Top Stories category, Page 369
Judge rejects effort to dismiss charges against East Huntingdon man injured in police shootout
A Westmoreland County judge has rejected defense calls for dismissal of charges against an East Huntingdon man wounded by Pennsylvania State Police in an exchange of gunfire last winter. Defense attorney Jill Devine during a court hearing Tuesday contended there was no evidence James R. Miller Jr. intended to kill...
Swissvale woman sentenced to 6 years probation for yearslong sexual relationship with teen
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Pittsburgh-area therapist to probation for having a yearslong sexual relationship with a boy starting when he was 14. Rachel Witkowski, 43, of Swissvale pleaded guilty to three of the 11 charges against her — statutory sexual assault by a person 11 or more years...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates traded with an eye on the future, protecting pitching prospects
With the Pittsburgh Pirates hovering just above .500 going into the trade deadline, there were questions about whether they would be buyers or sellers and what they were willing to give up to get what they wanted. Somehow, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington managed to address three of their primary...
Pittsburgh Brewing teams with Pitt for blue-and-gold I.C. Light can
A collaboration between Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Pitt Athletics on a limited edition Pitt I.C. Light can has been brewing for about two years. The can features royal blue and university gold team colors in addition to the recognizable “Pitt” script and “Hail to Pitt.” It is available this week...
Hamas says its leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran by an Israeli airstrike
BEIRUT — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early Wednesday, and Hamas blamed Israel for the attack. Israel has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some...
‘A failure on multiple levels’: Records reveal security lapses at Trump rally
Five days before Donald Trump took the stage at the Butler Farm Show grounds for a rally, the Secret Service was busy rolling out its strategy to protect the nation’s 45th president. The advance planning was hardly unusual as part of the agency’s mission to guard the nation’s current and...
Police clash with a violent crowd gathered near the site of U.K. stabbing attack that killed 3 girlsVideo
LONDON — Far-right protesters fueled by anger and false online rumors hurled bottles and stones at officers and set a police van ablaze Tuesday outside a northwest England mosque near where three girls were fatally stabbed a day earlier. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “thuggery” and said the crowd...
Dominican trucker faces second deportation for New Stanton fentanyl sale
Westmoreland County prosecutors said a Dominican Republic national faces deportation for the second time after he serves an eight-year prison sentence for selling fentanyl to an undercover state trooper two years ago in New Stanton. Leonardo Antonio Ramirez was convicted in May by a Westmoreland County jury of three drug-related...
Route 366 reopened after Tuesday evening closure due to tree falling
A tree fell across Tarentum Bridge Road on Tuesday evening and is blocking the Route 366 bypass in New Kensington. Police and firefighters are on the scene and rerouting traffic. Westmoreland County Public Safety said the road reopened around 7 p.m. after being closed for a little more than an...
Pennsylvania casinos ask court to force state to tax skill games found in stores equally to slots
HARRISBURG — The owners of 12 Pennsylvania casinos have asked the state’s highest court to declare that a tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because the state doesn’t impose it broadly on cash-paying electronic game terminals known as skill games that can be found in many bars and stores....
Simone Biles, Team USA earn ‘redemption’ with Olympic gold in women’s gymnasticsVideo
PARIS — Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee spent the night before perhaps the biggest gymnastics meet of their lives restless. There was a tension in the air. They’d all been in the Olympic spotlight before, experiences that left them with medals but also the kind of scars —...
Penn State fraternity brothers plead guilty in student’s 2017 hazing death
Two former Penn State University students and fraternity leaders pleaded guilty to their roles in the 2017 hazing death of Timothy Piazza, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday. Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, pleaded guilty this week to 14 counts of hazing and one count of reckless...
Social media account ban lifted for ‘White Dudes for Harris’
A ban on the X account of a political group known as “White Dudes for Harris” was lifted Tuesday after the suspension sparked outcry and an organizer accused Elon Musk of being scared. On Monday, “White Dudes for Harris” held an online fundraising rally in support of Vice President Kamala...
Co-chair of Black journalists convention steps down after Trump appearance announced
The co-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists 2024 convention in Chicago has stepped down, following former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention. Karen Attiah’s announcement came via the social media platform X — after Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention and participate...
Harris campaign said she would not ban fracking, reversing past pledge
Vice President Kamala Harris will not seek a ban on natural gas drilling, or fracking, if elected, according to a statement from her campaign. “She would not ban fracking,” the Harris campaign said in a statement to TribLive. The statement comes as a reversal of Harris’ past comments on fracking....
William Calley, who led the My Lai massacre that shamed U.S. military in Vietnam, has died
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — William Laws Calley Jr., who as an Army lieutenant led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, has died. He was 80. Calley died on April 28, according to his...
Israel carries out rare strike on Beirut that it says killed Hezbollah commander
BEIRUT — Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. At least three other people were killed. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the...
Steelers affiliate receives $850K settlement in dispute over Acrisure Stadium scoreboard
Pittsburgh’s Sports and Exhibition Authority has settled a yearslong dispute over whether it should have to pay for a costly upgrade to the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium. The authority agreed to pay $850,000 to PSSI Stadium LLC, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The disagreement began when PSSI upgraded the...
Red-light district: Pittsburgh mulls tech to catch traffic-light scofflaws
Drivers running red lights in Pittsburgh could one day be fined through an automatic enforcement system. Legislation introduced Tuesday to City Council would allow Pittsburgh to install cameras at high-risk intersections to ticket drivers who blow through red lights. “This technology will allow us to crack down on dangerous driving...
Jeannette Public Library closed after bomb threat
The Jeannette Public Library was closed Tuesday after a bomb threat was called into city hall, according to library board members. The threat was called in on Monday and indicated a bomb would be present at the library Tuesday, said board president Joann Billheimer and board member Chad Krawtz. Police...
Acting Secret Service director says he’s ‘ashamed’ after the Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service’s acting director on Tuesday told lawmakers he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was unsecured and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not communicated to his agency that a...
Penn Hills Center sold to out-of-state investment firm for $20.5 million
The Penn Hills Center and several outparcels near the shopping plaza on Rodi Road have been purchased by a New York-based firm for $20.5 million. Under an LLC created early this year, Asher Group reached a deal with First National Realty Partners in May to add the popular retail destination...
Officials say they’ve not been contacted by Trump campaign about 2nd Butler rally
Butler-area officials said they have not heard from the Donald Trump campaign about an announced second rally in Butler County. The first Trump rally in Pennsylvania since the assassination attempt will see the former president in Harrisburg in Dauphin County on Wednesday. The rally will feature U.S. Senate candidate Dave...
Shapiro was set to endorse Harris for president in 2019. Will she want him on her ticket now?
When Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president last week, it wasn’t the first time. A little-known political fact of Harris’s first run for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 campaign cycle is that then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro offered his endorsement of Harris’s first presidential bid...
Global program pushes male athletes to talk about dating abuse, sexual violence
Ryan Reitz is used to having difficult conversations. For the past seven years, Reitz has facilitated the Coaching Boys Into Men program with male athletes in locker rooms across Westmoreland County — diving into topics such as consent, respect and dating violence. Sometimes, encouraging athletes to participate in the conversations...
