Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 15
Westmoreland names acting public defender after office leader suffers medical emergency
Westmoreland County commissioners have moved quickly to fill a leadership vacancy in the Public Defender’s Office. The move comes after the man hired in February suffered a serious medical emergency that is expected to keep him off the job for a prolonged period. James Spriestersbach, 41, was tapped in mid-February...
FBI says man who crashed his pickup into Michigan synagogue was inspired by Hezbollah
DETROIT — A man who crashed his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue earlier in March was carrying out an attack inspired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the FBI said Monday. Ayman Ghazali made a video before the attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, saying he wanted...
1 dead in Wilkinsburg apartment fire
One person is dead after a fire broke out at an apartment building in Wilkinsburg on Monday. Emergency response crews were dispatched at noon to the 2400 Block Laketon Road, said Kasey Reigner, spokeswoman for Allegheny County Emergency Services. The fire was reported to have broken out on the fourth...
‘Letters from Jumonville: The Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphans Schools’Video
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Pennsylvania faced the harsh reality that thousands of children were left orphaned. In “Letters from Jumonville: The Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphans Schools,” TribLive Director of Visuals Sean Stipp explores the creation of a state-funded system designed to educate and care for these children. Letters...
6 men charged in antisemitic attack of Pitt student in 2024
Six men accused of assaulting a Jewish student at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland in 2024 are facing hate crime and obstruction charges in federal court after an indictment was unsealed Monday. The defendants are accused of approaching a Jewish man as he walked in Oakland, making virulent antisemitic...
Police: Man ‘terrorized’ ex-girlfriend in Crafton, now headed to trial
A North Carolina man is headed to trial after months of stalking and “terrorizing his ex-girlfriend” in Crafton — including an alleged kidnapping and multiple manhunts involving more than a half-dozen local police forces. Christian Andre Spruill, 36, waived a preliminary hearing Friday on 14 criminal charges, including felony counts...
The birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court hits close to home for this immigrant mother
WASHINGTON — One of the first things an Argentine emigre did after her son was born in Florida last year was get him a U.S. passport. She saw the passport as tangible evidence that he’s an American. But now people like her are in a legal fight over President Donald...
Trump again threatens widespread destruction in Iran if a deal is not reached ‘shortly’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s energy resources and other vital infrastructure, potentially including desalination plants that supply drinking water, if a deal to end the war is not reached “shortly.” Iran, meanwhile, struck a key water and electrical plant in...
Bellevue man identified in fatal South Side shooting; separate shooting leaves another critical
An argument over a Pittsburgh man walking in the middle of the street late at night led to one of two shootings early Sunday in the city’s busiest entertainment district. Devin Maurice Singleton, 25, was walking down 15th Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood shortly before midnight Saturday, according to...
University of Pittsburgh investing $5M in city parks, public safety
The University of Pittsburgh on Monday announced it will invest $5 million in Pittsburgh’s parks, business districts and public safety efforts. The contribution will be spread over the next five years, according to the university. “Since our founding 239 years ago, the success of the city of Pittsburgh and the...
Trump says he has ‘no problem’ with Russian oil tanker bringing relief to Cuba despite blockade
ABOARD AIRFORCE ONE — President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he has “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade. “We have a tanker out there. We don’t...
More Pa. Democrats consider challenging Fetterman in 2028 primary
A former Democratic congresswoman is the latest name being touted as a possible primary challenger to Sen. John Fetterman. The news site Semafor reported recently that former Lehigh Valley Rep. Susan Wild is pondering entering the 2028 Senate primary as Democrats become increasingly frustrated and angry over Fetterman’s continued support...
‘Sovereign citizen’ arrested after Ross police see SUV made to look like police vehicle
A man driving an SUV equipped to look like an unmarked police vehicle was arrested Saturday in Ross after he gave police fake documents that included a “United Nations driving permit,” Ross police said in a criminal complaint. Ross police charged Zachary Jerry, no age available, of Pittsburgh with a...
Fire in Bloomfield rowhouse spreads to 4 other buildings on block; no injuries reportedVideo
A three-alarm fire engulfed a Bloomfield row house Sunday afternoon and spread to four nearby homes, blanketing the densely populated neighborhood with smoke. Pittsburgh Assistant Fire Chief Brian Kokkila said no occupants or firefighters were injured in the blaze. Kokkila said firefighters were dispatched just before 3:30 p.m. to the...
6 hurt in crash in Downtown Pittsburgh
Six people were injured early Sunday morning when a vehicle crashed near The Pennsylvanian apartment building in Downtown Pittsburgh, Tribune-Review news partner WTAE reported. The incident started with a traffic stop in Wilkinsburg, a Pittsburgh police spokeswoman said. The crash, at the East Busway entrance near the Pennsylvanian, happened just...
Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war in Palm Sunday Mass message
ROME — Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, as he prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. With the U.S.-Israeli war on...
Pakistan says it will host U.S.-Iran talks, while Iran warns U.S. ground troops would be ‘set on fire’
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan announced Sunday that it will soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran, though there was no immediate word from Washington or Tehran, and it was unclear whether the talks on the monthlong war would be direct or indirect. “Pakistan is very happy that both Iran...
2 shootings on South Side; 1 man dead, another in critical condition
A man was fatally shot on Pittsburgh’s South Side early Sunday morning, police said. At South 18th Street and East Carson Street, police found a man with multiple gunshot wounds after responding to a ShotSpotter alert at 2:28 a.m. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition and later...
Editorial: The cost of waiting to protect children
Pennsylvania has spent years trying to atone for child welfare failures. There were generations of abuse in churches. The Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal put the state under a national lens. There have been persistent questions about ChildLine hotline reports that went unanswered. There was also the moment nearly...
Utilities, health care costs top Westmoreland County residents’ affordability concerns, survey finds
Utilities and health care are the two expenses Westmoreland County residents worry about the most, a nonprofit community organization’s recent survey on affordability found. With those results in hand, Voice of Westmoreland is organizing residents to appear before the county commissioners in April and share their stories, in hopes of...
Green Bay offers advice for NFL Draft in Pittsburgh
Kyle Cousineau created lasting memories in his hometown of Green Bay when it hosted the 2025 NFL Draft last April. Cousineau, a lifelong resident, is a die-hard Packers fan. He grew up watching the team and was eager for the country to experience the city he loves during the NFL...
North Korea conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine for weapons and hailed it as a development to boost the country’s strategic military capability, state media reported Sunday. The test likely indicates Kim is intent on enlarging and modernizing an arsenal...
TSA pay may be coming, but airport delays could persist and ICE agents may not leave soon
Even after President Donald Trump ordered emergency pay for Transportation Security Administration agents to ease long security lines, major U.S. airports on Sunday were still urging travelers to arrive hours early — and federal immigration officers brought in to help may not be leaving anytime soon. Trump’s executive order on...
1st of 3 eggs hatches at U.S. Steel’s bald eagle nestVideo
The first of three eggs in the bald eagle nest near U.S. Steel’s Irvin plant in West Mifflin hatched on Sunday, according to PixCams. The eagle pair, Irvin and Stella, welcomed their first egg of the 2026 season on Feb. 20. This is Irvin’s seventh season at the nest and...
‘No Kings’ rally in Greensburg draws 3,700 participants
A strong dose of opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies permeated a “No Kings” protest at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg on Saturday afternoon. It was a part of a day of protests nationwide, said to be the largest since Trump’s second term began. Abby Graham-Pardus, founder...
