Top Stories category, Page 1078
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...
‘It was scary,’ Hempfield woman says of rollover crash
A Hempfield woman does not remember much about a crash Wednesday after being pulled from her overturned SUV by two passing good Samaritans assisted by a state trooper, but she’s glad they stopped to help. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember much about it. I’m still sore, but OK,” said Joan...
Overly’s Country Christmas is a year-round venture for the holidays in Westmoreland County
Workers have been scrambling this week to string lights for the displays spread across the Westmoreland Fairgrounds near Norvelt, unpack countless late-arriving boxes of holiday gifts and shelve them at Overly’s General Store in preparation for Thursday’s opening of Overly’s Country Christmas. Visitors to the annual show will see many...
Pittsburgh police warn of catalytic converter thefts in multiple areas
Pittsburgh police are warning the public about a recent string of catalytic converter thefts from vehicles. Police said four catalytic converters have been taken from vehicles over the past three weeks in the Friendship, Bloomfield and Garfield neighborhoods. Other similar thefts or attempted thefts have been reported throughout the city...
1 killed, 3 hurt in head-on crash on I-79 in Butler County
One person was killed and three others were injured Wednesday in a head-on crash on Interstate 79 in Butler County, state police said. The crash happened shortly before 5 p.m. on the highway in Muddy Creek Township. State police said James E. Dapper, 58, of Zelienople, was driving a pickup...
Editorial: Is Penguins sale good or bad for Pittsburgh?
Buying a sports franchise can be a little like flipping a house. Someone comes in with enough cash to do things that maybe haven’t been done in a while. Upgrade this. Rehab that. See if you can turn a profit. The difference is no one really sees a multimillion dollar...
U.S. overdose deaths topped 100,000 in 1 year, officials say
An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the covid-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new...
3 indicted in ‘grandparent scheme’ targeting Pa. seniors by posing as fake attorneys, bail bondsmen
A federal grand jury has indicted three out-of-state residents for targeting elderly Western Pennsylvanians in a so-called “grandparent scheme” that involved posing as attorneys and bail bondsmen to bilk their victims out of at least $250,000. Roderick Feurtado, 54, and Tarek Bouanane, 45, both of Las Vegas, and Roberto Gutierrez,...
Sheraden man charged with September shooting that injured toddler
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested in connection with September shooting that injured a toddler in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood. Derrick Brandon faces charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child after police say he was involved in a Sept. 26, 2021, shooting on Glasgow Street that...
Pittsburgh advances proposal to purchase North Side site for new public works facility
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced a measure to move a Department of Public Works facility out of Riverview Park to a new site on the North Side, despite concerns that the proposed site is involved in ongoing litigation regarding a billboard. The proposal calls for moving the Department of...
