Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 473
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin’s contract extension shows Steelers love stability … and accept mediocrity
In the big scheme of things, Mike Tomlin’s contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Monday isn’t the commitment it appears to be. Is there any coaching contract in pro sports that is? According to Forbes.com and the ProFootballNetwork, Steelers owner Art Rooney II is only 30th on the list...
Alzheimer’s drug that can slow disease gets backing from FDA advisers
WASHINGTON — A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s...
Brackenridge, Tarentum, others consider forming ambulance authority to prevent Eureka Ambulance closure
Contributions to local emergency medical services could become mandatory in the form of fees or taxes if a plan to create a new authority to oversee EMS is adopted. But exactly who would pay those in Tarentum, Brackenridge, Fawn, Frazer and East Deer remains to be seen. Brackenridge wants to...
Sen. John Fetterman and wife in Maryland car crash
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele Fetterman, were in a car crash on a Maryland interstate Sunday morning. They were evaluated at a hospital “out of an abundance of caution” but avoided serious injury, Fetterman’s office said. Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, was westbound on Interstate 70 shortly...
Tiki boat captain saves capsized kayaker in Allegheny River
Call it three for three. A tiki boat captain rescued a man who couldn’t swim after his kayak capsized last weekend on the Allegheny River — the third such rescue by the Pittsburgh-based cruise company in the past 12 months. A Cruisin’ Tikis Pittsburgh captain saw “someone bobbing in the...
Steelers sign coach Mike Tomlin to 3-year extension through 2027 season
Mike Tomlin’s contract will remain an issue no longer. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tomlin agreed Monday to a three-year extension that will keep the head coach with the organization through the 2027 season. Tomlin, 52, is entering his 18th season with the Steelers. He has taken the franchise to two...
2 players cash in on multimillion-dollar lottery tickets in A-K Valley
As Ralph Eberle fed dollar bills into a lottery machine Monday at Sheetz in Harrison, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that two multimillion-dollar tickets had been sold within days of each other in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Admittedly, Eberle, of Harrison, would’ve preferred to be one of the winners. “That’s...
Adaptive bikes available for rent in Pittsburgh
Riders with disabilities, families, and even people looking to move heavy items now have access to a bevy of bike options thanks to a new fleet recently announced by Pittsburgh’s bike share nonprofit. Bike Share Pittsburgh announced last week a new Adaptive POGOH program that allows users to rent seven...
Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial begin deliberating whether he’s guilty of federal firearm charges
WILMINGTON, Del. — Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial began deliberating Monday to decide whether the president’s son is guilty of federal firearms charges over a revolver he bought when prosecutors say he was addicted to crack cocaine. He is charged with three felonies in the case that has laid...
Morning Roundup: Fire in North Huntingdon; car crashes into Plum house; weekend robberies in Pittsburgh
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, June 10, 2024. Crews battling house fire in North Huntingdon Emergency responders were called to a house fire in North Huntingdon this morning. Westmoreland County 911 confirmed a call around 7:30 a.m. for a blaze on Rebecca Street....
Golf cart confusion and the rise of neighborhood electric vehicles
When Kevin Santelli drives what looks like a souped-up golf cart around town, people stop and stare. They notice at the grocery store, the YMCA and restaurants near his Sewickley Heights home. If he stays on roads with speed limits below 25 mph, he can go anywhere he’d like. “It...
Student teaching stipend aims to fill void for aspiring educators, but some say program needs more support
Almost nothing could deter Brianna Savko from teaching. Generally modest pay, an all-time high annual attrition rate of 7.7% and a statewide shortage of more than 2,000 teachers were not enough to change her mind. “There’s a passion there, and I don’t care what the money is behind it when...
Trump to undergo probation interview Monday, a required step before his New York sentencing
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be interviewed by New York probation officials Monday, a required step before his July sentencing in his criminal hush money case, according to three people familiar with the plan. Trump will do the interview via a computer video conference from his residence at...
1 dead in Downtown shooting near UPMC Mercy
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place Sunday morning in Downtown. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert for three shots fired at 11:15 a.m. in the area of Fifth Avenue and Vine Street near UPMC Mercy Hospital, where they found a man with a shotgun wound to...
Mt. Pleasant man killed in apartment fire
A Mt. Pleasant man died after a kitchen fire trapped him in his apartment, according the Westmoreland County coroner. Emergency crews were called to the 200 block of West Smithfield Street in Mt. Pleasant at 11:45 p.m. Saturday when a neighbor reported smoke from next door. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim...
From women pastors to sexual abuse to Trump, Southern Baptists have a busy few days ahead of them
Thousands will gather in Indianapolis June 11-12 for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The meeting comes at a fraught time in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Messengers — as voting delegates are known — will vote on whether to establish a constitutional ban on churches with women...
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 274 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raid that rescued 4 hostages
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 274 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were wounded in the Israeli raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday. The military said its forces came under heavy fire during the complex daytime operation deep inside the territory....
Amazon advertises ‘fulfillment center’ jobs at New Stanton location
While Amazon officials have not officially announced what a $120 million facility in New Stanton will be used for, the company’s website is soliciting job applications for “fulfillment center warehouse associate” positions in New Stanton. Amazon has a fulfillment center and robotic sorting facility west of Pittsburgh in Findlay. When...
Western Pa. education leaders seek solutions to statewide teacher shortage crisis
Thousands of teaching positions in Pennsylvania were vacant or filled by someone on an emergency certificate in the past year, leaving education across the state in crisis mode, one industry onlooker said. More than 2,000 teaching positions were vacant in Pennsylvania as of October, according to data released by the...
Haiti’s new prime minister hospitalized days after being selected to lead country, official says
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s newly selected prime minister, Garry Conille, was hospitalized late Saturday in the capital of Port-au-Prince just days after arriving in the country, an official told The Associated Press. It wasn’t immediately known why Conille was hospitalized. Louis Gérald Gilles, a member of the transitional presidential council...
Woman who fell down steep hill below Bigelow Boulevard rescued by Pittsburgh first responders
Pittsburgh Public Safety personnel rescued a woman on the hillside below Frank Curto Park on Bigelow Boulevard on Saturday afternoon after employees at a car dealership below heard her screaming. The woman, who is in her 30s, likely fell from a concrete retaining wall she had been sitting on, a...
Cross-country Model T drivers deal with a breakdown
When you’re driving a century-old car, engine trouble is not what you want. Mike Vaughn of Lincoln, Neb., and two other volunteers from Nebraska’s Museum of American Speed pulled into their planned stop in Greensburg and noticed their 1924 Model T Ford was making an odd sound. That led to...
Bantam Jeep Festival rumbles into Butler County
A couple years ago, Theresa Putnam began to notice a new phenomenon at the annual Bantam Jeep Festival near Slippery Rock — someone was leaving little rubber ducks on Jeeps. “We started talking to people, and we found out it meant we’d been ‘ducked,’ ” said Putnam, a Dayton, Ohio,...
Nurse practitioners say they’d ease rural health care shortage with more authority; doctors say it won’t work
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 — Joyce Knestrick can independently give physical exams, diagnose health conditions, prescribe select medications, and make referrals as a nurse practitioner at a clinic...
Secret opioid cash meetings criticized by Pa. lawmaker after Spotlight PA and WESA reporting
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A member of the board overseeing Pennsylvania’s opioid settlement money said he’s concerned the group’s actions don’t comply with the state’s Sunshine Act, echoing transparency...
