Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 660
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in the Donegal 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...
Child poverty in the U.S. jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended
Child poverty in the United States more than doubled and median household income declined last year when coronavirus pandemic-era government benefits expired and inflation kept rising, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. At the same time, the official poverty rate for Black Americans dropped to its...
Trial begins for Mt. Pleasant man accused of shooting at police
The trial began Tuesday for a Mt. Pleasant man accused of firing a gun at police as officers responded to a report of an alleged home invasion in 2021. Westmoreland County prosecutors say Richard Teeters, 52, was the lone occupant of the Pine Street home when police fled for cover...
Chatham University reduces staff, streamlines operations to address budget deficit
One of Pittsburgh’s small, private universities is facing layoffs and cuts, joining a dubious trend hitting institutions of higher education across the country. The university said it is working to reduce its budgetary deficit and reviewing academic programs as possible areas to cut costs. Chatham projected an operating budget deficit...
Westmoreland County man drowns while vacationing at Hilton Head Island
A Westmoreland County man drowned Monday while vacationing on Hilton Head Island Beach in South Carolina. Beaufort County Deputy Coroner Andrew McNece identified the man as David Owens, 64, of North Huntingdon. Emergency responders were called to the Disney Club Beach in Palmetto Dunes around 3:30 p.m. Monday for a...
Police chief leaving Allegheny Township for Lancaster County post
Allegheny Township’s police chief is headed to Eastern Pennsylvania. Chief Duane Fisher, who succeeded longtime Chief John Fontaine in 2018, was named police chief Monday night in Manheim Township, a Lancaster County community of 44,000 residents. Fisher, who grew up and attended college in York County’s Susquehanna Valley, is set...
Study: Pennsylvania public schools underfunded by $6.2 billion
Pennsylvania needs to increase its investment in public schools by $6.2 billion to help students meet graduation rate goals and proficiency on state exams, according to a school finance expert. Penn State assistant professor Matthew Kelly told a panel of policymakers the figure was his conservative estimate of what was...
Pittsburgh to become sanctuary city for gender-affirming care
Pittsburgh is on its way to becoming a sanctuary city for gender-affirming health care, under legislation approved Tuesday by City Council. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, sponsored a measure that will shield gender-affirming health care providers, recipients and legal guardians from out-of-state prosecution or investigation. A second, related bill will deprioritize...
Deluzio, Fetterman renew calls for action on Railway Safety Act
Southwestern Pennsylvania lawmakers are renewing calls to bolster railway safety seven months after a train derailed near the Ohio border, causing chemicals to leak into waterways and sending a black plume of smoke into the air. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, held a news conference last week in Beaver County’s...
What’s ahead now that Republicans are opening an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he is launching an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, yielding to mounting pressure from former President Donald Trump and his allies in what’s shaping up as an election-year clash between Congress and the White House. In a statement Tuesday, McCarthy said the...
Revolving sushi bar coming to Pittsburgh’s SouthSide Works
Kura Sushi USA, a revolving sushi bar, is preparing to open at noon on Sunday in Pittsburgh’s SouthSide Works. The concept is also known as Kaiten sushi, where plates of sushi are moved along a conveyer belt. It’s extremely popular in Japan and has been around for decades there. It...
Moon Area parents call for reinstatement of assistant gymnastics coachVideo
Dozens of parents and student-athletes who attended Monday night’s Moon Area School Board meeting called for the reinstatement of an assistant gymnastics coach and accused one board member of pursuing a “vendetta” against the gymnastics program. Nick Price, the former assistant coach, was let go in April after former Moon...
Speaker McCarthy directs the House to open an impeachment inquiry into President BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday he is directing the U.S. House to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s business dealings, launching historic proceedings ahead of the 2024 election. McCarthy said that House investigations so far “paint a picture of a culture of corruption”...
Popular nasal decongestant doesn’t actually relieve congestion, FDA advisers say
WASHINGTON — The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against...
Former Greensburg woman sentenced in federal bank fraud case
A former Greensburg woman was sentenced last week to 36 months in a federal prison for using the identity of a person she counseled at a Hempfield drug treatment center to get $60,000 in loans, according to federal prosecutors. Nina Marie Barkley, 36, was ordered to spend four years on...
Morning Roundup: Police investigate assault in East Liberty
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Sept. 12: Police investigate aggravated assault in East Liberty Pittsburgh police are investigating the assault of a man in East Liberty on Saturday evening. Pittsburgh Public Safety said officers responded to the 6200 block of Kalida Drive for...
Shooting leaves 2 dead, 1 injured in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Two people are dead after a shooting Monday night in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, according to city police. A third person was left critically injured. Those killed were identified as Dean Marbury, 43, and Jawan Montae Palmer, 37. Pittsburgh Public Safety said officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert for 11 gunshots...
Hempfield considers hiring ‘owners rep’ to navigate stalled high school project
Hempfield Area School District may consider hiring an outside professional to lead the district through its increasingly expensive high school revitalization project, board members said at a meeting Monday. The district is considering hiring an owner’s representative — someone to navigate the project as an independent fiduciary, said board member...
Latrobe football player taken to hospital via helicopter after injury in game at Thomas Jefferson
A Latrobe player was injured during a freshman football game at Thomas Jefferson and transported to the hospital via helicopter Monday night. The player’s identity and condition were not immediately available. The injury occured near the end of the game, and the injured player was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital...
Roofer dies in fall in Robinson
A Burgettstown man died Monday when he fell from a roof where he was working in Robinson, according to Tribune-Review news partner WTAE. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as 27-year-old Rudy Davila. Davila fell from the roof of a building in the 200 block of Clever Road...
Escaped Pennsylvania inmate still believed to be within specific perimeter, police sayVideo
POTTSTOWN — Escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante is still believed to be within a search perimeter in a rural stretch of southeastern Pennsylvania hours after he stole a rifle from a garage and fled a homeowner’s gunfire, authorities said Tuesday. Heavily armed police descended on the South Coventry Township area...
Record $2.5M spent at Westmoreland tax sale
Kimberly Brant of Adamsburg came to the Westmoreland County Courthouse with a pocketful of cash and hopes for a new home. Jon Wildi of New Kensington hoped for a miracle. Both saw their wishes come true Monday morning at the county’s annual sale of tax delinquent properties where a record...
Trump lawyers seek recusal of judge presiding over federal election subversion case
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday asked the federal judge presiding over his election subversion case in Washington to recuse herself, saying her past public statements about the former president and his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol call into question whether she...
Pennsylvania removes email database of public employees
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania officials have removed a searchable, online database of state employee emails, narrowing the ways the public can reach the people who...
U.S. approves updated covid vaccines to rev up protection this fall
WASHINGTON — The U.S. approved updated covid-19 vaccines Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration decision opens the newest shots from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to most Americans even if...
