Top Stories category, Page 437
Jamil Bey takes over as Pittsburgh planning czar
An Overbrook resident with a doctorate in geography is Pittsburgh’s new planning director. City Council unanimously approved Jamil Bey as the director of the Department of City Planning. Bey will oversee a roughly $9 million budget and 56 full-time employees at the department, which manages land use, zoning and neighborhood...
Florida man who ripped off feds in $97M health care fraud gets 10 years in prison
A Florida man responsible for $97 million in health care fraud across three separate schemes in Western Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida will spend 10 years in federal prison. Daniel M. Hurt, 60, of Fort Lauderdale was also ordered to pay that amount in restitution. On Tuesday, Hurt’s attorney said...
Pittsburgh passes new tax break to tackle high office vacancies Downtown
Developers who transform Downtown Pittsburgh’s empty offices into housing or new commercial uses will now qualify for special tax relief as city officials try to revitalize an area with significant vacancies and declining property values. Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a new tax break — which can last for...
Where Pennsylvania has lost Democrats since 2008, and what it means for November
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For the first time in at least 16 years, the Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania are...
Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes
IRVING, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It’s a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion. The organization...
Verona woman killed in Allegheny River Boulevard crash
A 70-year-old Verona woman was killed Tuesday morning when her vehicle veered into opposing traffic on Allegheny River Boulevard, according to Allegheny County Police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Dorothy (Jill) Demko of Verona. Police said Demko’s Ford EcoSport crossed the center line and struck...
Greensburg council to vote on body-worn camera grant, event approval process
Greensburg is expected to outfit its police force with its first set of body-worn cameras. City council will vote next week to accept a $140,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to purchase 27 body-worn cameras — one for each of its police officers, said Chief...
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
NEW YORK — Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later. Jurors...
Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden-Trump rematch 6 months out from Election Day
WILMINGTON, N.C. — This North Carolina voter is nervous. Will Rikard, a 49-year-old father of two, was among several hundred Democrats who stood and cheered for Joe Biden as the first-term president delivered a fiery speech recently about the billions of dollars he has delivered to protect the state’s drinking...
Tim Benz: If the Pirates ‘haven’t figured out yet’ how to promote Paul Skenes, don’t make it harder than it needs to be
At 17-19, not much has gone right for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. At least not since that 11-5 start. At least not before they got back-to-back series on the schedule against the lousy Los Angeles Angels after facing the even worse Colorado Rockies. The hitting has been bad for...
New Kensington gift shop, Ethical Hope, seeks to make a difference around the world
Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen’s New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it. They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop...
Man arrested for terrorizing North Braddock pastor now charged in cousin’s death
The man arrested for pointing a gun at a North Braddock pastor inside a church on Sunday has been charged with killing his cousin earlier that day. Bernard Polite, 26, is charged with criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of Derek Polite, 56. Two of Derek Polite’s cousins...
Crews search central Pa. waterways for Pittsburgh area woman police say was killed
The search for a missing Western Pennsylvania woman last seen in the Harrisburg area and deemed a homicide victim was concentrated Friday along two creeks in northern York County. Susquehanna Township police sent out a thank you via Crimewatch on Monday that expressed “its sincere gratitude for the agencies, organizations,...
Greensburg woman stopped with loaded firearm at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint
A Greensburg woman is accused of attempting to make it through a security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport with a loaded gun, Transportation Security Administration officers said. The 9mm handgun was loaded six bullets and had one bullet in the chamber when it was discovered Friday. Officials said it was...
Descendent of tree that once stood outside Anne Frank House now grows in Pittsburgh
Hiding from Nazis in an Amsterdam annex, Anne Frank peered out an attic window and saw a white horse chestnut tree towering over 188 Keizersgracht’s courtyard as a beacon of hope. On Feb. 23, 1944, two years into hiding, the young Jewish girl sat in silence as she and Peter...
Pa. Senate Republicans propose ‘historic’ tax cut to counter Democrats’ desire to spend more
Senate Republicans are proposing a historic tax cut for Pennsylvanians that includes taking the personal income tax back to 2003 levels and lower electric bills. An amendment offered Monday afternoon to a bill granting a tax credit to volunteer emergency medical technicians was approved on 11-5 party-line vote by the...
Pulitzer Prizes in journalism awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and others
NEW YORK — The Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize in feature photography Monday for its coverage of global migration through Latin America to the U.S., while The New York Times and the Washington Post each won three Pulitzer Prizes for their work in 2023. The Times and Reuters news...
How often does Gov. Josh Shapiro use Pennsylvania’s state plane?
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The two-engine, eight-seat Beechcraft King Air 350i took off from a small regional airport across the Susquehanna...
An American soldier was arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, U.S. officials say
WASHINGTON — An American soldier visiting a girlfriend in Russia’s port city of Vladivostok was arrested on charges of stealing from her and remains in custody, according to several U.S. officials. U.S. officials said Monday the soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and was in...
‘Questioning my whole existence’: Runners reflect after Pittsburgh Marathon weekend
The last time Nate Platt ran anything was in elementary school in the late 1980s. Over the weekend, he completed his first 5K race. Platt and over 42,000 other participants have been reflecting on their experiences and recovering after the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. The 5K race was...
Explosion rocks Tarentum; no injuries reported
An explosion at a scrap recycling business rocked Tarentum early Monday afternoon, shaking homes across the borough and sending people scrambling for answers. Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said police responded at about 1 p.m. to P.J. Greco and Sons in borough’s West Tarentum section, where they were told a gas...
‘When can I die?’: Paralyzed by a bullet, he chose not to go on. Now his shooter heads to prison for life
The bullet severed Jacob Jaillet’s spinal cord. That meant, doctors told his parents, that the 21-year-old would never walk, talk or eat again. He could never be disconnected from the machinery keeping him alive. “However, Jacob’s brain was completely intact,” his mom, Tami Jaillet, testified Monday. “They call this ‘locked...
PennWest trustees recommend 2 presidential candidates
PennWest University trustees on Monday forwarded the names of two presidential hopefuls – one from Utah and the other from Tennessee – to the State System of Higher Education, which will pick the institution’s next president later this month. They are:Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs/professor at...
Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks but launches strikes in Rafah
JERUSALEM — Hamas announced its acceptance Monday of an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its “core demands” and that it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations. The high-stakes diplomatic moves...
Mark Madden: Umpires hardly at root of Pirates’ offensive struggles — and other sports notes
In the seasons of wither, we’ll stand and deliver. Be strong and laugh and shout at the refreshing sports notes. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before… • Andrew McCutchen is hitting .182 with 31 strikeouts in 88 at-bats. The Pirates have scored 121 runs, ranking 24th in MLB. They...
