Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 999
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate amid case surge
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed covid-19 cases have risen more than...
Kiski Area winter guard team captures gold medal at world championships
A Kiski Area School District color guard team struck gold during a recent international competition last weekend in Ohio. The 18-member Kiski Area Scholastic Open Winter Guard made history, winning a gold medal in the 2022 WGI (Winter Guard International) World Championships. “We could not be more proud of the...
Analyst: Average gas price likely to fall under $4 nationally this week, Pa. may take longer
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is likely to fall under $4 this week, an industry analyst said Monday. “Gas prices have continued to move in the right direction — down — saving Americans approximately $100 million every day compared to when prices peaked about a month...
Frontier CEO talks about Spirit Airlines merger, travel outlook
DALLAS — Barry Biffle is juggling his day job as CEO of Frontier Airlines while also working to save a proposed merger with Spirit Airlines that would create the nation’s fifth-biggest carrier by some measures. This figures to be a bounce-back year for airlines like Frontier that cater to leisure...
Kenyatta criticizes Fetterman over 2013 Black jogger incident in virtual Senate forum
State representative and U.S. Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta called out challenger Lt. Gov. John Fetterman this past weekend over a 2013 incident in which Fetterman, shotgun in hand, confronted a Black jogger he suspected of being involved in nearby gunfire. Kenyatta’s criticism occurred during a virtual forum held by statewide...
Goose flies into motorcyclist’s head, killing rider in Pa. crash, police say
Police in Bucks County said a deadly crash was caused by a goose flying into the head of a motorcyclist on Friday morning. According to a report by police, a motorcyclist was riding a 2013 Harley-Davidson in the Southeastern Pennsylvania county about 9:55 a.m. Friday when a goose flew out...
Ride for Homeless Vets fundraiser set to return to Alle-Kiski Valley
A June motorcycle trip by more than 1,200 riders will travel through the Alle-Kiski Valley and beyond to benefit homeless veterans. The 15th annual Ride for Homeless Vets is back after a two-year covid-related absence. “I started this little ride just wanting to get 100 people involved,” said Tom Grates,...
New Kensington natives return to hometown, make former church their home
After the last two of their combined six children graduated from college, Melissa Palumbo imagined she and her husband, Jim, would downsize their home. He found her a castle instead. “We walked through with a Realtor,” Melissa said. “I said, ‘Nope.’ ” But when the price came down on the...
Who pays? Experts discuss what comes next after $19 million swimming pool verdict
A month after a jury awarded the largest judgment ever assessed in a Westmoreland County civil trial, questions remain about just who will pay the $19 million verdict rendered last month against Washington Township homeowners over life-changing injuries sustained when a family friend dove onto a raft in their swimming...
Personal tragedy leads to new life, career for Animal Protectors’ shelter manager Mike Post
Coping with the grief that followed the death of his father took Mike Post’s life straight to the dogs. Post, 42, of Lower Burrell is the shelter manager at Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley in New Kensington. It’s not where he thought life would lead him after graduating from Burrell...
Mariupol mayor says siege has killed more than 10,000 civilians
KYIV, Ukraine — The mayor of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Monday that more than 10,000 civilians have died in the Russian siege of his city, and that the death toll could surpass 20,000, with corpses that were “carpeted through the streets.” Speaking by phone Monday to The...
Drowning ruled as cause of death for man pulled from Mon River in October
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled drowning as the cause of death for a man found floating in the Monongahela River in October. David Roberts, 53, was found unresponsive in the river by a boater on Oct. 15. Roberts, of Mount Oliver, was discovered near the Color Park...
Aldi confirms relocation of Lower Burrell store to New Kensington
Aldi confirmed Friday that the discount grocer will close its Lower Burrell store in favor of a new building nearby in New Kensington. New Kensington earlier this year approved plans for a grocery store identified as Aldi and a ModWash car wash to be built in Riverview Plaza along Tarentum...
Ukraine digs in to fight Russia’s looming eastern offensiveVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces dug in while Russia lined up more firepower Sunday and tapped a decorated general as war commander ahead of a potentially decisive showdown in eastern Ukraine that experts said could start within days with a full-scale offensive. The outcome of that confrontation could determine the...
Trump endorses Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate primary race
HARRISBURG — Former President Donald Trump endorsed Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s crowded Republican Senate primary, ending months of jockeying for his support. In a statement Saturday evening, Trump said his decision was “all about winning elections” as he formally backed the celebrity heart surgeon best known as the host of...
Body found near Ohio River in Pittsburgh
A body was discovered late Saturday afternoon near the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, police said. River Rescue, Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services and police responded to Doerr Street in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood around 5:30 p.m. and were directed by a kayaker to an area near the river where the body...
Growth in surveillance technology pits law enforcement against privacy concerns
When Greensburg police charged two men with a downtown shooting outside The Rialto bar, in which a bystander was wounded in late January, video footage helped investigators identify one of the suspects. “Without the surveillance video, that may not have been the outcome,” police Chief Shawn Denning said. “With the...
New dinosaur species named for Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumnus
An Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate now shares his name with a new species of dinosaur, discovered in 2017 in China’s Yunnan province. Molecular biologist John J. Kopchick is now the namesake of Yuxisaurus kopchicki, an armored dinosaur that is a distant cousin of the Stegosaurus. It lived between 174...
Greensburg Easter Egg hunt signals return to normal
For 2-year-old Lilly Hiester, the brightly colored eggs and chocolate treats inside were just an appetizer. Dressed in a yellow rain slicker with blue rubber boots, Lilly bounded from puddle to puddle as her parents followed behind just out of range of the water their young daughter playfully kicked up....
Harrison Cub Scouts help stock trout for fish commission at Deer Lakes Park in West Deer
When Ethan Borland heard he would be helping to stock trout at Deer Lakes Park, he didn’t get excited. He had no idea what that meant. The 9-year-old’s perspective would change as he held a white bucket filled with trout to toss into the water. “It was pretty fun,” he...
More flee east Ukraine after deadly train station strike
KYIV, Ukraine — Civilian evacuations moved forward in patches of battle-scarred eastern Ukraine on Saturday, a day after a missile strike killed at least 52 people and wounded more than 100 at a train station where thousands clamored to leave before an expected Russian onslaught. In the wake of the...
Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins dies after being struck on Florida highway
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died Saturday morning when he was struck by a vehicle while walking as a pedestrian on a Florida highway. Haskins was 24. “I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a...
Tentative contract agreement averts teachers strike at New Kensington-Arnold
Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District will get an average 3.5% pay increase in each year of a proposed five-year contract, according to a joint statement issued Sunday by the school district and its teachers union. The district and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association reached a tentative agreement on...
Nonprofit calls research into recent U.S. book bans ‘shocking’ as Franklin Regional parents express support for restrictions, warnings
The graphic novel “Persepolis” might be back on the list of approved books for freshman honors English students at Franklin Regional, but the parents and residents pushing for its removal do not plan to stop there. “That, I believe, is only the tip of everything going on,” said Gretchen McGee....
Iconic Scottdale home focus of $2 million restoration
A decade after opening South Broadway Manor in Scottdale as a bed and breakfast, Pat Hill has begun transforming a second iconic home a few blocks away. Abandoned and gap-toothed, with two missing porch pillars, the three-story, 115-year-old limestone mansion called Greystone Manor by its former owner, Richard Campbell, has...
