Top Stories category, Page 513
Additional defendants named in Fern Hollow Bridge civil suits
Attorneys for the people injured when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed two years ago have added three defendants to their potential claims just days before the deadline to file suit. Court documents were filed putting the City of Pittsburgh on notice that it would be subject to a lawsuit just...
Gov. Shapiro pitches plan to restructure state-owned universities, community colleges
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday will propose uniting Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities and its 15 community colleges under a new governance structure to make higher education in the state more efficient and affordable. The move is part of a blueprint for reform that emerged from a working group Shapiro assembled...
‘No child should ever go to school and never come home’: Teen sentenced in Oliver Citywide killing
A Crafton Heights teen will serve 20 to 40 years in state prison for killing a fellow student outside Oliver Citywide Academy two years ago. Eugene Watson, 19, was sentenced on Thursday in the shooting death of Marquis Campbell, 15, following an emotional hearing before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge...
Armed guards to patrol Diocese of Pittsburgh schools
Four security supervisors and six armed guards soon will patrol Catholic schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, a move slated to kickstart plans to modernize security for the 13,000-student community, diocesan officials announced Thursday. The supervisors, who the diocese hired Jan. 3, will be assigned to four zones, three of...
Westmoreland County, union reach tentative labor deal
After announcing plans to strike next month, more than 500 Westmoreland County government workers instead will vote on a new three-year labor deal next week. Officials on Thursday confirmed that a tentative agreement has been reached. A vote on the proposed contract is set for Monday. Neither the county nor...
Police shot, killed man in South Side Slopes as he reached into trunk, officials say
A Pittsburgh police officer fatally shot a 26-year-old man as he was reaching into the trunk of his vehicle, which contained two rifles, according to Allegheny County Police The unidentified officer shot and killed Austyn Cousins early Wednesday in the South Sides Slopes section of Pittsburgh. Cousins initially followed instructions...
Senate deal on border and Ukraine at risk of collapse as Trump calls it ‘meaningless’Video
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid faced potential collapse Thursday as Senate Republicans grew increasingly wary of an election-year compromise that Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, says is “meaningless.” Senate negotiators have been striving for weeks to finish a carefully...
Economy grew at a surprisingly strong 3.3% pace last quarter, pointing to continued resilienceVideo
WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy grew at an unexpectedly brisk 3.3% annual pace from October through December as Americans showed a continued willingness to spend freely despite high interest rates and price levels that have frustrated many households. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product —...
Trump White House official Peter Navarro gets a 4-month sentence for defying a House Jan. 6 subpoena
WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to four months behind bars. He was the second Trump aide convicted of...
Men who poisoned protected birds found guilty — 15 months after trial
Two men who killed dozens of protected birds in 2020 by spreading poisoned corn around a pond in Lawrence County have been found guilty in federal court. The verdict Wednesday for Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, Beaver County, and Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley, Lawrence County, came more...
Citizen Science Lab receives Champions in Action award from Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media
The Citizen Science Lab in Bethel Park has been busy turning what started as a jar of mud into microbial fuel cell technology — all with the help of teenagers. Andre Samuel, president and CEO of The Citizen Science Lab, said the end goal of the Integrating Computational and Experimental...
Plum’s Dintini vies to flip Brewster’s Pa. Senate seat to GOP
One of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s key state Senate districts that will be up for grabs in November has garnered a Republican challenger. Small-business owner Jen Dintini, of Plum, announced her candidacy in the 45th district, which covers Allegheny County’s Mon Valley, as well as eastern and southern suburbs such as Plum,...
Pittsburgh SWAT team nabs fugitive wanted in 3 armed robberies
A man wanted in connection with three armed robberies around the region — including one in Unity in which a man was stabbed — was arrested Thursday in Pittsburgh with a cache of drugs, guns and cash, according to authorities. Authorities from Pittsburgh police SWAT and the fugitive apprehension unit,...
Penn State branch campuses face large share of $94M in proposed budget cuts
Penn State University branch campuses — their enrollments down sharply — face the largest share of $94 million in universitywide spending cuts intended to erase an operating deficit and create what President Neeli Bendapudi calls “a more sustainable future.” The 20 campuses, including those in Western Pennsylvania, would absorb a...
Jury convicts Munhall man in Hazelwood fatal drive-by shooting
A Munhall man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in a drive-by shooting in Hazelwood. Quentin Primus, 24, will be sentenced March 18 to the mandatory prison term by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani. The...
Firearm stolen from New Kensington gun store found during arrest of 4 in Homestead
One of about two dozen guns stolen from a New Kensington gun store was recovered when four young men were arrested Wednesday in Homestead, according to court records. All four men arrested were illegally carrying loaded 9 mm handguns, Homestead police said in criminal complaints. Only one of the guns...
Alabama man shook violently on gurney during first-ever nitrogen gas execution
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A man put to death using nitrogen gas appeared to shake and convulse on the gurney as Alabama carried out the first-of-its-kind execution that once again placed the United States at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at...
Donald Trump testifies in his defense in E. Jean Carroll defamation suit
NEW YORK — He testified for under three minutes. But former President Donald Trump still broke a judge’s rules on what he could tell a jury about writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault and defamation allegations, and he left the courtroom Thursday bristling to the spectators: “This is not America.”...
Summer Lee’s campaign rakes in $1M in last quarter, her best showing
Preparing for what could be a tough primary election, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said she raised $1 million in the last quarter of 2023, putting her on solid financial footing to take on her multiple challengers. It was Lee’s best fundraising quarter to date and one of the highest...
3 Pittsburgh chefs named semifinalists for James Beard Foundation Awards
Three Pittsburgh chefs from two restaurants were named semifinalists in the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards. Kate Lasky, Tomasz Skowronski and Bootsaba Tongdee got nods in the best chef category for the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Lasky and...
What does the future hold for Ligonier Beach? Consultant sought to come up with development plan
Ligonier Beach supporters and township officials are poised to figure out what the future of the former Lincoln Highway landmark could be. They are looking for a consultant to help them create a new plan for redeveloping the former resort as a site for public recreation. The township bought the...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in Brentwood fire; teen unloading groceries shot at in Marshall-Shadeland
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Jan. 25: 1 injured in Brentwood fire One person was taken to the hospital after a fire Wednesday night in Brentwood. The house fire was reported around 10:30 p.m. along Windsor Road, according to TribLive news partner WTAE....
Pittsburgh Public Schools to examine use of buildings amid ‘budget crisis,’ staffing issues
Pittsburgh Public Schools is facing a “budget crisis” and staffing issues, which prompted board President Gene Walker to advocate for developing and presenting recommendations on a facilities utilization plan — a resolution that passed despite criticism. A preliminary plan will give an in-depth understanding of how the district’s buildings are...
Pedestrian killed when struck by vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Strip District
A man has died after being struck by a vehicle on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said first responders were dispatched to the 2100 block of Liberty Avenue around 8 p.m. Responders found a man in his late 50s in grave condition, Bourne said....
Survivors, activists join Pittsburgh Mayor Gainey for Downtown ceremony that calls to stem gun violence
It took Gina Pelusi’s mother, Ruthanne, a music teacher, at the front door of her home on Feb. 6, 2014. On Aug. 5, 2008, it came for Vaughn Rivers’ brother, Anthony, on a Garfield Street after his basketball team had been crowned Connie Hawkins League champs. In 1993, Geraldine Massey...
