Top Stories category, Page 747
Kennywood to open on time following security meeting with DA’s office, law enforcement
Kennywood says it will open for its 125th season as scheduled on April 22 after amusement park officials met with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office last week to address security concerns. “The intent of the meeting and future steps is to demonstrate the shared commitment the park, law enforcement...
Ohio train derailment highlights waste disposal predicament
When word surfaced that soils and liquids laced with chemicals from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment were being sent to southeastern Michigan for storage, local residents and politicians were livid. “People were seeing pictures of what happened in Ohio — the smoke plumes, wildlife dying,” said Jordyn Sellek, director...
Code Orange air quality warning declared for Mon Valley
An air quality action day has been issued for Allegheny County’s Mon Valley because of a spike in particulate matter pollution. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection declared a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day on Tuesday, which was caused by a strong temperature inversion in the morning and light...
Students return to school at Elizabeth Forward
After two months of remote learning following a fire, students returned to Elizabeth Forward High School on Tuesday. The fire damaged the inside of the school in February. According to the school, rooms and areas adjacent to the auditorium space where the fire occurred are walled off and will not...
Electric buses headed to Mon Valley as part of $10M clean air grant
Pittsburgh Regional Transit will replace diesel buses with electric models to serve the Mon Valley thanks to a $10 million federal grant meant to improve air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyselected Allegheny County on Monday for the grant to replace four, 40-foot diesel buses with zero-emission, electric buses and...
Fire out inside Century III Mall, cause not yet clear
West Mifflin fire crews responded early Tuesday to a fire at the site of the former Century III Mall. An Allegheny County alert sent at 7:10 a.m. said the fire was in the walls above the food court area on the third floor. West Mifflin borough police chief Gregory McCulloch...
Active shooter reports at Pitt library deemed a hoax
Reports of an active shooter at Hillman Library on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus just after 11 p.m. Monday night turned out to be false after a heavy police presence was called to the scene. At 11:20 p.m., Pittsburgh and Pitt police responded to reports of shots fired at...
Greensburg hires new police chief, looks to rebuild trust after former chief’s arrest
Charles Irvin said one of his tasks as Greensburg’s new police chief will be to restore the community’s trust in the department following the January arrest of his predecessor on federal drug charges. City council on Monday unanimously approved promotion of Irvin, an 18-year veteran of the force, from detective...
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel talks top priorities
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel said in a wide-ranging interview Monday that her top priorities after taking office figure to include identifying the school’s next provost, initiating a capital campaign and dealing with tuition and labor issues. But Gabel said her first 100 days and beyond “will also include...
Justice Department appeals Texas abortion pill order
AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department on Monday appealed a Texas court ruling that would halt approval of a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S., calling the decision “extraordinary and unprecedented.” If allowed to stand, the order issued last week by U.S. District Judge...
Black lawmaker who was expelled to return to Tennessee House
NASHVILLE — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature. The unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes to restore Rep....
Sources say Pittsburgh close to announcing new police chief from list of 3 finalists
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to name the city’s next police chief soon, possibly within days, according to those close to the hiring process. Gainey and three committees have been working, largely behind closed doors, for nearly six months to find a successor to former Chief Scott Schubert, who...
Indiana County man killed in Route 380 motorcycle crash
A 34-year-old Indiana County man was killed Monday in a motorcycle crash along Route 380 in Washington Township, authorities said. Ryan James Gould of Shelocta died of blunt force trauma, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. The wreck was reported near the intersection of North Washington Road shortly before 3:30...
Pa. launches abortion access website in wake of Texas ruling against abortion medication
After a federal judge’s ruling in Texas last week halted the approval of a drug used in medication abortions, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro launched a website informing state residents about their rights to accessing to abortion services. Shapiro said Monday that Pennsylvanians’ reproductive rights have not changed because of the...
Jeannette police officer saves mom, artwork from house fire
Chris Mason bought a 1965 AC Cobra replica two years ago, a car he has dreamed about owning since he was 15. The Jeannette police corporal said he stopped by his mother’s home in the city Monday around 2 p.m. to fire up the engine for the first time since...
Pa. Supreme Court candidates with party backing show fundraising advantage
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 — The candidates running for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court are getting campaign money from wealthy donors, their...
Uniontown man suffered injuries in crash on Route 66 in Hempfield
A Uniontown man was cut out of a pickup truck Saturday and taken to a Pittsburgh hospital with serious injuries, according to state police. Troopers said Jonathan M. Millikin, 41, was traveling north on Toll Route 66 in Hempfield just before 6 p.m. when the Ford Ranger he was driving...
$1 million lottery ticket sold in Greensburg; winner first thought it was worth $1,000
A Greensburg-area man who is a regular lottery ticket buyer thought he was lucky when he learned he had bought a winning Mega Millions Pennsylvania Lottery ticket Friday — but not as lucky as he turned out to be. “He did not know he had won” $1 million when he...
Increased demand, OPEC production cut contribute to rising gas prices
Pennsylvania is among 44 states that saw their average gasoline prices rise over the past week. “Prices are being pulled up not only due to continued increases in demand as temperatures warm, but also pressure from oil prices, which have risen over 20% in the last month, primarily driven by...
Biden kicks off Easter egg roll with talk of reelection bid
WASHINGTON — Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics. President Joe Biden, the host of Monday’s festivities on the South Lawn, said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.” Biden was alluding to his...
Louisville bank employee livestreamed attack that killed 5Video
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace Monday morning, killing five people — including a close friend of Kentucky’s governor — while livestreaming the attack on Instagram, authorities said. Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank...
Man struck by vehicle on Pittsburgh’s South Side
A man was struck by a vehicle early Monday near 12th and East Carson streets on Pittsburgh’s South Side, according to city police. Officers said they found the man after responding to a call of shots fired at 2:16 a.m. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police...
Trump’s response to criminal charges revives election lies
NEW YORK — Legally, the most important words former President Donald Trump said after he was charged with 34 felonies by the Manhattan District Attorney last week were “not guilty.” But, politically, the most significant may be “election interference.” Trump’s repetition of those words, which have been taken up by...
Pa. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to seek 4th term
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey will seek a fourth term in office, bringing the power of incumbency and unmatched name recognition in Pennsylvania politics to his party’s defense of a seat in a critical presidential battleground state. The announcement by Casey, the longest-serving Democratic U.S. senator in Pennsylvania history,...
Tractor-trailer crash spills chemicals near Monongahela River
A tractor-trailer that crashed into a creek early Monday morning along Bellbridge Road in Lincoln Borough has not yet spilled chemicals into the Monongahela River, officials said. The truck, which was hauling about 80 drums (each 55-gallons) of a two-part epoxy chemical, drove into the stream just after 1 a.m.,...
