Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 809
Balloon bickering over Biden’s actions, China’s intentionsVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers on Sunday accused China of deliberately surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites with a suspected spy balloon and said the Biden administration had given Beijing an intelligence opening by not downing the balloon during its high-altitude drift through American airspace. The balloon’s presence in the sky above...
Daycation: Things quiet down in winter in Ohiopyle
The streets of Ohiopyle bustle with visitors during the warm months, as people flock to the Fayette County community for its recreational opportunities, scenic views and dining options. In the winter, it’s a different story. Many days, there’s hardly a soul to be seen along Main Street in the tiny...
‘Opportunity to redefine’: 7 Westmoreland County communities envision a future free of blight
Seven Westmoreland County communities from Greensburg to New Kensington to Monessen are getting a unique opportunity — the ability to re-create neighborhoods and business districts free of blight. Using $10.4 million in federal money, the project calls for identifying as many as 500 properties for demolition, although some might end...
Derry Area student’s memoir wins competition
Derry Area sophomore Timothy Miller, 15, is one of 13 students to win the New York Times‘ 100-word personal narrative contest with his entry, “Baby Tim.” Miller entered the contest to complete a narrative writing assignment in his Advanced English II class. His teacher, Mark Curcio, enters his students in...
Downing of suspected China spy balloon draws threat from Beijing
WASHINGTON — China responded with harsh words Saturday to the U.S. military’s downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions. In its statement Sunday,...
Mars Area basketball coach describes scene when gunman reported outside school
The high school basketball gym had been packed for a game that took three overtimes to decide. After passing through a handshake line, the visiting South Fayette and the home Mars Area boys varsity teams headed downstairs to their locker rooms. It had been an near-ideal Friday night high school...
Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies pick up man wanted in connection with Bloomfield beating
A suspect accused of beating another man in Pittsburgh last September was picked up Saturday by Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies. Matthew Derr, 48, no address given, was wanted in connection with an incident in which, authorities say, Derr punched a man and repeatedly beat him with a baseball bat. A...
Westmoreland water authority lifts water warning
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials have announced a potentially hazardous substance found last fall in a portion of the local water supply has fallen below state and federal guidelines. In November, about 50,000 water customers south of Route 30 in Westmoreland and Fayette counties were notified that averages of...
Driver charged in fatal Sewickley Heights crash on Christmas Eve
Allegheny County Police have charged an 18-year-old driver involved in a one-vehicle Christmas Eve crash in Sewickley Heights in which one passenger was injured, and another one died. The driver, Luke Flowers, turned himself in Saturday morning, county police said. He faced a warrant charging him with with homicide by...
U.S. downs Chinese balloon over ocean, moves to recover debris
WASHINGTON — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing. An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters to recover debris from the...
Tiny North Apollo takes on U.S. Postal Service over missed mail
North Apollo’s electric bill for a storage building never arrived. The borough’s council president and vice president didn’t receive bank statements for their taxes, and the owner of a local diner had to use her personal post office box for business mail. That’s just a sampling of complaints from public...
Electronic pollbook security raises concerns going into 2024
ATLANTA — They were blamed for long lines in Los Angeles during California’s 2020 presidential primary, triggered check-in delays in Columbus, Ohio, a few months later and were at the center of former President Donald Trump’s call for supporters to protest in Detroit during last November’s midterms. High-profile problems involving...
Motorists will face I-79 delays starting Tuesday between Neville Island Bridge and I-279
Motorists who regularly use Interstate 79 may want to consider giving themselves extra time to get where they’re going starting Tuesday, Feb. 7. PennDOT has announced beginning on that Tuesday morning there will be daylight and overnight lane restrictions on I-79 in Glenfield, Sewickley Hills, and Franklin Park and Kilbuck,...
3 special elections in Allegheny County will determine state House majority
Three special elections being held Tuesday in Allegheny County will determine which party has the majority in the state House for the next two years. Voters who live in the 32nd, 34th and 35th state House districts will elect new legislators. With those seats now empty, Republicans hold a slim...
Kiski Garden Center in Allegheny Township under new ownership
A popular year-‘round garden center in Allegheny Township is under new ownership. Dave Vargo, former owner of Kiski Garden Center, sold his business Friday for $200,000 to Pat D’Amico of Buffalo Township. Vargo removed a large banner outside his former business that same afternoon as D’Amico looked on and later,...
50-car train derailment causes big fire, evacuations in Ohio
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine as a train...
2 teens held for trial in Brighton Heights funeral shootingVideo
Clothing, bullets and shell casings, jackets and shoes, gunshot residue and even underwear were all pieces of evidence cited by the prosecution on Friday as they laid out in detail the evidence Pittsburgh police gathered against two teens accused of shooting five people outside a Brighton Heights funeral in October....
Additional jail time ordered for Jeannette man who shot at neighbor’s home
A Jeannette man acquitted of the attempted murder of a neighbor was sentenced Friday to serve up to 23 months in jail for firing a shotgun at the man’s home. Dale A. Shaw, 66, was ordered by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears ordered to serve at least...
Former part-time cop gets probation for improper traffic stop
A former Southwest Greensburg part-time police officer was sentenced Friday to serve one year on probation for making an illegal traffic stop while off duty and outside of his jurisdiction. James Edward Shaw, 56, of Connellsville was convicted of the misdemeanor offense following a nonjury trial in December. It stemmed...
Treasury makes more electric SUVs eligible for tax credits
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Friday it is making more electric vehicles — including SUVs made by Tesla, Ford and General Motors — eligible for tax credits of up to $7,500 under new vehicle classification definitions. The revised standards for EV tax credits follow lobbying by automakers that had...
Police: Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks in Detroit area
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday. Michigan State Police said Friday afternoon on Twitter that investigators identified the bodies as those of Armani Kelly,...
Woman’s blood-alcohol level was more than 5 times the legal limit after Penn Hills crash, police say
A South Side woman who police said had a blood-alcohol level of more than five times the legal limit when she was involved in a December crash that injured five people turned herself in on Friday. The two-car, head-on crash happened just before 7 p.m. Dec. 15 on Frankstown Road...
How Pittsburgh first responders rescued woman pinned under pickup
In less than 10 minutes, the lives of both a driver and a pedestrian in Pittsburgh changed this week. At about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, a gray pickup headed down an alley near Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side struck a pedestrian, police said. After dragging the young woman, who...
Vision loss, 1 death possibly linked to brand of artificial tears, CDC investigation shows
ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate cluster of bacterial infections linked to a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops. One person has died and at least three people have suffered permanent vision loss after using preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears, the CDC announced in a...
Boggs Mansion on North Side comes with a lot of house and a lot of history
It’s made of stone and has its original slate roof. It’s 9,000 square feet with eight guest rooms and nine bathrooms, a third floor ballroom, a European fireplace made of blood marble — a sturdy substance normally used to build royal tombs — finely crafted American chestnut woodwork and a...
