Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 3
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...
Hempfield’s ‘Tornado Kid’ Tyler Tubbs reflects on viral video 15 years later
Tyler Tubbs was 15 years old, a freshman baseball player at Hempfield Area High School, when a video he recorded of an EF2 tornado touching down March 23, 2011, in his Fort Allen neighborhood went viral. Now, the 30-year-old project manager lives in Hagerstown, Md., with his wife and two...
3 juveniles arrested, 20 treated for pepper spray exposure after fight in Market Square
Three juveniles were arrested Sunday in Downtown Pittsburgh after police say a fight broke out among about 40 people during which pepper spray was used, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to reports of a large gathering of juveniles at Forbes Avenue and Market Square around 5:30 p.m. A fight...
Rising job opportunities in sports management attract students
Kaleb Tkacs became involved in sports management from the moment he stepped foot on Duquesne University’s campus in August 2023. Tkacs, of Scottdale, joined as a volunteer film crew member with the Duquesne football team that fall. In 2024, he was elevated as a student assistant, overseeing the film crew,...
John Fetterman doubles down on ‘TDS’ claim in face of historically bad pollingVideo
Sen. John Fetterman did not back down in the face of historically bad polling numbers in his appearance this weekend on Fox News’ “My View” with Lara Trump. Fetterman entered the day fresh off a new Quinnipiac poll that showed him at -40 in favorability rating with Pennsylvania Democrats. That...
Westmoreland transit to reshuffle Pittsburgh service for NFL Draft
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority will operate bus service into Pittsburgh during next month’s NFL Draft. Executive Director Alan Blahovec said plans are being formulated to restructure the timing of commuter routes into Pittsburgh for the first two days of the draft. “We’re hoping to finalize plans within the next...
Pittsburgh region at ‘enhanced risk’ for storms with large hail, damaging wind
The chance for severe weather in the Pittsburgh region increased this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the area south of I-80 was upgraded to an enhanced risk, or a level three out of five, for severe storms, the weather service announced. They are expected...
Iran threatens to ‘completely’ close Strait of Hormuz and hit power plants after Trump ultimatum
ARAD, Israel — The United States and Iran threatened to target critical infrastructure Sunday as the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, puts lives and livelihoods at risk throughout the region. Iran said the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to oil and other exports, would be “completely...
ICE to aid airport security amid partial shutdown, border czar saysVideo
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, confirmed Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be deployed to U.S. airports Monday, casting the operation largely as an effort to ease long lines that have caused frustration among travelers during one of the busiest travel seasons. President Donald Trump announced...
Trump’s changing course on Strait of Hormuz strategy raises questions about U.S. war preparationVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — At war with Iran, President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He is jumping from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions...
Man’s body discovered near Mon a month after he went missing
A month after Shelby Rhodes went missing, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his body had been recovered near the Monongahela River. The body of Rhodes, 26, was discovered Saturday near the 200 block of Bunola River Road in Forward Township. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, he was...
Nonprofits, unions and airports rally to feed TSA officers as shutdown drags
Across the country, collections are popping up to help Transportation Security Administration officers who have been without full pay for more than a month due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. The charity World Central Kitchen, more accustomed to feeding those in war zones and...
Democrats sharpen criticism of Vance as they look past Trump to the 2028 presidential campaign
FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Although President Donald Trump is the top Democratic nemesis, some of the party’s most ambitious leaders are increasingly looking past him and at Vice President JD Vance. In the latest example, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear traveled to Vance’s home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he...
Congress is enacting less legislation than it has in at least a half-century, records show
Lawmakers in Washington are on pace to introduce more legislation this session than they have since the 1970s, but they’re also on pace to enact fewer bills and resolutions into law than they have in at least a half-century. A database maintained by the government transparency website GovTrack.us showed that,...
Pirates reassign top prospect Konnor Griffin to minor league camp
Konnor Griffin, MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect, possesses the kind of skill set that makes him a strong bet to make it to the big leagues sooner rather than later. However, at least to start the 2026 regular season, Griffin will head back to the minors to build on a...
4 dead after fiery crash in Sewickley Township; coroner says victims’ identities being determined
The Westmoreland County Coroner on Sunday released the names of four teens killed in a fiery car crash in Sewickley Township early Saturday morning. The coroner identified them as Brady D. Hunker, 15, of Herminie; Rocco A. Zugai, 18, of West Newton; Felicity M. Martini, 15, of Yukon; and Kylee...
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who investigated Russia-Trump campaign ties, dies
WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed the nation’s premier law enforcement agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died. He was 81....
Fetterman hit with brutal 108-point polling swing among Pennsylvania Democrats
Sen. John Fetterman’s political future is not looking bright if he decides to stay in the Democratic Party. At least that’s what a recent Quinnipiac poll, which was highlighted by CNN data guru Harry Enten during his most recent segment, suggests. The polling showed that Fetterman was at +68 with...
Iran targets British-U.S. base and its main nuclear enrichment site is struck again
CAIRO — Iran targeted a joint U.K.-U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean, and Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site was struck again, as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week. “The war is not close to ending,” said Israel’s army chief, Gen. Eyal Zamir, while Iran said...
Man, 19, charged in fatal McKees Rocks shooting
A McKees Rocks resident shot and killed a 20-year-old in the borough Friday night, borough police said. Jayden Knight, 19, is facing a criminal homicide charge after police say he shot Maya Parker once in the head. Details in the criminal complaint against Knight were scant. The complaint said police...
