Top Stories category, Page 387
After killing of trans teen, Pennsylvania House LGBTQ Caucus urges hate crime bill passage
In the wake of the killing of a 14-year-old transgender girl in Western Pennsylvania, some state House lawmakers are urging the Senate to pass an anti-hate crimes bill that would expand protections to gender and sexual-orientation classes. “We mourn the death of Pauly Likens and refuse to stand idly by...
Gray Paws director ‘still crying’ over news of large donation from 2024 Anthrocon
A small nonprofit dedicated to saving senior dogs has scored a mega-sized monetary donation, thanks to the generosity of thousands of Anthrocon attendees from the 2024 convention held last week at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Gray Paws Sanctuary co-founders and married couple Darla Poole-Brescia and Joe Brescia of...
Power outages dropping for Duquesne Light, West Penn Power, but thousands of customers remain in the dark
About 3,800 Westmoreland and Allegheny residents remained without electric service as of 9:20 a.m. Thursday, according to outage data from Duquesne Light and West Penn Power. At the peak of the outages, there were more than 30,000 customers without power. Duquesne Light blamed the outages on winds that reached 40...
Biden’s candidacy faces new peril as Pelosi, Clooney and more Democrats weigh inVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s imperiled re-election campaign hit new trouble Wednesday as House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said merely “it’s up to the president to decide” if he should stay in the race, celebrity donor George Clooney said he should not run and Democratic senators and lawmakers expressed fresh...
House passes GOP bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote, boosting election-year talking point
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration, a proposal Republicans have prioritized as an election-year talking point even as research shows noncitizens illegally registering and casting ballots in federal elections is exceptionally rare. The legislation, approved largely along partisan lines but...
Hempfield casino to move poker room, build high-limit gambling space in $3M project
Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall will move its poker room and create a new high-limit gambling space in a $3 million construction project slated for completion in October. Mascaro Construction, based in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood, started renovations two weeks ago, casino General Manager Sean Sullivan said. Nearly half...
Marc Fogel’s mother requests meeting with Trump in effort to free son from Russian prisonVideo
Malphine Fogel said pleas to President Joe Biden to get her son, Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel, released from a Russian prison have gone nowhere. That’s why the Butler County woman says she’s now looking for help from former President Donald Trump, who will be campaigning in Butler this weekend. “As...
Stamp prices are increasing again
Nothing lasts forever — not even the cost of a Forever stamp. The price of first-class Forever stamps will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents on Sunday. The U.S. Postal Service announced that the adjustments will raise mailing services product prices by approximately 7.8%. Prices will increase for the...
Podcast: Western Pennsylvania is experiencing a cultural, economic change
Western Pennsylvania is experiencing a visual, cultural and economic change, and the Beechview neighborhood in Pittsburgh is at the heart of it. From 2010 to 2020, Pittsburgh’s overall population saw a modest growth of less than 1%. In stark contrast, the Latino population in Pittsburgh experienced a staggering 80% increase....
First lady Jill Biden to visit Pittsburgh on Saturday
First lady Jill Biden is expected to visit Pittsburgh this weekend, her second visit in just over a month. The first lady is scheduled to arrive at Pittsburgh International Airport around 4 p.m. Saturday before delivering remarks at an Italian Sons and Daughters of America dinner in Pittsburgh. On the...
Allegheny County Council rejects Shuman board picks as lawsuit looms
Allegheny County Council turned up the heat on the Innamorato administration Tuesday when it rejected all five of the executive’s nominations for an advisory board meant to oversee the county’s newly reopened juvenile detention facility. Council voted 14-1 to reject Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s picks for the Juvenile Detention...
Johnetta Campground in Gilpin part of $2 million, 400-acre sale
The popular Johnetta Campground along the Allegheny River in Gilpin now belongs to two local officials. Southern Armstrong Holdings LLC purchased 400 acres that formerly was owned by Reynoldsville-based timber company, Forestland Investments LLC. Southern Armstrong Holdings represents Gilpin Supervisor Jeremy Smail and his wife, Leechburg Area School Board President...
$2.3M winning lottery ticket sold at Giant Eagle in Penn Township
A $2.3 million lottery ticket was sold Tuesday at the Giant Eagle grocery store on Penny Lane Drive in Penn Township. The winner purchased a Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 Lotto ticket. The winner correctly matched all six winning numbers, 14-30-41-44-46-48. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the...
Faces of resilience: There is no ‘typical’ Latino immigrant story
A politically persecuted Venezuelan journalist reinvented himself as a Pittsburgh-based Spanish radio show host. A boy whose family was ripped apart by deportation decided to dedicate his life to helping the Latino community that supported him. A woman worked to provide immigrant children better opportunities than she had as a...
Should Biden take a cognitive test? Here’s what it would — and wouldn’t — tell us
It seemed like a sensible suggestion for assessing the capabilities of an 81-year-old man seeking voters’ approval to remain in the White House until January 2029. To reassure the American people, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden, would he be willing to take a cognitive test and share the results...
Pelosi says ‘it’s up to the president’ to decide whether to stay in the race
WASHINGTON — Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday “it’s up to the president to decide” if he should stay in the 2024 race despite President Joe Biden’s insistence he is still running for re-election, showing how unsettled the question remains among prominent Democrats and Capitol Hill. “We’re all encouraging him...
Sheetz is now delivering beer in Pennsylvania
You can now get beer delivered to your doorstep with a Sheetz order. The gas station and convenience store chain has expanded its partnership with DoorDash, and Pennsylvania customers can order brews for delivery at 269 stores in the state, according to an announcement. Orders can be placed through the...
Morning Roundup: Beryl’s weather likely to miss W.Pa.; man found critically injured in Downtown Pittsburgh
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, July 10: Remnants of Hurricane Beryl likely to miss Western Pa. Damage related to the remnants of Hurricane Beryl is expected miss the Pittsburgh region. The most severe threats, including the potential of tornadoes and damaging winds, will...
Dry, hot weather brings timber rattlesnakes out in Westmoreland
Timber rattlesnakes spotted recently in the St. Clair and Seward areas of Westmoreland County are likely just trying to beat the heat, according to officials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. A St. Clair police officer posted a photo on social media of a timber rattlesnake Friday. The snake...
Bodies found in June in a Moon Township creek have been identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified both people who were discovered last month in Montour Run Creek in Moon Township. First responders were dispatched to the creek, which is in the area of the Montour Run Trail just after 4 p.m. June 28, where they found a man’s...
Violent incidents in Downtown Pittsburgh prompt police to bolster presence
On a Thursday afternoon last month, a summer intern from Pittsburgh’s suburbs was walking on Downtown’s Smithfield Street when she was savagely attacked. Her assailant punched her twice in the head, dragged her into the street by her hair and broke her nose by punching and kicking her in the...
Kittanning nursing home workers plan 3-day strike
Employees at a Kittanning nursing home say they will hit the picket line later this month if a new contract can’t be reached. More than 60 workers represented by the Service Employees International Union at Armstrong Rehabilitation & Nursing Center unanimously approved sending an unfair labor practices strike notice to...
Biden’s low-profile doctor has been thrust into the spotlight after the president’s debate disaster
WASHINGTON — As the physician to President Joe Biden, Dr. Kevin O’Connor is well-known around the White House. The stocky former Army surgeon is always close by his number one patient, ready to provide care or a consult as needed though few outside the building would know who he is....
Chef Toni Pais remembered as mentor, influential culinary force in Pittsburgh
Portugal native, global restaurateur and chef Antonio “Toni” Pais was a culinary leader and fixture in Pittsburgh for more than 40 years. Pais died July 7 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 69. “This was an extraordinary man and there’s not one person who could say anything unkind about...
Murrysville police use drone to find man accused in assault
A high-tech drone helped Murrysville police quickly narrow down where a domestic assault suspect was hiding Tuesday morning in acres of woods, said Capt. Dave Coleman. He manned the device that tracked Jeremy Rupp, 28, of Penn Hills, off Christy Road and ultimately helped officers on foot find and apprehend...
