Regional category, Page 64
Daycation: Visit the celebrated home of Punxsutawney PhilVideo
It’s not necessary to wait until February to take a rural rodent-themed road trip to Punxsutawney in Jefferson County to see the world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. Avoid the wave of Groundhog Day’s 35,000-plus tourists that descend upon Punxsutawney every Feb. 2 with an off-season visit to the small-town...
Harris’ vice presidential pick could be key to winning battleground state — and maybe White House
Whoever Vice President Kamala Harris selects to be her running mate might not have a major impact on voters across the country, but he or she could prove pivotal in their home state, political experts said. In the case of candidates in swing states such as Pennsylvania or Arizona, Harris’...
ShotSpotter comes under fire as Pittsburgh expands gunshot detection system
Over the past decade, Pittsburgh has sunk nearly $10 million into ShotSpotter, the most widely used gunshot-detection system in America. The controversial crime-fighting technology uses sound to quickly pinpoint gunfire, allowing police to be rapidly deployed to crime scenes. Its makers claim it can help reduce gun violence and save...
EMS treated 250 at Butler Trump rally, including shooting victims
Less than a half-hour after getting set up at the Butler Farm Show grounds for former President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally, the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company received its first call for a heat-related issue. About 250 people were overcome by the heat, but whoever was counting might have...
Fogel family lawyer: ‘wrongfully detained’ status could have led to freedom
Marc Fogel’s loved ones started hearing rumblings on Tuesday through Russian media sources that a prisoner exchange was underway with the United States. All day Wednesday, they made a push with their congressional delegation to see if the 62-year-old Oakmont teacher, who had been held in Russia for nearly three...
‘I’m asking you as president’: Marc Fogel’s mother appeals to Biden to bring her son home
A hint of despair has turned into a wave of determination. Malphine Fogel is on a crusade to get her son home. And arguably for the first time since Marc Fogel was detained in Russia three years ago, the federal government is taking notice, at least publicly. Malphine Fogel, at...
Ohio expected to launch recreational marijuana sales next week
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Recreational marijuana sales in Ohio are likely to start next week. The state intends to issue operation certificates Tuesday that will allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling nonmedical pot products, the Division of Cannabis Control said Friday. Several dispensaries have said they will be ready...
New blood testing advancements can assist with Alzheimer’s, cancer detections
Advances in blood tests aimed at screening for ailments like Alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer can mean faster diagnosis and treatment for patients, said two Allegheny Health Network doctors. Problems can be found earlier in a way that’s easier on the patient than more invasive cancer screenings, such as a...
Feds indict 19 in ‘large-scale’ drug ring linking Western Pa., Detroit
Authorities have busted a “large-scale” drug-trafficking network that had been using “trap houses” to shuttle fentanyl and other street drugs between Detroit and Western Pennsylvania since last summer, federal prosecutors announced this week. An indictment unsealed Thursday in Pittsburgh charged 19 suspects — 10 of them from New Castle —...
Morning Roundup: Route 51 detours begin as crews raze Pittsburgh bridge
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Aug. 2: Route 51 detours begin Demolition work started late Thursday on a poorly rated bridge in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood. Part of Route 51, also known as Saw Mill Run Boulevard, closed as crews began work to...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Aug. 2
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
Man, woman perish in Fayette County house fire; pet dog recovering
A man and woman perished in an early morning house fire Thursday in Fayette County. Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker identified the victims as David Brooks Sr., 72, and Lori Cossell, 53, both of Dunbar Township. The couple were married, according to Tpr. Kalee Barnhart, state police public information...
Pa. appeals court hears arguments about misdated mail-in ballots
A government attorney told an appellate court Thursday that no county elections board in Pennsylvania uses the handwritten date on the outer envelope of mail-in ballots for any purpose. Why then, he asked, should a mistake in the date disallow a person’s vote? “A rule that serves no purpose should...
Goldinger: Agency left ‘on their own’ without communication during Trump rally
The Butler County Emergency Services Unit pointed out potential vulnerabilities — including the rooftop where a gunman fired shots from during the July 13 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump — to the U.S. Secret Service after touring the Butler Farm Show grounds on its own the Wednesday before...
‘A failure on multiple levels’: Records reveal security lapses at Trump rally
Five days before Donald Trump took the stage at the Butler Farm Show grounds for a rally, the Secret Service was busy rolling out its strategy to protect the nation’s 45th president. The advance planning was hardly unusual as part of the agency’s mission to guard the nation’s current and...
Penn State fraternity brothers plead guilty in student’s 2017 hazing death
Two former Penn State University students and fraternity leaders pleaded guilty to their roles in the 2017 hazing death of Timothy Piazza, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday. Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, pleaded guilty this week to 14 counts of hazing and one count of reckless...
Harris campaign said she would not ban fracking, reversing past pledge
Vice President Kamala Harris will not seek a ban on natural gas drilling, or fracking, if elected, according to a statement from her campaign. “She would not ban fracking,” the Harris campaign said in a statement to TribLive. The statement comes as a reversal of Harris’ past comments on fracking....
Officials say they’ve not been contacted by Trump campaign about 2nd Butler rally
Butler-area officials said they have not heard from the Donald Trump campaign about an announced second rally in Butler County. The first Trump rally in Pennsylvania since the assassination attempt will see the former president in Harrisburg in Dauphin County on Wednesday. The rally will feature U.S. Senate candidate Dave...
FBI: Trump shooter shopped on gun websites using aliases, encrypted email
The 20-year-old Bethel Park man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Butler County political rally used foreign-based encrypted email accounts and aliases to make more than 25 purchases on firearms websites and buy six chemical precursors online since spring 2023, the FBI said Monday. Authorities said...
How the nation’s 1st president was nearly shot in Butler County long before Trump was wounded
Following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, some Butler County residents were asking why it had to happen here. Butler County has strongly favored Trump and his candidacy: he won 66% of the vote in Butler County in 2016 and 2020. Trump isn’t the first person to hold...
Morning Roundup: Driver injured in Whitehall crash
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, July 29: Driver injured in Whitehall crash A driver was injured in a two-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Route 51 in Pittsburgh’s South Hills neighborhood. First responders, including six firefighters, were dispatched to the scene at 4:04 p.m.,...
Beaver County SWAT details communication breakdown during attempted assassination of Trump
A Beaver County SWAT sniper said his team had no contact July 13 with former President Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail before he spotted would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks scoping out a building with a range finder near the Butler County fairgrounds where the 20-year-old Bethel Park man later fired...
U.S. Steel marketing blitz puts pressure on government to OK sale to Nippon Steel
U.S. Steel is banking on public pressure to push through a $14.9 billion acquisition by Nippon Steel as lawmakers and regulators balk at putting the domestic icon in foreign hands. An advertising campaign launched this year touts promises by Japan’s largest steelmaker to preserve jobs, upgrade plants and sustain American...
Coroner identifies victim of 2-vehicle crash on Canonsburg’s First Street
The Washington County Coroner’s Office identified the driver killed Sunday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash in Canonsburg as Joyce Gray, 58, of Washington, Pa. Coroner Tim Warco said first responders transported Gray to Canonsburg Hospital after the crash at 1:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of First Street, near the...
High school reunions going strong despite presence of social media
Debbie Gathagan, 67, said planning a class reunion is a lot like planning a wedding. Gathagan’s last name was Tedesco when she graduated from Penn Hills in 1974. She stayed in the area until she moved to Plum about two years ago. After 20 years without seeing most of her...
