Top Stories category, Page 818
Norwin library directors breathe sigh of relief at voter support
The Greensburg Hempfield Area Library took a $50,000 hit to its budget this year, when an upstairs tenant chose not to renew its lease. And, even though the Southwest Greensburg referendum on Tuesday’s election ballot only affects $15,000 in library funding, it is a hit director Jamie Falo is happy...
Braddock man faces charges in connection with deadly shooting in Highland Park
A Braddock man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the October death of a man in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood. Deashawn Watson, 20, faces charges for criminal homicide and unlawfully carrying a firearm. First responders found Omar McCord Jr., 18, unresponsive with gunshot wounds on Oct. 25 in the area...
Tropical Storm Nicole sends beachfront homes into the oceanVideo
WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — Tropical Storm Nicole sent Florida homes toppling into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday and threatened a row of high-rise condominiums in places where Hurricane Ian washed away the beach and destroyed seawalls only weeks ago. The storm, which caused at least two deaths, was the first November...
How will GOP’s performance in midterms impact Trump’s brand, influence within party?
Democrats had a strong showing in midterm elections across the country and particularly in Pennsylvania, defying many expectations. Many swing seats went in favor of Democrats, including in races for governor, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. Pennsylvania Democrats also expressed optimism Wednesday about possibly gaining control of the state...
1 person dead, 1 hurt in Upper Burrell crash
A 73-year-old man died Wednesday evening after a crash in Upper Burrell. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Joseph Demichele of Penn Township. The two-vehicle crash on Milligantown Road, between Stoney Hill Road and Rustic Lane, was reported just before 5:15 p.m. According to Upper Burrell...
Charges dismissed against West Mifflin teen in connection with Kennywood shooting
Charges against a teen accused of being involved in a shooting in Kennywood Park in September were dismissed at a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon. Darryl Pirl, 15, of West Mifflin, one of three people injured during the shooting, went before District Judge James Hanley on charges of possession of a...
Maryland man, wife, get long federal prison terms for selling nuclear warship data; case has Pittsburgh connection
A Maryland man and his wife will serve prison terms with a combined total of more than 41 years for conspiring to sell restricted data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships. Jonathan Toebbe, 44, of Annapolis, and his wife, Diana, 46, pleaded guilty in February to the conspiracy. Toebbe...
5 takeaways from the midterm election in Pennsylvania
While many people were sleeping overnight Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s political landscape changed in some significant — and historic — ways. Here are some of the key takeaways from this year’s crucial midterm election: Dems to hold both U.S. Senate seats Democrat John Fetterman declared victory in his U.S. Senate race against...
Westmoreland’s support of GOP candidates not enough for Pa. victories
Although many agree Westmoreland County is a key to victory for state Republican candidates, the margins of victory here this week weren’t enough to translate into statewide wins for GOP gubernatorial and senate hopefuls. “It’s our job to run up the score, and it didn’t happen enough last night,” said...
Man pleads guilty to possessing fentanyl in Duquesne
A Butler man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to possessing drugs, including fentanyl, last year in Duquesne. Gerry Lee Kendall, 41, pleaded guilty before Senior District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab on a charge of possessing 10 grams or more of a drug mixture containing fluorofentanyl and...
Pittsburgh officials look to clean up homeless encampment under 10th Street Bypass
Pittsburgh officials are hoping to relocate homeless people living in an encampment under the 10th Street Bypass and clean out the site. Outreach workers from the city, the county and various organizations have worked with the “small handful” of homeless people who actually live at the site to help them...
Pennsylvania Democrats kept suburbs, gained rural voters
HARRISBURG — After Joe Biden eked out victory in Pennsylvania in 2020, Democrats in hugely consequential races for governor and U.S. Senate scored blowout wins by comparison in Tuesday’s election. They ran up the score again in leftward-shifting suburbs and cut losses in rural and exurban stretches where former President...
Sheraden woman pleads guilty to killing girlfriend last year
As detectives investigated the Oct. 3, 2021, shooting death of Kia Reynolds, they learned from her family that she’d been trying to leave her girlfriend. They also discovered a Valentine’s Day card that Unique Lane gave to Reynolds. In it, Lane wrote, “’til bullets do us part.’” On Wednesday, Lane,...
Police: Taco Bell manager fatally shoots employee after fight at work, Harrison man dies
A Taco Bell manager fought with an employee at work before following him to a Scott Township business and fatally shooting him Wednesday afternoon, police said. Police responded to the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance office at Cochran and Greentree roads in Scott Township at 12:07 p.m. after receiving reports of...
Warnock, Walker advance to runoff for Senate seat in Georgia
ATLANTA — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will meet in a Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia after neither reached the general election majority required under state law. That sets up a four-week blitz that again will test whether voters are more concerned about inflation under Democratic...
Democrats buoyed by election returns in Pennsylvania House
HARRISBURG — U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, of Pennsylvania, won a bid for a third term, beating a Republican who runs a manufacturing business in a rematch from Wild’s narrow win two years ago. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, five-term U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat, won his reelection bid over conservative activist...
Fewer than 1% of mail-in, absentee ballots rejected in Westmoreland County
There were 318 mail-in and absentee ballots rejected in Westmoreland County because of deficiencies that rendered them invalid, election officials said. Another 95 ballots that included incorrect dates or were undated were subjected to a state court order that required them to be segregated and not initially counted, said Greg...
Amid midterm show of Democratic strength, warnings for Biden
WASHINGTON — Democrats defied gravity this week as voters set aside their concerns about President Joe Biden to deny Republicans the sweeping victory they expected, emboldening a Biden team whose political instincts have been routinely questioned or outright dismissed by opponents and even allies. It was a remarkable display of...
Media narrative of U.S. election: Bad news for Trump, GOP
NEW YORK — Americans awoke Wednesday to Election Day outcomes that remained nearly as murky as the night before: “House, Senate control still hangs in the balance,” a CNN caption blared. Yet if the results of midterm elections hadn’t solidified, the media narrative clearly had. Good night for Democrats. Bad...
Minor poll problems twisted into false U.S. election claims
Former President Donald Trump and some other Republicans are twisting minor voting problems in U.S. midterm elections into conspiracy theories and false claims to sow doubt about Democratic victories, continuing efforts since 2020 to undermine Americans’ confidence in voting. Election Day unfolded without major or widespread voting snags, yet some...
9 people injured after vehicle crashes into Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus in Oakland
Nine people suffered what officials described as non-life-threatening injuries late Wednesday morning when a Jeep crashed into a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, shattering its windshield. The crash happened around 11 a.m. at Allequippa Street and Sutherland Drive in Oakland near the University of Pittsburgh campus when a Jeep swerved around...
Hurricane Nicole forms; Florida awaits rare November stormVideo
MIAMI — A Florida-bound storm strengthened into Hurricane Nicole on Wednesday after pounding the Bahamas as U.S. officials ordered evacuations that included former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. It’s a rare November hurricane for storm-weary Florida, where only two such hurricanes have made landfall since recordkeeping began in 1853 —...
Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all
WASHINGTON — For weeks, Republicans predicted a “red wave” would carry them to power in Congress, as voters repudiated majority Democrats for failing to tame skyrocketing inflation and address worries about rising crime. The reality appeared far different early Wednesday. Rather than a wholesale rejection of President Joe Biden and...
Why AP called Pennsylvania Senate for John Fetterman
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was winning the outstanding in-person and absentee votes in Philadelphia and in a suburban county. That meant essentially that most of Dr. Mehmet Oz’s votes had been counted and allowed the Associated Press to call the race early Wednesday for Fetterman. Fetterman’s...
Why AP called Pennsylvania governor’s race for Josh Shapiro
WASHINGTON — Republican Doug Mastriano could not catch up to Democrat Josh Shapiro’s lead in the Pennsylvania governor’s race. The deeper into the night it got, the clearer it was that the GOP state senator couldn’t overtake Shapiro’s lead. That’s when The Associated Press called the contest early Wednesday for...
