Top Stories category, Page 1139
Voting ends, wait for results begins in New York City mayoral primaryVideo
NEW YORK — The votes are in. The polls are closed. But the top contenders may have a long, anxious wait ahead of them for accurate results in New York City’s mayoral primary, the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting. Several candidates in the race to succeed Mayor...
GOP voting law bill clears state House amid Wolf veto threat
HARRISBURG — A Republican rewrite of Pennsylvania election law that would mandate voter IDs, alter registration and ballot counting deadlines and give conservatives auditing procedures they have clamored for passed the state House on Tuesday despite the Democratic governor’s veto threat. The lengthy and complex bill, crafted after 10 committee...
Allegheny County president judge acknowledges systemic racism in the courts
President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark said in an open letter posted on the court’s website it is time for Allegheny County’s judicial system to recognize systemic racism and work to combat it. The longtime Allegheny County prosecutor turned family court judge posted the letter to the community last week with...
Houston hospital workers fired, resign over covid-19 vaccine
HOUSTON — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get a covid-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist Hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension...
House will form new committee to investigate Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic colleagues on Tuesday that she is creating a new committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, according to a person familiar with her remarks. Pelosi made the announcement at a private leadership meeting and did not give additional details....
GOP filibuster halts Democrats’ signature voting billVideo
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ sweeping attempt to rewrite U.S. election and voting law stalled Tuesday in the Senate, blocked by a wall of Republican opposition to what would have been the largest overhaul of the electoral system in a generation. The bill, known as the For the People Act, would...
Expert testifies on use of force at former Derry mayor’s trial
A police use-of-force expert testified Tuesday that he believed the former Derry Borough mayor acted appropriately when he used a gun to stop a fight among three children because he believed a knife was involved. Cliff Jobe Jr., a retired state trooper, said Kevin M. Gross, 40, made attempts to...
Republicans condemn election reform bill as an ‘extreme power grab’
U.S. Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block the Democrat-backed “For the People Act” — an election reform bill — Tuesday in Washington. Pennsylvania lawmakers voiced opinions on the legislation ahead of a test vote needed to begin debate on the bill in the Senate. “This would be the most...
U.S. gives more asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico another shot
SAN DIEGO — Thousands of asylum-seekers whose claims were dismissed or denied under a Trump administration policy that forced them to wait in Mexico for their court hearings will be allowed to return for another chance at humanitarian protection, the Homeland Security Department said Tuesday. Registration begins Wednesday for asylum-seekers...
National Weather Service confirms tornado hit near Cranberry
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado hit the Cranberry area during a round of strong storms Monday afternoon. The tornado struck near Mt. Pleasant Road and Dean Road in the Mars area of Allegheny County, National Weather Service Meteorologist Shannon Hefferan said Tuesday. The tornado brought 70 mph winds...
Friends, admirers remember Kara Leo, Mt. Lebanon baker killed by tree branch
The small Beverly Road storefront of Kara Kakes in Mt. Lebanon was dark on Tuesday morning. Normally it would have been open by 10 a.m. and illuminated more than anything else by Kara Leo’s constant smile. It’s the overwhelming memory people have of her. The woman who brought the bakery...
Scott man, out on bond after being accused of submitting fake PPP loans, charged with applying for another
A month after he was arrested on federal charges accusing him of submitting fake applications to obtain $3.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans during the covid-19 pandemic, a Scott Township man submitted a new loan application seeking a half-million dollars, investigators said. Randy Frasinelli, 65, now faces additional charges...
Background checks blocked a record high 300,000 gun sales
SALT LAKE CITY — The number of people stopped from buying guns through the U.S. background check system hit an all-time high of more than 300,000 last year amid a surge of firearm sales, according to new records obtained by the group Everytown for Gun Safety. The FBI numbers provided...
Biden pushes shots for young adults as variant concern grows
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is stepping up efforts to get younger Americans vaccinated for covid-19 as concerns grow about the spread of a new variant that threatens to set the country back in the months ahead. The push is underway as the Delta variant, first identified in India, has...
Butler man gets jail time for assaulting KDKA cameraman during Pittsburgh protestVideo
Jordan Erdos didn’t initiate the attack on a KDKA photographer during last year’s protests in Downtown Pittsburgh over the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. But the 21-year-old from Butler did get swept up in the mob mentality that led to it — pushing his way through the crowd...
As passengers return to air travel, bad behavior skyrockets
Air travel can be difficult in the best of times, with cramped planes, screaming babies, flight delays and short tempers. Throw in a pandemic, and the anxiety level can rise quickly. That has led to confrontations with flight attendants and other unruly behavior, including occasional fights that get captured and...
More Sunday hunting coming to Pa. if state lawmakers pass this new bill
Following the introduction of three Sunday hunting dates last year, Pennsylvanians may find more Sunday hunting opportunities available in the near future if a bill currently making its way through the state legislature is passed. Introduced by Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), Senate Bill 607 would remove the current restrictions on...
5 things to know about delta variant of coronavirus
Even as covid-19 vaccines become widely available and pandemic restrictions begin to relax, a new variant of the virus raises new worries. The delta variant, first identified in India, is classified as a “variant of concern,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the variant circulates in...
How a Pennsylvania lawmaker billed taxpayers $1.8 million in expenses
Over the next year, The Caucus and Spotlight PA will examine and make public specific areas of spending by the legislature as part of their ongoing efforts to follow the money and track taxpayer dollars. HARRISBURG — The legislature was on break. Policymaking in the Capitol had ground to a...
Harris touts administration’s plans to help families, organized labor
Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear Monday to a receptive audience on her first visit to Western Pennsylvania: there’s a new sheriff in town as she touted the expanded child tax credit and took her case for the Biden administration’s battle for an expansive infrastructure program and stronger labor...
Judge denies Bowers’ motion for government to produce evidence that it monitored his online activities prior to Tree of Life shooting
A federal judge on Monday denied a defense motion seeking evidence the government monitored Robert Bowers’ anti-Semitic activity online leading up to the 2018 Tree of Life shooting that killed 11 people. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose said the information Bowers is seeking is irrelevant. “The government...
Republican National Committee lambastes VP Harris for visiting Pittsburgh instead of border
The Republican National Committee on Monday reacted to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Pittsburgh visit regarding “Child Tax Credit Awareness Day” and President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan. “Border facilities are critically overcrowded, but President Biden and his border manager — Vice President Harris — refuse to visit the scene,” Keith Rothfus,...
Utilities working to restore power to thousands after Monday storms
Strong storms and a couple inches of rain dropped trees, caused sporadic flooding and led to tornado warnings being issued across parts of the region Monday evening. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for southeastern Allegheny County, western Westmoreland County and portions of Fayette and Washington counties...
3 killed in Denver-area shooting, including officer, suspectVideo
DENVER — A gunman is believed to have shot and killed an officer and another person in a shopping district in a Denver suburb Monday before being fatally shot by police, authorities said. An officer responded to a call at 1:15 p.m. about a suspicious incident near the library in...
In Senate vote, Biden sees ‘step forward’ for elections billVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday it views the Senate’s work on an elections bill overhaul and changes being offered by Sen. Joe Manchin as a “step forward,” even though the Democrats’ priority legislation is expected to be blocked by a Republican filibuster. White House press secretary Jen Psaki...
