Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 895
Franklin Regional puts new spin on homecoming vote
Franklin Regional officials have introduced an additional round of homecoming voting this year to recognize student achievement. “We chose four categories — academics, arts, athletics and citizenship — and asked students to first nominate classmates for those categories, explaining their reasoning,” FR communications director Tina Gillen said. “Senior students were...
Westmoreland eyes construction of county gun range
Westmoreland County has targeted the end of the year to open its new shooting range. Ground was broken this week on a $30,000 project to construct an outdoor facility behind the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield. “Any county agency can use it,” county park police Chief Henry Fontana, said. Staff...
Giorgio Coraluppi, Pittsburgh inventor of tech for video calls, lauded as pioneer
People who rely on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, WhatsApp and other instant messaging platforms have Giorgio Coraluppi to thank. The longtime Pittsburgh resident and businessman, known as “Dr. C,” invented the technology for the digital teleconference call from which those apps were derived. Following his death Wednesday, Sept. 28, at...
Many trapped in Florida as Ian heads toward South Carolina
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark. Hours after weakening to a tropical depression while crossing the Florida peninsula, Ian regained hurricane strength Thursday...
Oz campaign places billboard in Braddock attacking Fetterman for being ‘soft on crime’
The race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat has been filled with antics and media stunts from Democratic candidate John Fetterman. Now, Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is getting into the mix by placing an attack billboard in Fetterman’s hometown of Braddock, calling the lieutenant governor and former Braddock mayor “soft...
Kremlin set to annex 4 regions of Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia confirmed on Thursday it will formally annex parts of Ukraine where occupied areas held Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums” on living under Moscow’s rule that the Ukrainian government and the West denounced as illegal and rigged. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a ceremony on Friday in the Kremlin...
Kings Family Restaurant in Plum closes to make way for new Sheetz
After 48 years in business, another Pittsburgh-area Kings Family Restaurant has closed. Kings district manager George Brown confirmed that the Kings in Presque Isle Plaza in Plum’s Holiday Park neighborhood closed its doors Monday. “The plaza has been sold, and the new owner had different plans,” Brown said. “We’re still...
St. Ladislaus group lobbies for shrine designation at Natrona church
Longtime Natrona resident Conrad Zylinski attended the former St. Ladislaus Elementary School in the 1960s and served as an altar boy at the magnificent domed church on Spruce Street. He no longer attends Mass every week but said he sees the significance of the 118-year-old church to the community. Zylinski...
Mehmet Oz picks up key endorsement from national business organization for his ‘pro-growth’ views
When it comes to who should be a voice for Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for the next six years, the world’s largest business organization has chosen Republican candidate Mehmet Oz. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced it was endorsing Oz in the hotly contested race against Democrat...
Monessen-born rapper Coolio dies at age 59
LOS ANGELES — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died Wednesday at age 59, his manager said. Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime...
Doug Mastriano said in 2019 that women who violate an abortion ban should be charged with murder
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, suggested in 2019 that women who violate an abortion ban he proposed should be charged with murder, a position considered far outside the political mainstream. In a radio interview with WITF, Mastriano — then a state senator — was asked about legislation...
Three sentenced in $87 million Medicaid fraud scheme
Three people who were part of a sophisticated, $87 million health care fraud scheme were sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. The three were among a total of 16 people charged for billing Pennsylvania Medicaid for in-home health care for services that were never performed. Fifteen of those people...
Republican commissioners remove ballot drop box from Westmoreland courthouse
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners Wednesday refused to vote on a plan to install one drop box for mail-in ballots at the courthouse. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said the box that had been in place for years in the courthouse’s lobby and last spring at the rear entrance of...
Hempfield man, 62, suffers medical issue, dies following East Huntingdon crash
A Hempfield man who suffered a medical emergency while driving Wednesday morning died of injuries from the resulting crash, Westmoreland Coroner Tim Carson said. James A. Shifko, 62, of Broadway Avenue was headed south on Westec Drive shortly before 7 a.m. State police said he was believed to have suffered...
$1.4B terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport takes shape
A $1.4 billion project to build a new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport is on pace to be completed on schedule by early 2025, officials said Wednesday during a tour of the bustling construction site. Eleven large cranes rose above the site Wednesday, and the first structures are going up....
Death penalty trial in slaying of off-duty Pittsburgh officer postponed until February
The trial for a man accused in 2019 of killing an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer has been postponed until Feb. 27. Jury selection in the capital case against Christian Bey was supposed to begin on Monday before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski. However, according to a motion...
Holocaust survivor, Tree of Life witness Judah Samet dies at 84
Judah Samet referred to himself as “a professional survivor.” He survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the Nazis forced him and his family from their home in Hungary when he was 7 years old. Four years ago at age 80, Samet also survived the October 2018 mass shooting at the...
Kennywood to add chaperone policy, security protocols after shooting
Kennywood Park officials said Wednesday they will add new security protocols and a chaperone policy before reopening this weekend after a triple shooting inside the park. The chaperone policy requires anyone under 17 to be accompanied by an adult 21 or older at all times. Masks are banned after 6...
Schools like Penn State self-police student-athlete endorsement deals
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. A unanimous 2021 Supreme Court decision opened the door to student-athletes earning money for their “name, image, and likeness” — often...
Group seeks to cut Norwin library funding; director says service cuts may follow
Norwin Public Library could lose about 85% of its taxpayer-generated funding if voters in the area it serves decide to cut 1 mill from the special 1.2-mill library tax on real estate. “It will impact the library’s state funding and other funding. It will have a cascade effect,” that likely...
Man fatally shot in Pittsburgh’s St. Clair neighborhood
A fatal shooting Tuesday night has left a man dead in Pittsburgh’s St. Clair neighborhood. The man, identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner as Marcus Watts, 26, of Pittsburgh, was discovered by Pittsburgh Police around 8:15 p.m. in the 500 block of Kohne Street after officers responded to reports...
Arson suspected after fire destroys 3 Pittsburgh police vehicles
A suspicious fire overnight Wednesday gutted three Pittsburgh Police cruisers at their Training Academy facility. Pittsburgh police said they are investigating the incident as an arson case. The three cars were parked in the academy parking lot. ATF investigators arrived on scene early Wednesday morning at the academy at 900...
How to apply for a Pa. property tax or rent rebate
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 — Pennsylvania’s rent and property tax rebate program — which helps older and disabled residents offset the rising cost of...
Man shot in Turtle Creek
A man was hospitalized after being shot in the leg Tuesday night in Turtle Creek, Allegheny County Police said. The victim, who was not identified, was reported shot around 9:05 p.m. in the 300 block of Clugston Avenue, police said. The man was transported to an area hospital and is...
Pittsburgh police seek missing girl, 13
Pittsburgh police were searching for a 13-year-old girl Tuesday who left her home for classes at Westinghouse Academy, but did not return at the end of the school day. The girl, Kamahra Sanders, was last seen wearing a white shirt, black pants and white shoes, when she left her Carver...
