Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 856
5 things to know about new covid subvariants
Though new covid-19 subvariants continue to crop up, a local infectious disease doctor said there likely won’t be another massive wave of severe infections because of them. New subvariants of the covid-19 omicron variant — like XXB, XBB and BQ.1 — are spreading throughout the United States, said Dr. Matt...
Mon Valley area sees record-setting hail stones, officials say
Sunday’s windy and unstable atmosphere led to hail blowing through parts of the Mon Valley and Westmoreland County, including record-setting, 2-inch hail stones. Reports show that Perryopolis, in Fayette County, experienced hail stones that were more than two inches in diameter, which is only the third time in recorded history...
Buffalo gunman pleads guilty in racist supermarket massacre
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The white gunman who massacred 10 Black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded guilty Monday to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges, guaranteeing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Payton Gendron, 19, entered the plea Monday in a courthouse roughly two...
Tax keeps Pennsylvania gas prices high despite nationwide downward trend, analyst says
Despite falling gas prices nationwide, Pennsylvania finds itself in the company of West Coast states with the highest average prices in the nation. Pennsylvania’s statewide average on Monday was about $3.97 per gallon, about 42 cents higher than the national average and higher than all surrounding states, according to AAA....
City Controller Michael Lamb to run for Allegheny County Executive
Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb on Monday announced he will run for Allegheny County executive next year. “As county executive, we will have a county government that is transparent and accessible,” Lamb said. He said he hopes to provide “county leadership that is committed to making Allegheny County work better...
Pa. Republicans look inward after voters quashed the expected red wave
Votes were barely counted in the Nov. 8 election before the “autopsy” stories started rolling in on the Pennsylvania Republican Party. After Democrats took back the state House after 12 years and won contested congressional races, the governor’s race, and U.S. Senate seat in an expected “red wave” year for...
Pennsylvania campaign wild card Fetterman turns to governing
HARRISBURG — When John Fetterman goes to Washington in January as one of the Senate’s new members, he’ll bring along an irreverent style from Pennsylvania that extends from his own personal dress code — super casual — to hanging marijuana flags outside his current office in the state Capitol. Pennsylvania’s...
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa erupts, officials warn people to prepareVideo
HONOLULU — Waves of orange, glowing lava and smoky ash erupted Monday from the world’s largest active volcano and people living on Hawaii’s Big Island were warned to be ready if their communities are threatened. The eruption of Mauna Loa wasn’t immediately endangering towns, but officials told residents to be...
Bird-safe glass taking off: Vitro of Harmar produced National Aviary windows for $3M project
When it comes to glass, the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side has a unique problem. Not only do officials there not want any of their more than 500 birds to fly into its windows and glass ceilings, but they also don’t want wild birds outside hitting it either. Window...
Police: Driver impaled inside vehicle after fleeing traffic stop, crashing in Squirrel Hill
The driver of a car that fled from police in Squirrel Hill was critically injured when he crashed into a fence and a light pole and was impaled by a piece of metal, according to investigators. A Pittsburgh police officer on patrol at around 9:40 p.m. on Saturday saw a...
Penn Hills paramedic dies after crashing ambulance, suffering medical emergency
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials have identified the first responder who died after the Penn Hills ambulance he was driving collided with another vehicle in Shadyside, according to authorities. Paramedic Nicholas A. Theofilis, 23, of Penn Hills was driving along 5th and Morewood avenues shortly after 11 p.m. when the collision...
Tim Benz: Only 1 storyline will matter coming out of Steelers-Colts
Coming out of their Week 9 bye at 2-6, there was a path toward postseason contention that the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise had walked in the past. In 2013, the team began 2-6 and ended up 8-8, staying alive for the playoffs until the final week of the regular season. By...
Hospitals embrace mergers as path to survival
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-day series examining the rapidly changing health care landscape in Western Pennsylvania. As Excela Health CEO John Sphon irons out the details of a merger with Butler Health System, his message to the public is clear. He believes the alliance...
St. Mary’s in New Kensington reopens 2 years after sustaining damage in tornado
Denise Zellefrow’s mother was baptized in this very church 100 years ago. Tillie Stelmach was married in it in 1953. Patty Solobak buried her husband here in 2012. Nearly everyone who attended the reopening of St. Mary of Czestochowa church in New Kensington on Sunday had a personal story about...
Warden mansion in Mt. Pleasant hosts 32nd annual ‘Festival of Lights’
It’s only appropriate that the 32nd annual Festival of Lights in Mt. Pleasant would feature one tree for every year it has taken place. That means nearly three dozen trees, decorated by members of the public, will be on display — and on sale — to benefit restoration work at...
Mark Madden: Penguins have shown they can be good but also inconsistent and stubborn
The Penguins had won five straight going into Saturday’s home game vs. Toronto. They reminded us that they could still be a good team. Then, in that game, they reminded us that they could be a bad team. They lost handily, 4-1. A mangled line change gifted Toronto’s Mitch Marner...
Police: Pedestrian killed in Route 51 crash in Jefferson Hills
Jefferson Hills police are investigating a fatal crash involving a pedestrian that took place Saturday evening along Route 51. Robbin Fisher, 61, of Pittsburgh was struck and killed by a moving vehicle while crossing the street, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Emergency officials were called to Route...
Trump faulted for dinner with white nationalist and rapper Ye
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is renewing attention to his long history of turning a blind eye to bigotry after dining with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West just days into his third campaign for the White House. Trump had dinner Tuesday...
Crowd angered by lockdowns calls for China’s Xi to step down
SHANGHAI — Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. Police using pepper spray drove away demonstrators in Shanghai...
Coroner: Cleveland woman found in Wilkinsburg backyard was shot to death
A 23-year-old woman originally reported missing from Cleveland was found shot to death in a Wilkinsburg backyard on Thanksgiving, according to the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner. The body of Adrianna Kiri Taylor was discovered shortly after 9:30 p.m. Nov. 24, in a backyard on the 800 block...
State police seek wrong-way driver who struck pedestrian, vehicle in Squirrel Hill
State police have secured a warrant for a Homestead man they say drove the wrong way up a Parkway East ramp Friday morning, hitting both a vehicle and pedestrian before fleeing on foot. Police said troopers were monitoring traffic at the Forward Avenue on-ramp to I-376 around 9:40 a.m. Friday...
Crowds flock to New Kensington for Shop Small Crawl
Jayde Ferney and Scott McCann strolled along Fifth Avenue in New Kensington on Saturday with their 6-month-old dog, Floki. Before 1:30 p.m., they had already hit at least 18 of the 48 businesses participating in the second annual Shop Small Crawl. They bought desserts at Lynette’s Mad Custom Cakes and...
As Western Pa. hospitals expand, fears grow over higher health care costsVideo
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a three-day series examining the rapidly changing health care landscape in Western Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania’s two health care giants have jumped into a controversial nationwide hospital building boom, spending billions on glitzy, state-of-the-art facilities that critics say patients ultimately will pay for...
Out & About: Westmoreland Museum unveils annual winter light display
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” so the saying goes. At The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, it is better to light the building’s entire south-facing facade during the darkest days of the year. This year’s light show was revealed during Winter Lights Illumination...
Earlier start to firearm deer season keeps hunters, processors busy
Curtis Johnson of Indiana Township has big plans for the buck he bagged Saturday morning. “I’ll get a pound of the deer jerky, and bologna as well — I love the bologna you guys do,” Johnson told the staff at Wright’s Deer Processing in Clinton Township, near Saxonburg. Since the...
