Top Stories category, Page 527
With Trump present in court, judges express skepticism of claims that he’s immune from prosecution
WASHINGTON — With Donald Trump listening intently in the courtroom, federal appeals court judges in Washington expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that the former president was immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The panel of three judges, two of whom were...
Morning Roundup: Detectives investigate East Carson vape shop robbery; Pittsburgh officer assaulted serving warrant
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 9: Detectives seek vape shop robbery suspects Pittsburgh’s Violent Crime Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred in mid-December at a vape shop along East Carson Street in the city’s South Side. Two individuals were captured...
After morning snow, above average temperatures, rain forecast for Western Pa. region
After accumulations of snow this weekend and again Tuesday morning, the Western Pennsylvania region can expect rain and higher temperatures this week. Despite a morning that featured slick road conditions amid a mix of snow and rain, Tuesday’s forecast will see a high of 51 degrees, said John Darnley, observation...
Failing to reach the moon isn’t a total failure for Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic
They call it a moonshot for a reason. It’s exceedingly difficult. Only about half of all lunar missions have been successful, according to NASA’s database on moon missions. Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic was attempting to beat the odds Monday by sending its Peregrine lander to the moon to transport cargo for...
White House, Pentagon will review Defense Secretary Austin’s lack of disclosure on his hospital stay
WASHINGTON — Both the White House and Pentagon said Monday they would look into why President Joe Biden and other top officials weren’t informed for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized. A Pentagon spokesman pointed to one reason: A key staffer was out sick with the flu....
2 dead in South Fayette fire where ‘there was a hoarding situation’
Two people were found dead on the second floor of a home that burned Monday afternoon in South Fayette, Allegheny County police said. Residents Benito Bonilla, 81, and Barbara Bonilla, 75, were pronounced dead at the scene — Benito just before 7 p.m. and Barbara around 5:30 p.m. The fire...
Park Service retracts decision to take down William Penn statue at Philadelphia historical site
HARRISBURG — The National Park Service withdrew a proposal Monday to take down a statue of William Penn at a Philadelphia historical site as part of a renovation that touched off a torrent of criticism over the legacy of the man who founded the province of Pennsylvania. In a brief...
Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort WorthVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections...
Government lawyer accuses Comprehensive Healthcare of shorting workers $20M
It wasn’t an isolated issue or the result of a good-faith mistake that employees at Comprehensive Healthcare’s 15 Western Pennsylvania facilities weren’t being paid for all the hours they worked. Instead, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Labor told a federal judge Monday, it was part of the company’s...
Pitt names Ken Gabriel as BioForge CEO
The University of Pittsburgh‘s expansive BioForge initiative has hired its inaugural chief executive officer. Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel was appointed to the job, Anantha Shekhar, Pitt senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and medical school dean, announced Monday. Gabriel who already has begun his duties also will serve as...
‘He’s proven himself’: Steelers fans say Mason Rudolph should start playoff game
His beloved Pittsburgh Steelers may be serious underdogs heading into Buffalo for a playoff game against the Bills, but Tim Piett remains hopeful. “They have a few injuries like we do,” Piett said, “and I think we have more offensive power than they do.” A Pittsburgh Steelers fan for his...
Police kill knife-wielding Upper St. Clair man suffering mental health crisis
Officers from three South Hills police departments opened fire on an Upper St. Clair man having a mental health crisis late Sunday, killing him after he approached them outside his home with a knife, according to Allegheny County Police officials and court records. The man was identified in court records...
Florida Republicans oust state party chairman facing rape allegations in critical election year
TALLAHASSEE — The Republican Party of Florida ousted Chairman Christian Ziegler in a special vote on Monday as police investigate a rape accusation against him — a move that came a week before Gov. Ron DeSantis competes in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucus. A majority of about 200 members approved the...
School funding, permitting at top of Pa. legislature’s 2024 agenda
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — In the new year, Pennsylvania lawmakers plan to put a lot of their energy into changing permitting processes, getting a long-sought constitutional amendment over the...
New Pittsburgh City Council members, controller take office; Lavelle elected council president
Pittsburgh City Council on Monday got two new members and elected a veteran councilman as its leader. Bob Charland, D-South Side, and Khari Mosley, D-North Point Breeze, were sworn in, replacing retiring councilmen Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess, respectively. R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, is council’s new president. “We have...
Mark Madden: Mason Rudolph saved the Steelers’ season
Even if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild-card game at Buffalo ends their season, at least we get to witness two great quarterbacks go toe-to-toe. In the blue and red corner, Josh Allen. He’s not afraid to throw an interception. He takes chances and reaps reward. Big man. Big arm. Twenty-nine touchdown...
Man accused of felony aggravated assault following West Deer bar fight
A West Deer man faces a felony aggravated assault charge after, police say, he hit a man with a pool cue. Michael Richard Skiles, 49, was arrested and charged Friday. A preliminary hearing before District Judge Tom Swan is scheduled for Jan. 24. West Deer police said they, along with...
Morning Roundup: Vehicle crashes at Monroeville Turnpike toll booth
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Jan. 8: Vehicle crashes at Monroeville Turnpike toll booth Two vehicles sustained significant damage following a crash Monday morning at the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll booths in Monroeville. The crash occurred shortly after 5:30 a.m., said Cpl. Cameron Craig...
Madden Monday: Mason Rudolph should start at QB going into ’24; Penguins’ power play ‘abjectly stinks’
Despite a strong finishing kick to the 2023-24 regular season, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X isn’t expecting the Pittsburgh Steelers to push their stay in the playoffs beyond the first weekend. During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Madden says to look for the Steelers to be one-and-done...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ completely unpredictable path to a totally believable regular-season result
In the end, the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers took a completely unpredictable path to a totally predictable result for their regular season. They finished 10-7, in third place of their own division and in an AFC wild-card spot behind two other teams from the AFC North. How predictable was that? Well,...
Propulsion problems plague Astrobotic’s lunar lander, mission success in doubt
Dire propulsion problems might have doomed a Pittsburgh’s company’s effort to put the first commercial lunar lander on the moon. Hours after a successful pre-dawn launch Monday from a Florida spaceport, Astrobotic issued a grim update on the status of Peregrine, the spacecraft it is seeking to land on the...
‘Here I am 3 years later, loving it’: Live Casino Pittsburgh hosts free dealer school
When Frank McClain left his 30-year career in the floral industry because of burnout, he did not expect he would become a table games dealer at Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield. But when the casino hosted its first dealer school in August 2020, McClain could not pass up the opportunity....
Canceled flights are piling up as Alaska, United are stuck without their grounded Boeing jetsVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Alaska Airlines and United Airlines grounded all of their Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again on Sunday while they waited to be told how to inspect the planes to prevent another inflight blowout like the one that damaged an Alaska jet. Alaska Airlines had returned 18 of...
1 in custody after Mt. Lebanon SWAT situation
A suspect is in custody after a SWAT situation in a Mt. Lebanon residential neighborhood on Sunday. Allegheny County 911 dispatch said police were called around 3 p.m. to the 200 block of Broadmoor Avenue in the Sunset Hills. A Mt. Lebanon Police Department Facebook post said that Mt. Lebanon...
Defense secretary remains hospitalized as details emerge about delays in notification, even to BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remained in the hospital Sunday as more details emerged about key decision-makers, even President Joe Biden, being kept in the dark for days that the Pentagon chief had been in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Pentagon’s failure to...
