Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 69
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis stumps in Pittsburgh for boosting 211 help line budget
About a decade ago, Erica Evans was a single mother who had just lost her job as an at-home caregiver. She was living on the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh, where someone handed her a card for 211, the statewide phone line that connects people with a variety of public and...
Federal bill sends $7M to Western Pa. transportation projects
Nearly $7 million in federal funding is headed to eight Western Pennsylvania communities for transportation and development projects. On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed the spending bill, which will provide more than $6.8 million for projects in Penn Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Carnegie, Aspinwall, Crafton, Churchill, Sewickley and Ben Avon. In...
Jail informants testify Stanko admitted to killing Cassandra Gross
Two jailhouse informants testified in Westmoreland County court Monday that, while they were incarcerated together, Thomas G. Stanko confessed to the 2018 killing of Cassandra Gross. The alleged jailhouse confessions highlighted the sixth day of Stanko’s homicide trial. Stanko, 55, is charged with criminal homicide and reckless burning in connection...
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett critical of Trump’s election gambit
In the days since President Donald Trump called for the federal government to “nationalize” elections, two former high ranking officials from Pennsylvania, former Gov. Tom Corbett and former U.S. District Court Judge John Jones III, have spoken out. Both have a history in Republican politics. Corbett was the last Republican...
Police identify driver killed in wrong-way crash on Parkway West
Police have identified the man killed in a wrong-way crash Sunday on the Parkway West as Serghei Ganaciuc, 45, of Pittsburgh. Ganaguic was traveling east in the westbound lanes of Interstate 376 in Collier just before 4 a.m. when his Toyota Prius collided with a Mercedes-Benz GLB SUV, Pennsylvania State...
Boil water advisory lifted in parts of Allegheny, Washington counties
A weekend boil water advisory for roughly 95,000 Pennsylvania American Water customers in Allegheny and Washington counties has been lifted after testing showed no signs of bacterial contamination. The notice went into effect Saturday after a power surge interrupted pumping, causing a 4-foot-wide water main to break near the Aldrich...
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show delivers a party with a message of loveVideo
While the reason to tune in to the Super Bowl on Sunday night was ostensibly to watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots duke it out for the NFL championship, the buzz leading up to the broadcast was all about the music. In September, it was announced that Puerto...
A life in prison: Fogel spends days reading, praying and grappling with unpredictable conditionsVideo
On Aug. 13, 2021, Marc and Jane Fogel pulled away from their white colonial-style home in Oakmont to drive to New York City. There, they boarded a plane to Moscow to begin their final year teaching at the Anglo-American School, an elite institution built for the children of Western diplomats....
TV Talk: Super Bowl ads embrace AI, nostalgia, warmth
Super Bowl LX commercials put an emphasis on artificial intelligence, 1980s and ’90s culture, feel-good situations, Pittsburgh celebrities and, uh, an out-there focus on rear ends. Pittsburgh native actor Jeff Goldblum (“Wicked: For Good”) turned up in ads for Comcast Xfinity’s Wi-Fi, revisiting his “Jurassic Park” role, and in another...
Pittsburgh region heads into extended warmup after another sub-zero night
Say goodbye — and maybe good riddance — to weeks of on-and-off sub-zero temperatures. The Pittsburgh region will warm up Monday morning after seeing a low of -2 degrees overnight, ushering in at least a week of forecasted highs around or above freezing, according to the National Weather Service. A...
Bad Bunny brings Gaga, Martin and Puerto Rican pride to Super Bowl as Green Day, Puth play pregameVideo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Stars have been front-and-center at Super Bowl 60, with Chris Pratt and Jon Bon Jovi introducing the teams, a series of soaring pre-game performances and a much-anticipated halftime show from Bad Bunny. Highlights from Levi’s Stadium include Blue Ivy Carter leaping in an end zone before...
Man arrested, hospitalized after woman found dead in Greenfield apartment
Pittsburgh police officers responding to a domestic dispute found a dead woman at an apartment in Greenfield Sunday afternoon. According to police, officers responded to the call in the 700 block of Montclair Street just before 2 p.m. Officers found the woman upon arriving and entering the apartment. While conducting...
Summer Lee joins protesters calling for ICE to get out of Pittsburgh
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee was among demonstrators Sunday in Pittsburgh calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished. “You can’t reform oppression. You can’t reform hatred. You have to abolish it. You have to extinguish it wherever it exists,” said Lee, D-Swissvale, standing in the snow at Three Rivers...
Diocese of Pittsburgh to close 7 churches next month
The Diocese of Pittsburgh will close seven of eight churches in its Saint Joseph the Worker Parish next month. During Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses, pastor Rev. Michael Stumpf read churchgoers a letter written by Bishop Mark Eckman, outlining the closure of the seven churches — Good Shepherd in...
John Fetterman asks DHS to halt development of ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania, saying they will burden local communities
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to hit the brakes on its plan to develop two Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers in Pennsylvania, saying they would have a negative impact on local communities. “While I have been clear in my support for...
Investigation continues a week after Savannah Guthrie mother was reported missingVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — The urgent investigation into the apparent kidnapping of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie continued Sunday, a week after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing in Arizona. Savannah Guthrie solemnly told the potential kidnappers in a social media video released Saturday that the family was...
U.S .Olympians speaking up about politics at home face online backlash — including from Trump
MILAN — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that it is hard to cheer for American Olympians who are speaking out against administration policies, calling one such critic “a real Loser” who perhaps should have stayed home. It was the latest and most prominent example of U.S. Olympians at...
Breezy Johnson wins 1st gold for U.S. at Milan Cortina Olympics after Lindsey Vonn crashes
MILAN — The crash. The gasps. The helicopter. Lindsey Vonn’s frightening fall in the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics couldn’t help but overshadow U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson’s feat — winning her country’s first gold medal at these Games. Johnson’s victory Sunday in Cortina wasn’t the Olympic comeback story...
From Darkness to Light: The Marc Fogel Story
On Aug. 13, 2021, Marc and Jane Fogel pulled away from their white colonial-style home in Oakmont to drive to New York City. There, they boarded a plane to Moscow to begin their final year teaching at the Anglo-American School, an elite institution built for the children of western diplomats....
Early-morning fire at Ross Park Mall started in construction site
Ross Park Mall delayed its opening Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon after an early-morning fire between the mall’s floors. The call came in around 4:15 a.m., said Dillon Coleman, chief of the Berkeley Hills Fire Company. Contractors were completing renovations overnight on the first floor of the mall near...
Man dies in wrong-way crash on Parkway West
A man was killed and another was injured in a wrong-way crash Sunday on the Parkway West, police said Pennsylvania State Police said the crash occurred at 3:54 a.m. on the Parkway West near the Campbells Run Road exit. A blue Toyota Prius was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes...
Editorial: Fixing the Sunshine Act’s notice problem
Since 1957, Pennsylvania has codified a responsibility to make public meetings accessible to the people. The state law also evolved, eventually becoming what is now known as the Sunshine Act. The earlier Open Meetings Law required only the most basic transparency. If a vote was taken, the meeting had to...
‘We will pay,’ Savannah Guthrie says in desperate video plea to potential kidnappers of her mother
TUCSON, Ariz. — Savannah Guthrie told the potential kidnappers of her mother Nancy Guthrie on Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return, as the frantic search for the 84-year-old Arizona resident has entered a seventh day. “We received your message, and we understand. We beg...
Brookline home destroyed by fire, man arrested, Pittsburgh police say
A home in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood was destroyed by a fire that was fueled by lighter fluid, police said Saturday. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, police and firefighters responded to a reported structure fire in the 1500 block of Ballinger Street around 11:45 a.m. A relative called 911 and reported...
‘Injustice system’: Fogel maps legal strategy for court, and ultimately feels Russian wrathVideo
On Aug. 13, 2021, Marc and Jane Fogel pulled away from their white colonial-style home in Oakmont to drive to New York City. There, they boarded a plane to Moscow to begin their final year teaching at the Anglo-American School, an elite institution built for the children of western diplomats....
