Top Stories category, Page 850
NTSB wants all new vehicles to check drivers for alcohol use
DETROIT — The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the U.S. be required to have blood-alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving. The recommendation, if enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one...
Mt. Pleasant man charged after incident in Westmoreland County courtroom
A man accused of incidents involving two nurses at the Westmoreland County Prison was charged Monday after a woman was injured when he “thrusted himself” at his attorney in a courtroom, according to court papers. Joe Paul Biller, 37, of Mt. Pleasant, is facing a charge of simple assault. Westmoreland...
5 things to know about Oktoberfest this weekend
On the Sept. 16-18 opening weekend of Oktoberfest at Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh’s North Side, revelers drank 65 half-barrels of beer — or just over 1,000 gallons. If that sounds like a lot, consider this: At the granddaddy of Oktoberfests in Munich, Germany, about 6 million visitors will down about...
Pa. court hears argument on whether life without parole for 2nd-degree murder is cruel, unusual punishmentVideo
When Derek Lee illegally entered a home in Elliott in 2014, he had no intention of killing anyone. He and his co-defendant, Paul Durham, had gone to the house to rob its occupants. But while Lee was upstairs, Durham shot and killed a man in the basement. Both men were...
Bridgeville man pleads guilty for actions in Capitol riot
A Bridgeville man who livestreamed his actions during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. Kenneth Grayson, 53, pleaded guilty to this charge in a Washington D.C. court. According to court...
Fiona wallops Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico still stunned
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Fiona blasted the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm after devastating Puerto Rico, where most people remained without electricity or running water and rescuers used heavy equipment to lift survivors to safety. The storm’s eye passed close to Grand...
Explainer: Bused, flown migrants can live in U.S. — for now
Republican governors have been sending more migrants released at the U.S. border with Mexico to Democratic strongholds, raising questions about their legal status, how they are lured on board buses and planes and the cost to taxpayers. Florida’s Ron DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelans last week to the small, upscale...
Ad spending shows Dems hinging midterm hopes on abortion
WASHINGTON — Democrats are pumping an unprecedented amount of money into advertising related to abortion rights, underscoring how central the message is to the party in the final weeks before the November midterm elections. With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than...
2 people injured after falling from Mt. Washington balcony
Two people were injured early Tuesday after falling from a balcony in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington, city police said. Police were called to a business on Bailey Avenue just before 1:40 a.m. Tuesday for reports of the falls. Two people were found on the ground with head injuries. Medics took a...
Trial date set for Tree of Life accused shooter
A federal judge has set the trial date for the man accused of killing 11 people in 2018 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. The jury selection process will begin April 24, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville wrote in an order released Monday night. Robert Bowers...
Man dead after motorcycle crash in Carrick
A Sheraden man riding a motorcycle died Monday evening after a crash in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, police said. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the crash occurred along Saw Mill Run Boulevard/Route 51 shortly before 7:30 p.m. The man was found on the road unconscious and not breathing, Cruz said....
Texas sheriff investigating flights to Martha’s VineyardVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas sheriff on Monday opened an investigation into two flights of migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but did not say what laws may have been broken in putting 48 Venezuelans on private planes last week from San Antonio. Bexar County Sheriff...
Salman Rushdie attack victim Henry Reese speaks at opening day of Eradicate Hate Summit
Though Henry Reese never anticipated being relevant to the topic of hateful acts of violence that the yearly Eradicate Hate Global Summit was designed to help eliminate, he has in many ways become one of the faces of this year’s summit. Last month, Reese, co-founder of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, was...
Dr. Bennet Omalu testifies at West Mifflin concussion trial
A world-renowned neuropathologist recognized for linking chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, to the game of football testified Monday in Pittsburgh he’s certain that symptoms experienced by a West Mifflin man resulted from blows to the head while playing football. “All it takes is just one season,” Dr. Bennet Omalu told...
Airline experts encourage high school pathways to aviation industry
Airlines can talk about workforce opportunities with as many high school students as they want, but without adult support and collaboration, they won’t attract as many students to the industry. That’s according to Glenn Ponas, the director of high school outreach at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Ponas was...
Josh Shapiro rallies in Pittsburgh, vows to create more labor protections for Pa. workers if elected governor
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro said Monday during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh that he would work to create more labor protections for Pennsylvania workers if elected governor in November. Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, faces Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano in the general election. On Monday, Shapiro visited the...
Police: Jeannette man charged after 2 children found in dog cage
A Jeannette man was jailed over the weekend on accusations that two children were found inside an animal cage in his girlfriend’s Jeannette home while he was their babysitter. Brian M. Brabant, 26, was charged by Jeannette police on Saturday with two felony counts each of aggravated assault of a...
‘Out of control’ STD situation prompts call for changes
NEW YORK — Sharply rising cases of some sexually transmitted diseases — including a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year — are prompting U.S. health officials to call for new prevention and treatment efforts. “It is imperative that we … work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD)...
In letter released by Shapiro campaign, 60 veterans blast Doug Mastriano’s Confederate uniform photo as ‘shameful’
A group of nearly 60 veterans from Pennsylvania signed a letter deriding Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano for being photographed wearing a Confederate Army uniform, calling it “shameful” and saying it’s “an insult to those of us who served and those who continue to serve.” The letter, released by...
Pittsburgh man caught with gun at court facility
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested after being spotted with a gun Monday at the Juvenile Family Law Center, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus’ office said. Kinda El-Attrache, 34, is charged with possession of a firearm/weapon in a court facility and carrying a firearm without a license. Security guards...
A day after blackout, Fiona dumps more rain on Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Fiona unleashed more rain on Puerto Rico on Monday, a day after the storm knocked out power and water to most of the island, and National Guard troops rescued hundreds of people who got stranded. The governor warned that it could take days to...
‘Serial’ case: Adnan Syed released, conviction tossedVideo
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore judge on Monday ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee — a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial,” a true-crime series that transfixed listeners and revolutionized the genre. At...
Skill games company woos Pa. lawmakers with trips to wild Wyoming rodeo
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 — “It’s the sounds, the lights, the competition or the experience of a lifetime. Everyone comes for a different reason...
Prosecutors ask for ‘Pink Hat Lady’ charged in Capitol riots to be placed on electronic monitoring
Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to require a Mercer County woman charged in last year’s Capitol riots to wear electronic monitoring while under home confinement. In a motion filed Thursday, the U.S. attorney’s office said Rachel Powell — who became known as “the Pink Hat Lady” — has violated...
North Hills School District to vote on Indian nickname ‘compromise’ at next meeting
Compromise is the name of the game when it comes to North Hills School District and its Indian mascot. On Sept. 15, the school board presented a resolution that allows for the discontinuation of the current Indian logo, but the continuing use of the name “Indians’ as the identifier for...
