Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 850
Westmoreland man was driving wrong way on Turnpike in fatal crash, police say
A Westmoreland County man killed in a crash over the weekend on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was driving the wrong way on the highway in Somerset County, according to state police. Dustin Brant, 27, was traveling west in the eastbound lanes at 9:15 p.m. Friday in Jefferson Township near mile marker...
W.Pa. LGBTQ community, allies share hope, reservations on Respect for Marriage Act
Steve Clark and Scott Smith of Scottdale traveled to Massachusetts in 2008 to be married. Hempfield spouses Patricia and Kimberly Elliott-Rentler tied the knot in 2016, after same-sex marriages were permitted in Pennsylvania. They and others in the area’s LGBTQ community see the expected passage of the federal Respect for...
Westmoreland recount complete; officials say no evidence of widespread errors found
A court-ordered recount of four Westmoreland County precincts completed Monday revealed a three-vote change from unofficial results released last month. Westmoreland County Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said the review of more than 4,200 ballots cast in person on Election Day and ballots mailed in by voters from precincts in...
Justices spar in latest clash of religion and gay rightsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, the latest collision of religion and gay rights to land at the high court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would...
Plane makes landing with collapsed gear at Rostraver Airport; pilot not injured
No one was hurt when a small plane landed with its nose gear collapsed Monday afternoon at Rostraver Airport, an airport official said. The nose of the plane remained upright as the plane went down the runway, then hit the runway at the plane lost speed, said Gabe Monzo, executive...
2 charged in Homewood shooting that injured girl after fight
Two 16-year-old boys were arrested overnight after a girl was hospitalized in critical condition following a shooting Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Raymur Sicklesmith of Homewood and James Acklin of Duquesne are charged as adults with attempted homicide, reckless endangerment and related offenses. Police said they were dispatched around...
Democrats express interest in Tony DeLuca’s state House seat
Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese and school board president Erin Vecchio have put their names in the hat for the Democratic nomination for the state House District 32 seat. The 32nd District has been represented by Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, for nearly 40 years. He died Oct. 9, 2022, at...
North Carolina power outages could last days after shootings
CARTHAGE, N.C. — Tens of thousands of people braced for days without electricity in a North Carolina county where authorities say two power substations were shot up by one or more people with apparent criminal intent. Across Moore County southwest of Raleigh on Monday, businesses handed out free food or...
Police: Remains of missing Frazer woman believed to be found in Armstrong County
The remains of a Frazer woman who went missing in September are believed to have been found, according to Allegheny County Police. Although a coroner has not formally identified the remains, a license plate number on a motorcycle that was found and reported by a hunter Monday on a hillside...
Real ID deadline extended again, until 2025
You’ll have a little longer before you have to worry about having a Real ID to board a domestic flight or enter a federal building. The federal Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline yet again, until May 7, 2025. The deadline had been set for this upcoming May....
1 person escapes from neighboring home during fire in Homestead
A man was able to escape early Monday after a fire broke out next door in Homestead and flames started to spread to his home. The blaze was reported around 1:30 a.m. on East 13th Street. The fire chief told reporters at the scene that the fire does not appear...
‘A celebration of hope’ at St. Vladimir in Arnold a year after fire
Members of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold filed into the social hall along Kenneth Avenue on Sunday, filling the two dozen or so folding chairs to celebrate Divine Liturgy. It was a special day for parishioners of Arnold’s only Catholic church. Exactly one year prior, the 74-year-old building...
Murrysville man helps resettle Ukrainian refugees with sponsor program
Anthony Bucciero of Murrysville was surprised to discover the similarities between the economies of Ukraine and Pennsylvania. “It’s a lot like Pennsylvania, with a lot of farming and manufacturing,” said Bucciero, CEO of Guardian Construction Management Services in Murrysville. “And to think that someone has just come in and bombed...
Steelers vs. Falcons: What they’re saying in Atlanta after loss
Playoffs? Playoffs? Neither of these teams appear to be headed to the postseason, but the Steelers delivered a big blow to the Atlanta Falcons’ chances on Sunday in a 19-16 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The NFC South is so brutal that the Falcons probably still might find their way into...
Pittsburgh council president calls for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grants are spent
Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith called for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grant money is spent. The city last week announced the first round of Stop the Violence grant recipients. Over 30 organizations received nearly $1 million in total from the grant funding, which is meant to...
Tire technology helps boost winter weather safety
November may have started with balmy days and temperatures in the upper 70s, but Old Man Winter appears here to stay as the calendar rolled over to December, and a sizable number of drivers in Western Pennsylvania are scheduling appointments to have their regular radials swapped out for snow tires....
Pittsburgh council members question whether snow plow tracker is help or hindrance
Some Pittsburgh City Council members have voiced concerns with the city’s snow plow tracker, which, they said, is often unreliable and misleading. However, council gave preliminary approval last week to extend a contract with Minnesota-based Quetica for “fleet telematics” and snow route optimization technology, including GPS routing and the technology...
Mark Madden: Steelers winning streak is no renaissance, just bad football
Refreshing sports notes: As delicate and delicious as a field-goal attempt pinging off the goal post, then dropping in for three points. Matthew Wright is a trick-shot artist. • The Steelers defeated two lousy teams by narrow scores, nearly blowing the game in the second half both times. The Steelers...
Tim Benz: ‘Feats of Strength’ after Steelers stack wins for 1st time this seasonVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting into the holiday spirit with an early gift to all of their fans: an actual winning streak! Back-to-back wins for the first time all year. Mike Tomlin’s team managed to scrape out a 19-16 victory in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, just six days after the...
Iran morality police status unclear after ‘closure’ comment
CAIRO — An Iranian lawmaker said Sunday that Iran’s government is “paying attention to the people’s real demands,” state media reported, a day after a top official suggested that the country’s morality police whose conduct helped trigger months of protests has been shut down. The role of the morality police,...
Latrobe man among 2 people killed in Somerset County crash on Pa. Turnpike
Two people died from injuries in a Somerset County crash late Friday involving two vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, investigators said. State police were investigating the crash, which was reported shortly after 9 p.m. in Jefferson Township near the Somerset-Westmoreland border. Somerset County Chief Deputy Coroner Lexi Lichty said a...
Building the Valley: Coffee shop debuts in Vandergrift on the heels of successful ‘sister’ site in Freeport
If you had to pick a day to hold the grand opening for a new shop serving up steaming hot cups of fresh-ground coffee, a cold blustery one might just be the ticket. The whipping wind sending light snow dancing through the streets of Vandergrift’s business district on Friday, Nov....
Keep covid military vaccine mandate, defense chief says
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s covid-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it. This past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to...
Both sides see high stakes in gay rights Supreme Court case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is being warned about the potentially dire consequences of a case next week involving a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for same-sex couples. Rule for the designer and the justices will expose not only same-sex couples but also Black people, immigrants,...
FDA change ushers in cheaper, easier-to-get hearing aids
It’s now a lot easier — and cheaper — for many hard-of-hearing Americans to get help. Hearing aids can now be sold without a prescription from a specialist. Over-the-counter, or OTC, hearing aids started hitting the market in October at prices that can be thousands of dollars lower than prescription...
