Top Stories category, Page 1043
Biden undergoes routine colonoscopy, Harris briefly in power
BETHESDA, Md. — President Joe Biden briefly transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday while he underwent a routine colonoscopy, setting up a history-making moment as Harris became the first woman to hold that authority during the short time she stepped in as acting president. Biden transferred power...
Democrats’ sweeping social, climate bill passes divided House
Democrats brushed aside months-long divisions and pushed their expansive social and environment bill through a sharply divided House on Friday, as President Joe Biden and his party moved closer to capitalizing on their control of government by funneling its resources toward their top domestic priorities. The House approved the legislation...
Threat prompts Woodland Hills to take high school classes virtual
Woodland Hills High School students participated in classes virtually Friday because of a threat made against the school, according to a message from its principal. In a Facebook post Friday morning, Principal Shelly Manns said that officials on Thursday night received a screenshot of an individual who had made a...
U.S. opens covid boosters to all adults, urges them for 50+
WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Friday opened covid-19 booster shots to all adults and took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek one, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays. Until now, Americans...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Nov. 19-21
Rockin’ out The Lamp Theatre in Irwin will be rocking hard this weekend with two classic rock tribute shows. Broken Arrow: A Tribute to Neil Young kicks it off at 8 p.m. Friday, playing the rock legend’s softer country rock material and the hard-edge Crazy Horse-era electric tunes — offering...
Missing Allegheny Township police ammo recovered — minus 13 bullets
All but 13 of the 1,000 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition that went missing instead of being delivered to the Allegheny Township Police Department last week have been recovered. Police Chief Duane Fisher became suspicious of the Nov. 8 delivery by United Parcel Service when he saw the driver carrying the...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Nov. 19-21
It’s Light Up Night weekend. There certainly will be plenty of holiday events happening in and around Pittsburgh. Enjoy. Light Up Night The 60th anniversary of Light Up Night is Saturday (yes, it moved from its traditional Friday night). Highlights of the Downtown event, which begins at 4 p.m., include...
State parks, including Keystone, switching to paper products over plastic at concession stands
Food providers at state parks across Pennsylvania are switching to compostable, paper, wooden or plant fiber alternatives for packaging and consumption, according to Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officials. It’s part of an effort to reduce the amount of waste and plastics that are associated with concessions. New contracts...
Police: Man died after stabbing in McKeesport
A 19-year-old man died after he was stabbed Friday afternoon in McKeesport, officials said. Officials responded to the 500 block of Sinclair Street around 3:20 p.m. where they found the man stabbed in the chest, Allegheny County Police said. The man, identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office as...
Police investigating apparent murder-suicide in Washington County
A crew from the Washington County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene of an apparent murder-suicide Thursday afternoon, officials said. Crews responded to a home in Canton Township for reports of the incident that took place between 1 p.m. Wednesday and noon Thursday, according to a release from the...
Several dozen UPMC workers demand right to unionize in 1-day walkout against health giant
Medical scrubs emblazoned with pro-worker slogans blew in the chilly wind Thursday afternoon against the backdrop of Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower, home to the corporate offices of nonprofit health giant UPMC. Clipped to makeshift clotheslines tied to trees along Grant Street, the hospital uniform tops displayed hand-written messages such...
House moves toward OK of Democrats’ sweeping social, climate billVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats brushed aside months-long divisions and approached House passage of their expansive social and environment bill Friday, as President Joe Biden and his party neared a defining win in their drive to use their control of government to funnel its resources toward their domestic priorities. Final passage, which...
Jury deliberating fate of Churchill man accused of killing intruder at home in Arnold to return Friday morning
A Westmoreland County jury will return Friday morning to continue deliberations in the criminal homicide trial of a Churchill man accused in the killing last year of an intruder at an Arnold home. Devon Askew, 28, contends he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 34-year-old Richard Hildreth on...
WPIAL football playoff preview: A closer look at all 13 of this weekend’s games
Welcome to championship weekend in Class 6A and the final stop on the Highway to Heinz in the other five classifications. Ten teams on Friday, from Class A to 5A, will punch their ticket to ride to the North Shore on Thanksgiving weekend to play for a WPIAL championship. Speaking...
Coronavirus surge worsens in Midwest as states expand boostersVideo
A surge in cases in the Upper Midwest has some Michigan schools keeping students at home ahead of Thanksgiving and the military sending medical teams to Minnesota to relieve hospital staffs overwhelmed by covid-19 patients. The worsening outlook in the Midwest comes as booster shots are being made available to...
Lawsuit contends Peduto interfered with vote to remove Columbus statue in Pittsburgh
The organization suing Pittsburgh over the removal of the Columbus statue at Schenley Park has said in an amended lawsuit that Mayor Bill Peduto improperly influenced the art commission’s vote to take down the 13-foot tall bronze and granite statue. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America said in the...
2 Iranians charged with threatening U.S. voters in 2020Video
WASHINGTON — Two suspected Iranian computer hackers have been charged in a broad campaign of election interference aimed at intimidating American voters during last year’s presidential race and undermining confidence that the results of the contest could be trusted. The activities, prosecutors say, exploited not only computer vulnerabilities but also...
Oklahoma governor grants clemency, spares Julius Jones’ lifeVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s governor spared the life of Julius Jones on Thursday, just hours before his scheduled execution that had drawn widespread outcry and protests over doubts about his guilt in the slaying of a businessman more than 20 years ago. Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted the 41-year-old Jones’ death...
4 students at Pittsburgh’s Brashear High School assaulted police officer, officials say
Four male students at Brashear High School in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood were detained Thursday after authorities said they assaulted a school police officer. The incident happened while the officer was trying to break up a fight, said Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. Medics were called to the school to...
Fox Chapel grad, killed in Vermont accident, described as selfless and kind
A Fox Chapel man was killed Tuesday in Vermont after being hit by an Amtrak train as he attempted to cross railroad tracks in the SUV he was driving. Thomas Fennell, who had been attending Vermont Law School, was 23. Police in Royalton, about 150 miles northwest of Boston, said...
Who investigates police killings in Pa., and why there are few checks and balances
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. In Pennsylvania, elected district attorneys determine whether or not to charge officers who kill or use force against civilians. There is...
Beloved Westmoreland Mall Santa makes special visit; mall Santa arrives Friday
It’s only November, but for many in Westmoreland County, Santa Claus already came to town. For three days last week, thousands of children and parents waited outside the Christmas Town store at Westmoreland Mall for their chance to meet the man many have deemed the real Kris Kringle. “This Santa...
Fire hits Lower Burrell home owned by woman who lost father in blaze 30 years ago
Angela Veri was on her way to work after dropping off her daughter at school Thursday when a neighbor called to tell her she saw smoke coming from her home on Fairview Drive in Lower Burrell. She knew, because nobody was at home, her family was safe as firefighters from...
Proposal would make it illegal for Pittsburgh employers to discriminate against domestic abuse victims
Employers in Pittsburgh would not be able to discriminate against employees because they have been victims of domestic abuse, under a proposal introduced to City Council this week. The measure, introduced by Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, would protect victims of domestic violence from employment and workplace discrimination. Some victims of domestic...
Top 2 Pennsylvania school pension system execs out of jobs
The top two executives at Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system will leave their jobs, under resolutions approved by the system’s board Thursday, amid two federal investigations and calls by board members for their resignations over lackluster investment returns. Under the resolutions, executive director Glen Grell and chief investment officer Jim...
