Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 957
Democratic, GOP Senate bargainers reach $10B covid agreement
WASHINGTON — Senate bargainers reached agreement Monday on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering covid-19 with treatments, vaccines and other steps, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said, but ended up dropping all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic. The compromise drew quick support from President Joe...
70 cats recovered from Hempfield home after owner calls for help
It will take thousands of dollars to get 70 cats and kittens that were rescued Sunday from a Hempfield hoarding situation into adoptable condition, said Jen Johnson, president of Ninth Life Rescue Center. She and volunteers from As They Come Animal Rescue are hoping for some community support to rehabilitate...
Suspect arrested in South Side Flats shooting
Pittsburgh police have arrested a man in connection with an April 2 shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left another man in critical condition. Julyan Richards, 25, who was not listed with an address in court records, has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. Shortly...
Men who played role in Pittsburgh garbage collector’s death plead in state court
Seven members of a local gang involved in violence in Pittsburgh’s Hilltop neighborhood that led to the 2014 shooting death of a beloved garbage collector have pleaded guilty in state court. All seven men were members of the Zhoove gang, based in Beltzhoover, which at the time was fighting with...
Westbound Turnpike exit in Cranberry to close Monday night into Tuesday morning
The westbound Cranberry exit ramp from the Pennsylvania Turnpike will close at 7 p.m. Monday night and reopen Tuesday morning as work crews remove a disabled tractor trailer from the ramp, turnpike officials announced Monday. The closure of the westbound Exit 28 ramp will be from 7 p.m. Monday night...
FBI: Sextortion of teenagers is growing problem
Teenagers, primarily boys, are being lured with the offer of money by “females” in return for sending sexually explicit photos and videos over social media, only to discover that they become victims in an elaborate extortion scheme seeking more money, according to the FBI in Pittsburgh. The FBI said Monday...
Hempfield man convicted in teen’s 2002 murder seeks early end to probation
A Hempfield man who as a teenager pleaded guilty to charges that he participated in the 2002 murder of a classmate’s older brother wants the 10-year probation term portion of his sentence, scheduled to begin this month, terminated to allow him to move to another state. Robert Laskowski, now 35,...
Ingram woman who got house arrest in child sex abuse case accused of violating probation
Trista Price pleaded guilty on March 24 to endangering the welfare of children for her role in her then-husband’s sexual and physical abuse of their two children 12 years ago. The plea agreement called for Price, 38, of Ingram, to serve seven years of probation with two years on house...
Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney back Ketanji Brown Jackson, all but assure confirmationVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden’s nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she’ll become the first Black female justice. The senators...
PNC Park getting enhancements in advance of Pirates’ season opener
Pirates fans will see something new at PNC Park for the home opener April 12 — starting at 4:12 p.m. to mirror the 4/12 date — against the Chicago Cubs. In what the team is calling “the continued evolution of PNC Park,” there will be new social gathering spaces in...
Former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joining Carnegie Mellon University
Former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is joining Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy as a Distinguished Executive in Residence, the university announced Monday. Peduto will serve as a guest lecturer, and co-teach a course, university officials said. “We are proud to welcome former Mayor Peduto...
As air travel picks up in Pittsburgh, TSA reminds travelers: ‘Know what’s in your bag’
As air travel picks up again, Transportation Security Administration officials at Pittsburgh International Airport are reminding travelers to double check their carry-on bags for some of the more innocuous items that can cause headaches at security checkpoints. Across the country, TSA officers are screening between 2 and 2.3 million passengers...
Lower oil prices reflected in falling gas prices, analysts say
The release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is causing oil prices to pull back and bringing down gasoline prices, according to AAA. The national average for a gallon of gas is now $4.19, down 6 cents from last week, AAA reported. That’s still 35 cents higher than a...
DA’s office to seek death penalty in slaying of McKeesport woman and unborn child
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s filed notice Friday that it will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a woman and their unborn child in September in McKeesport. Isaac Christopher Smith, 26, is accused of killing Karli Short, 26, on Sept. 13 in an alley behind the...
From the archive: Ex-Tarentum resident Estelle Harris enjoys role in ‘Seinfeld’
In memory of actress Estelle Harris, who died this weekend at age 93, TribLIVE is reposting a story from 1994 where she spoke about her work on “Seinfeld” and her acting career. Story by Rex Rutkoski. Published on Feb. 17, 1994. She’s been associated with some of the best-known people...
Police deploy ‘stop sticks’ to end 8-mile pursuit in Westmoreland County
A 38-year-old Herminie man was jailed on multiple charges including DUI and fleeing police following an 8-mile chase that ended when he lost control of his van and drove off the highway in the Hempfield village of Darragh, according to court documents. Christopher D. Troutman was taken into custody near...
Biden: Putin should face war crimes trial for Bucha killingsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial against Russia President Vladimir Putin and said he’d seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine. “You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said. He added that Putin “is a war criminal.” Biden’s comments to reporters came...
Handyman who killed Whitehall woman missing for nearly a year gets 17 to 40 years
Since her death nearly three years ago, what would have been Elizabeth Wiesenfeld’s first grandson was born and her first granddaughter is set to arrive soon. But Betsy, as she was known to her family, never had the chance to meet them. Instead, she was killed and taken from her...
Police: Jeannette man without valid driver’s license crashes stolen Cadillac in Hempfield
A Jeannette man who does not have a valid driver’s license crashed a stolen car Sunday evening on Route 30 in Hempfield, according to state police. The crash snarled eastbound traffic in the area of Westwood Drive near the Alpine Pools store around 6:20 p.m. after troopers said Thomas Anthony...
Special elections to determine Harrisburg replacements for Mayor Ed Gainey, Jake Wheatley
Two special election races Tuesday will determine who replaces new Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and his chief of staff, Jake Wheatley, in the state legislature. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the 19th and 24th legislative districts. Absentee and mail-in ballots must be returned by...
Suddenly, Tesla’s Elon Musk is Twitter’s biggest stakeholder
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a 9% stake in Twitter to become its largest shareholder after raising questions about the social media platform’s dedication to free speech. The ultimate aim of Musk’s 73.5 million share purchase worth $3 billion based on the closing price Friday, is not clear. Yet...
Russia faces global outrage over bodies in Ukraine’s streets
BUCHA, Ukraine — Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets, buildings and yards strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, many of them evidently killed at close range. The grisly images of battered or...
Lamb, Kenyatta face off — minus Fetterman — in debate of Democratic Senate hopefuls
Democratic Senate candidates from both ends of Pennsylvania accused the front-runner, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, of flip-flopping on energy issues in the first televised debate in one of the nation’s most-watched campaigns of the year. Fetterman, who is far ahead in the polls, didn’t participate in the debate. Representative Conor...
California police search for shooters who killed 6, hurt 12
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The usual crowds filled the streets as bars and nightclubs were closing in California’s capital city of Sacramento when the sound of rapid-fire gunshots sent people running in terror. In a matter of seconds, the latest U.S. mass shooting had left six people dead and 12 wounded....
Steel made without coal heating up in Sweden
LULEA, Sweden — For hundreds of years, raging blast furnaces — fed with coking coal — have forged steel used in cars, railways, bridges and skyscrapers. But the puffs of coal-fired smoke are a big source of carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas that’s driving climate change. According to the World...
