Regional category, Page 161
Suspended Somerset district attorney could have bail revoked following new charges
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro this week filed a motion asking a judge to revoke the bond of suspended Somerset District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas after two new sets of charges were filed against him. Thomas, 36, is awaiting trial on sexual assault charges. He now is accused of pursuing...
Pittsburgh, Western Pa. high schools make U.S. News & World Report best list
U.S. News & World Report has compiled its annual review of more than 24,000 public high schools across the United States, with 718 in Pennsylvania making its best rankings list. The top 3 schools in the Keystone State are:Julia R. Masterman Secondary School (Philadelphia, #10 nationally)Downingtown STEM AcademyRadnor High School...
Bots to brawl during high school robotics competition at California University
Robots will fight it out gladiator-style during the 17th annual BotsIQ high school robotics competition this weekend at California University of Pennsylvania. Students from 41 regional high schools will bring their 15-pound bots to the brawl on Friday and Saturday, according to a BotsIQ news release. The teams have spent...
Avian flu hits ducks, chickens, eagles in Pa.; officials ask public to report dead birds
Avian flu cases in wild birds, including eagles and ducks, are growing in Pennsylvania. The first detection at a poultry farm, where birds are especially vulnerable to the flu, was flagged April 16 in Lancaster. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced more detections in three commercial flocks, also in...
Pittsburgh area experts have mixed reactions to Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase
It was Remington shaver spokesman Victor Kiam who famously said, “I like it so much, I bought the company.” For Elon Musk, the opposite is true. The world’s richest man, according to Forbes Magazine, Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion on Monday and then said he...
Therapy dogs ease stress for college students during finals
The perfect remedy to college finals stress? Puppy love. On Tuesday, Pitt-Greensburg students gathered in the Fireside Lounge to hang out with a posse of pups — including a Dalmatian, beagle and sheepadoodle — from Youngwood Top Dog Services. Therapy dogs have become increasingly popular on college campuses to bring...
Armstrong County couple charged with sexually assaulting 1-year-old
An Armstrong County couple has been charged with sexually assaulting their 1-year-old daughter, according to state police. Troopers from the Kittanning station were sent on Saturday, April 23 to ACMH Hospital, to investigate an alleged sexual assault. Police said Jesse A. Wiegand, 29, of Cowansville told hospital staff that he...
Republican Senate candidates meet in live debate, but without front-runnersVideo
Several Republican candidates participated in a prime-time debate for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. The debate was chaotic, with most candidates dodging questions, instead speaking out about alleged voter fraud and criticizing other candidates. There are seven Senate candidates running in Pennsylvania’s Republican...
National Weather Service issues freeze warning for southwest Pa. counties
A frost advisory for Wednesday morning has been canceled, but the National Weather Service says even colder weather is possible later tonight into Thursday morning. A freeze warning has been issued for 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. It will run from 11 p.m. until 9 a.m. Thursday, meteorologist Lee Hendricks...
Suspended Somerset County DA faces new charges in unrelated case
SOMERSET — A suspended western Pennsylvania prosecutor facing charges in a sexual assault case has now been charged in an unrelated assault almost a year ago. Jeffrey Thomas, 36, Somerset County’s elected district attorney, was jailed Monday on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment after state police alleged...
Anti-Defamation League: 82% increase in antisemitic incidents in Western Pa. in 2021
Western Pennsylvania has seen an increase of more than 80% in antisemitic incidents, the highest figures recorded in the state since tracking began in 1979, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. ADL officials released the report this week highlighting 20 incidents in which antisemitism was considered a significant...
Pittsburgh region jobs up, jobless rate down in March
The seven-county Pittsburgh region created more jobs in March and more people returned to the workforce, pushing the unemployment rate down to below to pre-pandemic levels of 2020, according to data released Tuesday. The area’s economy added 13,200 nonfarm jobs in March, raising the level to 1.23 million, which was...
Trib Total Media co-sponsoring Republican U.S. Senate debate
Five candidates running in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate primary election for the Republican nomination will participate Tuesday evening in a debate hosted by Spotlight PA and its founding members. 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...
I-79 south reopens after crash between Prospect and Zelienople
The southbound lanes of Interstate 79 — from Prospect to Zelienople — are reopen Tuesday morning after a multiple vehicle crash. One person was flown by medical helicopter to a local hospital, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. The incident happened just before 6:30 a.m., according to PennDOT. Lanes were...
Pennsylvania garden centers, landscapers begin phasing out newly banned plants
The latest round of plants added to Pennsylvania’s noxious weeds list reads like a directory of popular landscaping options. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), callery or Bradford pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) and Ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae; Tripidium ravennae) have been staples of urban and particularly suburban landscaping for decades. All three...
Twin Peaks Restaurant brings ‘sports lodge’ concept to Western Pa. locations
The Pittsburgh area is known for its sports teams, sports fans and, to a lesser extent, its sports bars. And it looks like Western Pennsylvania will be making room for yet another one of the latter with a bit of a twist. The Twin Peaks Restaurant chain based in the...
Democratic Senate candidates square off in 2nd prime-time debate
The second prime-time debate in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary featured many of the same well-trodden agreements among Democrats, but candidates also took several opportunities to draw contrasts with, and even criticize, their primary opponents over electability, past controversies and energy policies. Unlike the first televised debate, this contest at Dickinson...
Oil market volatility brings end to declining gas prices, analysts say
A jump in oil prices has brought an end to a more than month-long decline in the national average price of gasoline, industry analysts said this week. But while the national average is up, the average in the Pittsburgh area came down slightly in the past week, according to price...
Week in pictures: April 18-24
A selection of the most compelling images from Tribune-Review photographers from around the region during the week of April 18-24....
Survey: 93% of Pittsburgh hospital workers are thinking about leaving profession
The pandemic has been extremely hard on health care workers, with hospitals facing record high patient numbers during the past two years. Many workers have reported burnout, long hours, and feeling hopeless. A new survey from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh confirms those reports. So much so that among...
Cold snap to thrash above-normal temperatures; Dubois breaks heat record Sunday
If it seemed a bit balmy for late April, it was, especially if you were in Dubois, where a new record high temperature of 83 degrees was recorded Sunday. The old record was 79 in 1990, said David Shallenberger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon. In the...
Wildfire firefighters train with controlled blazes in Parks Township
The crackling sound and the odor of burning weeds were unmistakable and necessary for a training exercise for wildfire firefighters from 15 volunteer fire companies in the region Sunday in Parks Township. These firefighters train every spring to prepare for wildfires during warm weather. Extinguishing wildfires demands a lot of...
What is a mass shooting? Definition differs among experts
In recent years, it seems Western Pennsylvania has seen more than its fair share of mass shootings. • LA Fitness in 2009. • Western Psych in 2012. • Wilkinsburg in 2016. • Tree of Life in 2018. • Airbnb in 2022. But, depending on the definition used, some of those...
A Pa. teacher’s aide disappeared without a trace 15 years ago. Detectives haven’t given up searching for her
Karen Adams was single, but she had a dog at home that she wasn’t likely to leave behind. She was 54, a teacher’s aide and a cashier who called Independence Township home. And, for the past 15 years, she has been a case that detectives, in Beaver County and with...
North Dakota man faces charges for sexually exploiting Washington County girl
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted a North Dakota man on Tuesday for sexually exploiting a girl from Washington County. Nicholas Nesdahl, 27, could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 after he allegedly produced and received child pornography, according to the Department of...
