Top Stories category, Page 658
Cancer Bridges’ Camp Clubhouse gives children affected by cancer a safe space
A little girl with long wavy brown locks danced to the song “Brown Skin Girl” — the tune by Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, Beyoncé and Wizkid is one she and her late father would perform as he held her little hand while she spun around the living room floor and...
A week after fatal house explosion, Plum community seeks the will to push forward
The idyllic innocence of Rustic Ridge shattered a week ago. Tragedy struck this close-knit community in Plum, a neighborhood of more than 200 homes, about 10:23 a.m. last Saturday. An explosion leveled a home on Rustic Ridge Drive and resulted in an inferno that destroyed two neighboring homes. The shock...
Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66
LOS ANGELES — Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday. Jones’ manager, Dan Spilo, said in...
Feats of Strength: Steelers’ first-teamers decidedly win ‘sparring session’ against Bills
The Steelers and Buffalo Bills wanted to see “good-on-good” at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. So both clubs started most of their first-team players for the second preseason game of 2023. Well, half of that ended up happening. The Steelers were good. Buffalo was not. The Steelers dusted the Bills,...
Photos: Country singer Luke Bryan lights it up at sold-out Star Lake show
Country music singer Luke Bryan brought his Country on Tour show to the sold-out Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown on Saturday night. Famous for songs like “Drink a Beer,” “Do I,” “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” Bryan has also been an...
IUP team investigates WWII bomber crash site in Germany
Among the trees of a national forest park near Frankfurt, Germany, survey lines, pin flags and neatly aligned squares of excavation dotted the ground in precise rows. With ground-penetrating radar, metal detectors, mesh and a host of other tools, a team of undergraduate students and teaching assistants, led by faculty...
Hundreds ride through the A-K Valley on scholarship benefit ride honoring New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw
Six years after he was killed in a traffic stop gone horribly wrong, the memory of fallen New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw is still alive. That fact was driven home — loudly — by the rumble of more than 700 motorcycles passing through the Alle-Kiski Valley on Saturday in...
Trump looms large over Iowa State Fair, but many GOP voters still mulling their caucus choices
DES MOINES, Iowa — The loop Donald Trump’s private jet made above the Iowa State Fair before his visit last weekend was more than just a gesture to the hundreds of supporters — and a few rival candidates — on the ground. It was a reminder that the four-time indicted...
10 houses near site of Plum explosion being examined for structural integrity
Ten homes near a massive explosion that leveled three other houses in Plum last Saturday and killed six people will have to be examined by building experts to determine whether people can live in them again. Allegheny County released a statement Saturday that included for the first time the exact...
North Huntingdon man killed in violent crash, speeding and alcohol suspected
A North Huntingdon man was killed early Saturday morning when he was ejected from his car that hit a utility pole and overturned multiple times in North Huntingdon, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said. The victim, Anthony J. Marsiglio, 43, of Victoria Lane, was killed when his eastbound Cadillac DeVille...
2 men shot in Pittsburgh’s Perry neighborhood
Two men were hospitalized after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Perry neighborhood — one Friday night and the other early Saturday morning, Pittsburgh police said. A man was reported in critical condition and underwent surgery early Saturday morning as a result of being shot at least three times in the 2600...
‘Prayers for Rustic Ridge’ yard signs uniting, benefiting Plum community
A yard sign is helping to bring the Plum community together in the wake of tragedy. Corey Smith, a Plum native and 2007 graduate of its high school, is a co-owner of FastSigns in Monroeville. Following last Saturday’s house explosion that claimed six lives, he started Monday by making 10...
Review: Guns N’ Roses rocks Pittsburgh despite Axl Rose’s vocal inconsistencies
After inspiring head-banging for so many years, Guns N’ Roses instead left some in the audience head-scratching on Friday night at PNC Park. The veteran hard rockers’ world tour hit Pittsburgh, and singer Axl Rose’s voice fluctuated throughout the night, rarely coming close to the dynamic singing captured in their...
‘Rock Lobster’: Monroeville man wins Wholey’s contest to grab as many live lobsters as he can in 60 seconds
Steve Hunter knows what he’s having for dinner: fresh lobster. Nine of them. Hunter won the Wholey’s Lobster Grab Contest. The Monroeville resident was given one minute to grab all the lobsters he could with his bare hands out of the 40-degree cold water tank inside Wholey’s store on Saturday...
Missing Lincoln Place man found
A 23-year-old man was safely located after being reported missing from the Lincoln Place area, according to Pittsburgh police. Paul James Ayala was found safe just before 9 p.m. Friday. He was reported missing an hour earlier....
Mon Incline to reopen Monday after weeklong shutdown
The Monongahela Incline will reopen Monday after a week of shutdown, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced Friday evening. The Monongahela Incline will reopen on Monday. pic.twitter.com/1t5S6bprEi— Pittsburgh Regional Transit (@PGHtransit) August 18, 2023 Last Friday, the incline shut down after 12 passengers were stranded for about an hour. Crews were able...
Pitt grad Kathryn Nesbitt to referee Women’s World Cup Final
Throughout her life, Kathryn Nesbitt has been determined not to let her passion for two very different interests, science and soccer, get in the way of one another. To say Nesbitt has managed to pull off an impressive balancing act in that regard might be an understatement. Nesbitt, 34, studied...
‘Family tradition’: Westmoreland Fair kicks off 9-day event, draws multiple generations back to fairgrounds
For Carole Hellein, going to the Westmoreland Fair at the county Mt. Pleasant Township fairgrounds every year is a “family tradition.” Hellein, 84, of Latrobe, is part of four living generations of family members who have been involved in the nine-day event since the late 1960s. Her mom and dad,...
North Shore-based Arconic completes sale to private equity firm
North Shore-based aerospace parts maker Arconic finalized its acquisition by private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, Inc. The $5.2 billion deal, which will take the company private, was announced in May. Arconic will continue to operate under its name and brand. “The closing of this transaction with Apollo Funds brings new...
State inspectors capture gas samples at Plum explosion site, await test results
State inspectors sweeping the Plum subdivision where a massive house explosion last weekend killed six people have detected low levels of combustible gas in the vicinity of the blast. They are awaiting test results to identify the vapor and determine its source. The mere presence of such gas does not...
Allegheny County Jail corrections officer arrested in connection with inmate contraband
It started at summer’s peak with a fight in an Allegheny County Jail day-room and unraveled Friday into charges alleging a corrections officer helped plant drugs on an inmate. That officer, Scott Stawiarski, 31, of North Fayette, was charged Friday — and indefinitely suspended from his job without pay —...
Why some of Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s cabinet picks still have ‘acting’ next to their title
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Seven months into his first term as Pennsylvania’s governor, two of Democrat Josh Shapiro’s picks for top cabinet posts...
Former Seward police chief jailed for sexual extortion
Former Seward Police Chief Robert I. Baldwin Jr. was sentenced to a short jail term on Friday. Baldwin, 52, was ordered to serve at least 30 days behind bars in connection with charges that he offered two women leniency in exchange for sex. Baldwin had been free on a $25,000...
Union says it supports Cleveland-Cliffs in possible U.S. Steel takeover
Talks are intensifying between U.S. Steel and potential suitor Cleveland-Cliffs about a possible takeover. The United Steelworkers union (USW) said this week it only would back the Cleveland-based steel producer in acquiring the iconic Pittsburgh company. In announcing the potential agreement, Cleveland-Cliffs said it “is the only realistic buyer able...
Plum’s boys and girls golf teams organize outing to benefit Rustic Ridge victims
Plum Senior High School’s girls and boys golf teams are uniting to raise funds for the victims of the house explosion in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood. The Rustic Ridge “Plum Strong” Plum Boys & Girls Golf Teams Charity Outing is scheduled for Sept. 17 at Willowbrook Country Club in Allegheny...
