Top Stories category, Page 160
DHS threatens federal funding for Pittsburgh, Allegheny County over immigrant stance
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has included Pittsburgh and Allegheny County on a lengthy list of “sanctuary jurisdictions defying federal immigration law.” The creation of the list was mandated by an April executive order in which President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions federal officials believe...
Agents seize 54 pounds of pot worth $240K at Pittsburgh airport
A Massachusetts woman remained in jail Friday after customs agents at Pittsburgh International Airport said they discovered she was trying to fly overseas with more than 54 pounds of marijuana. Jetta Monet Corbett, 30, of Brockton, Mass., was set to board a British Airways flight from Pittsburgh to London around...
At Pittsburgh rally, Trump promises to raise tariffs on imported steel, praises U.S. Steel deal
President Donald Trump’s rally Friday inside the U.S. Steel Irvin Works facility marked a victory lap for supporters of the company’s $14 billion partnership with Nippon Steel, and the president himself, who told hundreds of steel workers, “I was watching over you.” Live look at the crowd gathered at the...
FBI charges Elizabeth man with making antisemitic threats against public official
The FBI on Thursday charged an Elizabeth man with making online antisemitic threats against a “local” public official. Edward Arthur Owens Jr., 29, is charged with a single felony count of making an interstate threat. He is being held in federal custody pending a detention hearing on June 5. The...
Police arrest 2nd of 3 suspects in slaying of Woodland Hills graduate
Police last week arrested the second of three suspects in the September slaying of a Woodland Hills High School graduate and former football standout. Marcus Johnson, 23, of Pittsburgh was charged Saturday in the killing of Gavin Yarbough, 21. Police said Yarbough was shot multiple times during a late-night meeting...
Canadian wildfires again bringing smoke, haze to Western Pa.
Smoke and haze from wildfires in Canada are again hovering over Western Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection says it is monitoring smoking from large wildfires burning out of control in and around Manitoba. “While an air quality action day is not expected, some hazy skies and reduced visibility could...
Supreme Court lets Trump end humanitarian parole for 500,000 people from 4 countries
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million. The justices lifted a lower-court...
Frazer issues dozens more citations against Pittsburgh Mills owners for mall’s condition
It seems the only thing growing faster than the potholes at Pittsburgh Mills mall is the list of citations issued against the shopping center’s owners. Numerous potholes, knee-high grass and inoperable doors are among issues behind a new wave of citations issued by Frazer’s building inspector, Bill Payne. At the...
Solar farm proposals in Buffalo Township generate community pushback
An Atlanta-based company wants to build two solar farms in Buffalo Township, which would be the first in the community. Township supervisors will hold a public hearing next month on whether to grant conditional uses to two entities owned by SolAmerica. Approval would inch the firm closer to installing solar...
Trump returns to Western Pa. to champion deal involving U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel
President Donald Trump is returning to Western Pennsylvania on Friday to champion what he has described as a $14 billion partnership between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. Trump promised a “BIG rally” last week in a Truth Social post announcing the agreement between the Pittsburgh-based company and Japan’s largest...
Oakmont zoning board hearing is a nonstarter after series of miscommunications
An Oakmont Zoning Hearing Board public hearing was rescheduled after officials discovered no one had notified the central figure in the situation that the hearing was taking place. The hearing, as advertised in a published legal ad, was scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. The zoning hearing board was to...
Butler City Police investigate apparent murder-suicide
Butler City Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide Thursday. According to a statement released by Butler Police Chief Bob O’Neill, police found a woman and man dead inside a home on Cottage Hill Avenue just before 3:45 p.m. Wednesday when officers responded to a requested welfare check. “The detectives conducted...
Federal job seekers will be quizzed on Trump’s executive orders
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is adding four essay questions to applications for civil service jobs, asking applicants about their favorite executive orders and their commitment to government efficiency. The essay requirements apply even to relatively lower-level jobs starting at the GS-5 pay scale or above — positions that can...
Lawmakers confront crisis in senior care funding
Licensed practical nurse Carol Marol has been working at Westmoreland Manor for about 28 years, and laments that the quality of care at the nursing home is not as good as it used to be because of decreased staffing. “When we are short-staffed, and when workers are not paid competitive...
Already numb to tariff twists, U.S. importers see legal decisions as another price of doing business
NEW YORK — Businesses rattled by President Donald Trump’s on again, off again tariffs absorbed more jolts on Thursday after a U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked a federal court order that would have halted most of his taxes on foreign imports. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International...
Appeals court allows Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now, as his administration appeals an order striking down the bulk of his signature set of economic policies. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an...
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses call for union election
Lucy Ruccio has worked as a nurse practitioner at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital for the last 3½ years. Ruccio, 35, of Squirrel Hill, said she finds meaning in her work and loves the hospital, where she gave birth to her own children. But she’s frustrated that she and other nurses feel...
Highmark ekes out $15 million margin in first quarter of 2025
Highmark Health brought in more money than it lost in the first quarter of 2025, but just barely. Financial results released Thursday show the health care and insurance provider made $15 million in operating income on $8 billion in revenue between January and March. The success, to some extent, was...
Murrysville attorney accused of bilking more than $300K from elderly client
A Murrysville attorney who ran unsuccessfully for district judge in 2023 was charged Thursday with stealing about $312,000 from an elderly client. An arrest warrant was issued for Robert C. Klingensmith, 61, on three counts of theft and a single count of financial exploitation of an older adult. He did...
Giant Eagle to take over prescriptions from 78 Rite Aid stores
Giant Eagle will take over pharmacy prescriptions from 78 Rite Aid stores that are closing across Pennsylvania and Ohio, the supermarket chain announced Thursday. Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month. According to Giant Eagle, transferred prescriptions will go to locations most convenient for affected customers....
Arnold man ruled incompetent for trial in 2024 home invasion, rape
An Arnold man was deemed incompetent Thursday to stand trial in an attempted homicide and rape case. Cue Anthony Freckleton, 29, will be sent from the Westmoreland County jail to Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township for treatment in an effort to restore competency, Judge Scott Mears ordered. “The doctor...
Pittsburgh council OKs Devine as acting police chief through rest of Gainey’s term
Martin Devine can stay Pittsburgh’s acting police chief through the rest of Mayor Ed Gainey’s tenure. City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a measure to allow Devine to lead the police bureau until Feb. 1, 2026. Gainey, who lost in last week’s Democratic primary, will end his term a month...
1 critically hurt in 3-vehicle crash on Route 30 in Unity
A woman was critically hurt in a three-vehicle crash Thursday morning on Route 30 in Unity. She and another motorist were taken by ambulance to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville following the crash near the Theatre Street intersection, according to Mutual Aid Ambulance Service spokesman Shawn Penzera. In a news...
Monroeville police seek Derry woman facing hit-and-run, drug charges
Monroeville police are looking for a Derry woman who skipped court hearings after a 2023 drug arrest. Leann M. Wechtenhiser was taken into custody after a November 2023 crash near the U-Haul store on Route 22 in Monroeville. Police responded to a call for a rear-end crash, and discovered that...
Route 130 traffic to shift to 1 lane for natural gas pipeline replacement in Penn Township
Traffic will be reduced to one lane overnight along a portion of Route 130 in Penn Township starting June 8 while Peoples Natural Gas works to replace aging pipelines. The project is part of the gas company’s decades-long plan to replace 3,000 miles of pipelines to make their system more...
