Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1221
5-alarm Gulf Tower fire under control; no injuries reported
A basement fire forced the evacuation of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Gulf Tower on Wednesday. Callers reported smoke and fire to 911 about 9:23 a.m., said Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones, and fire crews were on the scene five minutes later. The call rose to five alarms because of the...
How to ease out of mortgage forbearance, avoid foreclosure
American homeowners were given more opportunity to hit pause on their mortgage payments because of the financial ravages of the pandemic, but that relief is slowly coming to an end. About 3 million people are behind on their mortgage, the most at any time since the Great Recession, according to...
Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza offensive
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Wednesday to press ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, pushing back against calls from the United States to wind down the operation that has left hundreds dead. Netanyahu’s tough comments marked the first public rift...
TV Q&A: What is going on at KDKA-TV?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: What is going on with KDKA-TV? All these young women newscasters — and a few young men, too. There are so many. The good ones...
Victim of early morning fatal shooting in Mt. Oliver identified; tips on suspects sought
Allegheny County police are seeking information from the public in connection with a fatal shooting in Mt. Oliver early Wednesday morning. The shooting was reported to Allegheny County 911 at 12:13 a.m. in the 500 block of Brownsville Road. First responders found a 29-year-old man dead at the scene. The...
15 candidates to square off in November for 9 seats on Allegheny County Common Pleas Court
Fifteen people will face each other in November’s general election to win a seat on Allegheny County’s Court of Common Pleas, according to unofficial election results reported late Tuesday. With nine vacancies out of 43 positions on the bench, this year’s judicial election has a chance to change the makeup...
New York attorney general says Trump Organization probe is now criminal
NEW YORK — The New York attorney general’s office said Tuesday that it is conducting a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business empire, expanding what had previously been a civil probe. “We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the company is no longer purely civil...
Mylant leads Murphy in GOP balloting for Unity supervisor
Republican voters appeared to favor incumbent John Mylant over challenger Doug Murphy in Tuesday’s primary battle for Unity supervisor. Mylant had about 64% of the vote, with all precincts reporting. He had received 1,929 votes to 1,071 for Murphy, according to unofficial returns. Mylant, 58, is completing his second six-year...
Ed Gainey defeats Bill Peduto as incumbent concedes in Pittsburgh mayoral primaryVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto conceded defeat to state Rep. Ed Gainey in a four-way Democratic primary race for mayor, positioning Gainey to become the first Black mayor in the city’s history. With 393 of the city’s 402 voting precincts reporting results around 1:15 a.m., Gainey had received about 46.2% of...
Giant Eagle to allow fully vaccinated customers, staff to go maskless
Giant Eagle will not require fully vaccinated shoppers or workers to wear masks at its supermarkets and GetGo locations starting Monday, company officials announced. Company spokesman Dick Roberts explained the move via press release Tuesday evening. “Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, we have taken every opportunity to safeguard the health and...
Mark McCloskey, St. Louis man who waved rifle at protesters, is running for U.S. Senate
Mark McCloskey, a St. Louis personal injury lawyer who gained national attention after he and his wife waved guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home last summer, said Tuesday he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2022. McCloskey made the announcement on Tucker Carlson’s show on...
Airline passengers may soon get weighed before boarding flight
Passengers boarding an airplane may soon be asked to step on a scale to measure their weight before the flight, according to a report by View from the Wing. The preboarding weight check would come in order to comply with FAA rules. According to the report, the calculations airlines have...
Pittsburgh woman who robbed 3 PNC branches pleads guilty
A woman pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to committing three bank robberies with another woman who used to work for PNC Bank. Donna Poremski, 44, and formerly of Pittsburgh, pleaded to conspiracy, bank robbery and armed bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer. She will be...
Congress OKs bill to fight hate crimes vs. Asian AmericansVideo
WASHINGTON — Congress approved legislation Tuesday intended to curtail a striking rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, sending President Joe Biden a bipartisan denunciation of the spate of brutal attacks that have proliferated during coronavirus pandemic. The bill, which the House passed on a 364-62 vote,...
Pirates to return to 100% capacity July 1; tickets for remaining games on sale next week
The Pittsburgh Pirates are increasing capacity to PNC Park starting in June, the team announced Tuesday. PNC Park will have an increased capacity of about 55%, with an approximate 3-foot social distancing between seating allotments, starting June 3, per the team’s announcement. That capacity will be in effect for all...
Charles Grodin, Pittsburgh native and star of ‘Midnight Run,’ dies at 86
Charles Grodin, the Pittsburgh-born actor and writer whose offbeat style scored as a newlywed cad in “The Heartbreak Kid” and the father in the “Beethoven” comedies, has died. He was 86. Grodin’s son Nicholas said his father died Tuesday at his home in Wilton, Conn., from bone marrow cancer. Grodin...
Investigator testifies Pirates pitcher Vazquez knew Scottdale girl was ‘too young’
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, during a police interrogation at his Strip District apartment in September 2019, initially claimed he knew his teen accuser was young and told investigators her age was why he refused to communicate with her over the previous two years. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael Thompson,...
Allegheny County covid case average lowest since Halloween
Both the state and Allegheny County on Tuesday saw covid-19 statistics drop to levels not seen since the fall. Locally and at the commonwealth level, case averages are back to where they were late last year. Cases Allegheny County saw its seven-day average of covid-19 cases drop to lows not...
Prosecutor says N.C. deputies justified in shooting of Black man
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — North Carolina sheriff’s deputies were justified in their fatal shooting of a Black man in April because the man ignored their commands and drove his car directly at one of them before they fired any shots, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Andrew Brown Jr.’s actions caused deputies...
Americans urged to get colon cancer screening earlier
Americans should start getting screened for colon cancer earlier — at age 45 instead of waiting until they’re 50, according to guidelines released Tuesday. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said it’s time for the change because colorectal cancer increasingly is appearing in younger adults. Colorectal cancer is one of...
Pittsburgh ranks 3rd on list of best cities for artists
By now, Pittsburghers are used to their city making various “best” lists. The Steel City has been named a top place for everyone from sports fans and foodies to retirees and Gen Xers. Now it’s also been recognized as one of the top 10 U.S. cities for artists — ranking...
Murrysville man charged with arson in restaurant fire
A Murrysville man was arrested Tuesday on arson charges in connection with a weekend fire that destroyed a landmark restaurant along Route 22. Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld said Brian Paul Lucas, 43, confessed to starting the fire at Spaghetti & Steakhouse and Hot Rod Lounge early Saturday after authorities...
North Huntingdon man charged with double homicide in Penn Township killingsVideo
A North Huntingdon man is accused of killing a Penn Township man at his home as well as his girlfriend as she tried to escape early Monday, fulfilling what police say was “a grudge reconciliation weekend.” Before District Judge Helen Kistler on Tuesday night, Victor Steban, 53, of North Thompson...
Penn State to ditch ‘male-specific’ student titles like freshmen
Students at Penn State may soon be saying goodbye to the term “sophomore slump” and hello to “second-year slump.” According to a report in Penn State’s student newspaper The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s Faculty Senate voted to remove gendered and binary terms from Penn State course and program descriptions. As...
Gateway Education Association calls for a strike as contract negotiations linger for more than a year
Gateway School District’s teachers’ union has threatened to go on strike beginning May 24, according to union officials. The Gateway Education Association notified Superintendent William Short on Tuesday morning that a strike will begin next Monday if a tentative agreement has not been reached. The district and association have been...
