Top Stories category, Page 787
2023 Allegheny County homicide victims
A look at each of the homicides that have taken place in Allegheny County in 2023: Jan. 2: Justin McIntire Brackenridge police Chief Justin Clark McIntire, 46, was fatally shot during a manhunt in a confrontation with Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28. Swan was later fatally shot by police in...
Pittsburgh International Airport passengers dealing with flood of flight cancellations, delays
Shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Pittsburgh International Airport looked as though it was in a state of suspended animation. A computer glitch in a government system largely brought airlines to a halt, delaying or canceling thousands of flights across the U.S. earlier in the morning. The carousels in the normally...
A critical shortage: Amid burnout, fatigue, exhaustion, nurses leave their jobs
In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Denelle Korin was assigned to the covid wing in an acute care hospital in central Pennsylvania where she worked as a nurse. For months, Korin saw patients die. Like thousands of nurses across the country, she herself put her health and safety...
Photo gallery: A community remembers Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire
Thousands attended the funeral services to show their support for Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire on Wednesday. Police officers from all over the state came to pay their respect and take part in a procession that began at Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington and ended at Mt. Airy...
Police: Harrison man said he was so drunk he couldn’t recall nearly beating woman to death
A Harrison man who was charged with beating a woman nearly to death told investigators he got so drunk on New Year’s Eve that he couldn’t recall the incident, police said. Michael Adam Comley, 43, of the 1100 block of Gordon Street was charged with felony counts of criminal attempted...
Allegheny County health director Bogen nominated for Pa. health secretary
One of Allegheny County’s public health leaders could be getting a promotion as Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro on Wednesday nominated Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen for Pennsylvania’s secretary of Health. The cabinet position is the top public health official in the state, and is responsible for statewide health...
Storm-struck California scrambles to clean up ahead of rain
LOS ANGELES — Storm-ravaged California scrambled to clean up and repair widespread damage on Wednesday as the lashing rain eased in many areas, although the north could see thundershowers and another powerful weather front was expected to hit the state Friday. At least 17 people have died in the storms...
New Mega Millions jackpot of $1.35B is game’s 2nd highest
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Mega Millions prize has grown again to an estimated $1.35 billion after there was no winner of the lottery’s latest giant jackpot. The numbers drawn late Tuesday night were: 7, 13, 14, 15, 18 and gold Mega Ball 9. The new jackpot drawing on Friday...
Hempfield high school renovation project receives $128 million budget approval
The cost to renovate Hempfield Area High School has surged thanks to inflation and increased square footage plans, district officials said this week. The project, which was initially pegged at $97 million to $110 million, now has a $128 million price tag — an increase of about 16% to 32%....
Community joins forces to help with Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire’s funeral
Businesses, volunteers, students and others stepped up in unexpected ways to help give Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire the funeral he deserves. From a free burial plot and vault to a horse-drawn funeral caisson, donations of goods and services for McIntire’s funeral stretch beyond the Alle-Kiski Valley. “The family is...
Brackenridge chief’s name to be added to fallen officers memorial in Washington, D.C.
The process has begun to add Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire’s name and badge number to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. McIntire was killed Jan. 2 while on duty in Brackenridge pursuing a Duquesne man wanted for weapons-related parole violations and eluding police. The national memorial...
Resident recalls meeting Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire on his last stop
E.L. Swiklinski has lived 10 years along Cleveland Avenue in Brackenridge, a quiet street tucked on a hillside overlooking the Allegheny River. On Jan. 2, the maintenance worker had the day off from Trinity United Methodist Church and spent the afternoon pouring seed into his multiple bird feeders and offering...
Retired police chiefs recall Justin McIntire as exemplary man
Jamie Bock’s earliest memories of Justin McIntire are of him as a boy, running around and playing on Third Avenue in Brackenridge where he grew up. McIntire was 8 years old when he was given an “unofficial” role in Bock’s wedding to his wife, Jennifer, on April 27, 1985. He...
Thousands honor slain Brackenridge police chief Justin McIntireVideo
Those who spoke of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire at his funeral Wednesday remembered him as a kind, forthright man with a love of family, community service — and the occasional practical joke. More than 1,000 police officers from around the state attended the funeral at Mount St. Peter Church...
Lapse in insurance coverage knocks Plum fire departments out of service for hours before being restored
Plum’s four volunteer fire departments were out of service for about six hours Tuesday because of a lapse in insurance coverage. The Holiday Park, Logans Ferry, Renton and Unity departments went out of service at 2 p.m., according to Holiday Park Chief Jim Sims and Unity Vice President Morgan McIlrath....
Pittsburgh native Blake Hounshell, New York Times editor, dies at 44
WASHINGTON — Blake Hounshell, a well-known journalist who edited The New York Times’ “On Politics” newsletter and formerly held several leadership positions at Politico, died Tuesday of an apparent suicide. He was 44. Joe Kahn, the Times executive editor, and Carolyn Ryan, the newspaper’s managing editor, said in a note...
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam faces censure vote for ‘vulgar’ language
An initial attempt to censure Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, over foul language directed at a fellow member, was defeated Tuesday night. A full vote to censure will occur later this month, a councilman said. Hallam called the attempt to censure her “political theater.” The action came after a few...
U.S. climate disasters racked up $165 billion in damage in 2022
A massive hurricane, a historic drought and 16 other major disasters across the U.S. collectively racked up $165 billion in damage and killed at least 474 people in 2022, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analysis published Tuesday. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information track the biggest of...
Westmoreland plastics firm to expand to build parts for Amtrak Airo trains
Amtrak’s upgraded passenger trains, expected to be put into service later this decade, will have a Westmoreland County connection. Roechling Industrial Mt. Pleasant, a machine plastics company that has operated in the county since 1981, has been tapped to produce interior ceilings, door motor cases and other projects for the...
Proposed Strip District development includes nearly 300 apartments, dozens of townhouses
A proposed development could bring 288 apartments and dozens of townhouses to Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The Brickworks Residential Development would include eight buildings on a 3.45-acre lot at 2121 Smallman St., according to plans presented Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission. The plans call for two, six-story apartment buildings with...
PennDOT gets $171M in grants to expand electric vehicle network
PennDOT is receiving $171.5 million in grants to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PennDOT will receive the federal funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years. For the first round of funding, PennDOT has advanced appropriations of $25.4 million for...
Pa. House at a standstill as deadline nears to get relief for child sex abuse survivors on May ballot
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 — Pennsylvania’s closely divided state House has recessed indefinitely, throwing the chamber’s agenda, including a number of far-reaching constitutional amendments,...
Pittsburgh mayor scraps panel created to appoint PWSA board members
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has eliminated an independent board that nominated people to serve on the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s board and announced his own nominees. Former Mayor Bill Peduto enacted an executive order to create the board of nominators. Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey, said the mayor...
Damar Hamlin’s toy drive: What’s the plan for the $8.6M?
NEW YORK — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin plans to support young people through education and sports with the $8.6 million in GoFundMe donations that unexpectedly poured into his toy drive fundraiser after he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game last week. He will also use...
Biden team finds more docs with classified markings
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s legal team has discovered additional documents containing classification markings in a second location, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The revelation comes days after an attorney for the president said Biden’s lawyers had discovered a “small number” of classified...
