Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 894
Unity man seeks dismissal of charges in Latrobe woman’s fatal overdose
The lawyer for a Unity man charged with selling drugs to a Latrobe woman who died from an overdose in 2019 asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. Defense attorney Tim Miller said prosecutors do not have enough evidence to support the charge of...
Remember When: Tunnel under Allegheny River once carried coal from Plum to Springdale
When one thinks of tunnels in this region, it’s usually something seen by the general public. Think the Fort Pitt Tunnel, the Squirrel Hill Tunnel or even the quaint railroad tunnel along Russellton Road in Indiana Township, where you have to toot your horn before continuing through. But there once...
PIAA moves closer to allowing NIL deals for high school athletes
Local TV commercials might feature high school football players or a popular basketball star could sell ads on social media. Those ideas are now closer to reality for Pennsylvania high school athletes once they’re allowed to profit from selling their name, image and likeness under a tentative policy the PIAA...
Rankin man identified as June 29 shooting victim
The identity of the Rankin man who died after being shot multiple times in Rankin on June 29, was released Tuesday by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The victim, William Earl Dykes, 33, died at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh about an hour after he was shot at 7:40...
Police: Investigation underway into death of goat working in Aspinwall park
Aspinwall police took to Facebook hoping people would come forward about what happened a goat that was part of a herd clearing brush and noxious plants at Firemen’s Memorial Park and died. Six goats from Capricious Goats, run by McCandless couple Monica and Timothy Shields, began work to clear the...
Video shows police milling in hallway during Uvalde massacre
AUSTIN, Texas — Surveillance footage captured the gunman in the Uvalde school shooting enter the building with a AR-15 style rifle and later shows officers in body armor milling in the hallway outside the fourth-grade classrooms where 19 children and two teachers were killed. The video published Tuesday by the...
Western Pa. U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung nominated to 3rd Circuit bench
President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Cindy K. Chung to become a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Chung, 46, has served as the U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania since 2021. She would become the first Asian American to sit on the Third Circuit court...
New covid subvariants highly contagious, immune evasive, experts say
A rapidly spreading covid variant is highly contagious and can cause breakthrough infections, but it’s not more severe or dangerous than prior strains, local experts say. The omicron subvariant — known as BA.5 — has “really taken off, nationally and locally,” said Dr. Lee Harrison, professor of infectious disease and...
Twitter sues to force Elon Musk to complete his $44B acquisition
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday, trying to force him to complete his $44 billion takeover of the social media company by accusing him of “outlandish” and “bad faith” actions that have caused the platform irreparable harm and “wreaked havoc” on its stock price. Back...
Brothers plead guilty to 2019 fatal shooting in Penn Hills home invasion
Two brothers accused of killing a Penn Hills man during a home invasion in late 2019 pleaded guilty this week to criminal homicide and other charges. Laron Cornell Howard, 22, and Laquon Khylil Perkins, 21, both of Swissvale, each were charged with criminal homicide, robbery, burglary and conspiracy in connection...
Former Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields looks to run for seat again
Former Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields on Tuesday announced he will be running again for his former seat. Corey O’Connor stepped down from City Council on Sunday to take on a new role as Allegheny County Controller. He is replacing Chelsea Wagner, who was elected as an Allegheny County Common...
Acrisure CEO thinks ‘alignment’ with Steelers in naming rights deal is perfect fit for growing company
Greg Williams realizes the company he founded in 2005 might be unfamiliar to Pittsburgh residents in general and Steelers fans in particular. Until Monday, when Acrisure was named as the new naming rights recipient of the former Heinz Field, the company likely had little brand recognition outside its home base...
New state law punishes caregivers who sexually assault care-dependent people
People accused of sexually assaulting the elderly or others for whom they provide care will face the same charges as those who commit the crime against students, inmates and children in institutional settings. A measure signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday was sponsored by state Rep. Carrie...
Here’s what you need to know about Pa.’s new child care tax credit
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf has approved a new, permanent child care tax credit that will allow families to claim thousands...
Poll: Many young, educated Republicans ready to move on from Trump
A day after a New York Times poll indicated that a majority of Democrats do not want President Joe Biden as their 2024 candidate, a second poll shows that most young Republicans do not want Donald Trump to win their party’s nomination. The New York Times/Siena College poll showed that...
Panel says more accountability would make policing safer for communities, officers
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. Missed Spotlight PA’s event about the limitations of Pennsylvania’s police hiring database? Here are five of the most interesting takeaways from...
Cheney: Trump attempted to contact Jan. 6 witnessVideo
WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6 committee revealed Tuesday that Donald Trump has attempted to contact a witness who was in discussions with the panel about its investigation of the former president and the 2021 attack on the Capitol. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said that person declined to answer or respond...
Pittsburgh City Council special election to be held in November
A special election to fill a vacancy on Pittsburgh City Council will take place on Nov. 8, the same day as the general election. The election will determine who will replace Corey O’Connor, who stepped down to become Allegheny County Controller. O’Connor — the son of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bob...
Kiski Township supervisors to vote on hiring 2 police officers
The Kiski Township supervisors will vote on hiring two police officers during their meeting Wednesday. Four of the township’s six officers and the police secretary quit last week over claims of harassment and intimidation, former Sgt. Thomas Dessell said. The township supervisors hired a new police chief, Lee Bartolicius, last...
Man hospitalized in Pittsburgh after shooting
A man was hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday night as a result of a being shot in the thigh, Pittsburgh police said. Police in the city’s East End neighborhood said they were notified that the man had been driven to the hospital by a private vehicle at 8:30 p.m. Police...
Pentagon: U.S. kills IS group leader in Syria in drone strike
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Tuesday that it killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Syria in a drone strike. U.S. Central Command said in a news release that Maher al-Agal was killed Tuesday and an unidentified senior official in the Islamic State group was seriously injured. The...
Wolf says he’ll protect abortion seekers
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf is following in the footsteps of other Democratic governors following the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling and looking to protect patients who travel to Pennsylvania for the procedure from being prosecuted by their home states. Wolf on Tuesday said in a statement that he would...
Judge orders forfeiture of 17 guns possessed by Unity man, suspect in disappearance
Seventeen guns belonging to a Unity man suspected in the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross were ordered to be forfeited in an unrelated federal weapons case. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak on Monday granted a preliminary forfeiture order in the case against Thomas G. Stanko, 51. The order...
Pittsburgh man acquitted in death of college friend during 2021 Hawaii vacation
A jury in Hawaii acquitted a Pittsburgh man last week for the death of his friend during a vacation on the Big Island last year. Benjamin Fleming, 39, a Carnegie Mellon graduate, was found not guilty of manslaughter. Fleming and friends Abhishik Gupta of Pittsburgh and Alexander Germany-Wald of Boston,...
Jan. 6 committee to connect Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and QAnon to Trump alliesVideo
WASHINGTON — The committee investigating the Capitol insurrection will focus for the first time this week on the relationship between people in former President Donald Trump’s orbit and the extremist groups that planned and orchestrated the violence on Jan. 6, 2021. The hearing could be one of the most consequential...
