Top Stories category, Page 620
Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is coming — but it won’t be as big as this year’s
WASHINGTON — Looking ahead to retirement next spring, Karla Abbott finds comfort in the cost-of-living increase that millions of Social Security recipients get each year. But with consumer prices easing, the new boost will be far lower than this year’s 8.7% Analysts estimate the adjustment for 2024 will be around...
Westmoreland, Allegheny emergency units practice hazard response with Norfolk Southern’s ‘safety train’
More than 100 Westmoreland and Allegheny County first responders spread across the Norfolk Southern train yard in North Versailles for a safety training Wednesday night. Members of the counties’ emergency response and hazmat units, wearing neon vests and jackets, surrounded Norfolk Southern’s “safety train,” a nine-part train used to simulate...
Late schoolteacher with affinity for W&J College gives record $50 million gift
Anica Donnan Rawnsley taught school as a young adult, and while she never attended Washington & Jefferson College, she developed an affinity for the place early on through family members who enrolled there and graduated. Now, months after her passing, she has made gift of approximately $50 million to W&J...
11-year-old student accused in shooting threat at Wendover Middle School
An 11-year-old Wendover Middle School student is accused of posting threats on social media to bring in a bomb and “shoot up” the Hempfield Area school Wednesday, state police said. The boy, who was not identified, is accused of making terroristic threats. Police say he texted fellow students on the...
North Huntingdon man among a dwindling number of World War II vets
Robert “Bob” Zaval of North Huntingdon, saw the horrors of war as an Army tank commander fighting in Europe during World War II. “Boy, it was tough. Your biggest thing was to stay alive,” said Zaval, who recently reflected on his long life before marking his 102nd birthday on Tuesday....
PNC moves forward with layoffs and other expense reductions
As PNC Financial Services moves forward with layoffs throughout the financial firm, the company is eying more reductions in costs. On Tuesday, PNC said it would cut an undisclosed number of workers. In a statement, the Downtown Pittsburgh banking firm said it is reviewing its organizational structure, which “includes a...
Swissvale therapist accused of having sexual relationship with teen ordered to stand trial
A Pittsburgh-area therapist was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges accusing her of having a yearslong sexual relationship with a boy starting when he was 14, but three of the most serious charges against her were thrown out. Rachel Witkowski, 42, of Swissvale, waived her preliminary hearing Wednesday in...
Court must decide if Schenley Park Columbus statue stays or goes
For the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, their fight over the removal of the Columbus statue from Schenley Park is about process as much as it is about preserving heritage. “The mayor can’t wake up one morning and decide he’s king, he’s a tyrant and he can do whatever...
Pa. court weighs constitutionality of Pittsburgh tax on pro athletes, entertainers
An appellate court sitting in Pittsburgh heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case over a 3% city tax imposed on professional athletes and entertainers performing at publicly funded facilities. The seven-judge panel of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court must decide whether the city’s Sports Facility Usage Fee is constitutional. A decision is...
Forget Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, here’s Pittsburgh’s athlete/celebrity romance history
The sports and celebrity headlines have been filled with the news of a budding romance between pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But Pittsburgh is no stranger when it comes to its athletes romancing celebrities. One Steelers player married an Olympic figure skater, while...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to killing Oliver Citywide student
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree murder in connection with last year’s fatal shooting of an Oliver Citywide Academy student at the North Side school. Eugene Watson, 19, of Crafton Heights, also pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and two firearms charges. Watson, 17 at...
Multiple shooters suspected in Indiana County mass shooting that killed 1, injured 8, police say
State police believe a shooting that killed one person and injured eight others stemmed from a confrontation during a private party at the Chevy Chase Community Center in Indiana County. Trooper Cliff Greenfield said several individuals were involved in that confrontation just after midnight Sunday morning when gunfire broke out....
Record 36th gun found at Pittsburgh airport checkpoint; Uniontown man arrested
Allegheny County Police arrested a Uniontown man after he was stopped Tuesday with an illegal gun at the main security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport. It was the 36th gun seized this year at the airport and breaks the annual record for the number of guns found in carry-on bags,...
Westmoreland inmate accused of attacking guards during prison cell search
A Unity man is accused by police of attacking guards at the Westmoreland County Prison during a search of his cell for communication with a nurse at the Hempfield facility. Jerome W. Thornton, 33, was awaiting arraignment on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated harassment by prisoner and simple assault. Westmoreland...
As strikes devastate Gaza, Israel forms unity government to oversee war sparked by Hamas attackVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival Wednesday to create a wartime Cabinet to oversee the fight to avenge the gruesome weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the only power plant...
Morning roundup: Gov. Shapiro orders flags at half-staff; 2 arrested at Downtown Pittsburgh bus station
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 11: Flags ordered to fly at half-staff for Israeli victims Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday issued an order that the U.S. and Pennsylvania flags on all public buildings and grounds be flown at half-staff this week in...
Environmental groups claim victory in EPA ruling on U.S. Steel plant in Clairton
Government regulators sided with environmental advocates, in part, when they ruled recently that a U.S. Steel plant in the Mon Valley might be violating clean-air laws under a current permit that restricts its emissions. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a split decision last month over petitions by four...
Westmoreland County to distribute opioid settlement funds
Westmoreland County Commissioners are expected to award grants to three municipalities this week with money from the national opioid abuse settlements. North Huntingdon is slated to receive nearly $105,000, while Rostraver and Lower Burrell each will receive $62,832 to operate drug prevention and education programs through municipal police departments. The...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in the Mt. Pleasant area
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Arnold formalizes firing of city manager, names temporary replacement
Arnold Council approved starting a search for a new city manager Tuesday after firing its former manager and hiring a temporary replacement. Council voted 4-1 to fire Mario Bellavia, with Councilman Phil McKinley casting the only vote against. While McKinley previously said Bellavia had been fired on Sept. 20, city...
Derry council disbands police dog program as residents vent anger over K-9 incident
Derry Borough residents had a lot of questions but didn’t get any answers from council members Tuesday night after they met for the first time since the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office announced evidence does not support a criminal charge in the death of the borough’s police dog, Smoke. Several...
Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald proposes $3B budget with no tax increases
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald presented his 12th and final budget and comprehensive fiscal plan Tuesday, touting the economic growth of the region under his tenure and shoring up the county’s finances by dramatically increasing its rainy day fund. Fitzgerald’s 2024 budget proposes a total of about $3 billion, which...
Court hearing set for Hempfield students in school gun case
Three Hempfield Area High School students charged last week with possessing guns on school property are scheduled to appear in court this month. They are being prosecuted in the juvenile court system and are scheduled to appear for adjudication hearings Oct. 26 before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi....
Rep. George Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards
NEW YORK — A new indictment filed Tuesday charged U.S. Rep. George Santos with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Prosecutors said some of that stolen money ended up in his...
Attorney: Charges withdrawn against Springdale woman for not cutting grass since June implosion of smokestacks
The attorney for a Springdale woman who lives across from the former Cheswick Generating Station says the woman didn’t cut her grass because, if she did, it would reexpose arsenic and other toxins from the June 2 implosion of the plant’s smokestacks. Brittni Bair, 33, received two summary offenses in...
