Top Stories category, Page 945
Write-in candidate wins Democratic primary to run for 55th District state House seat
A retired corporate executive has won the Democratic primary to run for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives seat in the 55th District. Westmoreland County elections officials Tuesday issued a precertification of results from the May primary that included more than 600 write-in votes for Scott Gauss of Murrysville in...
Greensburg woman resentenced for 2010 torture killing of mentally disabled victim
The youngest member of a group of six Greensburg roommates convicted for the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman will be eligible for parole at the age of 78 under a new sentence imposed Tuesday. Angela Marinucci, now 29, was resentenced to a term of 60 years to...
18-month-old’s fatal shooting marked 8th homicide of a child in Pittsburgh region this year
De’Avry Thomas’ death Sunday in Downtown Pittsburgh gave him the tragic demarcation of being the city’s youngest homicide victim this year, which has seen more young people fall victim to gun violence — a grim trend of recent years. The 18-month-old child was buckled into his car seat Sunday afternoon...
Gift ban, other good-government changes stall in Pa. despite promises from leadership
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 — Rabbi Michael Pollack stood at a podium in the Capitol, just steps away from where the legislature meets, to...
Supreme Court order could affect Pennsylvania Senate count
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the counting of some mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an order that could affect the tight Republican Senate primary between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court...
Freeport Road to remain closed until further notice in aftermath of Harmar derailment
Freeport Run Road will remain closed between the Hulton Bridge and Guys Run Road through the rest of the week or possibly longer, officials said. Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency coordinator Bruno Moretti said the tank cars have been offloaded and emptied. The focus is on cleaning up and...
Highmark reports $150M net loss in 1st quarter, citing market volatility, inflation
Highmark Health reported a net loss of $150 million in the first quarter of 2022, driven by losses from the company’s stock market portfolio and increased costs at the company’s large hospital system, Allegheny Health Network. Financial reports released by Highmark showed the company brought in $6.4 billion in revenue...
Stowe man accused of firing shots at Pittsburgh sanitation workers
A Stowe man who police said opened fire on two Pittsburgh environmental services workers last week was taken into custody Tuesday, according to police. Henry Rainey, 37, faces two counts of aggravated assault. Police said he fired on two men collecting trash in the city’s Fairywood neighborhood on May 23....
GoFundMe established for 12-year-old struck while riding hoverboard in South Huntingdon
Family and friends of a 12-year-old girl who was critically injured Saturday when she was pinned beneath a pickup while riding a hoverboard in South Huntingdon continue to wish for her recovery and have set up a GoFundMe account to defray expenses. Peyton Benner, a sixth grader at Yough Middle...
Clinton 2016 campaign lawyer acquitted of lying to the FBI
WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI when he pushed information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election. The case against Michael Sussmann was the first courtroom test of special...
Youth groups now permitted to camp in Pittsburgh parks
Youth groups will now be permitted to camp in Pittsburgh’s parks. Pittsburgh City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow youth organizations to obtain permits to camp in city parks. “I am going to continue to say that I hope we become independent of using organizations to use our parks,” Council...
Wolf: Money could be spent to address gun violence but ‘we cannot ignore the elephant in the room’
Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on policymakers to “be open to the things that work” to address gun violence “but we cannot ignore the elephant in the room and that is guns.” During an interview Tuesday morning on KDKA radio, Wolf reacted to last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary...
Man accused of leading police on 120 mph pursuit on Route 22 before crashing in Salem
A Baltimore man is accused of leading state troopers on a 5-mile pursuit through a construction zone on Route 22 Sunday at speeds of 120 mph before crashing his car over a guardrail at the Route 66 interchange in Salem, according to court records. Steven T. Randall, 42, is charged...
Monessen superintendent charged with indecent exposure, open lewdness
The superintendent for the Monessen School District was charged with indecent exposure and open lewdness after police say she was discovered in a state of undress with a man in the parking lot of a county-owned apartment complex. Charleroi Regional Police were called to the Nathan Goff Jr. Apartments on...
Rising U.S. traffic deaths put focus on 1 Philadelphia road
PHILADELPHIA — Just one more step and the stroller would have been on the curb. The thought haunts Latanya Byrd years after a driver racing down Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia struck and killed her 27-year-old niece, Samara Banks, and three of Banks’ young sons as they crossed the 12-lane road....
Greensburg man charged with rape, sexually assaulting 2 girls in 1990s
A 64-year-old Greensburg man was arrested by state police Friday after he was accused of raping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl over five years in the 1990s and sexually assaulting another girl during the same time period, according to court records. Morton W. Thomson Jr., 64, was arraigned on...
Allegheny Land Trust secures capital to preserve 75 acres in Sewickley Hills
The goal has been met. Sewickley-based Allegheny Land Trust announced on May 26 that it successfully met a $1 million campaign to purchase and preserve a 75-acre property in Sewickley Hills. The nonprofit is expected to close his month on the Buerkle Woodlands, which sit at the northwest corner of...
Conny Creek Brewing taps into increased business with brew truck
Members of the Layton family of North Apollo continue to pour their energy into two businesses celebrating suds, food and socializing. Conny Creek Brewing Company, with locations in Allegheny Township and Saxonburg, is a family-friendly brewpub serving craft beers brewed in-house by brewmaster Lee Layton. Layton is a co-owner with...
Western Pennsylvania population continues to trickle downward
Municipalities across Southwestern Pennsylvania continued to lose populations between 2020 and 2021, estimates show, a continuation of a decadeslong slide felt across the region. Those trends were largely visible in Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh saw one of the biggest population declines across the state between July 2020 and July 2021,...
‘Rockin’ Roosevelt’ to bring 11 bands to Arnold park
Jim Varhola spent a lot of his youth in playgrounds around his home in Springdale. “That’s what we did — we played soccer, softball, football. I don’t know what I would have done without the parks we had,” said Varhola, of Upper Burrell. “It’s important to have those things available...
Rider recounts being stranded upside down on Kennywood’s Aero 360
Coraopolis resident Alexandra Schneider said it felt like an eternity — the five minutes that a Kennywood spokesperson said the Aero 360 was stuck upside down at the West Mifflin park. She could feel a headache coming on as the pressure from being upside rushed to her head. The 33-year-old...
Gold Star Mothers honored during Trafford Memorial Day program
Trafford resident Christine Fike marked Memorial Day by laying roses at the base of a hometown monument that is dedicated to Gold Star mothers. Fike is one of those mothers who has lost a child killed while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Her 38-year-old son, Sgt. First Class Robert...
Florida 5th grader accused of making school shooting threat
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A 10-year-old Florida fifth grade student has been arrested after making a school threat, sheriff’s officials said. Investigators learned of the threats made by the boy on Saturday and arrested him, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a social media post. “This student’s behavior is...
WHO: Monkeypox won’t turn into pandemic, but many unknowns
LONDON — The World Health Organization’s top monkeypox expert said she doesn’t expect the hundreds of cases reported to date to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged there are still many unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it’s spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago...
2 charged in shooting that killed infant in Downtown Pittsburgh; 1 at large
One man is in custody and another is on the run, wanted in connection with the drive-by shooting Sunday that killed an 18-month-old infant, authorities said Monday night. Markez Anger, 23, is wanted on charges of homicide and conspiracy. The midday shooting, at the height of the holiday weekend in...
