Top Stories category, Page 1565
Trump trial could end soon; Lamar Alexander says no to witnesses
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee declared late Thursday he will oppose calling more witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but dashing Democratic efforts to hear more testimony and boosting chances the Senate will vote quickly to acquit the president. The retiring senator announced his decision...
Cops: Traffic stop yields more than 500 stamp bags, 22-gram crack rock
A McKeesport man and an Indiana woman face drug charges after state police said they discovered more than 500 stamp bags of heroin and crack cocaine during an Indiana County traffic stop Wednesday. Shortly after noon, state police said, they pulled over an SUV on Laurel Road in Armstrong Township...
Trump support edges up in Pennsylvania poll as impeachment continues
President Trump has grown stronger with Pennsylvania voters despite ongoing impeachment proceedings, a poll finds. A majority of the 628 registered Pennsylvania voters who responded to a Jan. 20-26 Franklin & Marshall Poll said it is time for a change in the White House. Still, 38% of them said President...
GOP optimism grows on blocking witnesses as Democrats focus questions on what John Bolton might knowVideo
WASHINGTON — Former national security adviser John Bolton loomed large in Democratic senators’ inquiries during the question-and-answer phase of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday, but Republicans are increasingly confident that by the end of the week they will have the votes to rebuff calls to subpoena him and other...
Penn Hills School District’s preliminary budget adopted, tax increase likelyVideo
Penn Hills School District officials moved a step closer to plugging an estimated $6 million budget shortfall and possibly raising real estate taxes more than 7%. School directors voted 7-0 Wednesday night to adopt their 2020-21 preliminary budget, which includes a 2.0319-mill hike and no program cuts. Board members Evelyn...
WCCC to train dealers for new Hempfield casino
When visitors try their luck playing blackjack at the new casino under construction at Westmoreland Mall, chances are they will compete against dealers trained by Westmoreland County Community College. College trustees have approved a letter of intent to offer instructional courses for casino dealers in partnership with the Maryland-based company...
Pittsburgh elementary teacher quits amid probe into girl burned during class project
A Pittsburgh elementary school teacher has resigned amid the district’s investigation into why a 5-year-old girl suffered burns to her chest during a classroom project last month, officials said. The employee of Pittsburgh King, a K-8 school in the Allegheny Center section of Pittsburgh’s North Side, submitted the resignation letter...
Satellites avoid massive collision in space over Pittsburgh
What could have been a grand collision between two decommissioned satellites directly over the Pittsburgh area — 559 miles above to be exact — turned out to be a just a fly-by. The AFP news agency reports the objects — one a space telescope, the other an experimental U.S. satellite...
Authorities find longest Southwest border smuggling tunnelVideo
SAN DIEGO — U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego area. The tunnel featured an extensive rail cart system, forced air...
Squirrel keeps outfoxing Pittsburgh bald eagles
When it comes to a sly fox, the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles don’t give it more than a passing glance. But a rascally squirrel? That’s another story. According to antics captured on a live webcam provided by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and CSE Corp., the eagles have been...
Pennsylvania has early primary envy, plots to move up in 2024
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania wants to be a player in the presidential primary, instead of an afterthought. The state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would move up Pennsylvania’s primary elections in presidential election years by five weeks, starting in 2024, in a state where critics say its presidential...
Pittsburgh universities monitoring coronavirus reports and weighing travel considerations
Officials at Pittsburgh universities say they are closely monitoring news about coronavirus. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, which enroll about 5,000 Chinese students at their Oakland campuses and have a variety of academic partnerships on the Chinese mainland, both have issued alerts about the mysterious respiratory virus...
Preliminary testing shows ‘probable Legionella’ in water at Westmoreland Manor
Preliminary testing indicated a finding of “probable Legionella” bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, in water at Westmoreland Manor, county officials said Wednesday. Additional testing is under way, the county reported in a statement. Final results are expected by early next week. “Westmoreland Manor was notified by the Pennsylvania Department of...
Foundation grant will provide academic coaches for Pittsburgh Promise studentsVideo
The Richard King Mellon Foundation will provide grants totaling $3.9 million to hire and train academic coaches for underachieving students at three Pittsburgh high schools, Community College of Allegheny County and Carlow University, officials announced Wednesday. Saleem Ghubril, executive director of the Pittsburgh Promise college scholarship program, said the organization...
Trump celebrates major rewrite of North American trade rulesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico, celebrating the fulfillment of one of his top campaign promises while declining to share the moment with Democratic lawmakers whose support was essential to getting it over the...
Social Security scam is top fraud targeting seniors
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey took a break from President Trump’s impeachment trial long enough to attend a Senate hearing Wednesday on the latest telephone scam afflicting senior citizens. “For Americans who are worried about their loved ones … our efforts to stop con artists must be taken just as seriously...
Missing man found dead in Pittsburgh parking garage
A man reported missing in Pittsburgh last week was found dead Tuesday, authorities said. Mark Hall, 47, was reported missing Jan. 27, four days after he was last seen in the city’s West End. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that Hall was pronounced dead about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday...
West Carson Street lane restrictions set for Thursday in Pittsburgh
Expect single-lane restrictions on West Carson Street (Route 837) in Pittsburgh on Thursday. PennDOT said there will be lane restrictions from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between the West End Bridge and the Smithfield Street Bridge as crews install cameras in the area. Crews from Power Contracting will conduct the...
‘Value-added’ products a boon to small farms
For smaller farms in Southwestern Pennsylvania, growing commodity crops may not be enough to keep them afloat. The grain farmer may have to learn how to mill flour. The fruit farmer may have to learn how to produce jam. The dairy farmer may have to learn how to make cheese....
5 bartenders charged alongside owner of illegal Homewood speakeasy
The secret to Club Secrets was a couple $20 bills. Twenty dollars would get you onto the first floor of the illegal Homewood speakeasy busted this week by state liquor control agents. For $40, you could go to the second floor of the Kelly Street establishment. The secret, however, is...
Trump trial gets more pointed with Bolton book at the center
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial shifted to sharply pointed, back-and-forth questioning Wednesday as Republicans strained to contain the fallout over John Bolton’s forthcoming book, which threatens their hopes of ending the trial with a quick acquittal. The day started simply enough. Three Republican senators asked Trump’s legal team:...
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold faces additional criminal chargesVideo
Additional criminal charges were filed this week against Michael Diebold, a former Leechburg police chief, alleging he did not comply with registration requirements for convicted sex offenders. State police charged Diebold, 42, in Armstrong County with a felony offense in connection with allegations he used the social media site FetLife.com...
Allegheny County flu death toll reaches 5, Health Department confirms
Two more Allegheny County residents have died from flu complications, bringing this flu season’s county death toll to five, according to the county’s Health Department. The latest deaths were people in their 30s who had underlying medical conditions, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. All of those who have...
$1M instant lottery ticket sold at Harrison supermarket
A regular customer of Community Supermarket in Harrison won $1 million on a $20 scratch-off lottery ticket. “I was thinking, ‘Please don’t cry because I’m going to cry with you,’ ” said office clerk Niki Dickey, who talked with the woman when she brought her winning ticket back to the...
Police: Arnold man had gun, drugs near child that he held when arrested
An Arnold man accused of selling heroin and cocaine is also accused of keeping a handgun in a child’s bedroom , police said. Elbert Lewis Thompson II, 30, of Leishman Avenue was arrested Monday after allegedly pushing a police officer on a porch, fleeing upstairs, and coming out holding a...
