Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 37
Westmoreland commissioners to revamp airport authority board
The board that oversees operations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is poised to be significantly revamped through a series of new appointments Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to vote on this week. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said they will appoint four new members to the nine-person...
A 2nd person dies from fatal Liberty Bridge crash; survivor faces rough recovery
A second person has died in connection with a Sunday morning fatal crash along the Liberty Bridge. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office late Wednesday identified the second victim as Jaren Wilkerson, 28, of Duquesne. A GoFundMe has been setup to help the family with burial expenses. Its organizer, Peri Lee,...
Event organizer feuds with Pittsburgh over 2026 NFL Draft permit
An event organizer with a history of clashing with Pittsburgh officials is once again at odds with the city, accusing it of slow-walking his permit application to host 100 Black vendors Downtown for the NFL 2026 Draft. William “B” Marshall is alleging the city, a Downtown nonprofit and the NFL...
Fetterman, Deluzio part of bipartisan push to strengthen rail safety requirements
Bipartisan bills introduced in Congress over the past week aim to strengthen safety requirements for rail carriers hauling hazardous materials, but the group representing the nation’s freight rail companies says the industry is in its “safest era ever.” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, cosponsored the Senate version of the Railway...
West Newton man pleads guilty to accessing intimate images on hundreds of victims through their Snapchat accounts
A West Newton man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to hacking into hundreds of individual Snapchat accounts, accessing intimate videos and images stored there and then trading them online. Michael Yackovich, 30, will be sentenced on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft by Chief...
Pittsburgh VA expanding emergency room at Oakland hospital
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is expanding the emergency room and renovating spaces for physical therapy, neurology and vascular care at its Oakland hospital. Upgrades to the emergency department at the University Drive medical center will allow for faster triage, shorter wait times and more patient beds, the Pittsburgh VA...
West Deer residents appeal to Commonwealth Court in fight over fracking wells
A case argued Tuesday before Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court could test the reach of local efforts to challenge natural gas fracking. Concerned Residents of West Deer (CROWD), a local advocacy group, has raised concerns for years about the Leto fracking well, which is located near the heart of the West Deer...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette files closure notice with Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s planned closure will affect 171 workers, according to a WARN notice filed Tuesday with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The WARN Act, meaning Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, is designed to protect workers, families and communities, according to the commonwealth. Through the act, employers are...
Kristi Noem defends her portrayal of killed Minneapolis protesters as agitators, in Senate hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her department’s immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged two protesters killed by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year. It was Noem’s first congressional appearance...
Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal
No one showed up in court for either side. Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver. And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life...
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, to reopen this weekend
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, is scheduled to reopen this weekend after a yearslong closure for renovations. Located in the city’s South Side neighborhood, the two-story structure is more than 100 years old. “It means a lot to South Side, but it’s not just South Side,” Councilman...
Where does Pitt rank in federal medical research funding?
A tumultuous time for federal research funding didn’t stop the University of Pittsburgh from increasing its annual haul through the National Institutes of Health. For the year ending Sept. 30, Pitt received roughly $670 million from the country’s top funder of medical research, up from $661 million the year prior....
Video plays key role in Wilkinsburg homicide arrest
Police have arrested a Wilkinsburg man for fatally shooting another man in the back of the neck and leaving his body in the middle of a borough intersection. Wilkinsburg police said they were dispatched around 8:40 p.m. Jan. 13 to the 700 block of South Avenue for a call about...
Secret Service probes $5M Unity scam as duo indicted in similar multi-state ‘gold bar’ scheme
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a scam that netted more than $5 million from a local resident through transactions in Unity. Meanwhile, two men are facing an indictment in Ohio federal court for a similar multi-state scheme that tricked senior citizens, including a West Newton man who reported losing...
How many new housing units are built in Pittsburgh each year? A new tool will track that
Discussions about Pittsburgh’s housing stock last year led to public bickering by the city’s mayoral candidates. During a debate before the May primary, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor slammed his predecessor over the topic. Did Ed Gainey deliver 1,600 units of affordable housing as he boasted? Or, as O’Connor put it,...
Peregrine falcons to be protected during Tarentum Bridge construction project
Peregrine falcons that nest under the Tarentum Bridge will be protected as best they can during an upcoming, long-term construction project along the span. PennDOT is working with the state Game Commission to safeguard the nest — one of six in Allegheny County — when the $97.5 million rehab project...
Lawsuit accuses Pittsburgh police of using Taser on autistic man without cause
A Pittsburgh man who is on the autism spectrum is suing city police, alleging they shocked him with a Taser and arrested him without cause two years ago. Kevin Matthew Dunn, 24, of Pittsburgh’s Westwood neighborhood said in the complaint filed last month in federal court that no criminal charges...
Dow drops 400 after trimming an early plunge of 1,200 as oil prices climb even higher
NEW YORK — A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and hit Wall Street on Tuesday, while oil prices climbed even higher on worries about the widening war with Iran. But the big moves that rocked markets in the morning eased substantially as the day progressed. By the end...
Police, FCC investigate threats against O’Connor made over public safety radio
Federal officials and Allegheny County law enforcement are investigating “hateful and threatening messages,” some of which included antisemitic vitriol against Pittsburgh’s mayor, that were broadcast on two days this week over public safety radio. The comments, made Monday and Tuesday by what the county said was an unauthorized user, were...
White House attributes redness on Trump’s neck to skin cream but doesn’t say what it’s treating
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday attributed a large red spot on President Donald Trump’s neck to a skin cream he is using, without elaborating on what condition it is treating. The redness drew widespread attention Monday, when news photographers captured close-up images of the president’s neck during a...
Israel steps up airstrikes in Tehran, as Iran widens its response across the region
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said it launched airstrikes against Iranian missile launchers and a nuclear research site Tuesday, and Iran struck back against Israel and across the Gulf region, targeting U.S. embassies and disrupting energy supplies and travel. Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested...
Democrats’ newfound unity faces a test after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON — For Democrats demoralized at being shut out of power in Washington, the past several months have offered reason for optimism. A party often beset by ideological division has largely been unified in opposition to President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration tactics, particularly after two U.S. citizens were killed in...
South Side bar speaks out following images of rat under beer tap
A South Side bar says it has conducted a full investigation with the Allegheny County Health Department and brought in additional pest control services after a rat was found on its beer taps. In a statement, Urban Tap said there is a video circulating of a rat under beer taps...
Western Pa. school districts tally expected savings from cyber charter tuition reform
Three months after the state approved changes to the cyber charter tuition formula, administrators from Western Pennsylvania’s K-12 public schools are beginning to tally the expected savings. The state’s latest budget, approved in November after a 4½-month impasse, allows school districts to reduce their tuition payments for students to attend...
Tim Benz: We can talk about Malik Willis and the Steelers. But let’s have the entire conversationVideo
The dialogue about the Steelers potentially being interested in free-agent quarterback Malik Willis seems to have cooled. The Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns appear to be the teams most commonly linked with the current Green Bay Packers backup. That doesn’t break my heart. I’m certainly not sold on...
