Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 22
U.S. wholesale prices surged 4% last month after the war in Iran sent energy prices soaring
WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale prices surged last month as the Iran war drove up the cost of energy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was...
Pennsylvania GOP chairman considers re-election support for Fetterman if he switches parties
(The Center Square) – While the governor’s race took center stage at the conservative-backed Pennsylvania Leadership Conference over the weekend, there was another statewide Democrat’s 2028 campaign that wasn’t too far from mind. Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Greg Rothman told The Center Square he’s spoken with several people interested in...
Ligonier gazebo plays prominent role in trailer for ‘Hershey’ filmVideo
Ligonier’s Diamond features prominently in the trailer for the film “Hershey,” set to premiere in theaters on Thanksgiving. Near the end of the 2-minute trailer, released Monday, buildings around the Diamond and the gazebo at the center of it are shown during a celebration scene. Filming took place in the...
The Trump and Leo chronicles: A president and a pope square off over Iran and its aftermath
Pope Leo XIV, a studious and soft-spoken cleric, and Donald Trump, an unapologetically bellicose and pugilistic politician, have long been on a rhetorical collision course. Now their disagreement over the war in Iran has escalated in spectacular fashion, and their comments show how differently each see the conflict and its...
Diplomats try to arrange 2nd round of U.S.-Iran talks during 1st full day of American blockade
ISLAMABAD — Diplomats worked through back channels on Tuesday to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran after Washington enacted its blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran threatened to retaliate by striking targets across the war-weary region. U.S. President Donald Trump said a second round...
Brandon Lowe makes Pirates history with back-to-back 5-RBI performances
The Pittsburgh Pirates had scored seven runs in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals, so Brandon Lowe was looking for an elevated pitch from Brad Lord to get off a good swing. “I didn’t want to be the guy,” Lowe said, “who ended that rally.” When the two-time All-Star...
‘We’re all Penn-Trafford’: Penn Township and Penn Borough residents consider potential mergerVideo
Emergency services and finances were among the key talking points presented by the dozens of residents, volunteer firefighters and local government officials who gathered Monday night to discuss a potential merger of Penn Township and Penn Borough. Officials from the borough, a 0.2-square-mile community containing about 435 residents, approached the...
Construction begins on $10B natural gas power plant and data center in Indiana CountyVideo
Construction has begun on a proposed $10 billion project to create a 4.4-gigawatt natural gas-fueled power plant and hyperscale data centers on a hilltop outside Homer City in Indiana County. The aboveground construction began more than a week ago, after extensive underground foundation work was completed at what the company...
Exodus of federal prosecutors ripples through Pittsburgh office
Since January 2025, nearly a third of the federal prosecutors based in Pittsburgh have left their jobs, joining a national exodus under the Trump administration. Pressured by increasingly heavy workloads linked to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the waning independence of the Justice Department and disruptions at several high-profile offices,...
Once quiet, now colossal: NFL Draft turns Pittsburgh into football’s epicenterVideo
The NFL Draft started in the 1930s as a quiet affair in a hotel ballroom with no cameras and little buzz. Over the decades, it has transformed into a worldwide media spectacle that will draw more than 1,800 reporters and photographers to Pittsburgh next week. While the NFL’s headquarters are...
Penguins to face rival Flyers in 1st round of playoffs
Entering the season, few expected the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers to be participants in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But each member of one of the NHL’s most enduring rivalries will be playing meaningful hockey in the next handful of days. After claiming a 3-2 home shootout win against the...
Many Catholics dismayed by Trump’s unprecedented broadside at the 1st American popeVideo
WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S. Catholic voters supported Donald Trump in his 2024 presidential victory. Yet across the broad Catholic political spectrum — even among conservative-leaning bishops — there is dismay over Trump’s unprecedented verbal assault on Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead their church. Leo says...
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas says he will retire after admitting to affair with staffer
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said Monday he will retire from Congress after bipartisan calls to expel him. Gonzales had already said he would not seek reelection after admitting to an affair with a staff member who had later died by suicide. His retirement announcement came just...
New contract includes interior cameras, GPS tracking for West Mifflin school buses
West Mifflin Area School District’s new transportation contract calls for a new and modernized bus fleet with enhanced safety technology, district officials say. The district entered into a 5-year contract with Krise Transportation for student transportation, said Mireille Mobley, West Mifflin spokeswoman. Krise will replace Sun Coach Lines, West Mifflin’s...
Jury acquits man in daylight shooting of teen in Downtown Pittsburgh
A Beltzhoover man accused of shooting a teenager last year in the middle of the afternoon in Downtown Pittsburgh was found not guilty on all counts on Monday. Martel Hedge Jr., 22, alleged he was defending himself on Feb. 19, 2025, when he fired the single shot in the 400...
Lawsuit claims Allegheny County Jail guard failed to protect inmate attacked in cell with spork
A formerly incarcerated man is suing Allegheny County after he claims he was sexually assaulted in his jail cell with a spork. The complaint, filed last week against Allegheny County and Corrections Officer Van Lieu, includes claims for failure to protect, and failure to train, supervise and discipline staff. Although...
Sewickley man detained by ICE for weeks expected to return home within next few days
A Sewickley man will be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after spending weeks in detention, following an immigration judge’s decision Monday to grant him bond. Bruno Guedes da Silva, a native of Brazil, is expected to be freed on a $5,000 bond set by the judge after he...
Man who posted online as ‘Mr. Satan’ pleads guilty to threatening to kill Trump, ICE agents
A Butler man who threatened in online posts last year to kill President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday. Shawn Monper, 33, will be sentenced Aug. 12 by U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy on two counts of influencing, impeding or...
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California says he will resign from Congress after sexual assault allegations
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California announced Monday he will resign from Congress following multiple sexual assault allegations that prompted loud bipartisan calls for him to step down. The decision caps a swift political fall for the seven-term lawmaker, who had been seen as a frontrunner in California’s...
Vandergrift fire departments temporarily halt service after lapse in workers’ comp coverage
Vandergrift’s two fire departments are stuck at their stations until the borough reinstates workers’ compensation coverage for the volunteers, according to a statement from Mayor Lenny Collini. The statement said borough officials noticed a lapse in coverage late Friday and couldn’t resolve the issue over the weekend. Coverage is expected...
4,000 Band-Aids, 1,400 water bottles, 1 mobile clinic: Allegheny Health Network prepares for NFL Draft
Cuts, scrapes, bruises, dehydration, allergic reactions — Allegheny Health Network expects to see it all when thousands of people pack Downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore in less than two weeks for the 2026 NFL Draft. The system’s mobile clinic will park in Market Square for the duration of the...
Point Park University raises tuition
Point Park University students will pay about 3% more in tuition next academic year. Tuition for a full-time undergraduate student in Point Park’s schools of education, business, communication or arts and sciences will be $20,130 per semester, or $40,260 per year, in the 2026-27 school year. That’s an increase from...
World’s largest rubber duck arrives ahead of NFL Draft
What is yellow, large — standing 61 feet tall and 64 feet wide — and will be taking over Green Tree ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft? The world’s largest rubber duck. From April 17 to 22, the largest inflatable rubber duck in the world, a popular tourist attraction, will...
Trump says he won’t apologize to Pope Leo and explains his reason for posting much-criticized memeVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump refused to apologize to Pope Leo XIV on Monday after criticizing the pontiff for his opposition to the war in Iran — and he sought to explain away a now-deleted social media post depicting himself as Jesus by saying he had thought the image was...
Judge dismisses Trump’s $10B lawsuit against Wall Street Journal, Murdoch over reporting on ties to Epstein
WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida wrote in the order that Trump had failed to make...
