Top Stories category, Page 715
Hempfield approaches 50-year anniversary of civics education class
At the start of the school year, during the first few minutes of Hempfield Area teacher Ken Stough’s classes, students are asked to imagine their typical day. Stough and the students write down activities they do on a day-to-day basis in detail, and then return to each item with a...
Former Pennsylvania Congressman Bud Shuster dies at 91
HARRISBURG — Former U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, an influential Republican lawmaker who strongly backed transportation projects but ran afoul of ethics guidelines, has died. He was 91. Shuster died peacefully at his farm Wednesday in Everett, Bedford County, surrounded by his family, including his son, Bill Shuster, who succeeded his...
Free speech or hate speech? Pitt students reflect on trans rights protest, emergency alerts
Macaiah Thaxton, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, supports rights for transgender people but also understands why Pitt did not stop conservative guest speaker Michael Knowles from debating about the topic during a protest-provoking event on campus. “Do I think that Michael Knowles is someone who I would like...
Fulton County sanctioned over copying 2020 voting machine data
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania Republican-majority county government where two commissioners secretly allowed a third party to copy voting-machine data last year to help former President Donald Trump overturn his 2020 reelection defeat received contempt sanctions Wednesday from the state’s highest court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against Fulton County commissioners...
Three Rivers Arts Festival announces musical lineup, new layout
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will have a new location for the main stage and an expanded layout of the artist market. The Dollar Bank main stage will be relocated to Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Stanwix Street to give more access to a grass area and nearby food...
Peters man gets probation for death of infant son left in hot van for hours
A Peters man who left his infant in a hot van for hours in June pleaded guilty on Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter. Khang Nguyen, 33, was ordered to serve two years probation by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos. He also pleaded to one count of reckless endangerment....
Are you a Facebook user? You could get some settlement cash
Anyone in the U.S. who has had a Facebook account at any time since May 24, 2007, can now apply for their share of a $725 million privacy settlement that parent company Meta has agreed to pay. Meta is paying to settle a lawsuit alleging the world’s largest social media...
Sheetz offering E85 fuel for less than $2 per gallon
A specific blend of gasoline is available for $2 less per gallon than the current average gas price in the Pittsburgh area. Sheetz is offering E85 for $1.85 through midnight April 30. The current average for regular unleaded in the Pittsburgh area is about $3.85 per gallon, according to AAA....
Sen. John Fetterman posts video trolling body-double conspiracy ‘fringy fringies’Video
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is back on Capitol Hill and back on social media, trolling conspiracy theorists who claimed last month that he had a body double. Tuesday evening on his non-official Senate Twitter account, Fetterman posted a short video referring to the “fringy fringies” and their conspiracy theory targeting...
Fitzgerald endorses Joanna Doven in Allegheny County Council race
Longtime Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is finally weighing in on the upcoming Democratic primary election. Fitzgerald endorsed Democratic county council at-large candidate Joanna Doven on Wednesday, issuing his first primary endorsement of the 2023 campaign. Fitzgerald is serving his third term as county executive, Allegheny County’s highest elected position,...
Popeyes cancels plans for New Kensington location, city official says
A project that would have seen a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen built in New Kensington has been canceled, a city official said Tuesday. City Council approved the development in front of Giant Eagle on Tarentum Bridge Road more than a year ago, with anticipation of being up and running last year....
Pa. primary election 2023: Everything you need to know about requesting, filling out, and returning your mail ballot
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 — Voters in Pennsylvania’s May 16 primary election will choose their parties’ statewide candidates for the Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme...
Man arrested after bringing gun to Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint; 7th gun confiscated this year
A traveler from Arkansas was arrested Tuesday after TSA officers stopped him with a handgun at the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport. The man was caught transporting a 9 mm unloaded firearm and two gun magazines packed with 16 bullets in them in carry-on baggage, according to TSA spokesperson...
Supreme Court temporarily extends access to abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has temporarily extended women’s access to an abortion pill until Friday while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone to take effect as a legal challenge to the medication’s Food and Drug Administration approval continues. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito...
Assault at Monroeville hotel over extramarital affair leaves victim with severe facial injuries
A New Jersey man remains jailed after police say he attacked his wife’s former paramour at a Monroeville hotel last week. Vincent Serzan, 46, is charged with felony aggravated assault and related charges after police say he attacked the man and knocked him unconscious — causing severe facial injuries —...
Morning Roundup: Allegheny County ranked among most polluted places to live
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, April 19, 2023: Pittsburgh ranked among worst in nation for air quality The Pittsburgh region and Allegheny County were again ranked among one of the worst in the nation for air quality by the American Lung Association. The...
Vaping THC: Police working to slow flood of illegal cartridges
Police say they are facing a challenge keeping up with crimes in the wake of the popularity of vaping THC. Oil or liquid containing THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana — is funneled into cartridges and used with an electronic cigarette-like device to smoke. It is both legal to...
Police: Woman accused of robbing Sheetz in Lower Burrell identified by relative who called store
A woman accused by Lower Burrell police of stealing a bottle of liquor from a convenience store and assaulting a clerk who tried to stop her from leaving has been ordered to stand trial. Investigators said they were able to track the woman down after her aunt called the business...
These doctors will lead convergence of eye care and rehab at UPMC Mercy Pavilion
A new medical facility at UPMC Mercy Pavilion in Pittsburgh’s Uptown section will marry for the first time the disciplines of ophthalmology and rehabilitation — and top doctors in those fields — when it opens this week. “To my knowledge, this is the first physical space that will be bringing...
Neighbor: Man in wrong-turn shooting disliked trespassersVideo
When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway last weekend, they couldn’t have known the property was owned by a man who, according to a neighbor, had grown increasingly bitter over the years at people driving onto his land by mistake. This...
PNC Park employees avoid strike, reach agreement with Pirates
The union representing ushers at PNC Park avoided a strike after reaching a tentative agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Sunday ushers, ticket takers and ticket sellers working at PNC Park voted to strike after rejecting a contract proposal from the Pirates. Workers were planning to picket outside the Pirates’...
Protest arises during transgender event at Pitt, police report ‘incendiary device’ outside buildingVideo
Protests raged into Tuesday night on the University of Pittsburgh campus during a debate with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles about transgender rights inside the O’Hara Student Center. The university closed buildings and reported a “public safety emergency” as a protest crowd grew and an “incendiary device” went off. Police...
Gov. Shapiro calls on tech, robotic companies to join Pittsburgh’s growing innovation industry
Pittsburgh has become a fast-growing hub for many technology and robotics companies, and leaders across the region and state are hoping that expands even more. At the opening night of the Aviation & Robotics Summit in Pittsburgh’s Strip District on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro heralded the growth of the...
Ballot mailings to Westmoreland voters await court action
Nearly 22,000 mail-in ballots are scheduled to be sent out to Westmoreland County voters this week, but a dispute over the candidacy of two Republican candidates for commissioner might put that delivery on hold. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an appeal filed Monday by the county’s...
Federal judge asked to halt probation holds in Allegheny County unless constitutional protections put in place
Tate Stanford, 23, was serving two years of probation after pleading guilty to reckless endangerment in March 2022. Six months later, he was arrested for carrying a gun without a license, possession of marijuana and receiving stolen property. Although bail was set on the new charges, Stanford was held in...
