Top Stories category, Page 854
New survey suggests little progress against U.S. teen vaping
NEW YORK — The latest government study on teen vaping suggests there’s been little progress in keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of kids. The data seems to show more high school students vaping, with 14% saying they had done so recently, according to survey results released Thursday. In last...
Amazon to hire 150,000 workers for holidays, similar to 2021
NEW YORK — Amazon will hire 150,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees across its warehouses ahead of the holiday season. The announcement, made Thursday, shows the e-commerce behemoth is taking a less conservative approach to its holiday planning than Walmart, which said last month it would hire 40,000 U.S. workers...
37 dead, mostly preschoolers, in Thai day care rampage
BANGKOK — A former policeman burst into a day care center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing dozens of children and teachers and then firing on more people as he fled in the deadliest rampage in the nation’s history. The assailant, who authorities said was fired from the force earlier...
Grain bin rescue: Westmoreland firefighters get training to save trapped farmers
If a farmer falls into a bin with flowing shelled corn, wheat, oats, sunflower seeds or barley, they might sink to their knees and be unable to free themselves in the time it took to read this sentence. In as little as 20 seconds, an adult can be buried in...
Blairsville man killed in Derry Township crash
A Blairsville man was killed Thursday after being ejected from a vehicle in Derry Township, according to state police and the Westmoreland County Coroner. Christopher M. Howe, 36, was headed north on Route 217 near Cherry Street before 3 a.m. when authorities said he left the road, hit a guardrail...
Fetterman records show light schedule as Pa. lieutenant governor
HARRISBURG — In his campaign for a crucial U.S. Senate seat, Democrat John Fetterman takes credit for reinventing Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor’s office, transforming it from a political pit stop into a “bully pulpit” from which he’s advanced progressive causes. Records from Fetterman’s four years in office, however, offer a different...
Teen charged in Kennywood shooting; police believe violence linked to ongoing Mon Valley feud
A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a Sept. 24 shooting at Kennywood Park that authorities on Thursday linked to an ongoing feud between teenagers in the Mon Valley. Darryl Pirl of West Mifflin, one of three people injured during the shooting, was arrested without incident Thursday morning....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers go on strike
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette employees belonging to unions representing production, distribution and advertising workers went on strike as the day began Thursday in response to what they view as unfair labor practices by company management. The unions include the Communications Workers of America Locals 14842 and 14827, Teamsters Local 205/211 and Pressmen’s...
3 Florida transplants share their stories of hurricane survival, kindness
Leave it to a guy from New Kensington to turn a hurricane into a tailgate party. That’s just what John Nader did when Hurricane Ian slammed into Sanibel Island, Fla., last week, destroying his home and heavily damaging his bar and restaurant there. After riding out the storm in his...
Planning Commission recommends 412 Boulevard of the Allies for historic designation
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously recommended 412 Boulevard of the Allies for historic designation. Construction on the building was completed in 1927, according to the historic nomination. The site originally housed a hospital, then a pharmaceutical research, manufacturing and sales company, said Sarah Quinn with Pittsburgh’s Department of City...
1 flown from Ligonier Township crash
One person was flown by helicopter from a crash late Wednesday night in Ligonier Township, according to county 911 officials. Emergency responders were called to the intersection of Route 30 and Route 259, just east of Idlewild & Soak Zone, for a one-vehicle crash around 10:55 p.m....
Westmoreland Democrats rally volunteers, welcome Fetterman in Murrysville
About 100 people turned out Wednesday evening to the Murrysville Center for Democracy to meet Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, getting their photos taken with the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee as they signed up to knock on doors and make calls for his campaign. After brief remarks to the crowd...
Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis join together in Ian recovery effortVideo
FORT MYERS, Florida — President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation of hurricane-ravaged Florida on Wednesday, promising to marshal the power of the federal government to help rebuild as he comforted local residents alongside Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 foe. Biden praised DeSantis’ handling of the storm recovery as...
Undeterred by losses, diehard Pirates fans flock to PNC Park for season finale
The Pittsburgh Pirates entered Wednesday’s season finale with 100 losses, but that didn’t dampen Rob North’s enthusiasm for what would be the team’s last game until next year. “What’s not to love about coming to the ballpark and having fun?” said North, 35, of Shadyside, as he stood outside PNC...
Bridgewater councilman whose murder conviction was thrown out files federal suit
A former Bridgewater councilman who spent 10 years in prison before his third-degree murder conviction was thrown out is suing the law enforcement officers who charged him, alleging that they ignored evidence that showed his innocence. Gregory Scott Hopkins, who was arrested in 2012 in connection with the Sept. 1,...
‘Forever chemicals’ in deer, fish challenge hunters, tourism
PORTLAND, Maine — Wildlife agencies in the U.S. are finding elevated levels of a class of toxic chemicals in game animals such as deer — and that’s prompting health advisories in some places where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy. Authorities have detected...
Prolonged drought brings famine, death and fear to Somalia
DOLLOW, Somalia — A man in a donkey cart comes wheeling through the dust, carrying two small, silent boys. The sky is overcast. It could rain. It won’t. It hasn’t for a very long time. Mohamed Ahmed Diriye is 60 years old, and he’s completing the grimmest journey of his...
Oakmont man detained in Russia to be moved to hard-labor penal colony
Oakmont native Marc Fogel, who has been held in a Moscow detention center for 14 months on a marijuana-related conviction, is being moved to a Russian hard-labor penal colony, his family said. The move to the new facility — located a four- to five-hour train ride away from the detention...
Pa. liquor stores hosting 50% clearance sale
With temperatures dropping quickly as fall arrives, it’s a good time to stock up on booze and hunker down for the season, and Pennsylvania state-run liquor stores are incentivizing shoppers with a 50% clearance sale on select whiskey, wine, vodka, gin, and other spirits. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s clearance...
Wilkinsburg man charged with dragging Penn Hills police officer with his car
A Wilkinsburg man has been charged with aggravated assault, after police say he dragged a Penn Hills officer about 20 feet with his car early Tuesday morning. Shortly after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Penn Hills policeman was flagged down by a tow truck driver, who said an SUV had gone...
OPEC+ makes big oil cut to boost prices; pump costs may rise
FRANKFURT, Germany — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries decided Wednesday to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices, a move that could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. Energy ministers cut production...
Legislation could allow Pittsburgh to fine residents, businesses for excess trash, uncut lawns
Legislation introduced to City Council Tuesday would allow Pittsburgh to fine residents or businesses for quality of life violations, like an accumulation of garbage, tall weeds or improperly stored garbage cans. The measure, sponsored by Councilman Bruce Kraus, aims to tackle issues surrounding properties that are not properly maintained. Such...
Westmoreland communities place their bets on windfall from casino revenue
Community leaders are hoping to be flush with cash after they placed their bets on winning a share of $3.75 million in local casino revenue. A portion of the money that gamblers spent having fun at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield last year could be used for community upgrades such...
Employers have jobs to offer, yet struggle to fill vacancies
Gemma Koury of Greensburg was looking for a job Sept. 26, checking the various employers who lined the halls of the PA CareerLink office at the Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. “I was looking for something in elder care,” said Koury, 32, who had been working in a restaurant...
South Korea missile accident panics public on edge over NorthVideo
SEOUL — A South Korean ballistic missile malfunctioned and crashed into the ground during a live-fire drill with the United States, panicking confused residents of a coastal city already uneasy over increasingly provocative weapons tests by rival North Korea. The sound of the blast and subsequent fire on Tuesday night...
