Top Stories category, Page 935
North Huntingdon woman marks Flag Day with display of 450 flags
Old Glory waved in the breeze hundreds of times over Tuesday — Flag Day — in a North Huntingdon neighborhood. The large patriotic display was the handiwork of Carol Slonecker, who said she placed 450 small American flags along the streets in much of the Redstone Highlands villa home community...
Sen. Pat Toomey: Chances of Senate passing gun bill better than 50%
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey expressed optimism Tuesday that the Senate — where gun control bills long have failed to gain traction — will pass some sort of gun legislation this year. Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican, placed the odds at better than 50%. “The fact that we were able to...
Pa. is considering ban on trans athletes; experts say it’s discriminatory and ‘anti-evidence’
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 — A coalition of Pennsylvania lawmakers and activists recently gathered on the Capitol rotunda steps with one mission in mind:...
Pittsburgh to use $1M budgeted for public safety training facility for Penn Circle project instead
Pittsburgh City Council voted Tuesday to reallocate $1 million earmarked for a new public safety training facility in Lincoln-Lemington to a project that will convert Penn Circle into a two-way street. Two pieces of related legislation will move $808,000 from the 2019 budget and $192,000 from the 2020 budget to...
UPMC breaks ground on $1.5B hospital project in Pittsburgh’s Oakland
UPMC said Tuesday its $1.5 billion project to build a 17-story hospital in Oakland is the largest health care construction project going in Pennsylvania — and the largest in Pittsburgh’s history. “It will be the beating heart of life-changing medicine,” UPMC President and CEO Leslie Davis said of the planned...
Fetterman names former Biden Pa. director as new campaign manager
John Fetterman has brought on the former state director of President Joe Biden’s campaign as his new U.S. Senate campaign manager. Brendan McPhillips, who is based in Philadelphia, will replace Bobby Maggio, who served as Fetterman’s campaign manager during the Democratic primary. The move was first reported by the Philadelphia...
5 things to know about Flag Day
Many Americans associate Flag Day with happiness because it generally falls on or around the last day of school on June 14. Despite that joyful coincidence, Flag Day stands for something far more significant with origins that date back centuries. The fact that school usually was out by the time...
2 men with arrest warrants taken into custody after traffic stop in New Kensington
Two men wanted on arrest warrants were taken into custody after police in New Kensington pulled over a car driven by a third man whose license was suspended for DUI. Westmoreland County Drug Task Force officers, which includes New Kensington cops, and agents with the state Attorney General’s Office were...
Ligonier Valley police seeking help to identify 3 who broke into stone quarry
Ligonier Valley police are seeking help to identify three people who broke into the Hanson Aggregates Latrobe Asphalt plant during the weekend. Police Sgt. James Friscarella said investigators believe two men and a woman vandalized buildings there and stole a tool and charger sometime between Friday and Saturday. The plant...
U.S. producer prices soar 10.8% in May as energy costs spike
WASHINGTON — U.S. producer prices surged 10.8% in May from a year earlier, underscoring the ongoing threat to the economy from inflation that shows no sign of slowing. Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose...
Pandemic has caused a changing face of the workweek
The workweek as it once existed likely has changed forever. Four-day workweeks. Zoom calls. Hybrid schedules. Full-time remote. All have become standard operating procedure for many businesses and their employees. Companies were forced to adjust — or be faced with the prospect of folding — after the covid-19 pandemic struck....
Police say man pointed gun at people, fired shot in Pittsburgh’s Crawford-Roberts
Pittsburgh police arrested a man late Sunday after responding to a report of a man pointing a gun at people at a gas station in the Crawford-Roberts neighborhood. Kevin Tyrone Bennett, 50, of Spartanburg, S.C., was charged Monday with discharging a firearm and tampering with evidence in connection with the...
Severe weather mostly misses Pittsburgh; high temperatures on the way
A threat of severe weather with hurricane-force winds is over for the Pittsburgh area, a National Weather Service meteorologist said early Tuesday. No watches or warnings are active for Southwestern Pennsylvania, meteorologist Jason Frazier said. One line of thunderstorms fizzled out as it moved into Washington and Greene counties, but...
Medical marijuana dispensary opens in former Kings spot in Harmar
A medical marijuana dispensary has made its way to a bustling food plaza in Harmar along Freeport Road. Ethos Cannabis, a Philadelphia-based firm, opened a third regional location in the former Kings Restaurant building on 5 Alpha Drive East in late April, according to a news release. Ethos also has...
Man found shot dead in Penn Hills
A man was shot and killed in Penn Hills early Tuesday. Allegheny County Police said the shooting was reported in the 200 block of Crescent Pines Drive around 1:50 a.m. First responders found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The...
Yellowstone floods wipe out roads, bridges, strand visitorsVideo
HELENA, Mont. — A torrent of rain combined with a rapidly melting snowpack caused a deluge of flooding that forced the evacuation of some parts of Yellowstone National Park, cutting off electricity and forcing park officials to close all entrances indefinitely, just as the summer tourist season was ramping up....
Dr. Mehmet Oz ‘all-in’ for Senate run as he courts support in Bethel Park
Dr. Mehmet Oz turned his focus to November’s general election during a rally Monday where he spoke to vocal supporters in Pittsburgh’s South Hills about why they should choose him to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. The “Victory in November” rally at Level 20 in Bethel Park attracted a...
Former congressman presents coping mechanisms for pandemic stress, anxiety in students
Empty classrooms, overworked health care employees, and communities divided over masking and vaccines became inescapable as Western Pennsylvania navigated its way through the covid-19 pandemic. Tim Murphy, a licensed psychologist specializing in psychological trauma, said the pandemic experience has had a “devastating effect” on people’s physical, mental and emotional health....
Pa. House Republicans initiate impeachment proceedings against Philadelphia DAVideo
Four House Republicans have initiated impeachment proceedings against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, saying he has shown an “absolute and willful dereliction of duty” that has contributed to lives lost and property destroyed in the state’s largest city. They blame his refusal to hold criminals accountable for their crimes by...
Former Yak Diner in North Apollo reopens with new owners as Dolly’s Diner
An iconic roadside diner reopened Monday under new ownership and a new name in North Apollo. Dolly’s Diner, formerly the Yak Diner, welcomed patrons beginning at 6:30 a.m., after months of renovations and relocating of the classic 1950s-style diner from 2104 River Road less than a half-mile to its new...
Gasoline demand remains strong despite record-high prices, analysts say
Americans are proving resilient to record high gas prices, and there isn’t much clear-cut relief in sight, an industry analyst said. The imbalance between supply and demand likely will continue for most of the summer and could worsen with a major hurricane or refinery snag, Patrick De Haan, head of...
Former Shaler teacher charged in Capitol riot will remain in custody pending trial
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., again denied a request for pretrial release for a former Shaler substitute teacher charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Robert Morss, who has been in custody since his arrest, is scheduled for trial in August. He filed a motion for reconsideration of...
Legal but unregulated hemp derivative delta-8 thrives in Pa.’s thorny marijuana landscape
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 lawmakers and advocates for legal cannabis say uneven access to marijuana has pushed consumers toward a widely available...
Sanctions sought against FBI over Civil War gold dig videos
The FBI either lied to a federal judge about having video of its secretive 2018 dig for Civil War-era gold, or illegally destroyed the video to prevent a father-son team of treasure hunters from gaining access to it, an attorney for the duo asserted in new legal filings that allege...
South Greensburg drug suspect found hiding behind attic door
The subject of a drug-related arrest warrant was found Friday by Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies hiding behind an attic door in the closet of an East Huntingdon home, Sheriff James Albert said. Donald Michael Young, 44, of South Greensburg was arraigned Monday on weapons and drug violations, in addition to...
