Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 2
1800s horse farm for sale, includes old letters found inside walls in Clinton Township
A sprawling 1800s equestrian farm on the market in Butler County has something most homes don’t — original letters penned by a gentleman to a lady of the house. “The love letters, all believed to have been written during the 1800s by a man to a young lady living in...
Despite Market Square melee, Pittsburgh Public Safety head says area remains safeVideo
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams expressed confidence Monday in the city’s ability to keep Market Square safe despite a massive brawl breaking out there Sunday among dozens of juveniles, some of whom deployed pepper spray. “The incident itself is one that we don’t like to see, but they do...
Hempfield high school renovation bids come in about $30 million lower than projectedVideo
Hempfield school board members were pleased to find out Monday night that base bids for a renovation project at the high school came in tens of millions of dollars lower than a projected price tag of nearly $150 million. At its meeting next week, the board potentially will vote to...
Pittsburgh Mills repair efforts lead to 2nd trial postponement
Owners of the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills have been making progress after years of inactivity on the campus. Monday morning, a status conference, or nonjury trial, to address the criminal charge against the owners of the Mills was continued for a second time. Last April, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s...
‘Lion King,’ ‘Phantom,’ ‘Beetlejuice’ among Cultural Trust’s 2026-27 musical season
From awe-inspiring production design to emotional award-winning musicals to old favorites, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh 2026-27 season will be one for the ages. The Trust revealed the new season in a video announcement Monday night, as well as a full slate of more than 50 other...
Federal judge to decide if Collier must amend zoning to allow church project
Township officials in Collier say they rejected a proposed shrine for the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church because the project lacked the necessary details to justify amending zoning rules for it. But church officials say the township’s board of commissioners engaged in religious discrimination by rejecting the project. A federal...
Strikes hit Iran and Tehran targets Israel and Gulf states amid mixed signals over talks to end war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel’s Tel Aviv and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war. With thousands more U.S. Marines on...
O’Connor proposes multipronged strategy to close Pittsburgh budget gap
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s team is preparing a series of budget amendments to close what he says is a yawning budget deficit, fund critical expenses and allow the city to scrape through a challenging year. Among the ways O’Connor hopes to balance an out-of-whack budget: using about $6.5 million from...
Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepens
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trump’s nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the administration’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations. Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known...
Springdale residents not able to return home after partial roof collapseVideo
Springdale resident Amy Ross sat inside the borough recreation center Monday, frustrated and wondering how long it would take to return to her apartment on Butler Street after its roof partially collapsed Monday. “I was gonna move before winter,” Ross said, as she made arrangements for a friend to temporarily...
Trump says Iran is eager for a deal to end the war as he extends deadline to allow for diplomacy
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. was talking with an Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on...
Pittsburgh council members seek to bar cooperation with ICE
Three Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday will introduce a bill to bar the city from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, following similar legislation enacted by the county earlier this month. “Many residents have seen the terror wrought by ICE agents in other places in the country and...
A plea deal and acquittal leave no one left to take blame for Stowe slaying
A man who testified against his co-defendant in a Stowe homicide pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges as part of a plea deal. Arrmon Hagans’ testimony failed to secure a guilty verdict against Cy-Miar Woods, 18. A jury acquitted him of homicide last week. Hagans, who was initially charged with...
Damar Hamlin starts scholarship initiative at alma mater Central Catholic
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday returned to his alma mater, Central Catholic High School in Oakland, to announce a scholarship initiative for students and those planning to go into building trades. Through Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation, 10 scholarships — each worth $1,000 — will be given annually to...
‘Don’t make any deal’: Trump tells Republicans to hold firm on shutdown talks
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — President Donald Trump said Monday that Republicans should stop negotiating with Democrats to end the partial government shutdown and instead focus on passing voting legislation, even as Transportation Security Administration agents work without paychecks and lines at some airports stretch for hours. “I’m suggesting strongly to the...
Supreme Court appears skeptical of late-arriving ballots, a Trump target
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority on Monday sounded skeptical of state laws that allow the counting of late-arriving mail ballots, a persistent target of President Donald Trump. A ruling, likely to come by late June, that bars counting ballots arriving after Election Day would send officials scrambling...
Pittsburgh slated for cool down after record high temperature Sunday
After the Western Pennsylvania region felt a record high temperature Sunday, the area will get cooler conditions this week, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Leonardi. Sunday’s high of 84 degrees made it the hottest March 22 ever — and it tied for the region’s record high for any day...
Pittsburgh-area colleges get funding for programs to combat sexual assault
Carrie Benson remembers a day, semesters ago, when a student stopped at the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Office at the University of Pittsburgh to ask about certain signs in the bathrooms. The signs, posted on bathroom stalls, outlined resources available to sexual assault survivors. The student asked who put...
2 pilots killed when jet collides with fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia AirportVideo
NEW YORK — An Air Canada jet carrying more than 70 passengers collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, killing the pilot and copilot and injuring several others, officials said. The impact severed the cockpit, and hurled a flight attendant — still secured...
Bill Cosby loses sex assault lawsuit and faces $19 million judgment
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A civil jury in California on Monday found that Bill Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted Donna Motsinger, a former server at a Sausalito, California, restaurant, after escorting her to one of his comedy shows in 1972. The jury awarded Motsinger $19.25 million in damages, a...
Shapiro parodies and chatbot phone banks — how AI is popping up in Pa. elections
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 — Candidates for office in Pennsylvania are using AI tools to generate parody images of their rivals, create...
Trump administration to pay French company $1B to walk away from U.S. offshore wind leases
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to a French company to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy. TotalEnergies has agreed to what’s essentially a refund of its leases for projects off...
Coroner IDs 4 Yough students killed in car crash; community grieves losses
Mourners gathered Sunday at an impromptu creekside memorial in Sewickley Township to honor four Yough High School students killed in a car crash early Saturday morning. Many cried or stood solemnly at the picturesque site. Some left flowers, photos and other keepsakes near the creek bank, still scattered with broken...
Legal pressures mount on Namdar for Pittsburgh Mills mall maintenance
With spring weather could come accountability for Pittsburgh Mills mall owner Namdar Realty Group. At least that’s what Frazer Zoning Officer Bill Payne is hoping for. “Since all the roads and all the other code enforcement stuff were on the exterior of the property, and with all the weather and...
March Madness ups threat of problem gambling, especially for younger men
March Madness tipped off this week, a collection of 67 single-elimination basketball games that not only will crown a champion in 2½ weeks but also draw billions of dollars in sports bets. Young men are particularly at risk of developing gambling problems, experts say. According to a 2024 survey conducted...
