass at Plum retirement community
At first glance, the Mass that Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik led Sunday morning at a Plum-based retirement community followed a familiar pattern. Worshippers, seated in a ballroom in pastel-green chairs about 12 rows deep, read from the Old and New Testaments. After Zubik offered a prayer for...
Police investigate sexual assault near Pitt’s campus
Pittsburgh police and the University of Pittsburgh police are searching for information related to a sexual assault that occurred early Sunday morning. A female was sexually assaulted at approximately 2:10 a.m. on the 200 block of Melwood Avenue, and the perpetrator displayed a knife, struck her in the face and...
Building the Valley: Cindy’s Hometown Restaurant finds new home in Brackenridge
Bob Hatajik has a good feeling about closing his Tarentum diner. That’s because in less than two months, Cindy’s Hometown Restaurant will reopen in what Hatajik feels will be its forever home — the former Parkview bar along First Avenue in Brackenridge. “God opened the door and we jumped in,”...
Here’s why pharmacies are on a financial precipice
Every time pharmacist DJ Kiesel of Salem Crossroads Apothecary in Delmont fills a prescription for blood thinner Eliquis or diabetes medication Ozempic, his pharmacy loses money. He pays a wholesaler to get the medicines in stock, but the reimbursements he gets from pharmacy benefit managers — intermediaries between drug manufacturers...
Strict Pa. law would curb any payout by Pittsburgh to Fern Hollow victims even if city is liable
An Allegheny County bus mishap cost Joan Grove her leg. Another bus accident in Philadelphia took part of Hayley Freilich’s foot. Deadly bacteria at the old state prison in Pittsburgh killed Joseph Mollura. How much is a leg worth? A foot? A life? Under state law, not enough, say lawyers...
Trump wins Missouri, Idaho caucuses, sweeps Michigan GOP convention as he moves closer to nomination
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Former President Donald Trump continued his march toward the GOP nomination Saturday, winning caucuses in Idaho and Missouri and sweeping the delegate haul at a party convention in Michigan. Idaho Republicans planned to caucus later. Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador who is his last major rival,...
Demonstrators in Pittsburgh among others worldwide demanding ceasefire in Gaza
Demonstrators took to the streets in downtown Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 2, 2024 to demand a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, and that Israel stop military operations in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Rafah, which is located near the border with Egypt, is where the majority...
Arrest made and charges filed in Pa. slaying of pregnant Amish woman
SPARTANSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man was arrested Saturday and charged with the slaying of a pregnant Amish woman whose body was found last week. Shawn C. Cranston, 52, of Corry, has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass, according to court...
Train derailment leaves cars on riverbank or in water; no injuries, hazardous materials reported
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Authorities say a train derailment in eastern Pennsylvania has left some railroad cars along a riverbank Saturday morning and at least one partially in the river itself. Dispatchers in Northampton County said the derailment was reported at 7:14 a.m. in Lower Saucon Township. Authorities said it was...
Woman dies in 3-vehicle crash on West End Bridge
A woman was killed early Saturday in a three-vehicle crash on the West End Bridge, according to Pittsburgh police. She was dead when medics arrived at the scene, according to a news release from a Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson. The release did not give the victim’s age or any other...
Man fatally shot in Station Square
A man was fatally shot Friday night in Station Square where numerous restaurants and shops are located. Pittsburgh police responded about 11:20 p.m. to reports of a shooting at 230 W. Station Square Drive, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. The victim, who was initially conscious and alert, was located outside...
