Top Stories category, Page 386
Trump lawyers press judge to overturn hush money conviction after Supreme Court immunity ruling
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. The former president’s lawyers wrote in papers made public Thursday that prosecutors rushed...
Defense seeks to bar testimony in appeal of decades-old Jeannette arson murder case
Attorneys for a former Jeannette man in prison for the deaths of his wife and two young children killed three decades ago in a house fire are seeking to bar new testimony about the origins of the fatal blaze. James Young, 57, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder...
Pittsburgh police seek suspect in Downtown bus stop assault
Pittsburgh police are looking for a man in connection with a reported assault on July 1 at a bus stop Downtown. The suspect is described as being between 35 and 45 years old, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds, with short hair, glasses, and a beard. Police said the suspect,...
State bill guarding Pittsburghers from big property tax hikes heads to Shapiro
State legislation passed this week paves the way for Pittsburgh to exempt or defer tax increases for longtime homeowners whose property values have jumped since they purchased their houses. The goal is to protect longtime residents from being taxed out of their homes in developing neighborhoods where skyrocketing property values...
Pharmacy benefit manager bill headed to Pa. governor’s desk
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers is headed to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The bill, which began in the state House, passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. Those revisions were approved 172-30 in the House on Thursday. The bill sets restrictions on...
Pennsylvania lawmakers pass nearly $48B budget almost 2 weeks late
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers ground through a flurry of votes Thursday to approve a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year after being slowed by disagreements during closed-door negotiations over Democrats’ push for more public schools aid. The $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started...
Mixed-use housing project at Bloomfield Community Market site likely dead
Plans for a new grocery store, public square, retail and hundreds of apartments in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood appear to be dead. Bloomfield Development Corporation said Thursday that the site at the corner of Liberty Avenue and the foot of the Bloomfield Bridge was transferred to Giant Eagle, which means that...
Study finds toxic metals detected in tampons
Toxic metals — including lead and arsenic — have been detected in tampons, according to a new study published in the Environment International scientific journal. The study analyzed 30 tampons from 14 tampon brands and 18 product lines and found they had “measurable concentrations” of one or more of the...
Convicted killer of Swissvale mom and young daughter refuses to leave jail cell for sentencing
Kareef Easington didn’t want to face justice, but there was no escaping it. Convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting death last year of a Swissvale woman and her 7-year-old daughter, Easington refused to leave his jail cell Thursday to attend his sentencing — and face his...
Here’s how to watch Biden’s news conference as he tries to quiet doubts after his poor debate
President Joe Biden will hold a news conference Thursday, the key event in a monumental week during which the Democratic incumbent is fending off calls for him to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee following a shaky debate performance. It’s just the type of event that many political watchers...
2 state lawmakers call on Pirates to increase player payroll, citing economic impact
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are calling on the Pittsburgh Pirates organization to increase spending on player salaries, which, in turn, they said, will result in millions more for the local economy. State Reps. Tim Bonner, R-Mercer/Butler and Jim Gregory, R-Blair, said a report released Wednesday by Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office showed...
State System of Higher Education hopes to keep in-state tuition freeze
The Board of Governors for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education reaffirmed Thursday its desire to freeze in-state undergraduate tuition for the 2024-25 school year. If PASSHE receives the state funding increase it requested, tuition will stay frozen for the seventh consecutive year. The ongoing rate has been $7,716 per...
Biden says during news conference he’s going to ‘complete the job’ despite calls to bow outVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden used his closely watched news conference Thursday to deliver a forceful defense of his foreign and domestic policies and batted away questions about his ability to serve another four years, declaring: “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job.”...
Frustration mounts over lack of information on Kiski Township police chief departure
Anyone who hoped to hear Kiski Township supervisors speak on the departure of former Chief Lee Bartolicius on Wednesday night left the township’s regular meeting sorely disappointed. Township Solicitor Ryan Fritz ruled out the prospect at the start of the meeting. “For anyone who is here simply for that purpose,...
Chatham students fear closure of Eden Hall campus dorm could affect access to classes this fall
Rachel Coyne is concerned about her upcoming semester at Chatham University’s Eden Hall campus in Richland. The school announced it is closing the sole dormitory on the branch campus, and students instead will be housed at the university’s main campus in Pittsburgh. Coyne, like other students who planned to live...
Sale of U.S. Steel kicks up a political storm, but Pittsburgh isn’t Steeltown USA anymore
PITTSBURGH — Generations of Pittsburgh residents have worked at steel mills, rooted for the Steelers or ridden the rollercoaster at Kennywood amusement park, giving them a bird’s eye view of the massive Edgar Thomson Works, the region’s last blast furnace. Now, Steeltown USA’s most storied steel company, U.S. Steel, is...
Biden says pressure on him is driven by elites. Voters paint a more complicated picture
SAGINAW, Mich. — Considering her choices in this year’s rapidly approaching presidential election, Rochelle Jones thinks both major party candidates should step aside. “They just need to get somebody that’s going to run this country right, that don’t have any health issues, that care about us people,” the 39-year-old culinary...
Frankie’s Fairy Tale: 80 years later, the story of Pittsburgh’s forgotten All-Star game and the Pirates’ anonymous All-Star player
On Tuesday, July 16 the 94th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. On July 11, 1944, the 12th MLB All-Star Game was played at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field — a little more than a month after the Allied Forces invaded Europe on...
Morning Roundup: Downed power lines hazard; catalytic converters stolen; Mineo’s pizza recognized
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, July 11: Downed power line spark fire Two women were rescued from a home in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill-City View neighborhood Wednesday after power lines sparked a fire and made it dangerous for firefighters to battle, according to Pittsburgh...
Penn Hills man leads Verona police on foot chase through traffic while carrying baby, police say
Verona police say a Penn Hills man wanted for retail theft led officers on a foot chase, weaving between passing vehicles with his infant daughter in his arms. It was only after his arrest that it became clear why the suspect made such a desperate attempt to flee from petty...
‘It’s a real tearjerker,’ owner says as 1 of 2 North Huntingdon Hallmark stores set to close
One of two family-owned Hallmark stores in North Huntingdon will close at the end of the month. “For our family, it’s a real tearjerker, as well as for some in our community. This place is huge in people’s memories. That’s why we are so affected,” said Kathleen “Kitty” Mahosky of...
A defiant Biden borrows some tactics from his rival as he tries to put debate debacle behind him
NEW YORK — He’s calling in to his favorite morning cable news show, bashing the “elites” of his party and dismissing unfavorable polls. He’s even talking up his crowd sizes. As an increasingly defiant President Joe Biden rejects calls to step aside after a disastrous debate performance, he’s been embracing...
Pennsylvania school teachers impersonated on TikTok in 1st known group attack
Teachers at Great Valley Middle School in Malvern were targeted by students in a group TikTok attack, The New York Times reported. The videos, which were posted by seventh and eighth graders, affected 20 educators — about one-quarter of Great Valley’s faculty, according to the Times. The school district is...
Confluence woman accused of abandoning 2 toddlers in vehicle, driving under the influence
A Confluence woman was arrested by state police for driving under the influence and endangering the lives of two toddlers following a pursuit that began in Maryland. Samantha Cherry, 25, is accused of abandoning two toddlers in a vehicle in Fayette County, according to state police. Maryland state police troopers...
Restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers pass in Pa. Senate with some changes
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers — third-party intermediaries who work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers — passed overwhelmingly in the Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. The new version of the bill now returns to the House to approve the revisions before heading to...
