Top Stories category, Page 436
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...
3rd lottery millionaire in a week, this time in Richland Township
Another person in the past week reached millionaire status after buying a winning Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket. The latest winner, announced Wednesday, cashed in on a $5 million Monopoly Own It All ticket sold at the Route 8 Shop ’n Save in Richland Township. The Monopoly game is a $50...
Post-Gazette to close its Clinton printing facility
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is planning to close its printing facility in Allegheny County just 10 years after opening it, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by TribLive. Management from the newspaper sent a letter on May 23 to the union representing journalists at the Post-Gazette, informing them that the newspaper...
Etna man charged with arson: ‘I needed more gasoline,’ witness reports
A 74-year-old man is accused of dousing his apartment in gasoline and igniting a fire which started a three-alarm fire and subsequent explosion Tuesday afternoon in Etna. Elmer Lewis, of Vilsack Street, faces two counts of aggravated arson, six counts of arson, one count of causing catastrophe and five counts...
Caterer seeks to rent former Rostraver Airport restaurant
An Allegheny County man who recently sold his Elizabeth Township tavern said he wants to rent a former restaurant at the Rostraver Airport for his catering business and to serve takeout barbecue meals. Gary Musisko of Elizabeth said he wants to rent the site of the former Eagle’s Landing II...
Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop closes Point Breeze location
Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop has officially closed one of its three locations in Pittsburgh. The Point Breeze location on Penn Avenue, near Braddock Avenue, shut its doors indefinitely last week, according to owner Lou Bosser. The Strip District and North Side shops remain open. Bosser said an offer for...
Jerry West, a 3-time Hall of Fame selection and the NBA logo, dies at 86Video
Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86. West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch”...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ commitment to Mike Tomlin makes no sense
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension Monday. It runs through 2027. I’m not angry, because it was inevitable. I’m just dumbfounded. Because everybody says retaining Tomlin is the obvious and correct move. But I don’t see one good reason to do so. When Tomlin...
Allegheny County Jail inmates face charges in cell attack, extortion
Two incarcerated men in the Allegheny County Jail are facing charges after authorities said they rushed into another man’s cell and assaulted him with a makeshift weapon. Kesean Proctor, 20, of Turtle Creek and Keyjuan King, 25, of Duquense are accused of aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and a litany of...
