Top Stories category, Page 200
House Speaker Johnson fails to squash a proxy voting effort from new moms in CongressVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson exercised his power of the gavel Tuesday in an unusually aggressive effort to squash a proposal for new parents in Congress to able to vote by proxy, rather than in person, as they care for newborns. His plan failed, 206-222. In an unprecedented move,...
‘Miscarriage of justice’: Mom pans prison terms for son’s murderers as too short
Monica Reifman’s teenage son was shot 17 times in broad daylight. Two other people were wounded. That, she told a judge on Tuesday, is certainly worth a longer sentence than the 15 to 30 years in prison the prosecution offered to the two men pleading guilty. “That they could be...
Federal prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
NEW YORK — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that she has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment. It is the first time the Justice...
Businesses to stay open as Market Square upgrade, traffic shifts begin
A yearlong renovation to Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh scheduled to begin Tuesday will cause a shift in traffic patterns. Construction will start in the north half of the square, including McMasters, Market and Graeme streets. One-way traffic heading toward Downtown on Forbes Avenue from Wood Street to Stanwix Street...
Editorial: Local cops use radar in Pa.! April Fool’s!
April Fool’s Day is rife with old jokes. It’s a date brimming with fake pregnancy announcements, weird product ad campaigns and classics like switching sugar for salt. Do the tricks catch people? Sometimes. For those that see them coming, however, April Fool’s pranks tend to prompt rolled eyes and heavy...
Man fatally shot outside vehicle in Homewood North
Two men have been charged with homicide in connection with a fatal shooting early Tuesday in Homewood North. Shawn Collins, 54, of Pittsburgh, and Lavelle Johnson, 33, of Braddock, are awaiting arraignment in connection with the death of Johnny Ray Wilson. His age was not listed in court papers. Wilson...
Allergies hitting you already? You’re not alone
Sneezing earlier than normal? Congested? Eyes watery? You’re not alone or imagining it. Allergy specialists in Western Pennsylvania say allergy seasons are getting longer and intensifying. Patients with allergy symptoms started visiting Allegheny Health Network allergist and immunologist Dr. Ali Ayyash in mid-February. “Typically, the spring pollen season starts towards...
Decision on 2nd injection well in Plum to come in June, zoning board says
Plum’s zoning hearing board says it will have a final decision on the development of a second injection well along Old Leechburg Road by June. The board heard testimony from three people Monday night during the third in a series of hearings. Local environmental advocacy group Protect PT (Penn-Trafford) and...
Pa. Senate passes bill requiring prosecutors to report noncitizens to ICE
The Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill Monday requiring prosecutors in the commonwealth to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they believe a defendant is not a U.S. citizen, with critics voicing concern that the measure would entangle local law enforcement in some of the Trump administration’s recent excesses. The...
Pa. measles cases prompt CVS to push vaccine statewide
Following the confirmation of at least five measles cases in Pennsylvania, CVS Health reminded patients of its services that offer the measles vaccine to unvaccinated commonwealth residents. Pennsylvania’s first measles case of the year was reported in Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia on March 2, and the second was reported...
Westmoreland commissioners quickly fill vacant HR director’s post
Westmoreland County commissioners on Monday named Amanda Bernard as the county’s new director of human resources, starting April 28. It’s a return engagement for Bernard. She served in the position for about two years before she left for another job in 2020 and was replaced by Alexis Bevan, who formally...
Feds in Pittsburgh charge 4 in multimillion-dollar lottery scam linked to Jamaica
Federal investigators in Pittsburgh have charged four people they say were involved in a $4.5 million international lottery scam run out of Jamaica that targeted the elderly. Yonel Burnett, 28, of Jamaica, is charged in a two-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit...
In Lithuania, 3 U.S. soldiers found dead in armored vehicle; 1 remains missing
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Three of the U.S. Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have been found dead in their armored vehicle that was pulled from a swampy area early Monday, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command. Another soldier is still missing. The bodies of the three soldiers...
Pat McAfee to release additional tickets to sold-out Pittsburgh showVideo
Pat McAfee announced Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that another 1,750 tickets will be opened up for his April 9 show at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. McAfee said the tickets will be sold at the same price as the original run, which sold out in 92 minutes. ????BREAKING NEWS????1,750...
Pittsburgh nonprofit working to help Myanmar earthquake survivors
A Pittsburgh-based relief organization is among those trying to assist survivors of the earthquake in Myanmar that’s left more than 2,000 people dead. The quake could exacerbate hunger and disease outbreaks in a country that was already one of the world’s most challenging places for humanitarian organizations to operate because...
Ex-Pirates catcher sues Tennessee company for failing to repay loan
A Pittsburgh Pirates catcher-turned-broadcaster is suing a pro-Second Amendment social media company based in Tennessee, alleging it failed to fully repay a $15,000 loan plus interest. Michael McKenry claimed he made the loan to Greyhive LLC in October 2022 expecting to earn 15% in interest within three months. More than...
Judge boots off ballot 2 Dems running for Kail-Smith’s Pittsburgh council seat
The field to replace Pittsburgh Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith just shrank. Two Democratic candidates vying for her seat on City Council will not appear on the ballot in the May primary following a court ruling. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay last week determined that David Binkoski, 36, of Duquesne...
Trump keeps talking about running for a 3rd term. The U.S. Constitution says that can’t happen
President Donald Trump has just started his second term, his last one permitted under the U.S. Constitution. But he’s already started talking about serving a third one. “There are methods which you can do it,” Trump insisted to NBC News in a telephone interview on Sunday. That follows months of...
FirstEnergy lays off 75 in Pennsylvania; 350 companywide
Electric utility owner FirstEnergy Corp., parent company of Greensburg’s West Penn Power Co., said Monday it has laid off about 75 employees in Pennsylvania. The layoffs are part of a corporate-wide restructuring impacting 350 of its employees. About 75 FirstEnergy workers throughout the state lost their jobs as the company...
Under the new Trump administration, this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility has a different tenor
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump used contentiousness around transgender people’s access to sports and bathrooms to fire up conservative voters and sway undecideds. And in his first months back in office, Trump has pushed the issue further, erasing mention of transgender people on government websites and passports and trying...
Mark Madden: Alex Ovechkin will break Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record, but how he does it matters for NHL
Alex Ovechkin has 890 career goals. He’s going to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894. But how should he do it? What would be best for business? The Washington Capitals have to consider what’s best for their team. They unexpectedly have the top seed in the Eastern Conference...
Kremlin official says Russia sees efforts to end Ukraine war as a drawn-out process
Russia views efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine as “a drawn-out process,” a Kremlin spokesman said Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with the two countries’ leaders as he tries to bring about a truce. “We are working to implement some ideas in connection with the...
Judge blocks release of public records that show the bodies of Gene Hackman, wife
SANTA FE, N.M. — A court on Monday blocked the release of any public records that show the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, but said other images and documents can be disclosed. A representative for the Hackman family estate had urged a New Mexico judge to...
Morning Roundup: Horse and buggy robberies in Mercer County; arrest made in Beaver County over swastikas
Here are a few morning news items from across the region for Monday, March 31, 2025: Horse and buggy robberies in Mercer County Two horse and buggy drivers reported to state police in Mercer County that they were approached separately by an armed motorist who demanded their wallets. The first...
1 dead following 4-vehicle crash on Parkway East
One person was killed following a four-vehicle crash that shut down the Parkway East inbound for several hours early Monday, according to state police. The crash was reported near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel in Pittsburgh at 1:50 a.m. Traffic was stopped for a while before the tunnel as investigators examined...
