Top Stories category, Page 642
Penn State gender pay gap is among worst compared to public Big Ten schools, federal data show
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is facing at least one allegation of wage discrimination, while salary data show the university’s gender pay gap is among...
Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant
SALT LAKE CITY — An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said. Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson...
Derry Township man held for court in 16-year-old murder case
During one of their daily meetings to use drugs, Timothy Smartnick said Charles E. Ream told him a secret. They were at a hotel in Monroeville sometime in 2009 or 2010 when Ream said he went to Samantha Lang’s Derry Township home in 2007. Smartnick testified during Ream’s preliminary hearing...
Wooden boxes stocked with food, supplies placed in Wilkinsburg to aid underserved residents
A wooden box stands at the corner of Wilkinsburg’s Laketon Road and Douglas Drive. Behind a purple door adorned with the expression “Explore your full potential” are shelves stocked with everything from nonperishables such as boxed macaroni and cheese, long-grain rice and canned corn to jars of baby food, socks...
Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves. Federal aid reaches only a fraction
DENVER — Bobbie Boyd is in a losing battle against near triple-digit temperatures in northwest Arkansas. Her window air conditioner runs nonstop and the ballooning electric bill carves about $240 out of her $882-a-month fixed income. So the 57-year-old cuts other necessities. Boyd eats one meal a day so her...
Mike Tomlin: All healthy players will see action in Steelers’ preseason opener
Mike Tomlin acknowledged the obvious Wednesday when he said that second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett will need more preseason snaps this year than, say, a more seasoned quarterback. As far as how many more reps Pickett might need, Tomlin wasn’t ready to answer that question. The Pittsburgh Steelers open the preseason...
Free backpack giveaway Thursday welcomes all Kiski Area students
Nothing screams back-to-school like a new backpack. Kiski Area School District faculty, staff and volunteers are making sure any students enrolled in the district have access to a new backpack this year with a free giveaway event Thursday at Kiski Area High School. The Back to School Backpack Bash, in...
Liquor license auction open for some Southwestern Pa. counties
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) on Wednesday issued an invitation for bids for a set of expired restaurant liquor licenses, including some available in a handful of Southwestern Pennsylvania counties. Twenty expired licenses are being auctioned Sept. 27. One license each is available in 20 counties, which includes one...
Wild mushrooms suspected of killing 3 who ate a family lunch together in Australia
SYDNEY — Australian police on Wednesday were trying to figure out how three people died and a fourth became critically ill after apparently eating wild mushrooms at a family lunch. Homicide detectives have been investigating the case. Police have interviewed the woman who they say cooked the meal at her...
Harris says new rule means ‘thousands of dollars’ for workers on federal construction projects
PHILADELPHIA — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced changes to labor rules that could give higher wages to construction workers on federal projects. In a speech in Philadelphia, Harris said the Labor Department has provided the first update in decades to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, a law that...
Mega Millions player in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, the third largest prize in U.S. history
Someone in Florida won a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, ending a stretch of lottery futility that had stretched for nearly four months. A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers drawn were: 13 19 20 32...
Morning Roundup: Car crash leads to violent attack in Hazelwood, police say
Here are some news items from this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 9: Car crash leads to violent attack Pittsburgh Police said a car crash led to a violent attack Tuesday afternoon in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood. Police were called to Trowbridge Street shortly after 4 p.m., where they located a male...
Norwin board member sues superintendent, district over criticism of social media post
A Norwin School Board member is suing the district and its superintendent, claiming his First Amendment right to free speech was violated. Alex Detschelt of North Huntingdon claims Superintendent Jeffrey Taylor violated his rights Oct. 28, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. Taylor criticized Detschelt’s...
Hardware, electrical stores adapt to federal light bulb legislation
Jim Zink is not sure what to do with his remaining stock of incandescent light bulbs. Federal rules that took effect Aug. 1 prohibit the sale of most bulbs patented over a century ago by Thomas Edison. Now, Zink — owner of Hummell Brothers lighting store in Jeannette — is...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Latrobe
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Voters in Ohio reject GOP-backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights
COLUMBUS — Ohio voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a campaign this fall that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year. The...
Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in AlabamaVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three white boaters in Alabama’s capital city will be charged with misdemeanor assault for a riverfront brawl with a Black boat captain that drew nationwide attention, with more charges likely to come, police said. Videos of the incident, which circulated widely on social media, have proven crucial...
Boat dock leases terminated in Tarentum
Boaters demanded answers from Tarentum Council on Tuesday night regarding future leases at the riverfront, but most people didn’t like what they heard. Council voted to terminate dock leases on Oct. 31 due to aged utilities, safety issues and legal concerns. The move infuriated longtime boaters who said they’ve poured...
Body cam footage shows Ligonier Township man was shot with handgun, stun gun nearly simultaneouslyVideo
Ligonier Valley police officers who responded to a domestic call fired a stun gun and a handgun nearly simultaneously when confronted last month by a man wielding a machete, body camera footage obtained by the Tribune-Review shows. The man, Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, died later July 2 at Conemaugh Memorial...
Breakfast program impacts student health, participation in school, leaders say
Gov. Josh Shapiro spent his lunch hour Tuesday at Penn Hills Elementary School talking about breakfast. The recently approved state budget includes a $46.5 million increase for the Universal Free Breakfast Program, resulting in morning meals for the state’s 1.7 million public school students. Funding will level the playing field...
Citizens Bank robbed on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
A Citizens Bank branch near the Andy Warhol Museum on Pittsburgh’s North Shore was robbed Tuesday afternoon, Pittsburgh police said. A male, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, entered the bank at 106 Isabella St. at about 12:30 p.m. and demanded cash from the teller, police...
In Penn Hills visit, Shapiro announces Universal Free Breakfast Program for Pa. public school students
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Penn Hills Elementary School on Tuesday to announce a new program to provide universal free breakfast to all public school students in Pennsylvania. The free-breakfast program was part of a $567 million increase in education funding for the state’s public school districts in the recently signed...
Third state probe of Westmoreland juvenile center finds potential riot averted despite inadequate staff training
A state agency Tuesday disclosed findings from a third investigation of operations at Westmoreland County’s temporarily closed juvenile detention center. The investigation resulted in an additional violation related to a physical altercation this year between a staff member and a teen that officials feared created a potential for a riot...
More than 25 dogs rescued from North Fayette home, had been neglected for months, humane officer says
When North Fayette police and Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh Officer Angela Fry entered Audrey Stevenson’s North Fayette home to check on her dogs in mid-July, “the odor was so severe that our eyes began to water and we were coughing,” Fry wrote in a criminal complaint. The Azalea Drive...
Eastern U.S. cleans up after deadly storms as New England braces for floodingVideo
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Crews across the eastern part of the nation worked Tuesday to clear downed trees and powerlines and restore electricity following severe storms that killed at least two people, cut power to more than a million customers at their peak, and forced thousands of flight delays and...
