Top Stories category, Page 410
North Huntingdon teen killed in Butler crash
A North Huntingdon teen who graduated from Norwin High School last year was killed early Thursday morning in a one-vehicle crash in northern Butler County, state police at Butler said. The victim, Josiah Pastories, 19, was traveling northward along Kittanning Pike in Fairview Township at about 6:20 a.m. when he...
Freeport woman celebrates $1 million lottery win while mourning husband’s deathVideo
Two weeks after Karen Coffman became a millionaire, her husband died. “When I told him about the prize, he thought I was lying to him,” Coffman said of Robert, her husband of 31 years. Robert Coffman died April 10 from complications of a brain tumor. His death made her million-dollar...
Derry Township man surrenders after overnight standoff
A lengthy overnight standoff in Derry Township ended peacefully early Thursday when a man surrendered to state police, according to Trooper Steve Limani. Benjamin T. Clawson, 42, was taken into custody on charges of simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats stemming from an incident that prompted troopers to be called...
Pittsburgh man charged in fire at Monroeville church, 5 other fires in Allegheny County
A Pittsburgh man was arrested in connection with several fires across Allegheny County, including a fire early Thursday morning that badly damaged the office and rectory building of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish in Monroeville and a former Wilkins restaurant. Wilkins police charged David Harknett, 41, with aggravated arson, criminal...
Elder fraud cost Allegheny County residents $8M last year, officials say
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Thursday used a video’s release as a springboard to warn residents about elder fraud, which scammed more than 12,000 Allegheny County residents out of nearly $8 million last year. Zappala said his office has prevented an estimated $35 million in elder...
U.S. Supreme Court rules to preserve access to abortion pill
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the...
Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro popularity soar as weight loss wonders
Editor’s note: This story first posted on June 11, 2023. For Diane Lang, the big push to focus on her health and weight came from her grandchildren. “I was exhausted,” she said. “When they would visit, I would just try to keep up with them. I want to run with...
Heat wave headed to Western Pennsylvania
Forecasters expect a hot welcome to summer next week with temperatures rising to dangerous levels across the Northeastern United States. Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said residents of Western Pennsylvania should brace for high heat starting Sunday, with temperatures expected to climb into the...
Pennsylvania’s failure to fund indigent defense violates the Constitution, lawsuit says
The examples in the lawsuit are many. One man held in jail for three months on $100 bail for a minor trespassing and marijuana possession charge. Another man incarcerated for 10 weeks for charges he drove an unregistered car without proof of insurance. One man who sat in jail for...
Cheers, cake and a fist-bump from GOP as Trump returns to Capitol Hill in a first since Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill on Thursday, his first with lawmakers since the Jan.6, 2021 attacks, embraced by energized House and Senate Republicans who find themselves reinvigorated by his bid to retake the White House. Despite pending federal charges against Trump for conspiring to...
Social media company Rumble clashes with Pa. Democrats over antisemitism, defamation allegations
Rising concerns over global antisemitism are spilling over into a dispute between a right-wing social media platform called Rumble and some members of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. Letters obtained by TribLive show Rumble, a Toronto-based social media company, sparring with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. One side claims that Rumble is abetting...
Morning roundup: Former Hooters restaurant in Wilkins damaged by fire; weekend road closures
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, June 13, 2024. Fire breaks out at vacant restaurants in Wilkins An old Hooters restaurant in Wilkins went up in flames Thursday morning. First responders say they were dispatched to the scene at 3:45 a.m. on the 3500...
Man dead after shooting in McKeesport
Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating after a man was shot and killed in McKeesport. Dispatchers were alerted of a shooting at 12:40 a.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Eden Park Blvd. Authorities found Bryant Boyd, 64, of Duquesne dead at the scene. Police have not announced any arrests....
New Kensington innovation projects to continue despite changes at Penn State
As chancellor of Penn State New Kensington, one of Kevin Snider’s goals was to sink his campus’ roots so deeply into the city that its initiatives would continue without him. Now that he’s set to retire at the end of the year with his campus falling under a new leadership...
Deficit, enrollment trends spur leadership revamp for Penn State’s Fayette campus
Students value the small-college atmosphere at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus near Uniontown, but that increasingly intimate nature is triggering a major change. In the face of declining enrollment and budget deficits, Penn State is consolidating oversight of some of its branch campuses and is paring its payroll. The...
Mon Incline’s problems are ‘sporadic and unpredictable,’ report says
The ongoing problems that frequently have shut down the Monongahela Incline appear to be the result of a series of “sporadic and unpredictable causes,” said a newly released report. The report, obtained by TribLive, comes from Philadelphia-based consultants Talson and was commissioned by Pittsburgh Regional Transit in April after intermittent...
Indiana County crash kills 1, sends 2 to Pittsburgh hospitals
A two-car crash Wednesday morning in Indiana County killed one motorist and injured two others. State police said a woman who was driving a Volkswagen sedan was pronounced dead at the scene near Shelocta by Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman. She was identified as Erma Karen Devivo, 80, of Armstrong...
$10K in toy drive money prompts investigation in Allegheny Township
Allegheny Township is grappling with a $10,000 question: How did a check cut from township coffers end up in the hands of the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company? In a 2-to-1 vote, supervisors opened an investigation this week to determine how the money left the township and whether the township is...
House votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for withholding Biden audio
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case, Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the Justice Department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates...
Sen. John Fetterman was speeding, at fault in Maryland crash, police say
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was speeding when he crashed into the back of another vehicle Sunday in Maryland, according to a police report obtained by TribLive. Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, was westbound on Interstate 70 at 7:45 a.m. Sunday when he rear-ended a vehicle near the interchange with Interstate...
Embattled Westmoreland Register of Wills vows to remain in office through 2027
Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton, who faces a potential jail sentence next week for contempt of court, said Wednesday she will not seek reelection when her term expires at the end of 2027. “After careful consideration and prayer, I have decided to retire from politics at the...
Federal Reserve sees some progress on inflation but envisions just 1 rate cut this yearVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday that inflation has fallen further toward their target level in recent months but signaled that they expect to cut their benchmark interest rate just once this year. The policymakers’ forecast for one rate cut was down from a previous forecast of three, because...
UPMC gives $300M boost to former Washington Health System in merger
UPMC plans to invest $300 million in Washington Health System over the next ten years as part of its merger, officials said Wednesday during an event to celebrate the affiliation. “I think it’s just gonna be … great because the UPMC name, in the medical field, is world renowned. We...
Greensburg diocese to comb through 10K personnel files to see if more convicts are working at parishes
The personnel files of 1,000 employees and 9,000 volunteers in the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg will be under a microscope as diocesan officials work on an audit to learn whether any of them have criminal records. The audit, which is expected to take several months, comes after a cursory review...
North Huntingdon cop hurt in aftermath of undercover drug sting
A North Huntingdon police officer was hurt Tuesday night when a man who authorities said accompanied a suspected drug dealer to an undercover buy hit an unmarked police vehicle as he fled the scene, according to court papers. Township police and agents from the state Attorney General’s Office worked together...
