Top Stories category, Page 930
Ligonier home tour gives look inside 5 eclectic area properties
When Carmen Quartararo decided to relocate from California to Western Pennsylvania in 2020, she ended up buying a house in Ligonier, sight unseen. “The house was built in the 1950s by a local family for their two spinster sisters,” Quartararo said. “They were seamstresses. They lived very modestly on the...
1/6 panel: Local ‘heroes’ rebuffed Trump, then faced threats
WASHINGTON — The House 1/6 committee heard chilling, tearful testimony Tuesday that Donald Trump’s relentless pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election provoked widespread threats to the “backbone of our democracy”— election workers and local officials who fended off the defeated president’s demands despite personal risks. The panel investigating the...
Greater demand, rise in maintenance costs drive Western Pennsylvania rent increases
Average rents in the Pittsburgh region have increased during the pandemic, and reports indicate certain areas are rising faster than others. A report from real estate research firm CoStar Group showed Pittsburgh-area rents increased about 6% from the start of 2020 to March 2022, which was slower than the 11.3%...
8 kids, 3 adults injured in wrong-way crash on Route 28 in Shaler
Eight children and three adults were taken to local hospitals following a crash Monday night on Route 28 in Shaler, emergency officials said. All of the injuries appeared to be minor, police said. The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. near the Millvale exit of Route 28, according to Shaler police...
Greensburg firefighter’s burger tradition helps raise needed funds
Highland Avenue residents bringing their morning cup of coffee onto the porch Friday likely got a whiff of something besides Arabica beans. There was a smell of freshly cut onions in the air. By 7 a.m., members of Greensburg Fire Department Hose Company No. 8 were busy peeling and slicing...
Report: Police at Texas school had rifles earlier than known
UVALDE, Texas — Multiple police officers stood in a hallway at Robb Elementary School armed with rifles and at least one ballistic shield within 19 minutes of a gunman arriving at the campus, according to documents reviewed by the Austin American-Statesman, a devastating new revelation deepening questions about why police...
Nobel sold for Ukrainian kids shatters record at $103.5M
NEW YORK — The Nobel Peace Prize that Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov was auctioning off to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees sold Monday night for $103.5 million, shattering the old record for a Nobel. A spokesperson for Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale, could not confirm the identity of...
NASA fuels moon rocket for 1st time in countdown rehearsal
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA fueled its huge moon rocket for the first time Monday and went ahead with a critical countdown test despite a fuel line leak. This was NASA’s fourth crack at the all-important dress rehearsal, the last major milestone before the moon rocket’s long-awaited launch debut. The...
Facebook removes GOP Senate candidate’s ‘RINO hunting’ video
WASHINGTON — Facebook on Monday removed a campaign video by Republican Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens that shows him brandishing a shotgun and declaring that he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only. In the ad, Greitens, a former Missouri governor who resigned in disgrace in 2018, is flanked...
Code Orange air quality alert issued for Tuesday in Pittsburgh region
High air pollution could impact sensitive groups of people Tuesday in several counties across the region, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The department issued a Code Orange air quality alert for high levels of ozone. In addition to Allegheny and Westmoreland, impacted counties...
Fountain Street Overlook to open with a scenic view of Pittsburgh
To look at the new greenspace on the wooded slope between Fountain and Henderson Streets, directly behind Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side, one might find it difficult to imagine the working class neighborhood that once existed there. Houses owned by the mill and factory workers when Pittsburgh’s population...
Shots for tots: Covid vaccinations start for little kids
Little Fletcher Pack woke up Monday morning and asked: “Is today vaccine day?” For the 3-year-old from Lexington, South Carolina, the answer was yes. The nation’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers are finally getting their chance at covid-19 vaccination as the U.S. rolls out shots for tots this week. Shipments arrived...
Pa. House approves bill to decriminalize fentanyl test strips
HARRISBURG — Test strips to help drug users identify fentanyl and other potentially deadly chemicals would no longer be classified as illegal paraphernalia under a bill passed unanimously by the Pennsylvania House on Monday. The legislation to amend the state’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act can help reduct...
Unlikely duo: John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro aim for united front
HARRISBURG — One candidate is unabashedly blunt, willing to embrace progressive positions, doing little to build rapport with party leaders and dominating rooms with a 6-foot-8-inch frame. The other crafts a more moderate image, a deliberate public speaker who became a congressional aide out of college and has carefully cultivated...
Man serving life in Allegheny County Jail killing seeks federal relief, citing problems with appeals process
A man who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for first-degree murder — even after his co-defendant confessed to killing the victim on his own — is seeking relief in federal court. Shawn Burton, 55, argued in a petition filed Friday in the Western District of Pennsylvania that he...
Judge says Greensburg shooting suspects exceeded expectations after posting bond
In the five years since Daishawn Stikkel and Nathan Childs were released from Westmoreland County Prison, their lives have significantly changed. Both men were charged with attempted homicide in connection with a shooting in March 2016 in Greensburg and had been behind bars for about five months before they posted...
State police say Tarentum woman turned over more than an ounce of crack cocaine during traffic stop
A Tarentum woman faces drug charges after a state trooper said she had more than an ounce of crack cocaine in her pocket during a traffic stop. Brittney Teyonia Ellibe, 31, of the 200 block of Allegheny Street was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the...
Biden says decision on gas tax holiday may come this week
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that he will decide by the end of the week whether he would support a federal gasoline tax holiday, possibly saving U.S. consumers as much as 18.4 cents a gallon. “Yes, I’m considering it,” Biden told reporters after taking a...
The bipartisan push to cut corporate taxes in Pennsylvania, explained
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 — Amid budget negotiations, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative Republicans are weighing a major tax cut on Pennsylvania corporations....
State police say Parks man tried to sell camping trailer he didn’t own
State police charged a Parks Township man with theft after, they say, he tried to sell a camping trailer that he didn’t own. Brandon John Krawczyk, 38, of the 1100 block of Laurel Point Lane faces two felony counts of theft by unlawful taking along with drug possession. Krawczyk is...
Gas prices coming down but remain above $5 in Pennsylvania
The national average gas price has dipped below $5 per gallon, but not yet in Pennsylvania, according to GasBuddy and AAA. After peaking at about $5.02 on Thursday, the national average was $4.98 on Monday, according to AAA. The agency shows Pennsylvania’s average reaching $5.07 on June 12, but remaining...
Faces of the Valley: Married firefighters share a passion for public service
Tamara and Bryan Baum are united in their love for firefighting — and for each other. The married couple from Washington Township are volunteer firefighters with Vandergrift Volunteer Fire Department No. 1. The Baums have served with the department for about 15 years, responding to the same fire calls when...
North Huntingdon’s Korner Tavern looks back on 60 years of memories, family business
For 60 years in the North Huntingdon village of Hahntown, the Korner Tavern has served drinks and food to locals — from coal miners to everyday regulars who are considered family. Manager Victor Pilipovich, 74, grew up in the business. His family took over operations in 1962. “It’s hard to...
Ligonier family fights to save life of Great Pyrenees pup
When Josi Bennett lost her legs in a car crash 24 years ago and spent months in the hospital recuperating, the best part of her stay was Blizzard, a Great Pyrenees therapy dog. More than two decades later, when she saw Great Pyrenees puppies for sale on Facebook, she decided...
Pittsburgh council advances measure to help recently incarcerated people find jobs
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation that would allow the city to enter an agreement with a nonprofit to provide temporary employment opportunities to recently incarcerated individuals. The measure — introduced by Councilman Ricky Burgess last week — would form a partnership with the New-York-based Center for Employee Opportunities....
