Top Stories category, Page 426
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, a notable show of support given their intense and often personal rivalry during the Republican primary calendar. But Haley also made it clear that she feels Trump has work to do...
Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd U.S. case tied to dairy cows
NEW YORK — A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows. The patient had mild eye symptoms and has recovered, U.S. and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The worker had been...
Prosecutor in Trump classified papers case calls claims of hostility toward co-defendant ‘garbage’
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A lawyer for Donald Trump’s personal valet accused federal prosecutors Wednesday of targeting the valet because he refused to cooperate against the former president in the classified documents case. A prosecutor called the claim “garbage.” Walt Nauta was charged alongside Trump last year in a federal...
Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions
A federal judge has signed off on the $600 million class action settlement over last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio, but many people who live near East Palestine are still wondering how much they will end up with out of the deal. Preliminary approval for the settlement...
Norwin board grapples with covering $7.8M deficit
Even with a 6.8% property tax increase, Norwin School District will have to use $4.8 million of its reserves to balance a proposed $91 million budget for the 2024-2025 school year. If it foregoes the tax hike, the district would deplete its reserves from $9.7 million to $1.9 million to...
Hempfield moving forward with part of $16M municipal complex, park project
Hempfield supervisors are revising some of their plans for a proposed municipal complex and park to try to lower the project’s price tag and attract additional bidders for the work. The board this week approved bids related to site development for the municipal complex and for a multipurpose building but...
Podcast: Controversy surrounds Pittsburgh’s questionable payments to contractor
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration is embroiled in a controversy involving questionable payments to a contractor and use of p-cards as payment. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation department has paid Mario Ashkar almost $23,000 for his work as a contractor. The payments have been via municipal credit cards,...
Development featuring $2M homes proposed near Murrysville Community Park
Murrysville council is considering a developer’s proposal to build 24 luxury homes with an average price of about $2 million just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads. Paul Fischione initially approached the municipality with a request to rezone about 55 acres near Murrysville Community Park to create 28 large single-family...
Lawsuits claim 66 people were abused as children in Pennsylvania’s juvenile facilities
HARRISBURG — Dozens of children who were sent to juvenile detention centers and similar facilities in Pennsylvania suffered physical and sexual abuse including violent rapes, according to four related lawsuits filed Wednesday. The lawsuits describe how 66 people, now adults, say they were victimized by guards, nurses, supervisors and others....
Memory of slain police chief sparks project to line Arnold, New Kensington road with flags
When Raymond Laughlin watched the funeral procession for Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire make its way along Freeport Road in New Kensington more than a year ago, it occurred to him that lining the road with American flags would have been a fitting tribute to McIntire. Thus was born the...
New PennWest University president called right pick at a pivotal time
Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs and a professor at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, is Pennsylvania Western University’s new president. The State System of Higher Education board of governors chose Anderson Wednesday during a special meeting held by Zoom to find a permanent leader for...
18-year-old from Woodland Hills district fatally shot in North Braddock
An 18-year-old student in the Woodland Hills school district was shot and killed Tuesday night in North Braddock. Nevaeh Leeha Howard of Rankin was in her senior year at Woodland Hills Online Academy, school superintendent Dan Castagna said. The academy is a cyber-school serving district students in kindergarten through 12th...
Morning Roundup: Severe weather in forecast; Pittsburgh Zoo seeks aid after tornado
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, May 22: Severe weather forecast in Southwestern Pa. Severe weather is possible in Southwestern Pennsylvania this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. The region, along with parts of northwest West Virginia and eastern Ohio, is...
Gun thefts from cars surge; police urge owners to secure firearms
The rate of guns being stolen from cars has tripled over the past decade, and in many cases the thieves didn’t have to work very hard to get their hands on another person’s weapon, officials say. Often, they’re swiping firearms from unlocked vehicles parked just outside gun owners’ homes. “Such...
Renfrew man charged with bringing gun to airport
Allegheny County Police charged a Renfrew man with firearms violations for allegedly bringing a gun to Pittsburgh International Airport. TSA officers observed a handgun within a passenger’s backpack at the main security checkpoint of the airport around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the police report. Police identified the passenger as...
Excessive force trial opens against state police in 2017 killing of Washington County man
When Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to a Washington County trailer park on Oct. 1, 2017, they were told a man appeared to be in a mental health crisis. He had a knife and was out of control, according to the frantic 911 call summoning them. But when police arrived...
Fani Willis and judge presiding over Georgia Trump election case defeat challengers
ATLANTA — Two key players in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump have defeated challengers in an election Tuesday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee both won. Willis is the prosecutor who last year obtained a sprawling racketeering indictment against...
Multiple deaths confirmed from a tornado in Iowa, state patrol saysVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Patrol has confirmed multiple deaths from a tornado and at least a dozen injuries in storms Tuesday, but it has not released specific numbers. “We do have confirmed fatalities,” Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said at a news conference Tuesday night. He...
Ex-Somerset County DA gets probation for no-contest plea to charge of assaulting wife
Former Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas will serve two years of probation after pleading no contest to a charge that he assaulted his wife in 2021. The probation period will run concurrently with the 2½ -to-7-year prison term Thomas is serving for the sexual assault of a Windber woman,...
Trump’s ‘unified reich’ post is ‘sickening,’ White House says
WASHINGTON — The White House denounced Republican Donald Trump after a video was posted to his social media account that referenced a “unified reich” as a potential news headline if he won a second term, calling it “dangerous and offensive.” “It is abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for anyone to promote...
Indiana Township rezoning would accommodate fracking off Route 910
Indiana Township resident Michael Quinn is frustrated by thoughts of more fracking in his community. His home along Eisele Road sits not far from a gas well constructed in the past several years. “The noise is constant — a din — and the truck traffic is ridiculous,” Quinn said in...
New Hempfield Area architect approaching high school project from the ground up
Hempfield Area School District’s new architect is beginning at square one as it takes over the district’s proposed multimillion-dollar high school renovation project. “While … being respectful of all the work that’s been done, we are still asking all the questions as if we’re starting from scratch, to make sure...
Greensburg man arrested in connection with infant son’s 2023 death
A Southwest Greensburg man was arrested Tuesday in connection with his son’s July death at a Mt. Pleasant Township home. State police said Jason F. Ludwig, 38, concealed the 8-month-old boy’s death after apparently falling asleep with the child on a couch. The boy was identified in court papers as...
EPA earmarks $2M to convert Pittsburgh slag heaps to solar farm
A former slag heap in Pittsburgh’s East End is one step closer to becoming a solar farm. The sprawling lot near the edge of Frick Park will soon be cleaned up to make way for a 15-acre solar farm and expansion of green space thanks to $2 million in federal...
Pittsburgh region nears record high temperatures
Temperatures are running higher than normal in the Pittsburgh region. “High temperatures since the weekend have been in the 80s,” said WTAE meteorologist Jill Szwed. “Normal high temperatures for the end of May are in the low/mid 70s.” Szwed said currently, the Pittsburgh area is running 10 to 15 degrees...
