Top Stories category, Page 226
Officials, activists rally for transgender rights, call on UPMC to provide gender-affirming care to minors
Cori Fraser last week was preparing to take their 18-year-old child for a gender-affirming surgery at UPMC. But Salem, Fraser’s child who also uses they/them pronouns, found out just days before the surgery that it was canceled. Fraser said UPMC had scrapped planned gender-affirming treatments for patients under 19 to...
Stomped, stabbed, then a bullet to the head: Pair charged in vicious Pittsburgh slaying
Police have charged two Pittsburgh men with breaking into a Knoxville home in 2022, brutally assaulting the man who lived there and videotaping part of the attack before killing him. Deonte Kidd, 30, of Lincoln-Lemington, and Le’Juane Powell, 31, of Beltzhoover, were charged last week in the death of Victor...
Trump says Musk will probably leave in ‘a few months’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Elon Musk would likely leave his administration in “a few months,” the clearest sign that his most powerful and disruptive adviser will be wrapping up his work inside the government. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that “Elon is fantastic” but...
Westmoreland agency on aging celebrates uptick in staffing, performance rates
Carrie Nelson is proud to help prevent and address abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly Westmoreland County residents. But when the county Area Agency on Aging lost 75% of its protective services care managers in the summer of 2022, Nelson, as executive director, was put in a difficult position. “We...
O’Connor pitches ideas to improve public safety as Pittsburgh mayor
Corey O’Connor pledged Thursday that if elected Pittsburgh mayor he would oversee a range of public safety improvements. They would include bettering recruiting and retention of public safety workers, opening resource centers throughout the city and asking Pittsburgh’s hospitals to pay for new ambulances. O’Connor, who is Allegheny County’s controller...
Storms kill 7 in the South and Midwest as forecasters warn of catastrophic rain, floods this weekVideo
LAKE CITY, Ark. — Standing alongside the twisted steel tractors on his family farm in northeast Arkansas on Thursday, Danny Qualls looked on while friends and relatives helped him begin cleaning up. The home where he spent his childhood but no longer lives was flattened by one of many tornadoes...
Trial set for Greensburg man accused of providing fatal overdose to nephew
A Greensburg man accused of providing his nephew with the fentanyl-laced drug that killed him in October 2021 is scheduled to go on trial in Westmoreland County Court next week. Jury selection before Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of Michael A. Rebosky,...
Judge says U.S. government may have ‘acted in bad faith’ as he weighs contempt over deportation order
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration may have “acted in bad faith” by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country before a court could block their deportations to El Salvador. U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg in Washington pressed a Justice Department lawyer to...
Mt. Washington man pleads guilty in West End Bridge crash that killed cousin
A Mt. Washington man whose cousin was killed when she was thrown from his car in a drunk-driving crash pleaded guilty Wednesday in her death. Russell Page, 29, will spend 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail. Page was charged in the March 2, 2024, crash near the West End...
Pentagon watchdog to review Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal app to convey plans for Houthi strike
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s acting inspector general announced Thursday that he would review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen. The review will also look at other defense officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted...
Records reveal Shapiro admin stopped tracking why older adults die during abuse, neglect investigations
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. HARRISBURG — The Shapiro administration last year stopped collecting information on why older adults in Pennsylvania die during open abuse and neglect investigations, and no...
Pittsburgh man charged in 2023 fatal shooting in Jeannette
The news this week that an arrest had been made in her daughter’s 2023 shooting death was a relief for Bruna Vesco Leonard. For nearly two years, she had been waiting, at times with frustration, for some movement in the case. Now, she knows her daughter Brianna Lartz can be...
Woman gets prison for killing drinking companion in Pittsburgh apartment
A woman who shot a man to death after they drank together in a Pittsburgh apartment will serve at least 5 1/2 years in state prison. Toddia Smiley, 28, of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty in December to voluntary manslaughter for shooting Damien Jackson, 29, of Homestead on Sept. 1, 2022. She...
Dow drops 1,600 as stocks lead worldwide sell-off after Trump’s tariffs cause covid-like shock
NEW YORK — Wall Street shuddered, and a level of shock unseen since covid’s outbreak tore through financial markets worldwide Thursday on worries about the damage President Donald Trump’s newest set of tariffs could do to economies across continents, including his own. The S&P 500 sank 4.8%, more than in...
Trump’s tariffs aren’t strictly reciprocal. Here’s how he calculated them
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised tariffs that would raise U.S. import taxes high enough to mirror what other assess as trade penalties on American goods. What he’s actually imposing is based on far more complicated math. Here’s a look at how the White House got its numbers: Why do...
Political banners target U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, his wife at Braddock’s Free Store
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman condemned people who he said “defaced” Braddock’s Free Store sometime Wednesday night. So did several Jewish organizations in a joint statement Thursday that called the incident “inappropriate and counterproductive.” In a post on the social media platform X, Fetterman shared a photo of a banner hanging...
What to know about ‘Hands-Off’ protests opposing Trump in Pittsburgh
Grassroots organizations are set to rally on Saturday in Pittsburgh — joining the Hands Off! National Day of Action centered on opposition of the Trump administration and its policies. Hands Off! is a pro-democracy, pro-worker movement against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, according to the Third Act website....
Hempfield woman loses $70,000 in social security scam
A Hempfield woman was scammed out of $70,000 after state police said she was led to believe she was under investigation by the Social Security Administration for money laundering and drug sales. “This was part of an elaborate scheme to defraud our elders and is likely not the only case,”...
Man killed by Pittsburgh police urged officers to shoot him months earlier
A Hill District man whose February death at the hands of Pittsburgh police remains under investigation had urged officers repeatedly to shoot him during an encounter months earlier, according to a TribLive review of court records. Police shot and killed Maurice Jones, 33, in the Hill District on Feb. 5....
1 dead in New Kensington fire; 2 firemen injured
A New Kensington woman died in a house fire Thursday. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as Amy L. Seguiti, no age given. She was inside the home as crews were fighting the fire, the coroner’s office said. The cause and manner of death are under investigation. An...
Driver who drove away after striking 8-year-old cyclist in Penn Borough contacts police
State police said Thursday the driver of a white Subaru car that hit an 8-year-old boy riding a bicycle in Penn Borough and left the scene contacted them after media coverage of the incident. Trooper Steve Limani identified the driver as David Baker, 48, of Connellsville. No charges have been...
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will match U.S. auto tariffs
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada will match U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% auto tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States. Trump’s previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports took effect Thursday. The prime minister said he told Trump last week in...
Pitt, CMU, among 20 schools Forbes dubs ‘New Ivies’
The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon are among the country’s finest schools of higher education, according to a new list from Forbes that identifies 20 colleges as “New Ivies” — schools that produce quality graduates without the pretension and liberal political baggage that comes with an Ivy League pedigree....
Going to the Pirates home opener? What you need to know
The Pittsburgh Pirates open their PNC Park season Friday, hosting the New York Yankees in a home opener for the first time in franchise history. The first pitch is set for 4:12 p.m. — a nod to the city’s 412 area code — at PNC Park on Pittsburgh’s North Shore....
Answering your questions about President Trump’s vast new tariffs
WASHINGTON — After weeks of anticipation and speculation, President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats by declaring on Wednesday a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States. In announcing what he...
