Top Stories category, Page 970
Can Russia win the battle for Ukraine’s battered east?
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — When Russian troops blitzed into Ukraine, what was supposed to be an easy victory quickly foundered as Ukrainian forces mounted a strong defense that — along with Russia’s many missteps — have left Moscow mired in a withering two-month war with no end in sight. Unable to...
Westmoreland County poised to scale back mail-in ballot drop boxes
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to scale back the use of regional drop boxes for mail-in ballots in next month’s primary election. A special meeting of the county’s Election Board is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday when commissioners will vote on a proposal to place just one drop box at...
Explosion levels house in Plum, neighbors describe the harrowing scene
Residents in Plum’s Holiday Park ran to help as smoke, embers and screams filled their neighborhood Friday night. People living around the house at 5021 Hialeah Drive reported hearing a loud boom that shook their homes. A man living nearby thought his own hot water tank had exploded; a woman...
Overcoming the odds: Born premature, baby at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in need of a liver
His eyes light up when you say his name. He smiles when he’s being held, when visitors talk to him, and definitely when his family members kiss his forehead. Chance William Kacin Halloran is 15.2 pounds of one happy infant — despite his challenging arrival into this world. “There were...
Pittsburgh receiving $1.76 million from state Multimodal Transportation Fund for new link in pedestrian, bike trail
Pittsburgh has received $1.76 million from the state to establish a pedestrian and bicycle path linking the city’s Hazelwood and Greenfield neighborhoods with the job centers in Oakland and elsewhere. Announced Thursday, the project is one of 56 highway, bridge, transit, bike and pedestrian projects in 28 counties that will...
Arnold Palmer airport, Adelphoi among Westmoreland recipients of $14M in state funds
Proposed expansion of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport terminal, improvements at three industrial parks and a new facility at the Adelphoi main campus in Latrobe are among seven projects in Westmoreland County set to receive more than $14 million in combined funding through Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Announced Friday,...
Hundreds mourn teen killed in Pittsburgh Airbnb party shooting
On a sunny Friday, one of spring’s first truly beautiful days, Adiyiah Brown said a heart-wrenching farewell to her only child as she stood surrounded by hundreds of mourners and an outpouring of love. She wore a white T-shirt with a collage of photos of her and her 17-year-old son,...
Man fatally shot in McKeesport identified
Allegheny County Police said a McKeesport man died after being shot Friday afternoon in that city. The county Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Michael Gunter, 22, of McKeesport. Officers responded to the shooting along the 100 block of Fifth Avenue around 1:35 p.m. Police said first responders found...
Police: Man killed in White Oak crash, another person hospitalized
A man was killed and another person injured in a three-vehicle crash in White Oak on Friday afternoon, Allegheny County Police reported. The crash happened around 12:40 p.m. along the 3100 block of Jacks Run Road. Police said first responders found a man deceased when they arrived. Another person was...
Seventh Street Road in Upper Burrell reopened after fatal motorcycle accident
A 1-mile stretch of Seventh Street Road in Upper Burrell was shut down Friday afternoon while police investigated a fatal motorcycle accident, according to authorities. The accident occurred around 4 p.m. near the township’s volunteer fire department and was reported by a passing motorist, according to a Westmoreland County 911...
Grief remains as police continue investigating deadly Pittsburgh Airbnb shooting
As mourners began saying goodbye to two teenage boys shot and killed at a weekend party, Pittsburgh police continued working through what Chief Scott Schubert called “a complex investigation” that needs more people to come forward with what they know. A funeral for 17-year-old Jaiden Brown was held Friday. The...
Steelers teammates, coaches, loved ones pay respects at Dwayne Haskins’ memorial service
Dozens of friends and teammates joined the wife of late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins and packed Allegheny Center Alliance Church for a private service Friday that celebrated the 24-year-old’s life. The memorial service was preceded by a two-hour public viewing session at the North Side church. Most of the...
Pittsburgh police, ATF find many guns seized from juveniles were stolen
Half of the guns seized in cases involving kids and firearms in Pittsburgh last year were stolen, according to new data provided Friday by a joint task force between police and federal agents meant to figure out how children are getting guns. The deep dive began, said Pittsburgh police Chief...
Hempfield welcomes new businesses, loses restaurant
Several new businesses have opened recently in Hempfield, including two new stores at Westmoreland Mall, while one family-run restaurant shuttered. In all, three new stores opened their doors last month: Dunkin’, located inside Walmart along Route 30, and Charlotte Russe and Lids at Westmoreland Mall. Lupi & Leo, located along...
Springdale VFD’s annual Jubilee comes to an end after 9 decades
The Springdale Volunteer Fire Department’s annual Jubilee carnival has been canceled, with no plans of returning. Zach Wilhem, secretary for the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department, said decreased attendance in the last 10 years and costly overhead expenses led to the decision to stop holding the event. “This announcement is made...
Pittsburgh council hears debate on possible historic designation of Tito House
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday listened to community members debate the future of the Tito House, a building in the city’s Uptown neighborhood that is nominated for historic designation. If it doesn’t earn historic designation, the building will likely be torn down for new development on the site. Dallas-based Fountain...
2 people injured in Crafton Heights fire
Two people are injured after a house fire early Friday morning in Pittsburgh’s Crafton Heights neighborhood. Firefighters responded to the fire at around 1 a.m. The fire happened in a home on Dickens Street. It is currently unclear what started the fire. Both injured people are hospitalized, according to WPXI....
Former Catholic academy in Unity could see rebirth as nature preserve
It’s been 50 years since Susan Scherff was standing in the grove outside St. Xavier Academy, huddled with the rest of the evacuated students as they watched black smoke billowing from the burning convent and chapel attached to the Catholic school in Unity. “Then it started to rain,” she recalled....
Hempfield man jailed after police say he disrupted a funeral, broke window at congressman’s office
A Hempfield man who was the target of a search a month ago for allegedly desecrating and stealing a Pennsylvania state flag was jailed Thursday, accused of setting off a fire alarm at a funeral, damaging a statue and breaking a window at a congressman’s local office. Roger C. Strautmann,...
Satellite photos show possible mass graves near Mariupol
KYIV, Ukraine — Satellite images released Thursday showed what appeared to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city. The images emerged hours after...
Philadelphia to end mask mandate, days after reinstating it
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the...
Live TV debate exposes Democrats’ differences in Senate race
HARRISBURG — The first live-televised prime-time debate between leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat exposed differences between the rivals Thursday, as they seized opportunities to attack each other. John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor who has led polls and fundraising, took the brunt of...
Attorney: Prescription drugs, marijuana led Vandergrift woman to kill cousin
The lawyer for a Vandergrift woman told a Westmoreland County jury Thursday that marijuana, combined with medications she takes for ongoing mental health issues, left her unable to form an intent to kill her cousin nearly four years ago. “She was suffering from an altered state of consciousnesses,” defense attorney...
Disney self-government in peril after Florida House voteVideo
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House of Representatives on Thursday gave final passage to a bill that would dissolve Walt Disney World’s private government, handing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a victory in his feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to a measure that critics have dubbed the ” Don’t...
Gainey: Ending violence in Pittsburgh will take citywide approach
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in a radio interview that aired Thursday doubled down on his approach to crime and violence, saying it will take a double-edged public safety and public health approach to save lives. “This violence is picking up all throughout America,” Gainey said in an interview recorded Wednesday...
