Top Stories category, Page 659
Soaring Lottery jackpots fuel big dreams, big ticket sales
Massive lottery prizes are leading local retailers to see an uptick in lottery sales. On Monday, the Powerball jackpot was $900 million — the third-largest in its history and the seventh largest U.S. lottery jackpot — and worth an estimated cash value of $465.1 million. There have been 37 consecutive...
Abortion in Iowa is legal again, for now, after judge blocks new restrictions
DES MOINES — An Iowa judge on Monday temporarily blocked the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law. That means abortion is once again legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while...
Allegheny College’s new president says campus can overcome tough higher education market
Allegheny College didn’t have to look far to find its 23rd president. Ron Cole, 58, already had been named interim leader and then president with a short-term contract after Hilary Link announced her departure in September. Prior to that, he had been Allegheny’s provost since 2015 and a geology professor...
Watchdog calls for House committee to uninvite RFK Jr. after his comments are blasted as antisemiticVideo
NEW YORK — A Democratic watchdog group has called for a U.S. House committee to rescind an invitation to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the Democratic presidential candidate was filmed falsely suggesting covid-19 could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Kyle Herrig, executive director of...
Former Westmoreland Commissioner Kopas tapped to fill Cerilli Thrasher’s seat
Former Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas will return to the job he held for more than a decade. The county’s 11 Common Pleas Court judges on Monday appointed Kopas to complete the remaining five months of the unexpired term of Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, who will resign July 31 to...
‘Such a huge void’: Survivors of synagogue shooting victims testify in trial’s final phaseVideo
For weeks, everyone in the courtroom had become accustomed to the pictures of the victims. They were displayed frequently. State-issued ID photos, sometimes smiling, but often stoic, on a blue background. On Monday, the pictures changed. As the government told the jurors about each of the lives lost Oct. 27,...
Police issue dozens of citations in South Side crime crackdown
Pittsburgh police say they issued dozens of citations over the weekend in the city’s South Side neighborhood amid efforts to curb violence and crime in the area. Police on Monday said they had “conducted focused enforcement to ensure public safety” along the East Carson Street entertainment district. With assistance from...
Police say 3 guns stolen from unlocked vehicles in Leechburg past week
Leechburg police are asking residents to be vigilant about locking their vehicle doors after three guns were stolen in less than a week. Police Chief Jason Schaeffer said all three handguns were stolen overnight from unlocked vehicles. The first one was taken from a vehicle parked along Logan Street early...
Salem’s Market & Grill hopes to add grocery store to Hill District plaza
Pittsburgh-based Salem’s Market and Grill will purchase a shopping plaza in Pittsburgh’s Hill District where its ownership hopes to open a grocery store by the end of the year. The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority last week unanimously voted in favor of selling the Centre Avenue property that formerly housed a...
Mark Madden: Risk-averse Steelers play it too safe
The first practice at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp takes place July 27 at 1:55 p.m. It’s scheduled as precisely as a NASA launch, or the ball dropping in Times Square. “Times Square” should be Diontae Johnson’s nickname. Break out the lawn chairs and Styrofoam coolers. “I really like that undrafted...
Children lost in flooding as U.S. endures extreme weather, from smoke up north to heat in the West
WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. — Pennsylvania authorities drew on 100 people, drones and cadaver dogs Monday in their search for two missing children whose family’s car was swept away in flash flooding that ravaged the East Coast over the weekend. Other parts of the country endured threateningly high temperatures and severe...
Wildfire smoke again returns to Western Pa.
The Pittsburgh region is again suffering from poor air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires has returned. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Monday declared a statewide code orange air quality action day. Pennsylvania officials warned that a number of locations could see a rise in particulate matter that...
‘It all happened so fast’: Tiki boat captain saves boy in Allegheny River
All it took was a second. On a sunny summer afternoon, Shaler native Jason Ruhle was halfway through a two-hour cruise around the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers, captaining 12 passengers on two tiki boats down the Allegheny River. He docked about 4:30 p.m. July 8 at Point State Park....
Westmoreland awards $3M in covid funds to social service programs
Westmoreland commissioners last week gave $3 million to eight social service agencies as part of its continuing allocation of federal covid relief funds. “We’re confident that the grants awarded in the fields of workforce development, mental health, housing and children and youth services are going to have a significant impact...
Freight train derails in southeast Pennsylvania, but no known injuries or hazards
WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP — A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania early Monday spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials said no injuries were reported and there was no known hazard to the public. The 40-car CSX train, which was operating on tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed around 4:50 a.m. in a...
Woman fatally shot in Braddock during neighborhood dispute
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating after a woman was fatally shot Sunday evening in Braddock during a neighborhood dispute. Troopers said Erica Vail, 43, was shot in the abdomen around 7:30 p.m. on Corey Avenue during the dispute among residents that turned into an altercation. She was taken by ambulance...
Man shot multiple times in Wilmerding
A man was shot several times early Monday morning in Wilmerding, according to Allegheny County Police. At about 5:16 a.m., Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 600 block of Airbrake Avenue. At the scene, first responders found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported...
Concrete floor crumbling under weight of newest engine at Harrison Hills VFC
The Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company should see improved response times, if only slightly, thanks to a new floor at its garage on Freeport Road. Installation of a concrete floor began last week because the old one was crumbling under the weight of the engines, Chief Jim Bartolovich said. “Our...
Washington Township’s top cop to retire; new chief named
The Washington Township supervisors have set the structure for a change in the police department’s leadership. Chief Scott Slagle is retiring after serving as chief for 27 years and working in the department for 33. His departure is not a surprise, though. He filed for the Deferred Retirement Option Program,...
Increased turnout expected for Bushy Run reenactment
Although it was in jeopardy of not happening, the Bushy Run Battlefield Historical Society anticipates an increased turnout at this year’s reenactment, set for Aug. 5 and 6. Reenactors portraying Native Americans at the event will have additional procedures to follow this year, a conciliation to the Pennsylvania Historical and...
Code orange air quality alert issued for Monday
A statewide code orange air quality alert has been issued for Monday. That means young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems should limit outdoor activities for risk of exposure to elevated air pollution. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to...
Police seek help finding Bethel Park teen
Bethel Park police are seeking the public’s help to find a 15-year-old girl last seen Saturday. Armor Wilson is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 150 pounds. She has short faded red hair. When she left home Saturday morning, Wilson was wearing pajama pants and a black hoodie...
Georgia suspect in 4 killings shot and killed, 2 officers hurt during encounter, official says
HAMPTON, Ga. — Officers shot and killed a man wanted in four weekend killings near Atlanta during an exchange of gunfire, and a sheriff’s deputy and a police officer were injured trying to take the suspect into custody, authorities said. Henry County Sheriff’s spokesperson Syntonnia Moore said Andre Longmore was...
DeSantis presidential campaign is cutting staff as new financial pressure emerges
NEW YORK — Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis is cutting campaign staff as he struggles to catch former President Donald Trump in the GOP’s crowded primary contest while facing unexpected financial pressure. DeSantis, the Florida governor, let go fewer than 10 paid staffers late last week to help reduce operating...
Pitt-Greensburg hosts veterans benefits fair as deadline nears for toxic exposure claims
Veterans and their survivors are invited to attend a claims and enrollment fair Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, to learn about benefits that have been expanded to cover more people who were exposed to toxic substances during military service. The Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System is sponsoring...
