Top Stories category, Page 423
Somerset County man charged with homicide in death of brother by crossbow
A Somerset Township man is behind bars after, state troopers say, he fatally shot his brother with a crossbow. Police charged Travis Scott Shearer, 32, with criminal homicide in connection with the death of his brother, Eric Miller, on Friday night. Shearer is being held in the Somerset County Jail....
Pa. state senator and Bridgeville man help FedEx driver after collapse
For Mark Macala, the past two days have been a whirlwind of emotions. He was working from his Bridgeville home Thursday and in the middle of a lunch meeting when his doorbell rang. It was FedEx with a large shipment he had ordered, but he wasn’t expecting it until next...
Second Avenue Commons residents to relocate to temporary North Side location
Allegheny County has found a new location on Pittsburgh’s North Side to relocate about 100 homeless people who had been staying at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center after a fire closed the Second Avenue Commons homeless shelter. Erin Dalton, the county’s human services director, said Saturday that displaced residents...
Pittsburgh cyclist in critical condition after overnight collision
A vehicle and an electric bike collided overnight at Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Ninth Street in Pittsburgh — leaving the cyclist in critical condition. Pittsburgh police, fire and EMS responded to the scene around 2 a.m. The vehicle involved was traveling through a green light on Ninth Street when the...
Rare drop in summer gas prices doesn’t eliminate pain at the pump
Mary Ann Hoss paid a few cents less for gas this week as she fueled up for a road trip from Lower Burrell to her camp a few hours away. But that was due more to global circumstances than anything Hoss did. While the nation is experiencing a rare summertime...
Arnold woman pleads for time to move before city tears down her home
An Arnold woman was sobbing as she asked city officials how much time she’d have to move out of her home before they tear it down. During a board of health hearing Tuesday, Ellen Stern said she’s been looking for a place for herself, her two sons and boyfriend to...
New Stanton home brewer opens taproom in the borough
A longtime home brewer in New Stanton is taking the plunge into the beer business and opening a brewery in the borough, the only one between Greensburg and West Newton. “This has always been my dream. I had a five-gallon batch system in my kitchen, then a 20-gallon system in...
Jay-Z enters one of Pa.’s messiest political fights
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A series of events intended to get Philadelphians to support using taxpayer money to fund private school vouchers is bankrolled by an unexpected...
Can the pool at Ligonier Beach be saved? Township spending $100K to find out
Is it feasible to reopen Ligonier Beach as a swimming pool? Ligonier Township officials may know before Mackin Engineers & Consultants finishes a master plan for the former resort. The Pittsburgh-based consultant indicated it should be able to advise the township before the plan is done whether it’s feasible to...
‘I basically was running on Dunkin’ and adrenaline for most of yesterday,’ pastor says after Monroeville arson
In the wake of an arson Thursday at a Monroeville Catholic church rectory, the Rev. Michael Conway has been busy. As pastor of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish, he’s been rushing between its locations in Monroeville and Penn Hills, meeting with parishioners and leadership and trying to make plans for...
Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn’t crime
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case “did not constitute a crime,” the Justice Department said Friday. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a...
$284M would help child care issues in Pa., advocates say
The staff of 25 at JB’s Bright Beginnings in North Huntingdon has their hands full, encouraging the development of 100 children while parents work. They could do more — the child care center is licensed for 350 children — but a lack of staff for a job that has wages...
Woman arrested in connection with Pittsburgh man’s 2022 overdose death
A Homestead woman illegally sold oxycodone pills that caused a Pittsburgh man to fatally overdose in 2022 with fentanyl levels in his blood that were gauged as double a lethal dose, authorities say. Sharon Holt, 51, was arrested by Pittsburgh police Thursday on charges including drug delivery resulting in death,...
Bigfoot gains supporters in Derry as Sasquatch sightings surge on Chestnut Ridge
Bigfoot could be the next big thing in Derry. The town annually has celebrated its historic association with Pennsylvania Railroad trains and engine houses. But what about the looming presence of Bigfoot? Council members this week floated the idea of creating an installation that could draw visitors interested in the...
Ashley Kertes memorial fund aims to help Greensburg area as she tried to do
Ashley Kertes had a love for the Greensburg community and a desire to make it better. Kertes served as executive director of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and, in March 2022, shifted to associate administrator to the superintendent and community outreach in the Greensburg Salem School District. After Kertes’ unexpected...
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks, gun accessories used in 2017 massacre
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in a ruling that threw firearms back into the nation’s political spotlight. The high court’s conservative majority found that the Trump...
How do cicadas make their signature sound, so eerie and amazingly loud?
WHEATON, Ill. — The most noticeable part of the cicada invasion blanketing the central United States is the sound — an eerie, amazingly loud song that gets in a person’s ears and won’t let much else in. “It’s beautiful chaos,” said Rebecca Schmidt, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research entomologist....
Make mine medium-rare: Men really do eat more meat than women, study says
CHICAGO — Vacationing in Chicago this week from Europe, Jelle den Burger and Nirusa Naguleswaran grabbed a bite at the Dog House Grill: a classic Italian beef sandwich for him, grilled cheese for her. Both think the way their genders lined up with their food choices was no coincidence. Women,...
Ex-Pittsburgh police commander gets probation in wiretapping case
A former Pittsburgh police commander on Friday morning agreed to take 24 months of probation on charges that he stashed body-worn cameras in patrol cars last fall to secretly record more than a half-dozen of his own officers. Matthew Lackner, 50, a Mt. Lebanon resident who led Pittsburgh police’s Zone...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 14-16
Happy Father’s Day! Take Dad, your friends or yourself to these events and celebrations this weekend — everyone deserves some fun! Row House Cinema 10th Anniversary Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville is celebrating 10 years in the community with special screenings and a block party this Saturday. From 3 to...
Morning Roundup: Charges filed in 2 East End armed robberies; Pittsburgh police welcome new cadets
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, June 5. Man charged in 2 East End armed robberies Pittsburgh police have made an arrest in two recent armed robberies in the East End. Nathaniel Weatherspoon, 32, faces felony charges of robbery, conspiracy, and misdemeanor receiving stolen...
Heat wave forces shift in spending priorities as household costs jump
Summer utility bills are expected to swell as temperatures jump into the 90s over the next week in Western Pennsylvania. But while some energy experts believe the cost for electricity will rise by as much as 8% in the northeastern U.S., local energy providers suggest year-over-year utility costs actually may...
Sen. John Fetterman got 2 speeding tickets before Sunday’s crash, Pa. records show
Sen. John Fetterman’s car crash Sunday, in which he was speeding and found “at fault,” was not the first time the senator has been involved in risky driving behaviors, Pennsylvania state records show. Fetterman, D-Pa., has received two speeding tickets in his home state — the more recent one of...
Shuman Juvenile Detention Center set to reopen
After being closed for three years, the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center is set to reopen within the next few weeks, Allegheny County officials said. Shuman, in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, was closed in September 2021 after the state revoked its license following a number of violations. Since then, law enforcement agencies...
Heinz History Center celebrates Civic Season with patriotic programming
Here in the midst of June, we are entering a slew of patriotic holidays and anniversaries, starting on Friday with Flag Day and concluding on the Fourth of July. At the Sen. John Heinz History Center and more than 400 other museums and cultural institutions around the country, this period...
