Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 139
U.S. Steel sues Canadian company over refusal to honor multimillion-dollar contract
U.S. Steel on Tuesday sued a Canadian steel company alleging that it is refusing to pay for millions of tons of iron ore pellets it agreed to purchase five years ago because of new Trump administration tariffs. Algoma Steel Inc., based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is accused of breach...
Ex-Allegheny County chief public defender, who made history before being fired, settles lawsuit
Allegheny County’s former chief public defender, who was fired in May, has settled her lawsuit against the county. Lena Bryan-Henderson, who served in the position for about 15 months, will receive one year’s salary to conclude litigation she filed in June alleging wrongful termination. Bryan-Henderson’s salary was $140,415. She would...
For school districts, federal funding impeded by lack of state budget
The federal government shutdown isn’t what’s preventing New Kensington-Arnold School District from accessing its federal funding this school year. Instead, the $2.79 million is tied up because of the ongoing state budget impasse. “Funding for these (federal) programs are passed through the Pa. Department of Education,” New Ken-Arnold Business Manager...
Pittsburgh WWII serviceman, unknown for 80 years, coming home to rest
A Pittsburgh-area World War II serviceman whose remains were unidentified for 80 years will be laid to rest back home on Sunday, Oct. 12. Paul F. Eshleman Jr., 21, was a technical sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He was a radio operator on a B-24 Liberator that was...
Pittsburgh parents charged with conspiring to delay medical care for gravely injured infant son
A Pittsburgh man charged with fatally abusing his infant son now faces allegations that he and the boy’s mother conspired to delay medical treatment because they feared child welfare officials. Seth Williams and Aleah Ostruh waited more than 12 hours to take a gravely injured Micaiah Williams to the hospital,...
Trump’s funding offer to colleges sparks debate in Pennsylvania
Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, fears for his academic freedom. His concerns are shared by many colleagues as the Trump administration tries to broker deals with universities for new educational goals. “The big picture is that the administration has calculated that attacking universities, especially elite universities,...
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato pitches $3 billion budget with no tax hike
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Tuesday proposed a $3 billion 2026 budget with no tax increase or layoffs. “The budget is tight, but we’re committed to living within our means,” County Manager John Fournier said, adding officials never seriously considered raising taxes for 2026. Council will hold public hearings...
Tenant future clouded as Walmart plans demolition of Monroeville Mall site
Rick Murray would like to help Walmart pitch its vision of a mixed-use development on the site of the Monroeville Mall, because he thinks it could someday be a real asset to the community. The problem is, despite being a mall tenant, he has no idea what the future of...
President Trump says some furloughed federal workers ‘don’t deserve’ back payVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened to block furloughed federal workers from receiving back pay once the government shutdown is over, claiming some of the employees “don’t deserve” the compensation. Trump’s warning ratcheted up his pressure on Senate Democrats to end the standoff over funding the government and invited new...
Treasury defends proposal to put Trump on $1 coin
The Treasury Department is defending a proposal to mint a $1 coin with images of President Trump to help celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, citing a bill signed into law by Trump during the last week of his first administration. “(Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent) is honored to exercise the authorities...
Trump keeps bringing up the Insurrection Act. What is it?
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Monday said he might use the Insurrection Act, a law authorizing the president to deploy military forces on U.S. soil, if courts and governors continue to block his deployment of National Guard troops in Democratic-led cities. Here’s what to know about the centuries-old law....
Pittsburgh councilwoman asks Munhall to solve snowplow problem in 1 neighborhood
A Pittsburgh councilwoman is looking to neighboring Munhall for help plowing snow in the city’s Lincoln Place neighborhood. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said there were portions of Lincoln Place where the city — handicapped by an aging vehicle fleet and plows prone to breakdowns — struggled to clear snow and...
Pittsburgh police commanders to unionize with Gainey’s blessing
A dozen Pittsburgh police commanders are unionizing, city officials announced Tuesday. Commanders are among the police bureau’s most powerful supervisors, just under the rank of assistant chief. The commanders unanimously voted to form a union with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, separate from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No....
Where Pittsburgh Mills Mall stands after another storefront departure
The Pittsburgh Mills is reeling from another national retailer vacating the Frazer mall — the third instance of a major retailer leaving the complex in four months. Bath and Body Works opened its store in the Mills for the last time on Saturday. The company did not respond to requests...
Can Trump send the National Guard to cities around the U.S.?
The administration of President Donald Trump has ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and to Chicago to suppress protests and bolster immigration enforcement. National Guard were also deployed in recent months to Los Angeles and Washington. Below is a look at the president’s legal authority for using the military...
Jury convicts man of 1st-degree murder for gunning down his mom, her friend
A McKeesport man will spend the rest of his life in state prison after a jury on Tuesday found him guilty of killing his mother and her friend last year in Homestead. John Malcolm Smith V, 26, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Antoinette Porterfield, 45,...
Pamela Bondi stonewalls Democrats at DOJ oversight hearing
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pamela Bondi repeatedly declined to answer questions from Democratic senators during a Senate oversight hearing Tuesday on some of the largest controversies involving the Justice Department. The close ally of President Donald Trump often took a combative attitude with Democratic senators when pressed on those topics,...
Hamas says on war anniversary it’s ready to reach Gaza deal, but conditions remain
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Hamas said on Tuesday it was ready to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on President Donald Trump’s plan but still has demands, as Qatar’s prime minister and senior U.S. mediators headed to Egypt to join indirect negotiations between the Palestinian militant...
U.S. Supreme Court seems skeptical toward Colorado LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ banVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared receptive to a challenge on free speech grounds to a Colorado law banning psychotherapists from conducting “conversion therapy” that aims to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Questions posed by the court’s conservative justices during arguments in the case...
Illinois sues to stop National Guard deployment as Trump escalates clash with states
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued President Donald Trump on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Chicago, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas headed to the nation’s third-largest city. Trump then escalated the widening clash with Democratic-led states...
For local governments, winter road maintenance is summertime concern
Long before he jumps in his salt truck, Unity Supervisor Mike O’Barto says, the township has to consider winter road maintenance and road salt acquisition. O’Barto is among 21 plowmen, including two other township supervisors, who work to clear the 165 miles of roads in Unity, which is one of...
Westmoreland County approves ballot curing process for November election
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Tuesday approved a process to allow voters this fall to correct mail-in ballots. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, who for the past five years have opposed efforts to allow what is known as ballot curing, said they were required to reverse course and implement...
Jan. 6 probe analyzed GOP lawmakers’ phone records, senators say
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators collected and analyzed call records from the personal cellphones of eight senators and one representative as part of an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol building, the office of Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Monday. The FBI in 2023 sought...
No students seriously injured in Moon bus crash
Moon Area School District elementary students were safe and accounted for after their bus crashed with another vehicle in Moon Township on Monday afternoon, according to authorities. At 3:48 p.m., first responders were dispatched to the intersection of Montour Run Road and FedEx Drive for the crash, according to the...
Car rams into Pizza Hut in Harrison
A Tarentum woman suffered a medical emergency before her car crashed into the Pizza Hut in Harrison on Monday night. Harrison police were dispatched to the crash at around 6:45 p.m. Monday at the Pizza Hut, 3036 Freeport Road, said Chief Brian Turack. Two people were inside the car when...
