Top Stories category, Page 903
Maryland man charged in D.C. car theft, hotel room invasion in Donegal Township
A Maryland man is accused of invading a woman’s hotel room Wednesday in Donegal Township while in possession of a car stolen from Washington, D.C. John Barilovits, 42, of Rockville also is charged with resisting arrest and attempting to draw a stun gun on a state police officer. According to...
North Huntingdon’s Aubrey Burchell wows ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges in teaser videoVideo
North Huntingdon singer Aubrey Burchell has been teasing fans about her upcoming appearance before the judges on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” Now the date is set — she’ll debut on the Season 17 episode airing at 8 p.m. Tuesday. NBC just released a YouTube video that shows the 21-year-old wowing...
Allegheny Township police charge Oakmont man with assaulting, raping teen
An Oakmont man is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl multiple times before raping her late last year. Allegheny Township police charged Jeffrey Thomas McMeekin, 60, of California Avenue on Thursday with one count of rape, three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of aggravated indecent assault...
Allegheny County rises to medium level of covid spread
Allegheny County’s covid-19 cases and hospitalizations rose high enough this week to put the county back into the medium level in terms of community transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC calculates a county’s transmission level — low, medium or high — by looking at...
Doug Mastriano’s Gab page removed, candidate responds to criticism of social media platform
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has been criticized by elected officials and anti-hate speech groups for his association with Gab, a far-right social media platform that was favored by the accused Tree of Life shooter. He has responded to the criticism and his Gab account was apparently removed recently. Mastriano...
Sheetz looking to add 30 stores in Western Pa.
Sheetz plans to add 30 gas stations and convenience stores in Western Pennsylvania over the next three to five years. The Altoona-based chain said it is working with commercial real estate firm CBRE to identify sites for the new locations. Brian Dinges, assistant vice president of real estate, acknowledged that...
Long-term lane shift coming to Route 28
A long-term lane shift along Route 28 near O’Hara is scheduled to begin Saturday to accommodate a paving project. PennDOT announced that work will begin at 5 a.m. on southbound Route 28 and impact the stretch that runs through Aspinwall, Sharpsburg and O’Hara. Motorists will be shifted from the current...
North Huntingdon man charged with assault after police standoff
A 42-year-old North Huntingdon man fired 15-to-20 gunshots inside his house when police arrived Thursday to check on his welfare, leading to a six-hour standoff that ended peacefully, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case. Two North Huntingdon police officers said a gunshot was fired when they approached...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 29-31
It’s the last weekend in July. Here are some ways to spend it. Beer here Pittsburgh Summer Beer Fest is 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Stage AE on the North Shore. The two-night annual event features craft beers from approximately 200 local, regional and hard-to-find brews, as well as...
Hundreds of families await answers in Allegheny County cold cases
There is no readily available clearinghouse for Allegheny County’s unsolved homicides, including those within the city of Pittsburgh, but organizations that track cold cases indicate there are likely hundreds of families in the area waiting for justice. Project: Cold Case, a nonprofit that helps families bring attention to and advocate...
Pennsylvania state trooper shot in Aliquippa; suspect was shooter in high-profile 2005 killing
A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot early Friday during an altercation at a Beaver County convenience store, officials said. Trooper Jonnie Schooley, a patrolman out of the Beaver barracks, was shot in the leg after he and Trooper Shawn Palmer noticed a disturbance outside the Franklin Mini Mart in Aliquippa,...
Penn State will receive $12.1M in federal funds but is still raising tuition. Here’s why
Although Penn State is slated to receive an additional batch of unexpected funding from Governor Tom Wolf, university officials are rejecting a call from House Republicans to use the one-time allocation to roll back plans to raise tuition. Penn State will receive about $12.1 million from Wolf’s administration through funding...
Etna man charged in high-end Fox Chapel burglary; police looking for Arnold man
An Etna man was arrested Thursday in connection with a Fox Chapel burglary last week, but police are continuing to search for an Arnold man who they believe was an accomplice. Allegheny County Police said among the items stolen was a gold bar, jewelry worth thousands of dollars, three Rolex...
Tarentum man charged in fatal Route 28 crash last year
A 77-year-old Tarentum man faces homicide by vehicle charges in connection with a one-car crash that killed another man last year on Route 28 in Harrison. State police say Frederick Fattman was behind the wheel of a 2015 Corvette on July 5, 2021, when he allegedly lost control and hit...
Saint Vincent expects 15,000 fans on Saturday: Steelers training camp by the numbersVideo
About 6,000 Steelers fans reserved tickets for the opening day of training camp Wednesday, according to gate staff at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. But that number will skyrocket when the weekend arrives. We collected a few figures from 2022 Steelers training camp to put the first week in perspective....
Spotted lanternfly numbers on the rise in Allegheny County
They’re here and there are lots of them. Reports of spotted lanternflies in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are on the rise. According to the PA Department of Agriculture, as of July 11, there had been 2,944 reports of lanternflies from Allegheny County compared to 102 on the same date last...
BA.5 now dominant covid-19 variant in Allegheny County
The Omicron BA.5 variant is the dominant strain of the covid-19 virus in Allegheny County, health officials said Thursday. According to the county health department’s weekly covid-19 report, the variant accounts for about two-thirds of the covid cases in Allegheny County. The variant, which experts say is the most contagious...
Allegheny County Police searching for missing 18-year-old man last seen in mid-June in Clairton
Allegheny County Police are requesting help in locating a missing 18-year-old man. Police said Dorian Serrano was last seen June 14 with his family in Clairton. Police described Serrano as 5 feet 9 inches tall and 145 pounds with brown eyes and black medium length hair. He was wearing a...
$1.1B Mega Millions jackpot latest in history of lotteries
DES MOINES, Iowa — At over $1 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is among the largest lottery prizes ever up for grabs, making it the latest focus of lotteries that have been conducted in the U.S. and around the world for centuries. Only two prizes have grown larger than the...
JetBlue-Spirit deal brings hope and concern for Western Pa.
Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said he’s hopeful a $3.8 billion deal for JetBlue to purchase Spirit Airlines ultimately will be a boon for local travelers. But there are no guarantees. The deal was announced Thursday. Spirit has been the sole carrier at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport...
Wolf sues GOP-led legislature to block abortion, voter ID questions from reaching Pa. ballot box
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 — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is suing the Republican-controlled legislature in the state’s highest court over its efforts to change...
United Steelworkers fight to have union recognized at Braeburn Steel
The United Steelworkers union has filed three allegations with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) related to the refusal of the new owner of Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell to recognize the union. “If they were looking for a fight, they picked the wrong union,” said Bernie Hall, director...
Police: Man holed up in North Huntingdon house after firing gun surrenders peacefully
A man who had fired multiple shots inside his North Huntingdon house and was holed up for six hours Thursday as police sought to end the standoff surrendered peacefully, state police said. North Huntingdon police and a state police special emergency response team had surrounded the house at 1752 Ivanhoe...
Coulter Building’s early 20th century aesthetic brought back to life in Greensburg
An office building on Greensburg’s Main Street that originally was Westmoreland County’s courthouse has regained some of its early 20th century appeal. Owner Ryan Will renovated interior common areas of the four-story Coulter Building at 231 S. Main St. “What we were looking to do was bring it back to...
Westmoreland County’s 1st EMA drone team to take the sky via Sewickley Township
The Sewickley Township Emergency Management Agency is taking its resources to the sky with a drone recently purchased for $34,000. Director Glenn Wees said the device will help the agency assess emergency situations, such as search and rescue operations, from the air. “Once we get the team built, we’ll be...
