Top Stories category, Page 676
Pittsburgh Public Schools looks to expand anti-violence program with help of $2M in state funding
A youth anti-violence program in Pittsburgh Public Schools has received more than $2 million in state funding to expand. The Safe Passages program, operated by Pittsburgh-based Operation Better Block, was launched as a pilot at Perry Traditional Academy in the city’s North Side. The grant money from the Pennsylvania Commission...
Deep-sea craft carrying 5 people to Titanic wreckage reported missing, search underwayVideo
A rescue operation was underway deep in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Monday in search of a technologically advanced submersible vessel carrying five people to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century ago. The vessel was reported overdue Sunday...
Mark Madden: We were privileged to listen to Stan Savran
Stan Savran’s funeral begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday. My radio program starts at 3 p.m. So I’ll attend Stan’s funeral but will leave at 1:45 p.m. whether it’s completed or not because I want to make certain I get to the studio on time. That’s the biggest tribute I can...
Morning Roundup: Man’s body pulled from Allegheny River; 2 killed in plane crash; EMS responds to calls at Taylor Swift concerts
Body pulled from Allegheny River in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh police said a man’s body was pulled from the Allegheny River on Monday morning. A boater had spotted the man’s body floating in the river near the southern part of Washington’s Landing, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. A Pittsburgh police spokesperson...
What is Juneteenth? A breakdown on what the holiday commemorates
Juneteenth is a federal holiday recognizing the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the United States. The word comes from a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” and pays homage to the first unofficial Juneteenth celebration, which took place June 19, 1866. It became a national holiday in 2021, when...
Weekend mass shootings leave 6 people dead and dozens injured across the U.S.
Mass shootings and violence across the U.S. killed at least six people this weekend, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, and wounded dozens of people. Multiple people with guns fired shots at a holiday crowd in Missouri and bullets flew among teenagers partying in Illinois. The shootings follow a surge in...
Juneteenth celebration in Greensburg park showcases community organizations
Under a shady grove of tents and trees, locals gathered on Sunday in St. Clair Park in downtown Greensburg as part of a larger, weekend-long celebration of Juneteenth. For nonprofit leader Ronel Baccus, the Juneteenth event was also a celebration of reaching out to Greensburg and the region as a...
Fire damages West Newton house, rekindles Monday morning
A fire that gutted a West Newton house late Sunday rekindled Monday morning, requiring firefighters from multiple departments to respond to the scene. Richard Smith and his son escaped the fire on Mallard Streetat without injury Sunday, but a pet dog died in the blaze, West Newton Fire Chief Craig...
Blinken opens 2nd day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring U.S.-China tensions
BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring. Blinken was meeting Monday morning with...
Trump’s former attorney general says indictment is his own faultVideo
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the U.S. has a “very strong” criminal case against Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents and said the former president has himself to blame. “He had no right to those documents,” Barr, who served as U.S. attorney general under Trump, said Sunday on...
Air quality alert issued for Pittsburgh region
The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a code orange air quality alert for the greater Pittsburgh area on Monday. The alert is in effect until 4 p.m. for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The code orange alert means that air pollution concentrations within the...
Body of Penn Hills man recovered at Creek Falls in South Huntingdon
A 23-year-old man’s body was recovered Sunday morning at Creek Falls on Jacobs Creek in South Huntingdon following a reported drowning on Saturday. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office identified the man as Deonte Elliot Johns of Sampson Street in Penn Hills. According to the coroner, Johns jumped from a rock...
Westmoreland Airshow a family affair for Latrobe locals, visitors
Lisa Hartman wasn’t always a fan of the Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland Airshow. As a child, she would visit the air show with her dad, but “hated it,” she said. When her own daughter Olivia got involved with Air Force Junior ROTC in high school back in 2016, she gave...
1 trooper killed, 1 critically wounded in central Pennsylvania
MIFFLINTOWN — State police in Pennsylvania have identified the trooper killed and another trooper critically wounded in separate encounters Saturday with a gunman who attacked a state police barracks and was later shot and killed himself after a manhunt and a fierce gunbattle. Trooper Jacques Rougeau Jr., 29, was killed...
Couple escapes Lower Burrell home heavily damaged in blaze
A Lower Burrell man who ran into his neighbors’ burning home Sunday says he found them “calm” inside. Randy Bargerstock said the backyard of his Rodgers Drive home borders the backyard of Charles and Susan Allias’ home on Jefferson Drive, which is located a good distance behind Glen’s Custard on...
Topping it off: Taylor Swift gives hat to Hempfield girl at concertVideo
Cost of two Taylor Swift tickets? $1,800. Watching Taylor Swift give her hat to your daughter? Priceless. “I can’t even believe this happened,” Renata Guarlotti said through a raspy voice after screaming during the Friday night concert. “It was surreal.” The Hempfield woman and her 10-year-old daughter, Katie, had floor...
Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges
WASHINGTON — On his first day as attorney general, Merrick Garland pledged a return to what he called the “norms” of the Justice Department and said he would work to eliminate the perception of political interference. But in the two years since he took office, the former federal judge has...
Photos: Thousands of Taylor Swift fans took in the show outside Acrisure StadiumVideo
While Taylor Swift was setting an attendance record inside Acrisure Stadium Saturday night, the crowd outside the stadium was also huge. Along with the over 73,000 in the seats of the stadium, thousands of fans (there’s no official count, yet) gathered outside the venue on the grass, along the Allegheny...
Retiring Westmoreland sheriff’s deputy reflects on 4-decade career that he loved
Eric Sinclair never gave a career in law enforcement much thought while growing up in Harrison. But as he reflects on his four decades as a deputy for the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office, he has no regrets about his decision to skip college and enter the police academy. At 2...
After 3 weeks and a guilty verdict on all counts, Pittsburgh synagogue attack trial moves to penalty phase
On Friday, after hearing three weeks of testimony and deliberating for less than five hours, the jury in the federal case of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting found the defendant guilty of all 63 counts. Attorneys for Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin admitted that he entered the Tree of...
Taylor Swift’s 2nd night in Pittsburgh sets Acrisure Stadium attendance record
Will pop superstar Taylor Swift’s attendance record at Acrisure Stadium “Stay Stay Stay” and prove to be as “Untouchable” as it seems? Swift set an attendance record for Acrisure Stadium Saturday night, according to stadium officials, with the crowd of 73,117 the largest ever for the venue. Country star Garth...
Decorated Tuskegee Airman James Harvey star of Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth parade
Saturday’s Juneteenth parade in Pittsburgh included all of the usual features that highlight a parade — marching bands, music, police cars, horses and candy thrown to kids. But on this day, one individual in particular outshined all other trappings of the event. Former Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. James H. Harvey...
Authorities respond to reported drowning at Creek Falls in South Huntingdon
Multiple dive and water rescue teams were responding to a reported drowning Saturday evening in South Huntingdon, a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said. The drowning at Creek Falls on Jacobs Creek was reported around 5:45 p.m., the dispatcher said. Limited information was available as of 8 p.m. A dispatcher said...
Great weather brings record numbers to Westmoreland Airshow
The skies were clear and the temperature in the mid-70s on Saturday. Perfect conditions to draw a crowd to the opening day of the Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow. And did it ever draw a crowd. “This is huge. This is probably the biggest turnout we’ve ever had, and probably...
How a landmark school funding lawsuit is shaping Pa. budget negotiations
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A court decision requiring Pennsylvania lawmakers to make the funding system for public schools more equitable is front and...
