Top Stories category, Page 1631
Citing voter approval, Marsy’s Law supporters call on ACLU to drop challenge
Advocates are calling on the ACLU of Pennsylvania to drop its lawsuit against a proposed crime victims’ rights amendment to the state constitution after unofficial election results showed voters approved it 3-1 Tuesday. The amendment, which passed the General Assembly twice in the last two years, was scheduled to become...
Another bomb threat closes Fox Chapel Area High School
Fox Chapel Area High School is closed Wednesday because of a bomb threat, the second closure in three weeks. Police are investigating, according to a district announcement. The district’s other schools will have classes as normal. The threat was received around 3 a.m. Wednesday through the state Safe2Say Something system,...
Pittsburgh polling place briefly locked down as SWAT called to apartment
Pittsburgh police briefly placed a polling place in Homewood South on lockdown Tuesday evening as they prepared for a possible standoff with a man they believed was armed. A 911 caller told police an armed, wanted man was in an apartment on the 600 block of North Braddock Avenue, according...
Saw Mill Run Boulevard reopens amid bridge replacement work
Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh has partially reopened now that the new Shaler Street Bridge has been transported to its new location. One lane in each direction between the West End Circle and the Parkway West opened early Wednesday morning. The road has been closed since Sunday for the...
Chelsa Wagner wins another term as Allegheny County controller
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner rolled to a lopsided victory in Tuesday’s election despite an outstanding criminal case against her stemming from an alleged March 6 confrontation with police at a Detroit hotel, according to unofficial election results. The results showed that Wagner collected 63.2% of the votes cast compared...
2 incumbents, challenger win contested Allegheny County Council races
Two Allegheny County Council incumbents facing election challenges Tuesday cruised to victories, while a third incumbent was ousted, according to unofficial election results. Republican incumbent Cindy Kirk of McCandless collected 53.9% of the votes counted in District 2 to defeat Democratic challenger Christine Allen of Sewickley, who picked up 46%...
Pittsburgh’s North Side has new city council representative
Residents of Pittsburgh’s North Side will have a new city council representative in January for the first time in 13 years. Democrat Bobby Wilson of Spring Hill, who ousted longtime Councilwoman Darlene Harris in the May primary, won a three-way race for a District 1 seat. With 37 of 39...
GOP seizes back control of Westmoreland commissioner board; Cerilli ekes out final seat
Republicans reclaimed a majority on the Westmoreland County board of commissioners. Voters elected GOP political newcomers Sean Kertes and Doug Chew to the three-member board. Democrat Gina Cerilli finished third for an apparent second term in office. In doing so, county voters on Tuesday turned out incumbent Ted Kopas in...
Pittsburgh voters approve 0.5-mill tax increase to fund city parksVideo
Pittsburgh voters on Tuesday approved a ballot referendum that will result in a 0.5-mill property tax increase next year to generate money for improvements in city parks. With 392 of 402 precincts reporting, the referendum passed with 51.6% of votes counted, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. Jayne Miller,...
Allegheny County DA Stephen A. Zappala Jr. claims victory over challenger Lisa Middleman
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. claimed a 14 percentage point win Tuesday against his second serious challenger in two decades, unofficial election results showed. Zappala, 62, a Democrat from Fox Chapel, collected 56.8% of the votes cast, while independent candidate Lisa Middleman garnered 43%, unofficial results showed...
James Albert defeats Jonathan Held in Westmoreland sheriff raceVideo
Jonathan Held, Westmoreland County’s long-embattled sheriff, lost his bid for a third term in office Tuesday. Democrat James Albert, a retired Greensburg district judge, defeated the Republican incumbent to bring an end to a tenure marred by a dozen discrimination lawsuits and pending criminal public corruption charges. With all 305...
Joe Biden congratulates Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on reelection victoryVideo
When Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald claimed victory Tuesday night in his race for a third term, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was there to congratulate him. “This is a helluva man, and a helluva family,” the former vice president said of Fitzgerald as he addressed a boisterous crowd around...
Democrats win full control of Virginia statehouse
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Democrats continued their winning streak under President Trump on Tuesday and took full control of the statehouse for the first time in more than two decades. Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in the marquee warmup for next year’s presidential election, the...
Dem leads Kentucky governor’s race that’s too close to callVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The hotly contested race governor’s race in Kentucky was too close to call Tuesday night, with Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear holding a narrow lead over Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Beshear had a lead of 4,658 votes out of more than...
2019 election results from across Western Pa.
Allegheny County voters on Tuesday retained Executive Rich Fitzgerald, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Controller Chelsa Wagner, while in Westmoreland County, embattled Sheriff Jonathan Held was ousted by James Albert. The Trib covered numerous races. You can find results from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties here. ALLEGHENY COUNTY Allegheny...
Fire tears through Wilson’s Bar-B-Q in North SideVideo
Two firefighters were injured and a dog was rescued Tuesday evening in a fire at a North Side barbecue restaurant. Allegheny County dispatchers said calls for the blaze at Wilson’s Bar-B-Q in Pittsburgh’s Mexican War Streets came in shortly before 5:45 p.m. Flames were seen coming from the building at...
Daily Download: Election day, Tree of Life time capsule opened and Aaron DonaldVideo
Each day, TribLIVE reporters and editors will break down the biggest news of the day, with video highlights of the people and places making headlines. Today, reporter Maddy Lee discusses election day, a time capsule opened in the cornerstone of the Tree of Life congregation’s former Oakland location and how...
Pittsburgh man shot during July robbery dies
A man shot during a July 2 robbery in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill-City View neighborhood died Monday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Julian Carpenter, 24, of Pittsburgh died at 10:27 p.m. at a city hospital. He was shot by Onaje Dickinson, who was killed two weeks later in...
Impeachment reversal: Ambassador Gordon Sondland now acknowledges quid pro quoVideo
WASHINGTON — In a striking reversal, a top diplomat revised his testimony in the House impeachment inquiry to acknowledge that U.S. military aid to Ukraine was being withheld until the foreign ally promised to investigate corruption as President Donald Trump wanted. The three-page update from U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland, tucked...
Driver of SUV stopped night New Kensington Officer Brian Shaw was fatally shot testifies during trial’s 2nd day
Rahmael Holt jumped from an SUV the night he allegedly shot New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw because its driver wouldn’t let him hide his gun in the vehicle, according to testimony Tuesday on the second day of Holt’s trial in Westmoreland County. Tavon Harper, 29, the driver of the...
Police: Fight outside Downtown McDonald’s left man paralyzed
A man who was in a fight Monday night at the Wood Street McDonald’s restaurant is paralyzed with a spinal cord injury, according to the criminal complaint filed against a woman charged with assaulting him. He remains in the intensive care unit of Allegheny General Hospital. The fight started shortly...
Missing Butler teen located, state police say
State police in Butler have located a teenager who had been missing since last week. Troopers said Aiden Joseph McKinley, 15, was found on Tuesday. State police said McKinley had been staying with friends and was safe when he was located. ***Update***Aiden Joseph MCKINLEY was located. Thank you for retweeting....
Pittsburgh-based Duolingo a fan of talk-to-kids ‘SNL’ sketchVideo
The writers at “Saturday Night Live” have dreamed up a “brat whisperer” app. In its latest episode, NBC’s comedy show used the Pittsburgh-based language education app Duolingo to poke fun of people who don’t know how to talk to kids. Kristen Stewart stars in the clip, which features the fake...
Trump plugs son’s book while accusing Bidens of self-dealing
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of major ethical lapses and railed against Biden’s son for allegedly profiting off his father’s office. But on Monday, Trump used his Twitter feed to publicize a new book by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., telling his...
Coroner: Woman found in home died from multiple dog bites
WAYNESVILLE, Ohio — Police say a pair of dogs suspected in the deadly mauling of an Ohio woman had bitten her and others in the past. A corner says 49-year-old Mary Matthews of Waynesville bled to death from numerous bites. Police say her husband found her body Friday. Police say...
