Top Stories category, Page 16
New effort aims to clean, maintain Pittsburgh’s riverfronts
Pittsburgh’s three rivers are often the first image that comes to mind when people think of the city. They welcome visitors emerging from the Fort Pitt Tunnel and dominate the skyline shots shown on television whenever Pittsburgh is in the spotlight, Mayor Corey O’Connor said. A new partnership between the...
Border czar hails a ‘safer’ Minnesota as he says the state’s immigration crackdown is over
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration is ending the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday of the two-month operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens. The operation, which the Department of Homeland Security called its “...
After deadly explosion, safety and environmental lapses at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works now rest with NipponVideo
For Don Furko, Aug. 11, 2025, was a normal shift. Until it became the shift he would never forget. At 10:47 a.m., U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works outside Pittsburgh — a sprawling riverside industrial facility and the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere — erupted in an ear-piercing...
Search for Nancy Guthrie now seeks nearby security videos from the month before she vanishedVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — Investigators in Arizona want residents near Nancy Guthrie ‘s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people they may have noticed in the month before she disappeared. The alert went across a 2-mile radius in neighborhoods close to where the mother of “Today” show...
California man accused of sexually extorting Pitt student
A California man is accused of using a University of Pittsburgh student’s intimate photos as blackmail in a monthslong pattern of coercion. Michael Vaca, 19, was charged Wednesday with 55 counts of sexual extortion, terroristic threats, stalking, harassment and other crimes. Police say he obtained these images last summer while...
Pa. schools must teach cursive writing under bill signed by ShapiroVideo
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday signed a bill that will require a cursive handwriting curriculum in all Pennsylvania public schools. “I’m definitely rusty, but I think my penmanship was OK!” Shapiro said in his Wednesday announcement. The bipartisan legislation, House Bill 17, was sponsored by Rep. Dane Watro (R-Luzerne and...
Officials quiet after Springdale man detained by ICE
Springdale and federal officials remained mostly mum Wednesday after the arrest of a borough resident by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Tuesday. Randy Cordova-Flores, 36, remains in custody at Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records. Originally from Peru, Cordova- Flores was detained after Springdale...
House GOP pushes strict proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters ahead of midterm elections
WASHINGTON — House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate. The bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, would require Americans...
Ex-boyfriend testifies New Florence woman ‘despised’ her mother, discussed wanting to kill her
Melissa Fox-Beacom regularly brought up her hatred for her mother in conversations with her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, he testified Wednesday. She never referred to Alice Robson as mom. “ ‘My mother’ — she’d say it with an attitude,” Ace Vavrek remembered. “ ‘My mother.’ It’s like she despised her.” Even so,...
House votes to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canada in rare bipartisan rebuke of White House agenda
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to slap back President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rare if largely symbolic rebuke of the White House agenda as Republicans joined Democrats over the objections of GOP leadership. The tally, 219-211, was among the first times the House, controlled by Republicans, has...
Imperial man pleads guilty to federal weapons charges
An Imperial man pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to weapons charges related to a pistol that was converted into a fully automatic handgun. Prosecutors said Ja’Shon Spencer, 22, was in possession of a machine-gun conversion device attached to a Glock semi-automatic pistol on June 16, 2025, otherwise known...
Deluzio says Trump administration abused its power in probe of ‘illegal orders’ video
Lawmakers targeted by the Justice Department after releasing a video telling servicemembers they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders said Wednesday they haven’t ruled out taking action against the Trump administration for “weaponizing the government” against them. “I’m not going to litigate and share our legal strategy here,” U.S....
Compromise sought to salvage controversial $6M Pittsburgh master plan
A Pittsburgh councilman has offered a compromise that could pave the way for consultants to finish a costly, controversial master plan for the city. Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, previously pushed for clawing back about $2 million that had not yet been spent on the $6 million effort. On Wednesday, he...
Verdict: Thomas Stanko guilty in murder of Cassandra GrossVideo
Kathe Gross let out a fist pump and a cheer in a Westmoreland County courtroom Wednesday as a jury convicted Thomas G. Stanko of first-degree murder in the 2018 disappearance of her daughter, Cassandra Gross. The verdict, delivered after four hours of deliberation, concludes a nearly eight-year legal saga for...
Pittsburgh push to regulate Airbnb, other short-term rentals, draws mixed reviews
Depending on who’s talking, short-term rentals are either depleting Pittsburgh’s housing stock and destroying local communities or helping the local economy and providing visitors with options beyond hotels. The dueling opinions were presented Wednesday to Pittsburgh City Council members, who are contemplating regulating short-term rentals like those through Airbnb and...
Longest cold case in Allegheny County solved using DNA
Allegheny County’s longest cold case for an unidentified victim has been solved using DNA technology. On Wednesday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced the body of an unknown homicide victim discovered over 30 years ago — described as a 5-foot-10 white male, weighing 175 pounds — was identified as...
ICE blames Biden administration for Brentwood man’s entrance into U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Wednesday blamed the Biden administration for allowing a Brentwood man, now in custody, into the United States. Maklim Gomez Escalante, 35, was detained Jan. 20 after arriving at a district court hearing where he had been subpoenaed to testify in an unrelated matter....
Shapiro, neighbors trade lawsuits over ‘disputed area’ at governor’s private Montgomery County home
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For the past six months, Gov. Josh Shapiro has been entangled in an intense but largely behind-the-scenes...
Kraft Heinz pauses split as new CEO calls challenges ‘fixable’
Kraft Heinz said Wednesday it’s pausing a planned split and launching a $600 million investment campaign to tackle what new CEO Steve Cahillane called “fixable” challenges. The company announced in September it will divide its roughly 200 brands into one firm focused on high-performing sauces and spreads and another made...
Pam Bondi clashes with Democrats as she struggles to turn the page on Epstein files furorVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi launched into a passionate defense of President Donald Trump Wednesday as she tried to turn the page from relentless criticism of the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, repeatedly shouting at Democrats during a combative hearing in which she postured herself as...
Live updates: Jury returning to courtroom in Stanko trial
The jury in the Thomas G. Stanko homicide trial is returning to the courtroom now after about four hours of deliberations. Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart delivered final instructions to the jurors this morning before they moved to private deliberations just after noon. The panel is considering charges of first-degree...
Pentagon let CBP use anti-drone laser before FAA closed El Paso airspace
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to use an anti-drone laser earlier this week, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to suddenly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to...
Suspect in Canada shooting is identified as an 18-year-old with history of police visits to her home
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The suspect in a Canada school shooting was an 18-year-old who had a history of police visits to her home to check on her mental health, authorities said Wednesday, a day after the attack that killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia. Police...
FBI combs desert terrain for clues in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearanceVideo
RIO RICO, Ariz. — Fresh surveillance images from Nancy Guthrie’s porch the night she went missing, coupled with intense police activity across Arizona and the detention of a man had raised hopes that authorities were nearing a major break. But then the man was released after questioning, leaving it unclear...
Building the Valley: STEM Academy planned for New Kensington
A planned after-school STEM academy in New Kensington aims to put the city on the map. The nonprofit, R&D Impact Foundation plans to open the SparX Academy at 1250 Fifth Ave., said Nicole Roberts, the foundation’s director of program management. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “It’s going...
