Top Stories category, Page 1263
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Challenging Biden win threatens republic
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged fellow Republicans on Wednesday to abandon their effort to overrule President-elect Joe Biden’s election triumph, directly rebuking defeated President Donald Trump and asserting that the GOP drive threatened the country’s democratic foundations. “The voters, the courts and the states have all spoken,”...
Pittsburgh man charged in Lawrenceville explosion
A Pittsburgh man, who investigators said blew up a Porta-John in the city in November, is charged in federal court with throwing an explosive device from a moving vehicle in a separate incident Sunday night in Lawrenceville. Charles Baker, 33, is charged with illegal possession of an unregistered destructive device...
State, local NAACP chapters reiterate need for Gateway School Board member to resign
The leader of the local and state NAACP chapters further denounced an alleged racist text from a Gateway School Board member and again called for him to resign during a virtual press conference Wednesday. Kenneth Huston, the Pennsylvania NAACP president, said Gateway school board member Paul Caliari’s text sent in...
Biden introduces Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general
President-elect Joe Biden introduced Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general on Thursday, turning to an experienced judge to help de-politicize the Justice Department and restore the rule of law after what he described as four years of lawlessness under President Donald Trump. Biden also described the pro-Trump mob...
Pro-Trump mob overruns U.S. Capitol in bid to overturn election; 4 dead
WASHINGTON — A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. The nation’s elected representatives...
Pence defies Trump, says he can’t reject electoral votes
WASHINGTON — Defying President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged Wednesday he does not have the power to throw out the electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president in two weeks, dashing Trump’s baseless hopes that Pence somehow could find a way to keep him...
Westmoreland County adds 16 covid deaths, 331 new cases
Westmoreland County saw its highest single-day coronavirus death report Wednesday, adding 16 to its total. Those newly reported deaths bring the county’s total to 459, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Deaths have been climbing rapidly in the county after a slow climb to 100 at the end of...
Allegheny County reports most new covid cases in Pa., adds 46 deaths
Allegheny County reported the most new coronavirus cases in the state Wednesday. The county’s health department reported 881 new cases, bringing its total since last March to 57,708. Those new cases were the highest reported in the state, followed by Philadelphia (752), Lancaster (459), Montgomery (448) and Bucks (414), according...
Happy ending for puppy snatched from Squirrel Hill owners
A puppy snatched from her owners Tuesday night in Squirrel Hill has been reunited with her family, police said. Daphne, a 4-month-old mixed breed, was returned to her family by Pittsburgh police Zone 4 Cmdr. Daniel Herrmann. Police said the pup was found by Public Works employees in the Blue...
Steelers stadium will remain named ‘Heinz Field’ through 2021
It’s possible Sunday’s playoff game is the final contest of the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it won’t be the last one at the facility that has been known for two decades as Heinz Field. The Steelers and the Kraft Heinz Co. on Wednesday announced a one-year extension for...
Westmoreland Commissioner Sean Kertes recovering from blood clot after covid diagnosis
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes is at home recovering from a blood clot in his lung that he said was related to his recent coronavirus infection. He was hospitalized over the weekend after having difficulty breathing. Kertes told the Tribune-Review he hopes to be back at the Greensburg courthouse next...
What to expect from Pa. Congress members in Electoral College count
It’s the final step in certifying Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, the constitutionally required Jan. 6 Electoral College vote count being held Wednesday as part of a joint session of Congress. But some Republican lawmakers will use the occasion to make one last attempt to...
Capitol session on Biden victory halted as protesters swarm buildingVideo
WASHINGTON — Angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, marching through the building, shouting and waving Trump and American flags and forcing a halt to congressional deliberations over challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Senators were being evacuated. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering...
Warnock, Ossoff win in Georgia, handing Dems Senate control
ATLANTA — Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority — as final votes were counted Wednesday, serving President Donald Trump a stunning defeat in his last days in office while dramatically improving the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda. Jon Ossoff and...
Teen dies at shooting scene in Wilkinsburg
One of three boys handling a handgun in a Wilkinsburg home died when the weapon discharged, according to Allegheny County Police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Marcus Gibson, 15. According to Allegheny County Police, Wilkinsburg police and paramedics were called to the 1300 block of Franklin...
Man took puppy while owner was walking the dog in Frick Park, police say
A four-month-old dog was taken from its owner while they were walking Tuesday night in Frick Park, Pittsburgh police said. Daphne, a 4-month-old mixed breed with black and white fur, was reported stolen shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday along the 2000 block of Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill, according to...
New 12-unit housing development proposed in Oakmont with some homes over $1 million
A new housing plan has been proposed in Oakmont with some properties expected to cost more than $1 million. Oakmont Place, a 12-unit one-floor patio home development off Hulton Road by Eleventh Street, was introduced to council at Tuesday night’s workshop meeting. Landscape architect Steven Victor of Victor-Wetzel Associates and...
Dr. Fauci: U.S. could soon give 1 million vaccinations a dayVideo
The United States could soon be giving at least a million covid-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges. The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike,...
A final EPA rollback under Trump curbs use of health studies
The Environmental Protection Agency released one of its last major rollbacks under the Trump administration on Tuesday, limiting what evidence it will consider about risks of pollutants in a way that opponents say could cripple future public health regulation. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the new rule, which restricts what...
Troopers say Virginia Beach man linked to 2019 bicycle bank robbery in HempfieldVideo
A Virginia Beach man with ties to Allegheny and Westmoreland counties this week proclaimed he is innocent of a 2019 bank robbery in Hempfield during which the scofflaw fled on a bicycle. Ronald D. Sever, 57, was extradited from Virginia on robbery and other charges filed by state police in...
No charges against Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin prosecutor announced Tuesday that he will not file criminal charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back in Kenosha last summer, leaving him paralyzed and setting off sometimes violent protests in the city. Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of Jacob...
UPMC employees get 2nd dose of covid vaccine, describe ‘first step’ toward ending pandemic
Fifteen UPMC employees received covid-19 vaccines Tuesday, 10 of whom became the first employees to receive a second dose and complete the full course of the vaccine. “I feel like it’s the first step in ending this,” said Alli Okonak, a certified registered nurse practitioner who has been working at...
U.S.: Hack of federal agencies ‘likely Russian in origin’Video
WASHINGTON — Top national security agencies confirmed Tuesday that Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of U.S. government departments and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that China might be to blame. The rare joint statement represented the U.S. government’s first formal attempt to assign responsibility for the...
Calls for Gateway school board member to resign come after racially charged text message
A Gateway School Board member who is the subject of a federal lawsuit has doubled down on his innocence as calls for his resignation grow louder. Paul Caliari, 46, of Monroeville is currently serving a two-year term on the Gateway School Board. A federal lawsuit filed Jan. 1, which also...
Pennsylvania House holds moment of silence for the late Mike Reese, who was to have been sworn in today for 7th term
State Rep. Mike Reese was memorialized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday, the day he was supposed to have been sworn in to his seventh two-year term. A black cloth, framed photograph and what appeared to be a jersey with his last name and H59...
