Top Stories category, Page 117
U.S. employers added 73,000 jobs last month as labor market weakens in face of Trump trade wars
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month and Labor Department revisions showed that hiring was much weaker than previously reported in May and June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The unexpectedly weak report raises questions about the health of the job market and the economy...
‘Frightening’: Pittsburgh police staffing sinks to 20-year low
Pittsburgh police ranks have plummeted to a 20-year low even as the city confronts weekend chaos on the South Side, persistent concerns about Downtown crime, and the need to keep crowds safe during the 2026 NFL Draft. The police bureau employs 755 sworn officers — its fewest since 2005. City...
Jeannette man on motorized bicycle killed in late-night crash
Debris from a wrecked car helped state police home in on a potential suspect in a Thursday night hit-and-run that killed a Jeannette man who was riding an e-bike. State Trooper Steve Limani said although troopers didn’t immediately have witnesses to the crash, they did find vehicle parts at the...
South Side’s Club Cafe returns and hits all the right notes
When the doors to South Side music venue Club Cafe opened to the public for the first time in seven months — promptly at 7 p.m. — on Thursday night, the line of those waiting stretched to the corner of the block. That’s not too surprising, since the reopening night...
Ex state prison in Hempfield being reduced to rubble
The former SCI Greensburg state prison property has caught the eye of potential developers. As a result, Westmoreland County and Hempfield officials don’t think they’ll have much difficulty getting the 94-acre property off their hands once demolition is done. “It’s well-positioned property, it’s a big site,” said Jason Rigone, director...
Fatal Plum house explosion spurs lawsuits by insurers for Rustic Ridge homeowners
Lawsuits were filed Thursday on behalf of insurance companies representing three dozen homeowners in Plum whose properties were affected by the fatal 2023 house explosion in the Rustic Ridge development. The two complaints, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, name as defendants Penneco Oil Co.; Peoples Natural Gas; A.O....
Heavy rain pummels East Coast and sparks isolated flash floodingVideo
Strong rain storms lashed the East Coast on Thursday, delaying flights throughout the region and prompting emergency rescues of motorists trapped in deep water on busy highways from the Philadelphia area to New York City. In New York, flash flooding briefly closed sections of major roadways across the city just...
Deputy director hired for Westmoreland election bureau
For the first time in five years, Westmoreland County has a deputy director of the election bureau. The county commissioners on Thursday announced the hiring of Hannah Lindley, 31, of Bentleyville, Washington County, to serve as second in command of the office that oversees elections in Westmoreland County. Lindley served...
Search for answers after Texas’ deadly floods brings lawmakers to devastated Hill Country
KERRVILLE, Texas — A rural Texas county needed but lacked an updated warning system, local officials testified Thursday, when flash flooding swept away homes and vehicles and left families begging for rescue on the roofs of their homes earlier this month. Texas lawmakers searched for answers during a hearing on...
Rabbi enlisted to assess faith of Westmoreland jail inmate
A Pittsburgh rabbi was brought in to assess claims that a county jail inmate’s religious convictions qualify him to receive kosher meals while incarcerated, the Westmoreland County commissioners said. The lawyer for Kort Noel Eckman, who is awaiting trial in the attempted murder of his mother, said jail officials have...
Pirates trade 2-time All-Star closer David Bednar to Yankees for trio of prospects
The Renegade is heading to the Bronx. The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt two-time All-Star closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon in a trade-deadline deal for 24-year-old minor league catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores and two Low-A prospects. Bednar was one of the most coveted closers on the...
Pittsburgh controller pushes City Council to make private meetings more transparent
Pittsburgh’s fiscal watchdog on Thursday recommended that City Council make more transparent — but not eliminate — controversial private meetings its members occasionally hold to discuss public business. The suggestion came in a performance audit released by Controller Rachael Heisler, which also recommended that council develop better policies to track...
Derry Township man charged in 2007 slaying accused of having drugs at prison
A Derry Township man awaiting trial in a 2007 homicide was arraigned Thursday on new police accusations that he had drugs at the Westmoreland County Prison. Charles Earl Ream, 55, was charged by county detectives this week with possession of contraband and conspiracy. Authorities said in court papers that June...
Trump injects new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan...
Campaign cash already flowing in Pa. ahead of pivotal 2026 midterms
Republican incumbents in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation outraised their Democratic counterparts by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, on average, during the first half of the year, according to federal election filings. Chris Borick, a political science professor at Allentown’s Muhlenberg College, said the fundraising gap is less of a reflection of any...
Is a grocery store on tap for downtown New Kensington?
The new owner of Central City Plaza in downtown New Kensington hopes to fill vacant space there by the end of this year and to get a grocery store operational next year. “We’re pretty confident we can better manage the property, and we saw a lot of potential in the...
Indiana Township’s Emmerling Park to double in size with recent property purchase
Emmerling Park in Indiana Township is growing about twice its size after a recent property purchase. Supervisors recently authorized the purchase of nearly 60 acres of undeveloped commercially zoned land to effectively double the parkland off Cove Run Road. The new land encompasses Deer Creek near the pedestrian bridge on...
O’Hara resident joins charity swim in Monongahela River
Lizabeth “Libby” Ernharth of O’Hara is a lifelong swimmer about to experience a swimming first — she’s going to swim in the Monongahela River. Ernharth, 53, is set to participate in a non-competitive five-mile Mon River Mission charity swim on Aug. 2. Ernharth has plenty of memories spending time on...
Police say man killed himself after shooting woman in McKeesport
Allegheny County Police say they believe a man shot a woman before taking his own life early Thursday morning in McKeesport. County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 2300 block of Grandview Avenue just before 12:30 a.m. First responders found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Time for Pirates to be ‘ruthless’ by making moves at trade deadline
Since the trade of Adam Frazier at the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been abundantly aware of MLB’s trade deadline and the possibility that any player not named Paul Skenes could be dealt. One veteran noted that if you don’t want to see people get traded, you need to...
DA says New Kensington murder arrest 1st to come from Westmoreland grand jury
Criminal homicide charges filed in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington more than two years ago was the first to result from a Westmoreland County investigating grand jury seated early last year, prosecutors said Wednesday. Larry Osborn Nix II, 41, of West Brownsville, Washington County,...
Plum, Oakmont see rash of overnight vehicle thefts, break-insVideo
Several Plum and Oakmont residents awakened Wednesday morning to find items missing from their cars — or their cars missing entirely. Plum resident Christina Williams said she left her Rustic Ridge home at 6:45 a.m. to head to work, but her Lexus was not in her driveway. Soon after, she...
How much will that procedure cost? You might not find the full answer at Independence Health, report claims
All five of Independence Health System’s hospitals failed this year to fully comply with federal rules ordering them to post prices online for their services, according to a report released this week by an advocacy group. The Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Health Access Network found Independence’s hospitals — Butler Memorial, Clarion, Frick,...
Hockey mom charged after scuffle with teen ref at RMU sports complex
Nobody dropped the gloves, but a confrontation earlier this month between a hockey mom and a teenage referee at a Neville Island ice rink has led to a court date. Andrea Bucci, 38, of Franklin Park is facing assault charges and was banned from the Robert Morris University Island Sports...
John Fetterman’s memoir, ‘Unfettered,’ is latest offering in Library of Congress
“Unfettered” — described by its publisher as an unapologetic account of the unconventional life of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, as written by Fetterman — will become part of the canon of the literal Library of Congress when it comes out on Veterans Day. It’s Fetterman’s maiden memoir, but the second...
