Top Stories category, Page 304
Police raid 2 vape shops, convenience store in Lower Burrell
It was Round 2 of raids against vape shops in Westmoreland County on Friday morning — this time, in Lower Burrell. Police seized items from three city businesses: Burrell Tobacco and Vape at 3087 Leechburg Road; Discount Vape in the Hillcrest Shopping Center; and a convenience store at 2700 Leechburg...
What the presidential candidates are up to todayVideo
It’s Friday, but this close to Election Day, the campaigns aren’t taking a weekend break. Here’s a peek at what’s been going on 11 days before the election. Where is everyone? For the two presidential candidates, everything is bigger in Texas today. Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris will...
Giant poop emoji statue arrives in Washington
A giant poop emoji statue has arrived on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. And, yes, you read that sentence correctly. The satirical statue is meant to “honor” Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and it will be on the Mall until Wednesday, the Washington Post reported. “This memorial honors the brave men...
Pittsburgh police Chief Scirotto to step down amid refereeing controversy
Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto is resigning Nov. 1, capping more than a week of controversy over his decision to return to part-time refereeing at NCAA basketball games. Scirotto sent an email just after 10 a.m. Friday to the 751-member Pittsburgh Bureau of Police notifying the force of his decision....
Proposal floated to double property tax bills to cover rising fire department costs in Hempfield
Hempfield may double its property tax millage rate to support the expenses of its 10 fire departments. It would be the first tax increase in more than three decades. Township supervisors discussed a $17 million preliminary budget this week that included a 3-mill property tax. The tax levy has remained...
‘We can do big things’: Shapiro unveils $600M makeover for Downtown Pittsburgh
Buoyed by nearly $600 million of investments, a new plan for Downtown Pittsburgh unveiled Friday by Gov. Josh Shapiro includes nearly 1,000 new housing units, improvements to public spaces in the Golden Triangle and increased public safety efforts. “To have a strong and vibrant commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you have to...
To fight misinformation, news outlets are putting plans in place to combat false election night stories
NEW YORK — As news outlets get ready for election night, they’re not only focusing on what happens. They’re keeping watch over what doesn’t. Several plans to combat misinformation are in place across newsrooms that will follow the climax of a hard-fought campaign on Nov. 5. The Associated Press and...
Aliquippa youth football teams ousted from league following violent incident
There will be no more football for kids in the Aliquippa Little Quips. The youth teams were removed Wednesday from the Beaver County Youth Football League. Team officials and parents told TribLive news partner WTAE they are distraught over the decision, which came by a 6-3 vote and just days...
West Hempfield elementary school site could be home to new fire station
About five months after Adamsburg fire station crews expressed interest in turning management of its service over to the township, Hempfield is considering building the firefighters a station on Hempfield Area School District property. Over the past several years, the township has invited its 10 fire stations to become “nonchartered”...
After Obama’s push for Harris, Black men still seem divided on how they’ll vote
When James Hill considers the weight of his singular vote on Nov. 5, he can’t help but think of his grandmother. Hill, 30, of Pittsburgh’s North Side said his grandmother grew up in the rural South and never dreamed possible that a Black woman would run for president. “Moments like...
Audit of Scirotto’s refereeing while Florida police chief raises concerns among officials in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto keeps dribbling his way into controversy over his side hustle as an NCAA basketball referee. Three years ago, he was the subject of an audit about his officiating while running Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s police department. The auditor alleged that Scirotto was double dipping — being...
Police dogs working to sniff out potential threats mailed with ballots at Westmoreland courthouse
Police dogs are being used in the Westmoreland County Election Bureau and other courthouse offices to sniff out potential threats including drugs or explosives that could arrive among the thousands of mail-in ballots and other items arriving daily. “There were reports across the nation of elected officials receiving fentanyl-laced mail,”...
11-year-old gorilla Ivan dies during medical procedure at Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium announced the death of one of its lifelong residents, 11-year-old gorilla Djembe. Known to the public as Ivan, the Western lowland silver-back gorilla suffered cardiac arrest Wednesday while undergoing a medical procedure at the zoo, officials reported. Zoo officials said Ivan showed no pre-existing conditions,...
McKeesport carjacking suspect arrested after crashing in North Versailles
A suspect in a McKeesport assault and carjacking crashed on Route 30 in North Versailles on Thursday afternoon after failing to stop for an Allegheny County sheriff’s deputy, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy took the man into custody after he crashed into a utility pole near Grandview Cemetery,...
President Biden to apologize for 150-year Indian boarding school policyVideo
NORMAN, Okla. — President Joe Biden said he will formally apologize on Friday for the country’s role in forcing Indigenous children for over 150 years into boarding schools, where many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and more than 950 died. “I’m doing something I should have done a long...
Monroeville officials lease convention center to tourism agency
After purchasing the Monroeville Convention Center earlier this year, Monroeville Council voted this month to enter into a 25-year lease agreement that will keep the center’s operations largely the same. Council voted to lease the space to Visit Monroeville, which was formed in 1987 and promotes both the center and...
Charges amended for Greensburg hospital nurses accused of taking, sharing patient photos
Attorney Samuel Cordes got emotional Thursday while discussing how a woman in her 90s became an unknowing subject in a video recording while she was a patient at Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg. Her nude body was visible in the video that, police say, was taken without her consent by a...
Police raid 3 vape shops in Westmoreland, confiscate drug-related items
Police raided three vape shops in Westmoreland County Thursday, confiscating illegal drug-related items, authorities said. The raids took place at EZ Tobacco & Vape in Delmont, Vape & Smoke City in Hempfield and The Vape EXcape in Latrobe. It was a joint effort by local and state police, as well...
Lori Falce: Lessons for Elon Musk from the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes
When I was a kid, I loved seeing the Publishers Clearing House envelope show up in the mailbox. I would open it and spread out the contents on the dining room table — stickers in this pile, cards in another, forms in a third. I would read the rules like...
Elon Musk’s PAC halts $1M daily giveaway after DOJ warning
After receiving a warning letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce a $1 million daily winner Wednesday for signing its petition. The letter to America PAC warned that its giveaway in battleground states to swing voters could be illegal, CNN reported, by violating federal...
Records show school van driver had cocaine in system during crash that killed Serra Catholic student
Medical records in the case against two men accused of drag racing in a high-speed crash that killed a 15-year-old girl in Dravosburg show that the driver of the school van she was traveling in tested positive for cocaine. Defense attorneys for William Soliday and Andrew Voigt believe that detail...
Prosecutors recommend resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989 killings of their parents
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors recommended Thursday Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced during a Thursday news...
Monroeville officials lease convention center to tourism agency
After purchasing the Monroeville Convention Center earlier this year, Monroeville council voted this month to enter into a 25-year lease agreement that will keep the center’s operations largely the same. Council voted to lease the space to Visit Monroeville, which was formed in 1987 and promotes both the center and...
Beyoncé, whose ‘Freedom’ is Harris’ campaign anthem, is expected at Democrat’s Texas rally on Friday
PHILADELPHIA — Beyoncé is expected to appear Friday in her hometown of Houston at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to three people familiar with the matter. Harris’ presidential campaign has taken on Beyonce’s 2016 track “Freedom” as its anthem, and the singer’s planned appearance brings a high-level...
The Home Stretch: Here’s the election news for Oct. 24
The polls are still neck-and-neck, the candidates are spread thin over the swing states and the news just gets crazier. Want to stop doom scrolling? Here’s your one-stop shop for today’s election news. Where is everyone? The four big names continue their game of musical chairs in key battleground states...
