Top Stories category, Page 1706
Mitch McConnell wants to consider gun background checks in fall
WASHINGTON — Shifting the gun violence debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he now wants to consider background checks and other bills, setting up a potentially pivotal moment when lawmakers return in the fall. The Republican leader won’t be calling senators back to work early, as some are...
Highmark CEO optimistic that UPMC deal will attract more patients to Highmark plans
Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg said Thursday he’s “cautiously optimistic” that more Western Pennsylvanians will choose Highmark insurance products now that the nonprofit system has inked a 10-year contract with rival UPMC. Since striking the deal in late June, Highmark officials have been observing an uptick in interest from people...
Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sues Justice Department over his firingVideo
WASHINGTON — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sued the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr, claiming he was illegally fired last year for allegedly failing to fully disclose conversations he had with a reporter about pending investigations. Barr’s predecessor, Jeff Sessions, fired McCabe in March 2018, just before...
Demolition of former Pittsburgh Playhouse continuesVideo
Demolition of the Pittsburgh Playhouse buildings in Oakland is underway. The site of live theater since the 1930s, the structures became vacant last year when the new Pittsburgh Playhouse opened Downtown as part of Point Park University’s ongoing expansion. The Oakland site will be sold by Point Park for development....
Some Larimer residents upset over name of Costa basketball court
Pittsburgh on Thursday officially opened a newly refurbished outdoor basketball court in Larimer, but some residents objected to the city naming it after a political family from the neighborhood. The city chose the name Costa Court because of the family’s record of public service and history in the area, according...
Police: Suspected gunman surrenders after two-hour standoff in Braddock
A suspect in a Braddock shooting surrendered to police after a two-hour standoff Thursday, said Allegheny County police Inspector Andrew Schurman. Braddock police responded to the call at about 1:30 p.m. to the 500 block of Talbot Avenue, where the shooting victim was found and transported to the hospital. The...
Trump reschedules visit to Beaver County cracker plant
The White House said Thursday that President Trump has rescheduled his visit to a $6 billion ethane cracker plant being built in Beaver County for Tuesday. The president canceled a trip to the Potter Township site this week after two mass shootings over the weekend left 31 dead and dozens...
Boater dies in Allegheny River near Harmar
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect hometown of the victim. Officials have identified the man who fell out of his boat and into the Allegheny River and died Thursday. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as John Franklin Kenawell, 76, of Ballwin,...
Woman killed, another hurt in Downtown Pittsburgh stabbing; McKeesport man arrestedVideo
A McKeesport man stabbed two women, killing one, in front of a Pittsburgh police officer during what investigators described as a random act of violence Thursday at a Downtown bus stop, officials said. Janice Purdue-Dance, 61, of Erie, died just after noon Thursday at UPMC Mercy hospital, according to the...
Sandusky to be resentenced next month in molestation case
Jerry Sandusky will be taken from prison to a central Pennsylvania courtroom next month for resentencing on his 45-count child sexual abuse conviction, six months after a state appeals court ruled mandatory minimums had been improperly applied. Judge John Foradora filed an order Wednesday scheduling the proceeding for Sept. 23...
Man critically injured in fiery Allegheny Township crash
A 59-year-old man was critically injured Wednesday when his car crashed and burst into flames in Allegheny Township, police Chief Duane Fisher said. The crash happened about 11:40 p.m. in the 4000 block of Leechburg Road. Fisher said Richard Schmidt of East Pittsburgh was traveling south on the roadway, also...
Police fired 10 shots at Donald Babbit in Shaler shooting
Three police officers fired a total of 10 shots when they killed a Shaler man who pointed a gun at them Tuesday afternoon, Allegheny County police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said. Donald Babbit, 49, was shot outside his home in the 800 block of Spencer Grove Lane. Two officers from Shaler...
Kraft Heinz takes another $1 billion hit, shares plunge
Kraft Heinz released its second quarter earnings report delayed by accounting problems and revealed continued fall-out related to those issues on top of weak sales. The company that makes Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Kool-Aid, Heinz ketchup and Velveeta took charges in excess of $1 billion in the first half due...
Weird, wonderful ‘BH90210’ winks at its fansVideo
Who says you can’t go home again? Those paraphrased words were uttered last night by Jennie Garth at the end of the latest TV time machine — the “BH90210” on Fox. You remember Jennie Garth, right? Kelly Taylor? “Beverly Hills, 90210?” Yes, that’s the one. As billed by Fox: Jason...
Mayors push Senate to return to Washington for gun bill vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 200 mayors, including two anguished by mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, are urging the Senate to return to the Capitol to act on gun safety legislation amid criticism that Congress is failing to respond to back-to-back shootings that killed 31 people. In a letter...
New UN warming report sees hungry future that can be avoided
WASHINGTON — On the ground, climate change is hitting us where it counts: the stomach — not to mention the forests, plants and animals. A new United Nations scientific report examines how global warming and land interact in a vicious cycle. Human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the land, while...
Police investigating after body found in Ohio River
Allegheny County police are investigating after a man’s body was found floating in the Ohio River in the area of Neville Island late Wednesday. A boater who was fishing in the area reported the body shortly after 11 p.m. The body was recovered and taken to the Allegheny County Medical...
Crashes snarl morning commute on Route 28
Multiple crashes Thursday along Route 28 slowed the morning commute into Pittsburgh, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. A motorcycle crashed near the Etna Bypass shortly after 6 a.m., halting inbound traffic, WPXI-TV reported. State police in Kittanning said one person was injured in that crash and taken to UPMC...
Poll: Majority of Pennsylvanians support additional regulations on gun ownership
Retired steelworker Arthur Flowers of Derry Township is among thousands of Pennsylvanians who have a license to carry a concealed handgun. But he’s also among nearly two-thirds of registered voters in a recent statewide poll who said they favor some type of additional laws regulating gun ownership. A Franklin &...
Attacker kills 4 in series of stabbings in California cities
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — Investigators believe a man who stabbed four people to death and wounded two others targeted his victims at random during a bloody rampage across two Southern California cities, authorities said. The 33-year-old man from the city of Garden Grove was “full of anger” when he carried...
S.C. teen ousted from school, charged after racist gun videos emerge
A South Carolina teenager has been expelled and charged after videos surfaced of him making threats against black people while shooting at inanimate objects. According to The State, the 16-year-old boy, who referred to himself as “Parker” in two videos, sent the clips to several of his classmates at Cardinal...
Police charge teens allegedly involved in daytime shootout last month
Two teenagers face charges in connection to a daytime shootout in the street near a daycare in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood in late June, court records show. Ian Cook, 18, is accused of shooting a 16-year-old boy in the face, according to a criminal complaint. Both were shot and treated...
How to keep your razors from contributing to landfill waste
NEW YORK — How bad is your disposable razor for the environment? The question is gaining attention among consumers amid a growing global campaign against plastic waste, with cities and countries introducing bans on single-use plastic bags and straws. Don’t worry, there’s no talk of banning your razor, which isn’t...
Largest U.S. immigration raids in a decade net 680 arrests
MORTON, Miss. — U.S. immigration officials raided seven Mississippi chicken processing plants Wednesday, arresting 680 mostly Latino workers in the largest workplace sting in at least a decade. The raids, planned months ago, happened just hours before President Trump visited El Paso, Texas, the majority-Latino border city where a man...
Game Commission proposal to ban feeding deer, turkeys draws interest
A Pennsylvania Game Commission proposal to ban feeding big game animals in the state is generating plenty of interest among hunters, if Wednesday night’s open house in Delmont is any indication. Nearly 40 people, many of them hunters, attended the open house at the Delmont Volunteer Fire Department to inquire...
