Top Stories category, Page 99
Allegheny County prepares to dispatch mail-in ballots for election
Allegheny County officials are expecting to send mail-in ballots for the upcoming general election in the beginning of October, officials said. David Voye, manager of the county’s Division of Elections, said there are no major changes expected for mail-in ballots. Officials are beginning ballot preparations this week, he told the...
Philadelphia’s mass transit cuts foreshadow possible similar moves by other agencies across U.S.
HARRISBURG — Commuters and students in Philadelphia woke up earlier on Monday and scrambled to avoid being late as they navigated service reductions that the region’s public transit agency has called more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the United States. The cuts that took effect...
Trump moves to ban flag burning despite Supreme Court ruling that Constitution allows it
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag, an activity that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled is legitimate political expression protected by the U.S. Constitution. The order the Republican president signed in...
Cash 5 lottery ticket worth $400K sold at Pittsburgh doughnut shop
A patron at a Pittsburgh doughnut shop walked away with more than some sweet pastries last week. According to Pennsylvania Lottery officials, a Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket sold at the Donut Connection on Brownsville Road in Carrick matched all five numbers in Friday’s drawing. The holder of the...
Fentanyl-laced pills kill Pittsburgh man and lead to court date for suspected dealer
A Homestead woman is headed to court on charges she sold fentanyl-laced pills that killed an area man with double the lethal levels of the drug. Police say Sharon Holt, 52, didn’t directly sell Jason Switzer the three blue pills that the 41-year-old man thought were Oxycodone, a potent opiate....
Apollo-Ridge student dies after falling in Kiski River Saturday; community rallying to help family
Colton Bureau, the 14-year-old Apollo-Ridge High School student who fell into the Kiski River on Saturday, died Monday morning at UPMC Children’s Hospital, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Monday evening. Colton suffered an unspecified medical emergency before falling into the river. First responders were called about 2:45 p.m....
Fatal stabbing on Montour Trail leads to guilty but mentally ill plea
The person who killed a Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement agent last year on the Montour Trail pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Monday to third-degree murder. Antonia Quesen, 26, will be sentenced Nov. 18 by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski. In Pennsylvania, a person who...
Allegheny County celebrates 300 lead-safe homes
Raychal Collins-Struck has lived in her Monroeville home since 2018, but now — six years later — it is a safe and lead-free environment for her son and daughter to play in. On Monday, county officials and community partners gathered at the residence to announce the completion of Allegheny County’s...
Market Square on schedule to be finished before NFL Draft in Pittsburgh
An ongoing effort to revitalize Pittsburgh’s Market Square is on track to be finished before the city hosts the NFL Draft next year. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Monday said the project — which will limit vehicle traffic and add greenery, lighting, seating and a canopy where people can gather...
Expect health insurance prices to rise next year, brokers and experts say
Pricey prescriptions and nagging medical costs are swamping some insurers and employers now. Patients may start paying for it next year. Health insurance will grow more expensive in many corners of the market in 2026, and coverage may shrink. That could leave patients paying more for doctor visits and dealing...
Kilmar Abrego Garcia detained by ICE in Baltimore, faces deportation effortsVideo
BALTIMORE — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s aggressive effort to remove noncitizens from the U.S., was detained by immigration authorities in Baltimore on Monday to face renewed efforts to deport him after a brief period of freedom. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys quickly filed...
New street drug ‘flysky’ causes alarm in Western Pa.
Pittsburgh-area doctors are sounding the alarm on medetomidine, a veterinary tranquilizer that’s increasingly permeating street drugs like “flysky” in Western Pennsylvania. And it’s not abating anytime soon. The drug continues to become more prevalent, and doctors say there are minimal clear treatment options for the severe withdrawal process. Unlike heroin...
As back-to-school costs rise, educators rely upon donations to bolster classroom supplies
The brightly colored posters, comfortable seats and hands-on science experiments present in Kaylyn Wojnarowski’s Gateway classroom might not exist if the first grade teacher relied solely on the district’s budget for supplies. Wojnarowski welcomed students back to her classroom at Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary on Thursday — the start of...
3 injured in fight involving a machete in Pittsburgh’s Fineview neighborhood
Three people were hurt in a fight involving a machete on Sunday afternoon in Fineview neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s North Side, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Officers from Zone 1 responded to the fight on Graib Street around 3:50 p.m. According to police, a man suffered a laceration to an arm,...
Some National Guard units in Washington are now carrying firearms in escalation of Trump deployment
WASHINGTON — Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary. A Defense Department official who was not authorized to...
University of South Carolina issues all clear after unconfirmed reports of active shooter on campus
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina has given the all-clear after issuing an alert Sunday about a possible active shooter near a library on the main Columbia campus, just days after false reports of active shooters at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga led to...
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses vote to unionize
A majority of about 700 nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital have voted to unionize with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the union announced Sunday. Ballots were counted late Saturday following voting that day and Tuesday. Nurses voted 402 to 305, or 57% to 43%, in favor of unionizing. Nurses, elected officials, patients...
Southeastern Pa.’s massive transit cuts are here, and it’s ‘bad on so many levels’
SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, warned us for two years. Some people stopped listening because impoverishment has been the perpetual soundtrack of the transit system, and salvation always seemed to arrive at the last minute. Not this time. Massive cuts in SEPTA service began early morning Sunday. For the...
IUP disciplines cheerleaders for hazing involving alcohol
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has remained mum on whether its cheerleading squad will be allowed to perform along the sidelines for the Crimson Hawks this football season. The squad was disciplined over the summer for forcing new members to participate in alcohol-related events, requiring underage members to assist in buying...
2 stabbed in Perry South neighborhood
Two women were hospitalized early Sunday morning as a result of stab wounds in the Pittsburgh Perry South neighborhood, Pittsburgh police said. The victims, who were not identified, were found on the street outside 30 Strauss St., shortly after 1:15 a.m., police said. One woman who was stabbed in her...
State budget stalemate not expected to result in Westmoreland transit authority service cuts
The ongoing budget stalemate in Harrisburg will have little impact on Westmoreland County Transit Authority operations, officials said. Executive Director Alan Blahovec, during the authority’s monthly board meeting Thursday, said the agency has enough funding in place to continue its current schedule of fixed-route bus service and paratransit programs throughout...
Editorial: Power, money and the cost of scrapping our election system
It is no secret that President Donald Trump does not like mail-in voting. “Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” he said of it on Twitter in 2020. Despite pushback from officials across the country who have maintained the practice is safe...
Hempfield Area drafts 3D designs for high school renovation
Five years after Hempfield Area School District approved a feasibility study for a renovation of its 1956 high school, the district is starting to nail down what the refurbished building will look like. Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project in October, and the school board...
Summer Stock: Now’s the time to make the most of the final days of the season
As Labor Day looms, it’s time to take stock of summer. Beyond the big-ticket activities — like trips south to the Outer Banks, Gulf Coast or Disney — are staples of the season that fill the memories of Pittsburghers. They’re things as simple (and sumptuously satisfying) as hot Potato Patch...
Budget busters: Western Pa. schools battle rising costs, strained finances to renovate aging facilities
Superintendent Tammy Andreyko started her tenure at Quaker Valley in August 2018 meeting with district officials to discuss the possibility of building a new high school. Seven years later, dirt has yet to be moved on the 150-acre property the district purchased in May 2017 to replace its nearly century-old...
