Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 310
Carnegie Mellon president addresses China-based ties
The federal government has requested information about Carnegie Mellon University’s international students and possible collaborations it has with China-based universities and research institutions. CMU President Farnam Jahanian said it was one of six American universities to receive a letter from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party regarding...
Pittsburgh Zoo’s oldest male gorilla dies suddenly
Harry — Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s oldest male gorilla — died Tuesday of a “sudden cardiac event.” At 33 years old, the Western lowland silver-back gorilla was a longtime zoo favorite as the eldest male in a troop of six. Male western lowland gorillas have a median life expectancy of...
The White House says nothing classified was shared on Signal. Democrats say that strains credulity
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration struggled Wednesday to stem the fallout from revelations that top national security officials discussed sensitive attack plans over a messaging app and mistakenly added a journalist to the chain. The White House said the information shared through the publicly available Signal app with Jeffrey Goldberg,...
$24M in projects being worked into Burrell school budget
The public can get its first look at how Burrell School District’s multimillion-dollar school realignment could affect their taxes next school year at a meeting Tuesday. “If you want to know where your tax money is going, and what they pay for, show up to the meeting,” board President Rick...
Man accused of killing Mogie’s owner remains in state hospital with no date to resume trial
The man accused of killing the owner of Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell remains confined to Torrance State Hospital in Derry and, in the view of a Westmoreland County judge, unable to stand trial. Nathan Salem, 46, of Lower Burrell has been in custody without bond since Dec. 21,...
Mystery deepens over ex-UPMC doc accused in Hawaii attack on wife
Gerhardt Konig smiled in the Oct. 5, 2018, Facebook photo as his new bride leaned into his side, holding a bouquet against her white dress. The photogenic couple stood under a garden arbor adorned with white flowers. “Best. Day. Ever.” Konig wrote. On Wednesday, some 6½ years later, authorities in Hawaii...
Penn Hills teachers reach contract agreement, avoid strike
Penn Hills teachers were able to avoid a strike after a contract agreement was reached with district administration. According to a news release from the Penn Hills Education Association, an unspecified majority of the membership voted to ratify their collective bargaining agreement with the district Wednesday night. The school board...
Jury renders split verdict for man accused of dousing ex with hot cooking oil
Tasha Lomax suffered second-degree burns over 20% of her body after hot cooking oil spilled down her left side. She claimed her ex-boyfriend, Herkley Fields IV, had doused her on purpose in McKeesport on Oct. 9, 2022. “‘This is what you and your friends get for playing with me,’” Lomax...
Organizers of Fetterman, McCormick event mum on venue details as protesters mobilize
Dana Kellerman plans to protest Saturday in Pittsburgh. She just doesn’t know where yet. Complicating matters, Kellerman said she wasn’t sure where hundreds of other anticipated protesters should go or where they should set up their giant inflatable chicken. It all depends on where U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick and John...
Greensburg’s Main Street reimagined with mix of housing, retail, restaurants
An ambitious attempt to revitalize some century-old buildings on Greensburg’s Main Street will likely involve some future scholars to reach its maximum potential. The Westmoreland County Housing Authority intends to convert the century-old First Commonwealth Building and adjoining PNC Bank buildings into housing, retail, office and meeting spaces in what...
Republicans axed from Norwin school board race
Three Norwin School Board candidates were removed Wednesday from the May primary ballots. A Westmoreland County judge ruled technical errors rendered nomination petitions submitted by incumbent Alex Detschelt, along with Republican hopefuls Tammy Moreno and Randall Pedder, as invalid. Detschelt, a controversial first-term member of the board who has twice...
Lawsuit claims Ligonier Valley police failures led to man’s death after 2020 crash
Surviving family members of a Latrobe-area man paralyzed in 2020 car crash in Ligonier Township claim failures of local police led to his eventual death, according to allegations raised in a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County. The family claims that Ligonier Valley police detained Donald R. Hall, 49, outside a...
Appeals court won’t halt order barring Trump administration from deportations under wartime law
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court refused Wednesday to lift an order barring the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wouldn’t block a March 15...
More than 200 students gather for anti-hate summit at Acrisure Stadium
In anticipation of September’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh, students from 25 school districts throughout Allegheny County convened March 26 at Acrisure Stadium to discuss their efforts to promote acceptance and counter hate in their communities. The conference, which marked a halfway point between last October’s Eradicate Hate summit...
Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll...
JD Vance joins Greenland tour as Trump says of island: ‘We need it’Video
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — First it was Donald Trump Jr. announcing he was “coming in hot” to Greenland weeks after his father said the U.S. would annex the world’s biggest island. Now Vice President JD Vance is joining a trip there because he doesn’t want his wife “to have all that...
Democrats take hope from upset win in GOP-leaning Pa. state Senate district
MANHEIM — Democrat James Andrew Malone narrowly won a special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities, scoring an upset in a district that a Democrat hasn’t represented in the chamber for 136 years. Malone’s victory over Republican Josh Parsons in Tuesday night’s election...
Motorcyclist who disappeared into huge Seoul sinkhole found dead after overnight searchVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — A motorcyclist who fell into a cavernous sinkhole that opened on a Seoul street was found dead after an overnight search, officials in South Korea’s capital said Tuesday. The roughly 20-meter-wide, 20-meter-deep sinkhole appeared at an intersection in the Myeongil-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul on Monday...
Alle-Kiski Valley communities rally behind lifelong public servant as he battles cancer
Willie Weber is a giver. The Arnold man has dedicated his life to public service, working at various Alle-Kiski Valley police departments and volunteering as a firefighter in Arnold. After decades of putting his energy into supporting his community and surrounding communities, Weber, 65, is now the one receiving support....
Supreme Court upholds Biden rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration regulation on the nearly impossible-to-trace weapons called ghost guns, clearing the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements for buying the kits online. The 7-2 opinion found that existing gun laws allow regulation of the...
Murrysville mobile home park residents’ water service restored
Residents of the Holiday Hills mobile home park in Murrysville are cautiously optimistic after property managers say regular water service was restored. Renters in the park, off Logans Ferry Road, have dealt with inconsistent water pressure — and frequently no water at all — since late January. The private water...
The Atlantic releases Signal chat showing Hegseth’s detailed attack plans against Houthis
WASHINGTON — The Atlantic on Wednesday released the entire Signal chat among senior national security officials, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf...
Former UPMC Children’s Hospital doctor pleads guilty to child pornography charges
Ashok Panigrahy, a former chief radiologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, has pleaded guilty in federal court for knowingly possessing images and videos of child pornography. On Tuesday, the Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the guilty plea, which took place before U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell...
Hempfield couple say goodbye to flood-prone home — with help from township, state and feds
Rob and Lori Upholster are going to be in the market for a new place to live. After enduring 13 floods inside their Hempfield home in the past 29 years, they are on the brink of getting federal funding to alleviate the situation and demolish their house. It’s emotional for...
Ligonier Country Market appears poised to flout township rules if it opens as scheduled
If the Ligonier Country Market opens as planned May 17, it will be in violation of township regulations. After tabling the matter for two weeks, township supervisors on Tuesday approved a special event permit for the seasonal market. But they said the market also is subject to a 2008 conditional...
