Top Stories category, Page 208
‘This ain’t no setup?’: Slain woman’s texts to accused killer reveal qualms just before her death
Makeida Thompson worried her ex-boyfriend — the father of their 1-year-old son — was setting a trap when he invited her to his grandmother’s Pittsburgh house to clear the air. Thompson and Terrence Washington recently had broken up. Hundreds of text messages they exchanged, read Wednesday by a detective during...
Newly released JFK assassination files reveal more about CIA but don’t yet point to conspiracies
DALLAS — Newly released documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 gave curious readers more details Wednesday into Cold War-era covert U.S. operations in other nations but didn’t initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK. Assessments of the roughly 2,200 files posted by...
What you need to know about Social Security policy changes
Several significant policy changes affecting Social Security recipients and applicants get underway this month. One of the changes is designed to help the Social Security Administration more quickly recover money from people it overpaid. Another aims to limit fraudulent claims. A third could speed up the time it takes to...
South Fayette Youth Football treasurer charged in connection with $60K theft
The treasurer of the South Fayette Township Youth Football Association is charged with stealing over $60,000, officials said. Jaella Richard, 41, of Bridgeville, had access to the association’s checking account as treasurer — which enabled her to steal $64,742.75 worth of funds, according to a criminal complaint in the case....
Carnegie Mellon, Reed Smith subjects of federal DEI crackdown
Two venerable Pittsburgh institutions are among those caught in the crosshairs of a governmentwide crackdown on efforts to provide equal opportunities for people. And unless they can credibly attest their efforts at inclusion are part of a plan to compensate for past discriminatory practices, they may be in violation of...
Zelenskyy agrees to limited ceasefire as Trump floats U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s power plants
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed Wednesday to a limited ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, as U.S. President Donald Trump suggested during a call with the embattled country’s leader that he consider American ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to ensure their long-term security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the...
Trump administration suspends $175 million in federal funding for Penn over transgender swimmer
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program, the White House said Wednesday. The Ivy League school has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming...
Judge finds New Kensington man’s killer guilty of 3rd-degree murder
A McKeesport man was convicted Wednesday of fatally shooting a New Kensington man after a fight outside a Pittsburgh skate shop and entertainment space. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd court found Zahvair Palmer, 23, guilty of third-degree murder in the March 19, 2022, death of Adam Cloud,...
Social Security in-person identity checks opposed by advocates and retirees alike
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration’s plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices has sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already...
Kennywood, Idlewild sale likely surpassed $500M as Dollywood owner augments holdings
Hello, Dolly! American beauty Dolly Parton is certainly aware the company that owns Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is the new owner of the iconic Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Sandcastle in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township, an industry insider told TribLive Wednesday. “She’s aware of...
Here are some non-traditional ways to fill in your March Madness bracket
You’ve spent the whole season glued to the scores and rankings. You’ve memorized players’ names and stats. Selection Sunday has come and gone, and now it’s time for March Madness — and you feel certain that your uber-informed NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament bracket will dominate the work poll....
Armored truck catches fire in O’Hara gas station parking lot
Emergency services were called to the parking lot of the O’Hara GetGo along Freeport Road on Wednesday morning after an armored truck caught fire. Just before 7:40 a.m., drivers and shoppers saw a GardaWorld truck catch fire in the parking. Allegheny County 911 said the scene was cleared around 9:52...
Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House
SEATTLE — Cybertrucks set ablaze. Bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms. Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been...
Monroeville sex offender facing new charges after ‘attempting to upskirt’ female shopper
A Monroeville man is facing charges after he was caught allegedly taking photos up a woman’s skirt Monday afternoon at a Giant Eagle in Monroeville, police said. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, Monroeville police were called to the parking lot of the Target just before 4 p.m. after receiving...
Morning Roundup: Arrest in Homestead assault case; fire threat declared in Western Pa.
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, March 19: Police make arrest in Homestead assault Allegheny County Police arrested 20-year-old Trevon Jones of Homestead on Monday morning after he allegedly assaulted a man and stole his vehicle. Homestead police were called to the intersection of...
Tim Benz: On Steelers QB front, Cam Heyward speaks for all of us when he says, ‘Ugghh’
On his most recent “Not Just Football” podcast, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward had a lot to say about the team’s elongated quarterback search. When he ran out of words, he actually said a lot more. “I think, just (insert exasperated sigh here) … I want to play football,”...
Westmoreland Human Services moving to put scattered staff under 1 roof
Staff who comprise the county’s consolidated Westmoreland Human Services department could be relocated to a centralized location. County officials confirmed Tuesday preliminary talks are underway for a project that could see the county move more than 300 employees to the site of the county housing authority’s former headquarters on South...
Dobi Catering turning off the fryers after 63 years
Dobi Catering and Food Services will fry its last piece of chicken Sunday, ending a 63-year run in Allegheny Township’s main commercial corridor. Manager Gary Miller was the catalyst for the closure after he, along with his wife, Nikki, decided to call it quits. “I’ve decided to move on to...
Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in ‘green bank’ grants
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration, saying the government’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.” The order by U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan prevents — for now —...
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth after 9 months stuck in spaceVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Stuck in space no more, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday, hitching a different ride home to close out a saga that began with a bungled test flight more than nine months ago. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf...
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from banning transgender people from military service
WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday, the latest in a string of legal setbacks for his sweeping agenda. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump’s order to exclude transgender troops from...
Court upholds minor discipline for Pittsburgh cops who skipped funeral where 5 were shot
An appeals court on Monday upheld a decision to reduce discipline against two Pittsburgh police officers who were initially suspended for failing to provide a police presence at a Brighton Heights funeral during which five people were shot. Both Officers Thomas Potts and Dalton Dailey were initially suspended for five...
Accused killer’s mom, grandma testify against him in slaying of ex-girlfriend
Darlene Washington sat on a swivel chair bouncing her great-grandson on her lap while his estranged parents visited her East Liberty home. It was then that she realized her grandson — the boy’s father — was armed. “I looked up, and I saw that he had a gun, and all...
Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild set to be bought by Dollywood owners
Kennywood will soon be operating under new ownership whose other holdings include Dollywood and the Harlem Globetrotters. Atlanta-based Herschend will acquire Palace Entertainment’s U.S. attractions, which includes the iconic West Mifflin amusement park as well as Sandcastle in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in the Laurel Highlands. The deal...
Judge sends mentally ill Pittsburgh bank robber to prison despite plea for mercy
A judge Tuesday sentenced a Pittsburgh man to nearly a decade in federal prison for robbing three Shadyside banks, rejecting a request for leniency because of the defendant’s mental illness. The federal public defender who represents Rashon Coleman, 31, of the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, maintained his client’s schizophrenia and...
