Top Stories category, Page 905
What would you do with the Mega Millions jackpot?
The Mega Millions lottery game is living up to its name this week, with a jackpot of more than $800 million that could be won during the drawing on Tuesday night. Here’s what some people in the region would do if they won the jackpot: Sue Muller of Greensburg has...
Marc Short, top aide to Mike Pence, testifies before Jan. 6 grand juryVideo
WASHINGTON — The former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence has testified before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, a person familiar with the matter said Monday. Marc Short, a close aide to Pence, was at the Capitol on...
Woman sues PetSmart, groomers in connection with toy poodle’s death at East Liberty store
A woman whose toy poodle died during a PetSmart grooming appointment in Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit this week against the pet store and two employees in connection with the November 2020 incident. AJ Ross, a Pittsburgh native who works as a CBS Sports reporter, had taken her 12-year-old poodle Kobe...
PennDOT hopes to complete Fern Hollow Bridge replacement by end of the year
PennDOT’s top official in the Pittsburgh region said Monday that she hopes a project to replace the city’s collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge will be completed by the end of the year. At a news conference near the bridge site above Frick Park, PennDOT District 11 Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni said meeting...
15 pounds of pot, crack, illegal guns confiscated in raid on Arnold home
Police say they found three garbage bags filled with nearly 15 pounds of marijuana along with crack cocaine, guns and other evidence of a drug-dealing operation when they raided a house in Arnold and arrested two brothers. Malique Jamal Black, 24, and Tresean Black, 22, who both live in the...
The tough words Trump never spoke: Jan. 6 panel’s new videoVideo
WASHINGTON — An original script for Donald Trump’s speech the day after the Capitol insurrection included tough talk ordering the Justice Department to “ensure all lawbreakers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” and stating the rioters “do not represent me.” But those words were crossed out with...
Harrison police investigating trio of burglaries along Freeport Road
Harrison police are investigating the burglaries of three businesses late last week along Freeport Road. A truck was stolen early Friday from Freehling Service at 2901 Freeport Road. Burglars also hit Della’s Frozen Custard at 5001 Freeport Road and Harbison’s Nursery at 4024 Freeport Road. All three incidents happened overnight...
5 things to know about monkeypox as WHO declares global emergency
While monkeypox has historically been limited to about a half-dozen African nations, the head of the World Health Organization over the weekend declared the spreading viral disease a “public health emergency of international concern.” The monkeypox outbreak has spread to more than 70 countries and cases now total about 16,800,...
Greensburg man jailed in nephew’s fentanyl overdose death
A Greensburg man was jailed Saturday after city police said he provided a stamp bag of what he believed was heroin to his nephew, who was visiting from Ohio and had never tried the drug, according to court papers. Police said the stamp bag contained fentanyl, a deadly opioid that...
Businesses eye economic boost as Steelers training camp returns to Saint Vincent
On an artist’s palette, black and gold don’t make green. But during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp near Latrobe, they do make green — and a lot of it. Area businesses are anticipating an economic boost in the coming weeks as the Steelers return to Saint Vincent College in Unity...
Gas price decline streak hits 40 days; Pittsburgh-area prices among highest in state
Gas prices have been coming down across the country for 40 days in a row, but average prices in Southwestern Pennsylvania remain above the national and state averages and among the highest in the state. According to AAA, the national average on Monday was about $4.36. That’s about 17 cents...
Is $810 million worth a $2 Mega Millions ticket? It depends
DES MOINES, Iowa — Is $810 million worth $2? That’s a good question, given it costs $2 to buy a Mega Millions lottery ticket that could pay off with an estimated $810 million prize, the nation’s fourth-largest jackpot, after the game’s next drawing Tuesday night. Isn’t it an obvious question?...
Mine safety emerged as top priority after Quecreek accident
Two decades after the last Quecreek miner was pulled to safety, four men with deep roots in Pennsylvania coal country have carried forward the lessons learned during those anguish-filled days in July 2002 when the eyes of the world were on Somerset County. For those men — John Urosek, 65,...
Early-morning storms give way to rising temperatures
Storms rolled through Southwestern Pennsylvania early Monday morning, bringing with them spurts of heavy rainfall but since clearing the region. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Allegheny County and parts of Beaver County as thunderstorms producing heavy rain swept across the region, bringing 1 to 3...
Man dead after police-involved shooting in Washington County
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating after a man was shot and killed by police in Washington County. According to a state police report, officers with the Monongahela City Police Department responded to 1029 Lincoln St. in Monongahela around 9:20 p.m. Sunday for reports of shots fired and an attempted homicide....
Western Pa. food banks squeezed by increased costs, demand for assistance
Rising food costs are driving a renewed demand at food banks in the region that already were serving more people because of the covid pandemic. “The cost of getting a gallon of milk is sometimes a hardship,” Westmoreland Food Bank CEO Jennifer Miller said. After the pandemic hit, the Westmoreland...
Wolf quietly steers $40M to Pitt, Pa.’s other state-related universities
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf plans to quietly give Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities including Penn State and Pitt a one-time $40...
Butler-Freeport Community Trail celebrates 30 years of recreation alongside Buffalo Creek
The Butler-Freeport Community Trail, one of the first major “Rails to Trails” initiatives in Southwestern Pennsylvania, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Maintained by the Butler-Freeport Community Trail Council, an all-volunteer group, the 21-mile trail was one of the first 400 rail trails built in America. Chris Ziegler, president...
With temperature records poised to fall, city residents flee heat if they canVideo
PROMISED LAND, Pa. — It’s not exactly flowing with milk and honey — just ask the area’s struggling black bears — but Promised Land offered respite Sunday for city folks in the Northeast trying to escape a nearly weeklong hot spell that only threatened to intensify. Those with the resources...
Jan. 6 panel deepens probe to Trump Cabinet, awaits Ginni ThomasVideo
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee said Sunday it will interview more former Cabinet secretaries and is prepared to subpoena conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who’s married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as part of its investigation of the Capitol riot and Donald Trump’s role. Lawmakers said they...
Homewood shooting leaves 1 person dead
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place early Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Police were called to the 7000 block of Kelly Street in Homewood around 3:20 a.m. As they were investigating evidence that a shooting had occurred, Wilkinsburg police reported that they’d located a vehicle...
One thing voters agree on: Fresh voices needed in politics
NEW YORK — As he campaigns for a Manhattan congressional seat against fellow Democrats twice his age, 38-year-old Suraj Patel harnesses the frustration of his generation toward those who have held office for decades. In his telling, Reps. Jerry Nadler, 75, and Carolyn Maloney, 76, are part of a crop...
1 dead following Braddock shooting
Allegheny County Police detectives are investigating the shooting death of a man early Sunday morning in Braddock. Emergency crews were called to the 800 block of Braddock Avenue just before 1:50 a.m. for a report of a shooting. They arrived to find 38-year-old Alon Carrington of Braddock, who’d been shot....
‘Burst of joy’ reverberates 20 years after first word Quecreek miners were still alive
Four agonizing nights after the Quecreek miners were trapped underground, their families sought solace around a campfire outside the Sipesville Fire Hall. They gazed at the stars and prayed for a miracle. Clinging to each other and their hopes for a good outcome, the families maintained a round-the-clock vigil, vowing...
Ex-Gov. Mark Schweiker says Quecreek rescue proof miracles do happen
Twenty years ago this week, Gov. Mark Schweiker stepped to a podium in an abandoned Somerset County grocery store converted to a makeshift media center, pumped both fists in the air and proclaimed that, against all odds, nine men trapped 240 feet underground for 77 hours had been rescued from...
