Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 891
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...
Unresolved gray areas in Pa. mail voting law likely to spur fresh confusion, legal challenges
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 — As millions of Pennsylvanians once again go to the polls this November, some key questions on mail ballots remain...
Driver killed in crash when his dump truck goes airborne on Indiana County highway
An Indiana County man was killed early Tuesday morning when the empty dump truck he was driving on Route 119 south of Indiana, Pa., went off the highway and flew through the air before landing on the road below, according to state police at the Indiana station. The victim, Thomas...
What’s in a name? GOP congressional candidate Mike Doyle shares name with retiring Democrat, sowing confusion
A candidate’s name in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District race is turning out to be a key issue in the campaign. Mike Doyle, the Republican nominee in the race, has the same name as the man who represented the area for the past 28 years in Congress. Democrat Mike Doyle is...
Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in classified documents dispute
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to step into the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate, escalating a dispute over the powers of an independent arbiter appointed to inspect the records. The...
Record high revenue of $3.3 billion recorded at Pa. casinos
In-person gambling bounced back at the 16 casinos across the state as slots and table game revenue reached a record high $3.3 billion in the last fiscal year according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board annual report. That tops the previous record of $3.2 billion for fiscal year 2018-19. Retail...
Developer aims to revive Hyde Park Plaza in Allegheny Township
Big changes are coming to the former Big Kmart and the plaza it occupies in Allegheny Township. A new owner is redeveloping the once-busy plaza at 451 Hyde Park Road. Hyde Park Plaza was purchased for $3.8 million Sept. 16 by Pittsburgh-based developer Jeff Paul of Fox Chapel. The long-shuttered...
Kenny Pickett named as Steelers’ starting quarterback in Buffalo
For his first NFL start, Kenny Pickett will be tasked with venturing into Highmark Stadium — one of the most hostile environments for visiting teams — and helping the Pittsburgh Steelers snap a three-game losing streak. No big deal, right? Coach Mike Tomlin is aware that Bills Mafia will be...
Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies at 90Video
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music, has died. She was 90. In a statement provided to the Associated Press, Lynn’s family...
Man found shot in Downtown Pittsburgh alley dies from injuries
A man found shot Monday night in a Downtown Pittsburgh alley has died, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Police responded to a report of shots fired at Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Maddock Place in the city’s Cultural District around 11:20 p.m. Police said they found a man with gunshot...
Free college? Some Allegheny College students won’t pay tuition anymore
Some Allegheny College students don’t have to worry about tuition bills anymore. The Meadville college announced it is introducing a Commitment to Access Program that will cover all tuition costs for in-state students whose family income is $50,000 or less. The program, which will kick off in fall 2023, will...
Man killed in Pa. Turnpike crash near Butler Valley exit
A man was killed early Tuesday morning in a two-vehicle crash along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Hampton, state police at Gibsonia said. The victim, Richard F. Krupka, 55, of Maple Heights, died as a result of injuries suffered in an accident two miles from the Butler Valley exit in Hampton,...
Westmoreland set to return portion of unspent rental assistance funds as program continues
Low-income Westmoreland County renters lost out on more than $10 million in federal funds from 2021 because the program was mired in red tape, an official said. Qualifications for the program — designed to help renters who suffered direct financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic — were onerous and difficult...
North Korea fires ballistic missile that flies over Japan
North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing Japan to issue evacuation notices and suspend trains, as the North escalates tests of weapons designed to strike regional U.S. allies. It was the most significant missile test by North Korea...
