Top Stories category, Page 416
Gov. Shapiro, Pitt chancellor give vastly different takes on pro-Palestinian encampment than protest’s leaders
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a...
County, nonprofits collaborate to serve those displaced by Downtown Pittsburgh shelter fire
Storm clouds gathered above the shuttered Second Avenue Commons homeless shelter as Ronald McGinnis literally planned his next steps. On Tuesday, the 59-year-old homeless man, who entered the Downtown shelter six weeks ago, watched people pour out of the building as flames shot off its roof and smoke filled the...
Man in Mexico died of a bird flu strain that hadn’t been confirmed before in a human, WHO says
WASHINGTON — A man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said it wasn’t clear how the man became infected, although H5N2 has been reported in poultry...
Republicans block bill to protect contraception access as Democrats make election-year pushVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have blocked legislation designed to protect women’s access to contraception, arguing that the bill was just a political stunt as Democrats mount an election-year effort to put GOP senators on the record on reproductive rights issues, The test vote won a 51-39 majority, but that was...
Authorities: Brentwood police fatally shoot suspect during pursuit
An armed man who fought with Brentwood police as they tried to arrest him Wednesday afternoon was fatally shot by a police officer, Allegheny County Police said. The victim, who was not immediately identified, died in a hospital after being shot multiple times by an unidentified Brentwood police officer, Allegheny...
Pittsburgh infrastructure czar gives glowing report on bridge upkeep
Pittsburgh is finally catching up on fixing its ailing bridges. More than two years after the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge exposed dire problems with upkeep of the city’s spans, a new infrastructure commission assured City Council on Wednesday that the kind of basic maintenance needed to prevent a...
U.S. Senate calls on Russia to release Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel
The U.S. Senate is officially calling for the release of Marc Fogel, an Oakmont teacher arrested nearly three years ago by Russian authorities for possessing medical marijuana. The Senate unanimously passed a resolution June 4 calling for Fogel’s release and declaring that the Russian government gave him a disproportionate criminal...
Penn Hills mayor links hookah bar killings to love triangle
A weekend shooting at a Penn Hills hookah bar that killed two people and wounded seven others is believed to be a case of targeted violence that might have stemmed from a love triangle, its mayor told TribLive Wednesday. Police have disclosed little about their ongoing investigation. But Penn Hills...
Youngstown explosion victim remembered as driven, community oriented
No one ever accused Akil Drake of slacking off, from his days as a Penn Hills football player to his burgeoning career in banking. Drake relied on a work ethic instilled by his mother to graduate from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and start climbing the...
Police defend investigation into stabbing at former Rialto in Greensburg
A Jeannette man told police he had a knife and was prepared to defend himself from a former high school friend as the two fought outside the former Rialto Cafe in downtown Greensburg. Jurors, during the third day in the attempted homicide trial of Anthony Sharp, 23, watched video of...
Pittsburgh Pride weekend sets attendance record
Pride weekend in Pittsburgh set a new attendance record — over 260,000 people, officials said. The parade itself saw over 103,000 of those attendees, said Jim Sheppard, co-chair of the Pittsburgh Pride Parade and co-creator of QBurgh, Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ news source. “We worked with a crowd control and security consulting...
U.S. Senate calls on Russia to release Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel
The U.S. Senate is officially calling for the release of Marc Fogel, an Oakmont teacher arrested nearly three years ago by Russian authorities for possessing medical marijuana. The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday calling for Fogel’s release and declaring that the Russian government gave him a disproportionate criminal sentence....
Boeing launches NASA astronauts for the first time after years of delays
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA. A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft. The trip by Butch...
$47.6M New Kensington-Arnold School District budget approved with 1.5% tax increase
Property owners in the New Kensington-Arnold School District will see a 1.5% property tax increase in their school tax bill. The school board Tuesday approved the district’s $47.6 million budget for the 2024-25 school year that includes the tax hike. The district’s property tax rate will increase from 97.64 mills...
Arson suspected in 2 blazes at historic Beltzhoover school building, Pittsburgh councilman says
Two recent fires that damaged the former Beltzhoover Elementary School were likely arson, according to Pittsburgh City Councilman Bob Charland. Fires broke out Tuesday night and Saturday morning at the historic school on Cedarhurst Street in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. The building is currently vacant, but a project is underway to...
Mark Madden: Pat McAfee’s remarks on Caitlin Clark highlight his unapologetic stance, ESPN’s dilemma
There was minimal blowback to Pat McAfee slurring Caitlin Clark, albeit in oddly complimentary fashion, on his ESPN TV show Monday. McAfee apologized but didn’t mean it. That was confirmed by him humorously referencing what he had said on WWE’s “Monday Night Raw.” The Plum native isn’t sorry about anything...
Life as a teen without social media isn’t easy. These families are navigating adolescence offline
WESTPORT, Conn. — Kate Bulkeley’s pledge to stay off social media in high school worked at first. She watched the benefits pile up: She was getting excellent grades. She read lots of books. The family had lively conversations around the dinner table and gathered for movie nights on weekends. Then,...
Hunter Biden’s exes called as witnesses to detail his drug use in his federal gun trial
WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend testified Wednesday in his gun trial about finding his crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia as prosecutors sought to show he still had a substance abuse problem when he filled out a form to buy a firearm. The courtroom grew...
Biden will mark D-Day anniversary in France as Western alliances face threats at home and abroad
PARIS — United States President Joe Biden will mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France this week as he tries to demonstrate steadfast support for European security at a time when some allies fear Donald Trump threatens to upend American commitments if he wins another term in...
Tyler Glasnow’s blunt assessment of his time in Pittsburgh; Dodgers manager on ‘effectively wild’ Jared Jones
Former Pittsburgh Pirate Tyler Glasnow couldn’t get a win in his return to PNC Park. But that wasn’t his fault. Blame his offense, and blame the other guy who started against him. Glasnow and the Dodgers lost 1-0 to the Pirates despite the 30-year-old right-hander turning in a solid performance...
Severe storms, tornadoes possible in Pittsburgh region
Gusty winds and heavy thunderstorms could strike the Pittsburgh region beginning Wednesday afternoon, according to forecasts. Meteorologists are even warning of the chance of isolated tornadoes. TribLive news partner WTAE has designated Wednesday as a Severe Weather Alert Day in Southwest Pennsylvania, with strong storms likely to start as early...
Former ‘Survivor’ contestant raises Texas Longhorn cattle as ‘pasture ornaments’Video
Allegheny Township farmer Chet Welch received a gift on his 50th birthday that keeps on giving. “I got my dream farm,” said Welch, a former contestant on the CBS series “Survivor,” describing his beloved historic Tunnel Hill Farm in Allegheny Township he co-owns with Bob Cherry, his partner of 16...
More work needed to help bees in Pennsylvania, experts say
Things are looking brighter in the bee business. But maintaining healthy and productive hives keeps people like Drew Johnson as busy as a you-know-what. Environmental challenges, including climate change, a lack of native plants and dwindling foraging and shelter, have made the world less bee-friendly. Recent years have seen increased...
Trump’s lawyers ask judge to lift gag order imposed during New York trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers are asking a New York judge to lift the gag order that barred the former president from commenting about witnesses, jurors and others tied to the criminal case that led to his conviction for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. In...
Man gets 3 to 6 years in prison for stabbing two in racially motivated attack Downtown
A man accused of stabbing two Black people in downtown Pittsburgh last year in a racially motivated attack will serve at least three years in prison. Chris Boswell, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of ethnic intimidation, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on Tuesday stemming...
