Regional News category, Page 9
Attorneys general demand Shopify remove illegal tobacco products
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday joined representatives from 25 states and the City of New York in signing a letter to Shopify Inc., an e-commerce platform, demanding that the company take action against merchants selling illegal tobacco products on the site. “Illegal e-cigarette sellers are targeting our communities — especially...
‘We are prepared’: Pittsburgh airport braces for spike in Thanksgiving travel
As Pittsburgh International Airport officials Monday prepared for an onslaught of passengers during the frenetic holiday travel season, Josh Buchholz geared up to fly to Arizona for Thanksgiving. The Grove City man and his wife, Erin Bonner, were among the first wave of 300,000 travelers predicted to set foot in...
How one Southwestern Pa. school district is trying to improve test scores — while on a budget
Monessen City School Superintendent Robert Motte is faced with a dilemma. Motte admits the district’s state test scores could use some improvement. On the 2024 Keystone Exams, 3% of the district’s students achieved a proficient or higher score in algebra 1. Students hitting that proficient or higher mark in biology...
Death penalty on the table for Fayette women accused of killing 9-year-old
Fayette County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against two women accused in the death of 9-year-old Renesmay Eutsey. District Attorney Mike Aubele said notices of aggravating circumstances were filed Friday against both suspects — Sarah Shipley, 35, and Kourtney Eutsey, 31, both of Dunbar Borough. The aggravating circumstances prosecutors...
Fayette commissioners create education authority in response to Penn State campus closure
The Fayette County commissioners have created an educational authority, a proactive measure they said could help address the future of the Penn State Fayette campus property. The university plans to close the 100-acre North Union campus in 2027. The three commissioners unanimously established the Fayette County Educational Authority, which will...
Education leaders applaud state budget that adds $900M in new funding for school districts
Education is the centerpiece of Pennsylvania’s 2025-26 budget. At least that’s what Laura Boyce took away from the funding plan for the state’s 500 K-12 public schools, approved last week after a 4½-month impasse. “There were a lot of hard decisions that had to be made as the governor’s original...
Inadequate payment for services nudges small health systems like Independence toward merger, officials say
The merger of smaller regional hospital systems such as Independence Health with a larger health system — this one from West Virginia — is likely being driven, in part, by hospitals hurting from insufficient reimbursement for the cost of treating patients, a Pittsburgh-based health care consultant said. West Virginia University...
Chris Deluzio’s Western Pa. offices targeted with bomb threats
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio’s district offices in Carnegie and Beaver County’s Center Township were targeted with bomb threats Friday afternoon, a spokesperson reported. The threats came a day after President Donald Trump accused Deluzio and five other Democratic lawmakers of engaging in “seditious behavior” by releasing a video telling servicemembers...
Targeted ultrasound gives Pittsburgh-area doctors new tool against prostate cancer
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have traditionally faced two choices: Do nothing and hope the tumor doesn’t grow between scans or start aggressive treatment. Those with certain types of medium-risk cancers have lacked tailored care, caught between a surveillance strategy geared toward slow-growing tumors and drastic measures known for their...
Morning Roundup: Delta flight with mechanical issues diverted to Pittsburgh airport
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Nov. 20: Delta flight with mechanical issues diverted to Pittsburgh airport A Delta flight headed from Montreal to Atlanta was diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday night because of unspecified mechanical issues. Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesperson...
Troopers justified in deadly force against armed man, Indiana DA says
Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi ruled that Pennsylvania State Police troopers were justified in using deadly force last month when they fatally shot a man who was firing a gun at them from a rooftop. “Not only is their use of force justified, but these state troopers are heroes...
Police charge Aliquippa couple with kidnapping woman who jumped from car in Pittsburgh
A Beaver County woman escaped a kidnapping earlier this week by jumping out of a car stopped at a red light in Pittsburgh, police said. The couple accused of abducting her has been arrested and jailed. Tyrone Turner, 41, and his girlfriend, Ariel Harper, 34, both of Aliquippa, drove a...
Pa. Supreme Court will not review former Somerset DA’s sexual assault conviction
Former Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas has been denied a judicial review for his 2023 conviction in the sexual assault of a Windber woman. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court this week declined to review Thomas’ case after the state Superior Court affirmed his conviction. “We’re pleased that the defendant’s latest...
So far, so good for new Pittsburgh airport terminal, but Thanksgiving test awaits
Pittsburgh International Airport’s new landside terminal mostly cruised through its first day of operations Tuesday. Perhaps the most notable snag was a technical issue at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in the early morning hours, temporarily snarling lines. Besides that, passengers and airport officials had little negative to report about...
Southwestern Pa.’s congressional delegation unanimously supports Epstein files bill
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s four members of the U.S. House all voted Tuesday afternoon in favor of a bill that would force the Justice Department to release its files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The U.S. Senate later agreed by unanimous consent to approve the bill. The procedural move does...
Expert says 50-year mortgage proposal would be a ‘generational debt’ trap
To address mounting concerns about housing affordability, President Donald Trump recently floated the prospect of a 50-year mortgage, days after several key election contests that centered on cost-of-living issues. “All it means is you pay less per month,” Trump said in an interview last week. Yet the president’s idea is...
Striking Post-Gazette workers send company return-to-work offer
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette strikers on Monday offered to return to work — a move that could signal the end of their lengthy strike. The strikers offered to return to work on Nov. 24 at the Post-Gazette’s North Shore office, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said. Their return-to-work offer asked the company...
What you need to know about Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal
Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal is officially open. The new space was opened up to travelers at 2 a.m., according to Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. The first flight arrived at the new terminal from San Francisco at 5 a.m. and the first departing flight was a Southwest...
Are buy now, pay later options worth it? Western Pa. weighs in
It’s hard to miss the buy now, pay later options becoming more common on the checkout pages of online stores, both large retailers like Amazon and Walmart, and small local businesses. Buy now, pay later is exactly what it sounds like. Similar to layaway programs, buy now, pay later sites...
Fayette prosecutor: Death of 9-year-old Dunbar girl was ‘intentional act’ by her caregivers
When Renesmay Eutsey’s body was retrieved from the middle of the Youghiogheny River in Westmoreland County in the early morning hours of Sept. 4, there were six large rocks in the garbage bag with her, Trooper Jason M. Churney said. She had a significant wound on her backside, injuries to...
Pa.’s independent home care workers get pay raise in state budget but agencies miss out
Pennsylvania lawmakers granted $21 million in additional funding to a sliver of in-home caregivers in the state budget passed Wednesday. Workers directly hired by the people they care for will see their per-hour state payments rise to more than $15 from $13.51, an increase that could make a small dent...
State budget sees no new money for public transit
Pennsylvanians woke up Thursday to a $50.1 billion state budget that makes additional investments in public schools and creates a new tax credit for lower-income people but provides no increase in funding for public transportation. Noticeably absent from the budget is Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal to increase the portion of...
County leaders say furloughs, service cuts won’t disappear because of state budget deal
County officials are relieved that state money will begin flowing again but they aren’t out of the woods just yet. Despite a new state budget being signed Wednesday, austerity measures in most counties are expected to continue, including employee furloughs that, in some cases, could last through the end of...
$5 million gift to Slippery Rock, largest in university history, names business school
A $5 million gift to Slippery Rock University — the largest in its 136-year-history — will fund scholarships, faculty research and add opportunities in Slippery Rock’s business program, officials say. Slippery Rock officials announced Thursday the university had received the donation from Rhonda and Elliott Haverlack, of Estero, Fla. Elliott...
Indiana County man pronounced dead after crash in West Wheatfield
A man was pronounced dead after his vehicle crashed Wednesday afternoon in Indiana County. Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman said Stanley Clay Henderson, 54, of the West Wheatfield Township village of Robinson, may have suffered a medical emergency prior to the crash on Reynolds Road in the township. The crash...
