Top Stories category, Page 754
Spirit flights to Myrtle Beach from Arnold Palmer airport to resume early
Flights on Spirit Airlines from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity to Myrtle Beach International Airport are scheduled to resume May 5, about a month sooner than expected. “We are hoping that this flight starting back up is the beginning of something big,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the...
Vigil speakers recall spirit of 6-year-old North Belle Vernon girl fatally injured by car
Two tents couldn’t contain the large group of friends and supporters who gathered Monday evening outside First Presbyterian Church in Rostraver to remember a 6-year-old girl from North Belle Vernon who was struck by a car and fatally injured while heading to catch her school bus Friday morning. Amanda Woznick...
Pa. Senate panel learns there’s little the state can do to implement own railway rules
In light of the disastrous train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border earlier this month, the Pa. Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing Monday on railroad regulations — or, in many ways, the lack thereof. The hearing — spurred by the Feb. 3 East Palestine incident that spilled thousands of gallons...
Pa. drug task force agents, McKees Rocks officer exchange gunfire with suspects in Stowe
People who were in a vehicle being followed by an unmarked state drug task force vehicle stopped and exchanged gunfire with authorities Monday afternoon in Stowe, then fled and shot at another law enforcement vehicle, police said. Agents with the state Attorney General Narcotics Task force were following the vehicle...
Missing Pittsburgh man found dead
A Pittsburgh man missing since Feb. 14 has been found dead, police said. The body of Nathanael Williams, 23, was located, according to a Pittsburgh Police tweet Monday. Information such as where he was found and what may have caused his death were not released. UPDATE: Nathanael Williams has been...
John Fetterman ‘on path to recovery,’ will be out for more weeks
WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says the Democrat is “on a path to recovery” after checking himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month, and he is still expected to be away from the Senate for several weeks. “We understand the intense interest in...
Rupert Murdoch knew Fox News hosts endorsed false election fraud claims, depositions showVideo
NEW YORK — New court documents show that Rupert Murdoch and his top lieutenants at Fox News were aware that former President Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false, but agreed to give them continued coverage in an effort to keep its unhappy viewers from fleeing....
Wind shreds Southern Plains; California to see more snowVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Parts of the Southern Plains counted the injured and surveyed the damage Monday after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through, killing at least one person in Oklahoma, while some Michigan residents faced a fifth consecutive day without power following last week’s ice storm. In California, the...
Florida Gov. DeSantis takes over Disney district, punishing company
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The bill requires DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services...
Merged Excela, Butler health system is struggling financially, CEO says
Economic storm clouds are on the horizon for the newly combined Excela and Butler health systems, and a “significant expense reduction plan” is in the near future, according to an internal letter signed by President and CEO Ken DeFurio. In the letter — sent to employees and medical staff at...
Experts in lawsuit say mental health care at Allegheny County Jail is ‘grossly inadequate’
Experts retained as part of a federal lawsuit over the treatment of mentally ill people being held at Allegheny County Jail said the facility’s mental health care is “shockingly substandard.” The expert reports filed this month in federal court blamed the problems on issues including:A shortage in medical staffing.A lack...
Gas prices resume fall on worrisome inflation figures, analyst says
Pennsylvania is among a majority of states that saw gas prices decline over the past week, an industry analyst said. “The national average has resumed its decline after a pause last week as oil and wholesale gasoline prices fell on worrisome inflation figures showing the Fed likely to ramp up...
UPMC, head of cardiothoracic surgery will pay $8.5M to feds to settle lawsuit
UPMC, a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon there and a physicians group will pay the federal government $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly placing patients at risk. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed...
Ritual House opens in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Union Trust Building
Rituals mark special moments in life that are worth celebrating — a birthday or anniversary dinner, retirement, a new baby, a business deal. Being able to gather for such happy times for a drink or meal in a place that feels like home is the inspiration behind the name of...
Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explainedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to...
Pa. DEP to spend week testing water samples collected within mile of train derailment
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said Saturday that it has collected drinking water samples from 13 of the 16 known residential wells within a mile of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The DEP announced last week that it would begin systematic collection and testing of water samples in...
Millions who rely on Medicaid may be booted from program
WASHINGTON — If you get health care coverage through Medicaid, you might be at risk of losing that coverage over the next year. Roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the covid-19 pandemic hit. But...
GOP leaders, stung by losses, plan to wade into Senate races
WASHINGTON — A football legend who held a gun to his ex-wife’s head. Rivals who nearly brawled during a televised debate. A venture capitalist who voiced sympathy for the Unabomber. And that’s just to name a few. Republican Senate primaries in several pivotal states last year exuded a carnival-like aura,...
Morning Roundup: Funeral service set for Belle Vernon Area student
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023: Funeral set at Belle Vernon Area High School A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Belle Vernon Area High School in Rostraver for the 6-year-old girl killed Friday morning when hit...
Last-minute problem halts NASA mission with North Allegheny grad
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Last-minute technical trouble has forced SpaceX to call off Monday’s attempt to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission was to be piloted by Dr. Warren “Woody” Hoburg, a 2004 North Allegheny graduate. Hoburg’s role was to be responsible...
Magnitude 5.6 quake hits Turkey; more buildings collapse
ANKARA, Turkey — A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday — three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region — causing some already damaged buildings to collapse, an official said. A father and daughter were reported trapped beneath the rubble of one building. Monday’s earthquake was centered...
Pittsburgh region’s mild winter mitigates some of the misery of ‘pothole season’
Earlier this month, Debbie Bey was looking for someone — anyone — willing to fix a large pothole just off William Penn Highway in Monroeville at the entrance leading to Gabe’s, Sam’s Club and other stores. “I called around to Monroeville, to PennDOT, everywhere, and no one wanted to take...
Surveillance video solves case of missing Gilpin signs
The mystery surrounding missing signs in Gilpin has been solved. This month, Gilpin officials and the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department reported multiple business signs missing from properties throughout the township. Supervisor Charles Stull took to social media Feb. 17, posting about what he described as a “strange” crime on...
Report: Energy Department believes lab leak was most likely the source of covidVideo
A laboratory leak was the most likely origin of the covid-19 virus, according to findings by the U.S. Energy Department, The Wall Street Journal reported. A classified intelligence report provided to the White House and key members of Congress said the virus likely spread because of a mishap at a...
Building the Valley: Springdale restaurant owner aims to put an end to ‘food desert’
Springdale is a food desert no longer. At least that’s the goal for Jamar Sheffey, owner of Tastefully Blessed Kitchen & Smokehouse. With Springdale residents typically being left with nothing but chain restaurants, Sheffey expanded his catering company and opened a brick-and-mortar location in late November to combat the issue....
