Top Stories category, Page 157
Trump orders investigation into Biden’s actions as president, ratcheting up targeting of predecessor
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed his administration to investigate Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline” and casting doubts on the legitimacy of his use of the autopen to sign pardons and other documents. The order marked a significant escalation in Trump’s...
Trump moves to block U.S. entry for foreigners planning to study at Harvard University
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is moving to block nearly all foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University, his latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body. In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump...
Trump announces travel ban and restrictions on 19 countries set to go into effect Monday
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., a cushion that may avoid...
Tale of Cranberry’s Matt Vogt qualifying for hometown U.S. Open captivates golfing public
As a high school and college golfer, Matt Vogt spent summers caddying at Oakmont Country Club and admits he wondered what playing a U.S. Open there might feel like. He’ll know soon enough. “You walk down those fairways, and there’s so much history there,” Vogt said. “You’re playing the course...
Walmart, Sam’s Club sue Pittsburgh Mills mall owners over road conditions
Real estate trusts for Walmart and Sam’s Club are suing the owners of the beleaguered Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer, alleging they have failed to maintain the roads there despite being contractually obligated to do so. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania, asks the court...
Summer Lee grills U.S. Education secretary on DEI policiesVideo
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, grilled Education Secretary Linda McMahon over her department’s DEI policies and accused the Trump administration of trying to rewrite history on Wednesday during a congressional hearing. During a tense exchange, McMahon refused to give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked if teaching students that...
Sewickley Heights road, closed more than a year, in need of nearly $1 million in repairs
A Sewickley Heights road that has been closed for more than a year is not going to get fixed any time soon. Landslides in mid-April 2024 caused significant damage to Backbone Road between Little Sewickley Creek Road and Grouse Lane in Bell Acres. It has deteriorated further since, with portions...
Judge says migrants sent to El Salvador prison must get a chance to challenge their removals
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration must give more than 100 migrants sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador prison a chance to challenge their deportations. U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg said that people who were sent to the prison in...
Fourth Avenue bridge in Tarentum over Bull Creek closed
The Fourth Avenue bridge over Bull Creek in Tarentum is closed after a sinkhole formed near the span. Borough engineers said a storm sewer line beneath the road collapsed, causing ground instability. It poses a risk to the bridge and surrounding infrastructure, according to an online post by the borough....
Burrell’s Stewart Elementary celebrates its last day: ‘It’s bittersweet’
Mindy Larko may or may not have cried on her way to work Wednesday. It would mark her last day teaching at Lower Burrell’s Stewart Elementary in Room 14, a room where she, herself, was a student during the 1982-83 school year. “A lot of memories come back when you’re...
New era for Pittsburgh Catholics begins with Bishop Mark Eckman
Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman knew he was in the running to lead one of 24 U.S. dioceses with retiring bishops. As an auxiliary bishop since 2022, the 66-year-old Bethel Park native expected to be reassigned outside Pittsburgh. He was preparing for a move, new faces, and new routines — until...
U.S. judge issues order stopping the deportation of family of man charged in Boulder firebombing
BOULDER, Colo. — A federal judge issued an order Wednesday to prevent the deportation of the wife and five children of an Egyptian man charged in the firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado. U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted a request from the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman to halt...
Allegheny County officials investigate elevated sulfur levels at Clairton Coke Works
The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating elevated sulfur levels in coke oven gas reported over several hours from Monday evening into Tuesday morning at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Health Department officials said a report they received from U.S. Steel indicated one of the facility’s control rooms, which normally...
What is a Stimpmeter? Learn the term that will be in heavy use at OakmontVideo
How fast are the greens at Oakmont Country Club? That question can be answered thanks to the Stimpmeter, a measuring device invented almost 90 years ago by amateur golfer Edward Stimpson soon after attending the 1935 U.S. Open at Oakmont as a spectator. Discussions about the green speeds reportedly led...
Bethel Park parish proud to call new Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman their own
Bishop Mark Eckman, newly appointed as the 13th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, is known as a tech-savvy leader whose favorite meal is pea soup and salmon. Those close to him describe a man just as comfortable building a booth for a church festival as he is offering...
Jury returns $5.25M verdict against Jefferson Hospital in wrongful death case
A jury on Friday ordered Jefferson Hospital to pay the family of a Canonsburg woman $5.25 million after it found the hospital liable in her death following what was characterized as a routine bronchoscopy in 2021. The lawsuit filed by Steven Jury as the administrator of the estate for his...
Canada geese being treated at Youngwood rehab center after suffering fishing line injuries
Six Canada geese, including two who lived at Twin Lakes Park, have been treated in recent days at a Youngwood wildlife rehabilitation organization for injuries related to discarded fishing line. The severe injuries are typically the result of fishing line being wrapped tightly around their legs, said Beth Shoaf, executive...
Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million...
Police make 3rd arrest in slaying of Woodland Hills grad
Pittsburgh police Tuesday arrested the third suspect in the fatal shooting in September of a Woodland Hills High School graduate and former football standout. Zion White, 21, of Garfield, was charged in the killing of Gavin Yarbough, 21. Police said Yarbough was shot multiple times during a late-night meeting in...
Trump’s promised steel and aluminum tariffs go into effect
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that’s set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further. Foreign-made steel and aluminum is...
New Pennsylvania law bans handheld cellphone use while driving. What to know
A new Pennsylvania law aimed at cracking down on distracted driving is set to go in effect Thursday, one that could lead to citations for what have become common driving behaviors. Paul Miller’s Law makes it illegal to use a handheld cellphone while driving. Texting while driving has been illegal...
Car crash injures Ed Gainey’s wife, bodyguard; city mum on details
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s wife, Michelle Gainey, and a member of the mayor’s security detail were injured in a crash Tuesday evening. A city vehicle carrying Michelle Gainey and driven by an unidentified Pittsburgh police bodyguard was struck at the intersection of Fifth and Hamilton avenues at the border of...
Shorter, smaller Three Rivers Arts Festival doesn’t dampen spirits of artists, visitors
Early June in Pittsburgh traditionally finds thousands of people heading to the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. But the annual event looks a little bit different this year. From June 5-8, the Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will brighten the Strip District with creative spaces,...
Woman dies after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Crafton Heights
A Pittsburgh woman is dead following a shooting Wednesday morning in the city’s Crafton Heights neighborhood. According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, Samantha Tabitha Howells, 52, was found with gunshot wounds to her upper torso after city police responded to a two-round ShotSpotter alert shortly before 4:30 a.m....
Businesses take advantage of opportunity as vendor partners for U.S. OpenVideo
Bob Rivers can’t wait for golf fans to try his coffee at the U.S. Open. The owner of National Grind Coffee & Tea Shop in Ellwood City has good reason to be excited for the event. As a vendor partner with the USGA, Rivers anticipates doing a full year’s worth...
