Top Stories category, Page 401
World FSHD Day resolution introduced on Capitol Hill
After years of advocating for a cure for the rare disease that has limited his mobility, Mark Christman has made his way to Capitol Hill. Christman, a retired attorney and board member of Trib Total Media, was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, in 1977 at age 16. One...
WikiLeaks’ Assange pleads guilty in deal with U.S. that secures his freedom, ends legal fightVideo
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his liberty and concludes a drawn-out legal saga that raised divisive questions about press freedom and national security. The plea was entered...
Iowa floodwaters breach levees as even more rain dumps onto parts of the MidwestVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — Tornado warnings, flash flooding and large hail added insult to injury for people in the Midwest already contending with heat, humidity and intense flooding after days of rain. The National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon and evening issued multiple tornado warnings in parts of Iowa and...
Pa. Senate committee advances bill to expand DNA collection by law enforcement
A bill moving in the Pennsylvania Senate would allow the state to collect and archive DNA samples from people when they are arrested, even if they are never convicted of a crime — a proposal that has generated pushback from both ends of the political spectrum. The Senate Judiciary Committee...
Fetterman taunts Menendez with nickname in hallways of Capitol
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman reportedly taunts New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez with the nickname “Gold Bar Bob” whenever the two senators cross paths in Washington, D.C. He’ll presumably continue to do so if Menendez doesn’t step down amid his ongoing legal troubles. Menendez was hit with corruption charges in September...
Police arrest third person in June’s pro-Palestine protest at Pitt
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested for storming a barrier and injuring a police officer last month during pro-Palestine protests at the University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh Police on Monday arrested Cole Florkewicz, 24, of the city’s Perry South neighborhood, as the third person charged in connection with what...
Pittsburgh OKs Lawrenceville apartment complex despite aesthetic concerns
Mel Ngami skewered the renderings of a proposed apartment complex in Lawrenceville, calling them “very strongly depressing.” Peter Quintanilla, his colleague on the Pittsburgh Planning Commission, panned the design as a large box that “looks too flat.” Despite the commissioners’ misgivings about the looks of the planned 5-story apartment building...
Defense suggests alternate causes for New Kensington toddler death
The lawyer for a New Kensington man accused in the death of a 2-year-old boy said Tuesday that fatal injuries suffered by the child were caused by accidents or another family member. Prosecutors contend Keith Dale Lilly Jr., 35, caused multiple head wounds and other injuries suffered by Mikel Fetterman,...
Contract awarded for Fort Pitt Brewery site demolition in Jeannette
Demolition of the old Fort Pitt Brewery in West Jeannette is imminent. Westmoreland County officials plan to meet with the contractor Wednesday to determine a start date, said Brian Lawrence, director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank. The contract was awarded Tuesday by the redevelopment authority board...
North Apollo woman who drowned at national park in Montana remembered as sweet and compassionate
A North Apollo woman who slipped and fell from rocks and drowned Sunday at a national park in Montana is being remembered for her kind heart. The National Park Service said in a statement that Gillian Tones, 26, slipped on slick rocks at Glacier National Park about 5:20 p.m. and...
Pittsburgh council’s Charland trashes unwieldy city system for garbage citations
Pittsburgh Councilperson Bob Charland wants to make it easier to cite people who leave trash on their property. Charland, D-South Side, on Tuesday introduced legislation that would allow city inspectors to issue citations and fines for people who leave garbage on their property, improperly store garbage cans or leave garbage...
Judge alters Trump’s gag order, letting him talk about witnesses, jury after hush money conviction
NEW YORK — A judge on Tuesday modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment publicly about witnesses and jurors in the hush money criminal trial that led to his felony conviction, but keeping others connected to the former president’s case off limits at least until he...
Grandmother carjacked at Hempfield Burlington store; suspect arrested in Millvale
A woman was able to grab her 4-year-old granddaughter from the backseat of her Jeep Compass Sunday afternoon as a carjacker drove off with it outside a Hempfield clothing store, according to state police. Paulino M. Romero, 39, is accused of wresting the woman’s key from her purse at 1...
NTSB chair says Norfolk Southern interfered with derailment probe after botching vent-and-burn call
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the agency’s investigation into the East Palestine derailment and shape its conclusions about the flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside....
Abandoned puppies found in Unity Walmart parking lot
A Westmoreland animal shelter is asking for information after a bin of puppies was found abandoned Monday morning in a store’s parking lot. Action for Animals Humane Society posted a photo on social media, explaining how the puppies were found. The post said they were left in the Unity Walmart...
Morning Roundup: Man shot in leg in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, June 25: Police investigate shooting in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was shot in the leg late Monday night in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood. Police were dispatched to the intersection of Lemington Avenue and Oberlin...
Tim Benz: For Paul Skenes, the process has been even more impressive than the numbers
Thus far, the results have been impressive for Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes. Over the first eight games of his career, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick is 4-0 with an ERA of 2.14. Through 46⅓ innings pitched, the LSU/Air Force product has yet to leave a game with...
Some skeptical, others confident in Housing Authority police’s word to step up Sheldon Park patrols
Eric Walters has witnessed this before. The notion that police will step up patrols in the Sheldon Park apartment complex in Harrison isn’t believable to the nine-year resident. “They’ve been saying that,” Walters said. “If they do, they’ll do it a couple days and say they’re doing something, and then...
Property taxes to jump 5% to support Hempfield Area budget
Property taxes in Hempfield Area School District will be going up nearly 6% to support a 2024-2025 budget approved Monday by the school board. The $109.6 million budget will increase the district’s tax rate from 85.76 mills to 90.76 mills. It was approved in an 8-1 vote, with board member...
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to plead guilty in deal with U.S.
WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will free him from prison and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to...
Working conditions are driver of national teacher shortage, federal education deputy says at Pittsburgh conference
When people ask Cindy Marten what she does for a living, she does not tell them she is the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. After 34 years as an educator and school administrator, she tells them she is a teacher. “I was born, literally, to be a...
Mt. Lebanon native, other local swimmers to dive into Mon to fight pancreatic cancer
The covid pandemic put an end to many athletic competitions and uprooted the lives of most everyone around the world. For 63-year-old Judy Caves of Mt. Lebanon, it was the start of something special. “During covid, when all of us couldn’t swim in pools, we started swimming in rivers,” Caves...
Unity firefighters set 6-month trial for paid daytime crews
The seven volunteer departments in the Unity Township Fire Bureau are investing in their personnel to ensure they have crews available to respond to emergencies. Beginning July 1, the departments are launching a duty crew program for a six-month trial. Their aim each weekday is to have one fire truck...
Pittsburgh airport advises travelers to arrive up to 3 hours before flights
Passengers could see long security screening waits at the Pittsburgh International Airport this summer, and airport officials are advising travelers to get there extra early, especially for early morning flights. Airport officials issued a travel alert Monday, advising passengers to get to the airport between two-and-half and three hours early...
Westmoreland increases capacity at reopened juvenile detention center
The Westmoreland County juvenile detention center in Hempfield has hired enough staff to double its capacity three months after a limited reopening in March, officials announced Monday. The detention facility that makes up half of the Regional Youth Services Center was temporarily shuttered last year amid a series of negative...
